The Hush

This is the type of science fiction that I enjoy because it (sadly) doesn't feel like a huge leap for something like this to happen, which is also terrifying. I loved the strong female characters in this novel. I do however think that there was a lot of build up and I wanted a bigger payout at the end.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing. and Foster for this outstanding novel!

I believe this was my first book ever that I've read on my Kindle reader where I highlighted so many thing's!

Also I have to say ever since Covid I have been waiting patiently for a book similar to The Hush.

I am going to try to keep this review short & sweet.

The Hush is going to be the talk of the books this fall.

Here we are in London and sucked right into the British Government.
The two main characters Emma a midwife who works at one of the local hospitals and her teen daughter Lainey.
The entire country is in turmoil. Viruses, terrorism, climate change and now newborn babies are dying. And now pregnant teen girls have gone missing!
The government has taken away most of their freedom.
Wearing watches that tracks their every move. They can't use cash anymore only through their watches. Wild I'm here to tell ya!
Emma has seen this crisis first hand as she delivers still born babies. But she is determined to find out what is causing these babies death and how this happened. Now even more so when her seventeen year old daughter goes missing.

The story is told between Emma and Lainey as they live day by day in this hell they call life.
Which I absolutely enjoyed that, reading what they are thinking and feeling.

Ya'll I have never read a book as good as The Hush! Foster I freaking love you and your writing is top notch. So brilliant and amazing.
What I loved and enjoyed most was that this is actually something that could damn well happen to our country.
Thats what drew me in and had me turning the pages till 3am because this book talks about media fear mongering, corruption in the government.

I loved everything about this book!

The characters were awesome and Emma a mother who will stop at nothing to save her daughter and Lainey a girl is is brave and determined to do whats right!

Foster's writing was beyond great. Her storytelling is fabulous and will draw you in and keep you hooked.

So much for keeping this short and sweet huh!
I want to thank NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Sarah for this outstanding, remarkable, magnificent story!

I loved this book!!!! I was thoroughly entertained and at the edge of my seat the entire time! This is essentially a near future, post covid world and it was almost too real and scary to read this at times.
I blew through this in a day, I was that obsessed with finding out what would happen next.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC!

This book was so good! I loved the strong female characters especially Emma and Lainey. This book really drew me in and had me hooked with all the government corruption going on. This is the first political thriller I’ve read and WOW! Just so wonderfully written by Sara Foster! This is a must read!!

4.5/5 stars

First of all, Thankyou you Netgalley for this amazing book by Sara Foster. This book was captivating from the very start. Babies across the world are being born to a healthy pregnancy but refuse to take their first breath. With all of these stillbirths racking up daily the government is going to extremes to track and research the reason. Pregnant women must take their tests at the pharmacy and turn in their results. If they’re pregnant they’re taken. When labor finds herself pregnant she worries for what her future holds

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for my copy of The Hush by Sara Foster in exchange for an honest review. It publishes November 2, 2021.
Wow, this book. I did not want to put it down. I truly think everyone should read it. I felt like it was almost prophetic and for that reason it terrified me! This book was very well-written and well-researched. I felt the subject matter was extremely relevant and telling of what's going on in society and where things could go.
I will say that there are some triggers, revolving around pregnancy, infant death, sex, coarse language and mistreatment of minors.

The Hush is set in the near future in the UK, which has been swept by an epidemic of mysterious stillbirths of babies who seem perfectly healthy right up until the moment they are delivered - at which point, they simply never take a breath. In a climate of heightened surveillance and the government suppressing freedoms in the name of safety, young pregnant women have started going missing. As a midwife, Emma’s once-rewarding job has become a waking nightmare. When her teenage daughter Lainey admits she’s pregnant, Emma knows she will do anything to keep her daughter safe.

For the most part, this book is not what you’d call “action-packed” in the traditional sense – no car chases or standoffs at gunpoint here – and it’s just a little slow to get started, but the author still manages to ratchet up the tension, make the pace quick enough, and pack in enough intrigue, conspiracy, and mystery to earn its place in the “thriller” genre. The book also has a distinctly dystopian flavor, even though it’s set less than 10 years after the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that it takes place only a few years in the future – and that the future portrayed is believably extrapolated from current events – makes it all the more terrifying.

I really enjoyed the book – the plot and the mystery were intriguing and the main characters (the POV switches between Emma and her daughter Lainey) were people you really wanted to root for. My only real complaint is that the ending was pretty abrupt and left some threads unresolved. I would have liked to see more of the aftermath.

