Hush Hush

Becca Fitzpatrick

Simon and Schuster

Otago Daily Times, 2009

The cover of Hush Hush proclaims “A fallen angel…a forbidden love”, and the opening scene is the Loire Valley, 1565.  Once beyond the prologue, however, it becomes clear that Becca Fitzpatrick is channelling not Elizabeth Knox but Stephanie Meyers. 

Fast-forward to present day Maine where Nora Grey has just been assigned a new biology partner, a dark and mysterious transfer student called Patch.  Not only does he possess great deal of personal information about her, he seems to know exactly what to say to make her uncomfortable. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she finds herself irresistibly attracted to him-a vulnerability that Patch is only too happy to exploit.

When a threatening stalker begins to follow her, Patch is the obvious suspect, but when confronted by Nora, his response unsettles her even more; he is a fallen angel and she his means of escape from eternal exile.  Whether this requires her salvation or her sacrifice is Patch’s choice to make, while Nora must decide whether to trust her head or her heart… You can guess the outcome.  Although angels have been substituted for vampires, this novel is little more than an old and tired cliché.