Note: Spoiler alert. This is a tough book to review without spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book. It was incredibly addictive, the cover art is absolutely beautiful, and the characters were enthralling. I couldn't put it down in the day and a half it took for me to read it, which is usually an indicator for me that I'd rather read than do anything else.

Hush, Hush is about a girl named Nora who has been through a lot in the past year. Her father was murdered, and because of that Nora is a bit paranoid and anxious about strangers and possibly getting caught in a bad situation. What a perfect time to have a fallen archangel swoop into your life to attempt to sacrifice you!

Patch is just that. A fallen angel who is looking for a way out of his banishment. Once he shows up as Nora's biology partner, everything she knows is suddenly turned upside down. A mysterious hooded figure is following her, watching her, and hurting her friends. Who can she trust when she doesn't know who is targeting her, and all logical reason points to Patch? After a while, she can't even trust her mind, which she suspects is playing tricks on her. Nora knows she's somehow connected to the weird occurrences, but doesn't want to admit that Patch may be trouble. He shows up wherever she is, but is he putting her in danger or rescuing her from a series of terrifying events?

I loved the angel theme to this book. I haven't read a bunch of angel books, but this seemed comparable Fallen by Lauren Kate. Angels vs. Fallen Angels. It's a somewhat new theme that is rivaling the vampires.

As I said, the story itself was wonderful; I loved the idea and the theme. I had mixed feelings about Nora and Patch, though. Nora was terrified of Patch for most of the book, and then at the very end she decides to start trusting him. I really didn't understand that. Knowing how scared Nora was of everything, it was kind of cruel of Patch to be as mysterious and creepy as he was. (Don't get me wrong, he was totally hot in my mind.) I really felt bad for Nora throughout most of the book. But I didn't really see the point where he changed his mind from wanting to kill her to falling in love with her. The story is told from Nora's side of things, so I suppose you're only supposed to see Patch as Nora sees him. There were times in the book when she would have inflicted physical harm on him, rather than be stuck in the same room as him. So for her to go from feeling an illogical and dangerous connection to him while being terrified to totally trusting was a bit odd for me. The last scene in the book also totally threw me off. When has she EVER been receptive to Patch being close to her? I understand by then, she understood his real motive, but with how jumpy she is, it's kind of off for her character.

Patch and Nora begin a relationship, and Hush, Hush follows the development for that relationship. Knowing that there will be a sequel is really exciting, because I'd like to see what happens and what dangers they'll face next. I'd also like to see how Nora develops as a young woman, and how she'll face her personal demons involving trust and anxiety.

This story has gotten A LOT of comparisons to Twilight, and that is something I'd like to address. Yes, they met in biology class, but that is where the similarities end. Patch's reasons for being close to her are not about a lack of self control; they are about him wanting to use her to gain his humanity. Yes, he's teetering on the edge of love and death, but that's really it. If you go into this book expecting a Twilight story, you'll be disappointed.

This book is full of suspense and tension from beginning to end. The villain isn't really a complete surprise, but it's a book that is worth reading. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and once against getting drawn into Becca Fitzpatrick's world of fallen angels and ancient wars.