Representation: Women of color as prominent side characters

CW: Pregnancy loss, abduction, gaslighting, government abuse of power

Published on Instagram @Tiffany_is_reading

Holy shit! This was so good. I love a good dystopian story. This was definitely “near future” as it was described in the synopsis, and it felt so terrifying as it references Covid as the start of the troubles. The characters were all amazing in this, and I could not stop reading to see where it was all going.

I have a lot to say about this novel, but lest I delve into a thought piece rather than a review, let me put it plainly; you should read this.
Think "Handmaids Tale" meets "1984"; a feminist "what if" put into practise. A not-too-distant future England is still reeling from the aftermath of COVID-19 & climate crisis, and sent into a tailspin by widespread pregnancy complications. At the heart of the tale are three generations of women, navigating life during a hell scape of a socio-political climate.
This is both touching & thought provoking; thrilling, yet unsettling in it's plausibility. Highly recommend!

Wow, this was good.

Mini Synopsis: It's post-covid. Society is stressed. There's new government. There's more security - in the form of watches that track everyone's location and health status at all times. And there are babies being born... that never take a breath. Why are the babies dying? Why are pregnant women disappearing? This all seems part of the "new normal" until main character Emma finds out her daughter Lainey is pregnant and facing danger.

Fans of Handmaid's Tale and 1984. But throw in a little more of a thriller and some bad ass feminists. The Covid twist made this even scarier.

Be sure to read this one when it hits shelves in October!

WOW I flew through this one it was so addicting I couldn't put it down! I felt such strong visceral reactions to all of the characters (especially my hatred for Liam ugh) and it felt so real and high stakes the entire time I was reading. I was definitely not suspecting the eugenics plot line at all and I think while I enjoyed it it maybe could have been explained a bit more clearly or slowly because we were thrown a lot of information all at once which was a lot to take in and remember. I was so proud when she escaped from that weird facility and kept screaming at all the twists and turns practically.

WOW!! What did I just read?! “The Hush” by Sara Foster is absolutely brilliant and genre-defying. It’s a thriller, sci-fi, dystopian, and family drama all rolled into one. Set in near-future UK, this story takes place post-COVID and in the thick of the effects of climate change. The country is in the throes of a reproductive crisis – an epidemic of babies who appear perfectly healthy in the womb right up until the moment of birth are stillborn and never take their first breath. Now the Government is clamping down on personal freedoms – citizens must wear watches that track their movements, health status, and spending. On top of all that, pregnant teenagers are going missing.

Told through the eyes of midwife Emma and her teenage daughter Lainey, this story is terrifying because it feels utterly plausible. Citizens have given up their rights in exchange for perceived safety and public health, but end up in a situation where a corrupt government is in near-total control of women’s lives. Jam-packed with strong female characters and perfect for fans of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, what sets this dystopian novel apart is its wonderfully compelling human aspect. Emma and Lainey and the supporting cast are perfectly drawn, and I was absolutely rooting for them to prevail as Lainey’s predicament puts them all at the heart of an increasingly dangerous situation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me an advance copy of this fabulous book.

Everything changes in a heart beat. Mysteriously two dozen girls go missing and one of those girls is Ellis, Lainey’s friend. The UK has been hit with a new epidemic when healthy babies don’t take their first breath after birth. The country is suddenly turned upside down and the government pass incredibly harsh laws through to monitor everyone!

Lainey’s mum Emma is a midwife and her job is now orchestrated with precise precision, every brith is now recorded. Emma constantly finds herself in dangerous territories trying to do what’s right for her patients. When Emma and Lainey find themselves in trouble, Emma’s estranged mother is their on hope.

From the moment I started this book I couldn’t put it down. Sara Foster is an auto buy author for me and I went into this one blind and it blew me away. I will preface this by saying that this does deal with some heavy topics, including covid, still born and removal of human right. I’ve never read anything like this before, bad ass women supporting women and it has you on the edge of your seat right to the very end!

I absolutely love The Hush by Sara Foster; it is feminist and wonderful in all of the best ways. I would recommend to anyone.

”It’s speeding up, trauma upon trauma, fear upon fear.”

Take a relational drama packed with three generations of mother-daughter interactions, mix it with an unsolvable medical mystery, and add layers of political unrest & and conspiracy theories that feel oh-so-timely, and you’ve got the recipe for an utterly riveting dystopian thriller.

”The system seems to be getting more draconian every day.”

