First Impressions: Hushed is a story about murder, desire, and betrayal. I've recently started to read the synopsis of each book on my "honey-read" list. I want to know what I am getting myself into. Hushed caught my attention. Most books we read tend to have some kind of romance plot line. Hushed isn't any different. But it does introduce a homosexual romantic plot line which is still rather taboo for most folks. I wanted to see where it went.
The First 50 Pages: First comes love and then comes murder. Isn't how this is supposed to go? Hushed opens in a scene of murder and suicide shrouded in mystery. This is sickening scene where a seemingly innocent person is being forced to take their own life. They plead and beg. The murderer shows very little remorse but does not enjoy the act. He stays until the final breath escapes his victim and the air hangs heavy with death.
This is the opening to Hushed. And this sucked me in.
Cast of Characters: First, the character introductions.
Meet Vivian. Vivian has had a rough life. She had her innocence stolen at a young age. She becomes confused as she grows. Her taste in men has never been anything over whelming. You wouldn't know it now though. She seems bright and bubbly enough. She is a typical college student, just with poor taste in men. The only reason Viv hasn't snapped is because her crutch of a friend Archer.
Archer is a white knight. He is as mentally damaged as Vivian is, but for his own reasons. He just never came to terms with what happened so many years ago. He truly is Vivian's crutch. He is tossed aside when he isn't needed. He welcomes her back with open arms when he is. He does everything for Vivian in the name of love. But he is confused.
And then there is Evan. Evan is a shining example of a man. He is upright and confident. He is tall with a swimmers build, an aura that dominates its surroundings, and has blond hair. He also brings the world of Vivian to a screeching halt.
These are the main characters that Hushed revolve around.
Review: Hushed weaves a cliche plot line with new thread. The tale of a shunned and abused love is nothing new. What is interesting is the added element of homosexuality. This is still taboo for many people. It's there in the public. But the open idea of gays is often treated as a hushed topic. You can admit to your friends that you feel rather indifferent about the subject but the last time you noticed a gay couple holding hands in public you caught a quick curious glimpse like everyone else. The main character hints at nothing. He fights with himself about the notion of a gay relationship. It confused him. And it brings his hetero motives to a grinding halt that throws the girl into an insane plot of revenge. Only this plot wasn't hers. This revenge belonged to Archer, not Vivian.
This sounds intriguing, doesn't it? That is also why Hushed sucked me in.
Hushed is written in the third person. Everyone experiences what Archer sees and feels from the outside perspective. It's an interesting take. I think a little more twist and mystery could have been added had it been written from a first person perspective. But the outsiders view did a nice job. Everything is focused around Archer's world. Vivian and Evan become intertwined in that. But the story never breaks from Archer.
The word usage was played rather eloquently. The imagery and emotion used to describe the physical surroundings, Archer's feelings and conflict, and those outside of Archer allowed the reader to have a very emotional understanding of each situation. As a reader I received the whole experience between the physical surroundings, the emotional conflict, and the goose bumps felt.
I'm big with my dialogue in books. All the perfectly written prose mean nothing if there isn't anything to relate a character too. I feel the best way to relate to a character is through their actions and their words. The author did have some language differences between characters. It was conveyed with both word usage and emotional description. When Evan spoke the reader had an understanding of how lighthearted and caring he was. There were clear and concise stages of Vivian as the story progressed. Archer is always very serious. Even during different mediums of conversation, such as cell phone calls and texts, the usage of different style of fonts allowed for a better understanding of conversational progression.
Conclusion: I can only put this two ways. To be nice, it would be in your best interest to purchase this book. To be blunt, don't be stupid and just buy it. I can't say much more. I ate this book like it was the best damn piece of cheese cake I've ever had. I like a lot of books, but seldom do they hold my interest such as Hushed has. The last couple of books that have were the Mortal Instrument series and The Hunger Games. I've read plenty since in between each of those series. And yet Hushed came out of nowhere and sucked me in like a bad habit.