The Hush tells the haunting story of a post-COVID world, where Britain’s government has implemented terrifyingly severe health and location monitoring laws for its citizens. The country is inexplicably plagued by a nearly 1-in-2 stillbirth rate, and scientists cannot identify a cause or a solution, so now pregnancies must be reported to the government for tracking as well. Suddenly, young pregnant women begin to disappear, and one family begins to suspect that there might be sinister motives at play…

”The surveillance never stops, so we can’t let our guard down if we’re going to outsmart it… Remember, fear is their ultimate weapon, but it can’t get you unless you let it.”

Sara Foster explores themes like motherhood, women’s rights, control, and government overreach. The Hush prompts thought-provoking questions about how much of our freedom we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of our safety, and about when cooperation becomes complicity.

”A patriarchal system will never pursue collaboration as a method of progress or restitution.”

I found myself so triggered by literally every scene in this book, not because any of the content was overtly offensive, but because I found the story to be so realistic and believable, and I could absolutely imagine a future where our reality looks a lot like this one. And that possibility, however remote, enrages me beyond what my vocabulary can succinctly express.

”Every day it feels more of a charade. She seriously doubts there’s a higher power listening to their pleas—and if there is, then all she has for this lackluster god is hot, venomous anger.”

The Hush was an absolutely riveting read, and my only wish was that it might have been longer, with some of the conspiratorial elements a bit more fleshed out. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

——

A huge thank you to Sara Foster, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this exceptionally well written novel. A near-future story that is extremely hard to put down and will keep readers up late into the night. In the current climate of Covid19 the story opens your eyes to an very uncertain future. It portrays the strength and love of families and friends pitted against an overpowering and controlling government. It also highlights the power of caring women caught in a precarious situation. I highly recommend this novel to readers of all genres and it deserves a very well earned five stars for Sarah Foster.

"The Hush" stands out as a gripping dystopian read. It's timely and thoughtful, asking much-needed questions about how our societal standards have changed following the pandemic.

It was the cover that first attracted my attention to this book, the image of the Russian nesting dolls, then the by-line of “Everything can change in a heartbeat” piqued my interest that I knew had to learn more about the book. As soon as I read the blurb, I was hooked and knew I had to read it!

This really is a very different world that the characters in this book find themselves living in.
The free movement and privacy of the populations has been eroded away over time, with being instructed to wear watches that can be used to pay for items at stores. At first these watches are advised, then more strongly insisted upon, until now when they are compulsory to wear all the time. Their every move is tracked and logged by the government via the watches everyone must wear and never remove under any circumstances.

In England due to the strange occurrence of babies being born looking and being totally healthy yet never taking a breath, all women that have a positive pregnancy test are being closely monitored. In fact, the only way you can actually have a pregnancy test is to purchase one via your watch which then kicks in a whole sequence of requirements. Your pregnancy test result is not private. The government puts it across that it is in the mother’s best interest and the future of humanity that your pregnancy be closely monitored. Then suddenly young pregnant girls begin to go missing, some with their families, some without. To publicise the fact that young girls are mysteriously disappearing, PreacherGirl, a young girl herself takes to social media with a song about it.

It’s all these disappearances that prompt teenager Lainey into stealthily removing her watch that tracks her every move and placing it on the front paw of her dog Fergus and sneaking out of the house without waking her mother, Emma to meet her best friend Sereena. They have come up with a plan to obtain a pregnancy test without the act of doing so being registered in any way. Lainey does the pregnancy test all the while hoping and praying that it’s a negative result. She cannot bear the thought of having what has been nicknamed as a “Doll Baby.” Lainey knows she should confide in her mother, in fact, once she has the positive pregnancy test, she knows it’s only a matter of time until she has to say something. Lainey also has the added worry of Ellis, a friend from school having recently gone missing. The rumours are that Ellis was pregnant, but no one knows for sure and they have no idea where Ellis or her family have gone.

Lainey’s mother Emma has noticed that her daughter has withdrawn more and more from her lately. Emma blames herself as she has been so busy at work and under so much stress and pressure that she hasn’t really felt like striking up a conversation or pursuing the increasingly elusive Lainey. Emma is a midwife and is dealing with the “doll babies” on a daily basis. Emma used to love her job delivering bundles of joy, now a bundle of joy is the rarity. Emma still feels her calling is midwifery and is there to support the newly bereaved parents. Though that is stressful, it is the increasing paperwork that the Government and the NBCC (National Birth Crisis Centre) is demanding the midwives fill in. The working conditions Emma is working under are becoming increasingly worse due to paperwork, staff shortages and the increasing amounts of births being babies perfect in every way except they do not breath. These women have to answer questions about what they have been doing during their pregnancies, what they have been eating and so on as if it is their fault. The babies are being whisked away to be closely examined to see if any clues to this awful phenomenon is occurring.

I could truly go on and on about this book so much happens! I also enjoyed the different relationships between the strong female characters in the book. There’s Lainey’s relationship with her mum, Emma, then the fact Emma was estranged from her mother Geraldine Fox, but as a last resort turns to her for help. It seems perhaps Emma didn’t know the whole story of how and why her grandmother brought her up instead of her own mother. There are also strong bonds between Emma and her friends, and she has to make a difficult choice of who to tell the whole truth to and who to keep in the dark to protect them.

The whole Government and NBCC collusion is scarily so believable, the tracking watches aren’t a million miles away from the system of logging in and out of places using a mobile phone and barcode system the government in England implemented for their Track & Trace system in an attempt to keep track of where people were going and where the covid hot spots were! The population were just swept along without much say in what we were expected to do.

My immediate thoughts as I finished reading this book were, that the book had been an amazing read and that it was scarily believable!

Summing up, I loved this book from beginning to end. It is speculative fiction at it’s very best. I put this book right up there with other top speculative/futuristic fiction favourite authors, Rebecca Bowyer, Christina Dalcher, Tanvir Bush, NJ Crosskey and Joanne Ramos to name a few.

The Hush was quite dark, and at times, hard to read. But it was also so, so good, and I could not put it down. The story is so incredibly powerful, but there are also a lot of exciting twists, so I am keeping this review as short as I can to avoid giving away too much. The general gist is this: Emma, a midwife at a local hospital is having to care for more and more women whose babies are born still, due to some unknown pandemic of sorts. Things are getting more desperate by the day, and she is trying to not only keep her patients safe, but her daughter too.

This book is terrifying. I mean, first off, you can absolutely understand the panic and desperation. Babies, perfectly healthy babies, seem to die at birth for no observable reason. Parents are devastated and terrified, and hospitals are basically in a full-blown emergency state. And of course, the government is just waiting to muck things up. It's desperate times, no question. Emma is trying so hard to hold it all together, but the situations she's dealing with grow more dire by the day.

The plot is exciting and thrilling, and yes, emotional, as Emma tries to save her daughter and her patients. She finds herself in deeper than she could have ever imagined, and must make some incredibly difficult decisions, and fast. The pacing was perfect, as there was a great blend of action and emotion, and I simply loved reading this book- even if the world was one I never want to find myself in!

Bottom Line: It's high-octane, high-emotion, completely immersive storytelling that I absolutely cannot recommend enough.

What a unique story!
Set in Britain, post covid, still getting used to the new rules of life in the near future. Amid all the other changes, babies are increasingly being born stillborn. Of course, the government needs to step in, and soon pregnant teens start to go missing.
Emma has a first hand account as a midwife, but isn’t prepared when her own teenage daughter becomes pregnant.
Great dystopian take on things!

This thriller was action-packed right from the beginning.

Set in the near-future after COVID, the British government has issued sweeping mandates that slowly begin to look a lot like Big Brother, stripping people of their human rights. For some unknown and horrifying reason, an increasing number of otherwise healthy babies are born unresponsive. The government’s response to this crisis is to heavily monitor the health and whereabouts of its citizens via smartwatches. On top of all that, young pregnant women have started to go missing, sometimes with their entire families. When Lainey, a seventeen-year-old girl, suspects she is pregnant, her mother and grandmother do everything in their power to protect her.

This thriller is fast-paced and has one shocking revelation after another. It’s told from Lainey and Emma’s perspective.

There’s not much to critique with this one. It kept my attention, but it was a touch too quickly paced to what I normally read. Otherwise, I found this to be a gripping novel.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the arc via Netgalley.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Netgalley and Sara Foster for letting me read The Hush early. This one hits shelves November 2.

This near-future thriller looks deep at society and turns the pandemic and the quest for human rights on its back. I really connected with the characters right away and had a hard time putting this one down. If you enjoy creepy futuristic thrillers that feel like they’re not far off, I highly recommend this one.

The Hush is a multi generational female led dystopian thriller based in the UK. Six months ago a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since that time there have been more tragedies and now the country is in turmoil. The government is coming for everyone’s freedom and the women are losing their rights. Young pregnant women have started going missing, people are all being monitored and are terrified. Emma is a midwife and mother of 17 year old Lainey. As Lainey finds herself in trouble in this new dangerous world, both women are facing impossible choices.

In this near-future dystopian thriller, surveillance of British citizens has significantly increased after the COVID pandemic, under the guise of keeping the nation healthy. Then, the doll babies came - one in every three seemingly healthy pregnancies ends in stillbirth, and only in Great Britain. Now security policies are at an all-time high as every pregnancy is monitored. Not only that, but teen mothers across the country are going missing, and seventeen-year-old Lainey has just found out she's pregnant.

You never know what you're getting into when you're approved for an ARC; this one fortunately was a surprise after the last several I read were low ratings. I read 90% of this fast-paced book in one sitting, albeit a long one as I was determined to finish it in October.

This book warns of the dangers of government surveillance in the name of security at the expense of human rights, particularly reproductive rights. Some of the policies that take place in this world may seem a bit far-fetched, but they go to show how in states of emergency and fear, those in power can use that fear to gain more power and harm those without it. We follow a mother, Emma, who works in the hospital as a midwife amid the doll baby crisis, and her daughter Lainey, who has just found out she is pregnant and has very few options - abortion has been outlawed, all pregnancies are monitored, and it seems that those her age who are pregnant are being kidnapped with no help from the police. Both of these characters were engaging and easy to root for as they are seemingly trapped in this position while their rights are being taken away. The sense of tension was well done and kept me turning the pages with very few interruptions. The very end was a little bit convenient for my taste (but left open-ended enough that it can be forgiven) and there was definitely a couple of instances of stilted, preachy dialogue that would never actually happen, but otherwise this was a very well done book that has a very important message to spread.

Based in the future, this book is a fast paced adventure that questions government control.
Teenage pregnant girls are disappearing, more babies are born with problems and every citizen has a watch that performs health checks and keeps the government informed on their location.
This is a fast paced novel from the start and it really does not let up. I am reminded of the Handmaids Tale. There is always a rebel.
This is also a female empowerment story. I loved it and devoured it.
Do yourself a favour.

📚Book 48 of 2021: The Hush by Sara Foster

🙏🏻Big Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the ARC. The Hush by Sara Foster came out on November 2..you do not want to miss out on this one.

💬Reader’s Digest Version: The Hush takes place in England, roughly 10 years after the COVID-19 pandemic weaved it’s path of destruction and devastation across the globe. This post-COVID world looks vastly different than the one we are living in today, and presents a whole new medical phenomenon that is devastating families and throwing the country into a constant state of panic. When mothers come to the hospital to deliver their babies, nearly half of them end up as still births. Referred to as “doll babies,” these babies are born completely still and silent with no signs of life. This story focuses on a teenage girl, Lainey and her mother who both themselves deeply intertwined in this confounding mystery as they race to find a solution to this medical nightmare.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: Thriller meets dystopian fiction..sign me up! This book does not disappoint. I have stated previously that thrillers have been letting me down lately..Sara Foster’s book helped end my unlucky streak. First of all, I think my odd fascination with dystopian literature is I can actually see something similar to this happening, considering that state of the world right now. Peeking into the scary realm of possibilities of what our future could look like is like a train wreck you can’t keep your eyes off of despite how horrific it may be. I don’t know what this says about me, but 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️. This book is completely different than anything I have read before. Completely original plot, fantastic female-driven lead characters, and twists and turns throughout. My only gripe: I wanted more resolution with the ending….sequel maybe 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 @sarafosterauthor … I won’t spoil it for you, but I cannot recommend this book enough.

⭐️my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

A harrowing, intense look at power and corruption that will make you wake your kids just to hug them close.
I was blown away by The Hush, the suffocating exhaustion that the characters are feeling is palpable and it was an incredible commentary on what it takes to make a society finally say enough.
Emma, as a midwife and a mother is a wonderfully real portrayal of anyone just trying to get by in this world of uncertainty and fear and I found myself feeling that this book was so close to reality that it terrified me. An incredible, irrevocable read.

Futuristic 💥 Feminist 💥 Thriller 💥

“The Hush” by @sarafosterauthor is officially out in the world — and WOW. This is one of my top books of the year. Thank you to @blackstonepublishing for my advance reading copy!

“The Hush” is set in England, about seven years after the Covid-19 pandemic. A new public health crisis is unfolding in English hospitals: a spike in stillbirths with no discernible cause. Young pregnant women are going missing. Government surveillance — mostly via tracking devices worn as watches — is an accepted part of daily life. The book is told mostly via Emma, a midwife who’s on the front lines of the crisis, and her 17-year-old daughter Lainey.

I was completely riveted by this book and flew through it. Think <Angela Lansbury Eating Popcorn.Gif>. That was me the entire time I was reading. This book is very dark and leans a bit sci fi, and I couldn’t put it down. A five star read for me!

This one is for fans of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Brave New World” and “The Push.” I wouldn’t put it on a holiday gift guide (unless you REALLY know your recipient 😂) but if you’re into dark, female-led thrillers, you must order it immediately. I am going to have a massive reading hangover from this one.

The Hush by Sara Foster is easily one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. It is chilling and fast paced, yet is a gripping story of feminism and strength. This is an engrossing action packed dystopian thriller that everyone should have on their radar. If you only read one book this year, it should be The Hush!

Set in the near future, a post Covid UK is currently under the watchful eye of the government as hospitals are seeing a tragic surge in stillborn births. Therefore, the government has a begun monitoring the citizens closely by the means of a tracking watch. However, a number of young pregnant girls have begun disappearing and raising suspicions that they may have been taken against their own will. Emma, a nurse midwife at the local hospital, is seeing firsthand the stress this situation is having on new mothers. Soon she finds herself wrapped up in this frightening situation as her 17 year old daughter, Lainey, has a secret. With a cast of strong female characters there is a race to find these missing girls and discover what or who is behind this crisis.

I cannot recommend this book enough, it is powerful and eye opening. It tackles topics such as reproduction rights as well as basic human rights. It is primarily a female lead cast with strong family and friendship bonds. I alway enjoy the dystopian genre, but Sara Foster has taken it to a whole new level with this feminist thriller.

Hush is a slightly futuristic novel set about 10 years post pandemic. The government has turned authoritarian in light of an increasing number of babies being born stillborn. The main characters of our story are a midwife on the front lines of this new crisis and her daughter.

Right from the start, things are fast and furious, but not for lack of character development. The characters of this novel popped from the page and were so easy to connect with. One of my favorite aspects of this thriller was the strength of female friendships and relationships throughout the story. By the end of the novel, I was left so connected to the characters and storyline that I craved an epilogue or a sequel to know where they would be 5, 10 years for now. I will definitely be picking up more from Sara Foster.

Where to begin? This is an edge-of-my-seat dystopian thriller that felt…well, eerily plausible. Young women disappearing, babies facing an uncertain future, a government getting way too involved in the life of its citizens—and all the whole, a single mother and her teenage daughter have to face it together. I think the relationship between the mother and daughter is honestly my favorite part of the book—a relationship once a little distant (in a typical teenage way) became a closeness that left me feeling so emotional. And holy heck—the big twist! I won’t give it away, but this was easily one of the best books I’ve read this year!

This is Children of Men + The Haidmaid's Tale + 1984 + something else. I loved every single word.

5 stars.

This was an intriguing book. It is set in the near future after the Covid Pandemic has passed. Everyone must wear bracelets and be monitored at all times. It is said to be for safety and health. Still, things to do not seem right. A girl speaks up on social media because her friend has gone missing. Many other young girls appear to be missing, too but perhaps that is untrue and just a rumor. People are becoming frightened and don’t know what to believe.

The biggest threat is something Emma, who is a midwife at the local hospital sees everyday. Babies that seem perfectly healthy are at birth are still born. No one seems to know why. It is a very dangerous time to get pregnant. Then Emma’s daughter, Lainey is pregnant and that is terrifying. Both know that the government is hiding something.

So, this becomes quite a great thriller. It is hard to know who to trust and believe. I liked the book because it was really a different kind of story, but was fast paced and I wanted to know what would happen next. I could understand the panic the characters were feeling. I loved that there were three generations of strong women working to protect the newest generation, the female baby. My own heart was beating extra fast. Definitely, worth reading to find out.

Thank you NetGalley, Sara Foster, and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it.

I don't really read dystopian / scifi books but this one had an interesting premise, and I definitely recommend it. Lots of rich characters and deep setting, and page turning interest.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seems like I have read several books lately that take place during or shortly after the pandemic. The Hush takes place 7 years after the world shut down due to Covid. Many things have changed in the world, including wearing mandatory watches that keep track of everyone and monitor daily health. Another thing that has changed is that many newborn babies are being stillborn with explanation.
Pregnant teenage girls have been disappearing. When Lainey discovers she is pregnant, she is terrified she will also disappear. Her mother is a midwife and has seen the terrifying things happening to the families of babies that never breathe. When she finds out Lainey is pregnant she knows she has to do whatever it takes to protect her.
I loved this book! It was super engaging and made me worry about what the future could hold. We never could have imagined what Covid did to the world and the repercussions could still affect us for many years to come.

This dystopian story is set about 10 years post-COVID, presents an all-too-plausible nightmare scenario. The suspenseful plot is vaguely reminiscent of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” This was a fast, entertaining read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great sci-fi novel as it's relevant and chilling! Why are all the baby girls in this society either born dead or die within hours? Now there's a mandate that any young woman 17 or younger becomes a ward of the state when they are pregnant. See where the danger is? Lainey is the daughter of Emma who is a midwife in a local hospital and has seen first-hand the pain and suffering these women who give birth to girls face. That's all the plot you get....the rest you must read for yourself as nothing is as it appears and government has unlimited power (chilling in itself)! So just get this book and enjoy even as you get goosebumps!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I started this book over a month ago, and just couldn't get into it, but, as it turns out, the second time was the charm and I was totally hooked. The story was thrilling, heart-warming, and such a poignant discussion on being a woman. Emma's and Lainey's relationship felt very real and complex and I loved getting to read both of their perspectives (though I think I preferred Emma's just a tad more). Some of the characters felt a smidge underdeveloped, but the plot was so exciting that it pretty much made up for that. The political and interpersonal intrigue was so fun to read and really made for a captivating story.

A phenomenal look at what the future holds if the world continues its path. Watches that monitor your temperature, blood pressure, location, and more. There would be bans on who could have children and under what circumstances. The Hush examines what daily life would look life and the consequences of disobeying a directive.

The book is action packed. It is stimulating and thought provoking. The situations the characters found themselves in and how they handled each was inspiring. The book is far too realistic for comfort which is a great thing. We cannot afford to be passive in these unsettling times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have found myself discussing the ideas with others often. A must read.


I received an ARC from Blackstone Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

What a fun ride! First, I'd like to comment on how much I like the cover of this book, it's unique and fantastic! Anyways, this book was a complete surprise for me. I thought the characters were well developed and the story was unpredictable and brilliant! Can't wait to see what she writes next

Chaos begins with babies failing to breathe as soon as they are born in an English hospital. With already the government restricting people’s freedom and everyone under constant surveillance, the loss of the babies called as doll babies and pregnant girls going missing creates a sense of jeopardy and insecurity among the public.

Emma, a midwife is determined to help the suffering mothers. When her seventeen-year-old daughter Lainey becomes pregnant, the dangers become more real to both mother and daughter who have to make impossible choices to deal with the damning new laws and the authoritarian government. They seek the help of their friends and Emma’s estranged mother Geraldine Fox.

Dystopian novels are not my go to genre. So, what convinced me to pick this book is the cover and the intriguing blurb. And this book blew my mind with its powerful and dynamic narration. This is a women centric dystopian thriller that closely resembles the current society and its treatment of human rights and women. The book is parallelly narrated by Emma and Lainey who took me through a labyrinth of emotions.

Let me list down the reasons to read this book
1. A fast-paced dystopian thriller full of compelling twists and suspense.
2. A book that sharply reflects the current situation of mass ignorance of the impact of climate change, blatant denial of women’s rights and a society that is slowly sacrificing privacy for security.
3. An array of remarkable and sensible characters.
4. Powerful statements and dialogues that leave a lasting impact.
5. An incredible portrayal of the power of female friendships
6. An honest and lovely portrayal of teenage friendships, their curiosity and concern for the future.
7. The author has adroitly weaved some uncomfortable truths in this gripping novel.

I highly recommend this riveting dystopian thriller for fans of novels like The Handmaid’s Tale. If you want to read a female centric thriller set in a world that faces the aftermath of COVID, look no further. The Hush is one of the best books I have read this year.

Thank you @netgalley and @sarafoster for this gifted eBook in exchange for an honest review.

The government wants to monitor all citizens., young pregnant women too. Then young girls start missing.
Emma and Lacey are living in this new world and it is not easy, But, when Lacey is stealing a pregnancy test and it's only a matter of time until the police are catching her.
Thanks to Netgalley for this book.

First I want to thank Blackstone Publishing, NetGalley, & Sarah Foster for this mystery/thriller ARC.

This book kept me enthralled from the beginning. I love Dystopian Books ....and movies. Makes you wonder if this might be our future?
Great original story!

I recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopian books.

#TheHush #NetGalley #Goodreads #SarahFoster

This was a wonderful female-centric thriller set in a post-covid, near future British, with a very intriguing premise. Women around the world started giving birth to ‘doll babies’. These babies were completely healthy and moving up to the point of birth where they would cease to breathe for no explainable reason. It got so severe that it affected half of the population, and people got scared of having kids. Of course, the political minds used the phenomena to assert control over women in the name of ‘protecting’ the future. Women were no longer given choice about having babies, and once pregnant they became the property of the government.

Our main characters, Emma and Lainey, were mother-daughter couple who got thrown right in the middle of it all, with Emma’s job as a midwife and Lainey’s involvement in her school’s movement to find out why her pregnant friend suddenly disappeared.

With a setup like that, who wouldn’t be enticed to pick up the book?

I personally loved how the book highlighted the power of women banding together. It definitely had a parade of strong, intelligent women trying to navigate and solve the issue. Even the British Prime Minister in the book was a female. Unfortunately though, 50% through the book, I still felt like I learnt nothing new as it slowly gave readers details of what happened.

While the build-up was relatively slow paced, there were a few action-packed events that happened later in the book that I thought happened too fast! Without giving too much away, one of them was Lainey’s adventure at a secret place, which I thought could’ve been flushed out a bit more.

Another thing that I wish was done better was around the scale of the story. Given the phenomena was worldwide and the plot involved British government and high ranked politicians (and someone else who was revealed to have an international pull in the story), I thought the stakes and scale could’ve been much wider (even involving international waters, perhaps). Instead, the main conflict and resolution in the book were too localised and dependant upon just Emma and Lainey, who were supposed to be ‘nobodies’ in the grand scheme of things.

At the end of the day, I did enjoy this book tremendously. There was this one particular quote that I thought reflected today’s age quite well:
“In the information age, because we all have access to information, everyone considers themselves an expert. It’s a horrible twist to something that’s essentially so wonderful and should have finally allowed for classless access to education.”

Set in the near-future, England grapples with a mysterious phenomena where babies born are unable to take a breath. Following this, the government implements stringent rules and regulations, observing civilians with a stringent eye. In this new world, pregnant women begin to go missing.

As the main character Emma - a midwife - struggles to make it through the traumatic and difficult work she does in the face of this new phenomena, she encounters a new obstacle, when her teenage daughter finds herself in trouble,

I really enjoyed this book. It was a beautiful blend of action, character development and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Futuristic. Scary yes, plausible yes. It speaks to all the worries that come to the surface when you surrender your rights to the government in the name of progress. Young pregnant women are disappearing. A midwife is determined to give the best possible care. A young woman close to the midwife’s sphere brings the reality of this mystery to her doorstep. Culminating in a race to survive you will find yourself breathing hard through the conclusion.

*Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC*

Set in the near-future after the COVID crisis, the UK is being ravaged by a new public health threat - seemingly health pregnancies are resulting in stillbirths. With this new epidemic and the ongoing climate crisis, the government has implemented new protocols to monitor citizens via tracking watches. And on top of all of this, pregnant teenagers are going missing. This story follows midwife Emma and her pregnant daughter Lainey as they navigate this corrupt government and try to uncover the truth.

I absolutely loved this book! It is the perfect blend of dystopian, thriller, sci-fi, and YA all wrapped in one. The strong female characters and the issues of reproductive autonomy in a dystopian society were very reminiscent of "The Handmaid's Tale" - with a bit of "1984" mixed in. This was such a unique premise for a story and felt eerily plausible.

I love how much feminist dystopian fiction is emerging to meet this current moment as women's and human rights feel increasingly fragile. This is a powerful book of mother-love in its many varieties, including the love of an absent mother.

We are in a very near future in this novel, as the after-effects of Covid are still being felt, with everyone subjected to regular health scans before they can go to work or school. Civil rights are usurped as one crisis after another "forces" the government to take measures to protect its citizens. The crisis at the heart of the book is a huge increase in babies born alive but unable to draw breath. Abortion rights are the first to go, then even the right to a private pregnancy is taken as pregnancy tests are monitored and reported.

Single mother Emma is an obstetrics nurse worn thin by the horrors she is facing at work. Her daughter Lainey suspects she's pregnant but can't buy a pregnancy test to find out.

Women support one another in this novel. Friends and co workers (with the occasional bitchy exception) care for and about one another. If I had to live in a dystopian future, I'd want friends like the ones in this novel. Highly recommend.

I am grateful to Netgalley for giving me a free ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When I hear the words "female-led science fiction", this is the kind of book I expect. While the realism of it was terrifying, the writing, the characters, and the plot were absolutely phenomenal. This story felt just realistic enough to happen in real life, which only added to its eerie greatness. I heartily recommend it.