Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)

by Becca Fitzpatrick

Together Patch and Nora have overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past, bridged two irreconcilable worlds and faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for - and their love - forever.

• ISBN10: 1442426640
• ISBN13: 9781442426641
• Publish Date: 4 October 2011 (first published 30 September 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

Can we not talk about this one? Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick was fine, sure. Yet, the whole plot of Nora losing her memory and then slowly piecing everything together -- I'm just over it. As readers of Hush, Hush, we already knew that angels have the power to memory-wipe you. However, maybe they need to work on that skill. (I mean, Men in Black got the skill down, but they also plan on never seeing you again.) Patch keeps showing up in Nora's life, and doesn't he seem familiar to you? Silence is basically just one big recap of angels and fallen angels, and Patch is Nora's boyfriend, in case you forgot.

The plot doesn't move very far from where we left it in Crescendo. I will be reading the last and final one, Finale, and I'm hoping it will be better than this one.

"Hank had also heard a fallen angel's wing scars were his Achilles' heel. In this, the rumors appeared to be true."

I like Silence a lot more than I like the other books in the Hush, Hush series.

Before I get into what I enjoyed about Silence or what didn't bother me as much, I want to deal with the worst thing about Silence, Nora Grey.

In Silence, Nora is affected by amnesia. She has no memory of the last five months of her life. I thought that because of this Nora's personality would improve, but I was dead wrong. Nora whines, shouts at her mother for no reason and transfers blame onto other people. I understand that Nora would be irritable due to the fact that a part of her memory has disappeared, but it was just too much. Too much of Nora's anger, whining and self-pity! Nora's feeling towards her amnesia would have worked if it was done in small doses. Instead, it quickly got old and annoying.

I also thought Nora would be less trustworthy and more suspicious, but she still ends up trusting people that she's just met and continues doing stupid and dangerous things. Also, the only way she gets out of the dangerous situations that she puts herself in, is by being saved by someone else. The most stupid thing that Nora does in Silence is trying to stop a robbery at 7-Eleven. She doesn't know the full extent of what is going on, such as how many people are in 7-Eleven, who are the criminals, whether they are armed or not, and how many hostages there are. Instead of running away and calling the police, she jumps head first into danger and thinks that she can stop the robbery with nothing but her 'smarts'.

Nora is also very much into girl-on-girl hate. In Hush, Hush and Crescendo this is seen through her confrontations with Marcie (which I can kind of understand) and her negative comments about her best friend, Vee. In Silence, Dabria is Nora's next victim. Dabria makes Nora feel jealous and insecure and the snide comments and confrontations that they have just because they both want to be with Patch is cringy and laughable. I don't understand why Nora can't be friendly with other girls and why other girls in the Hush, Hush series are portrayed negatively in comparison to her.

The Patch that I saw in Silence is the Patch that I wanted to see in Hush, Hush and Crescendo. Patch is mysterious and dangerous and has enough of a bad boy vibe to pull it off, but he also has a vulnerable side. Because Nora has amnesia, we see her falling in love with Patch all over again. When I usually read YA novels, lust or 'puppy love' is made to seem like epic-out-of-this-world love. But, I could believe that the love between Patch and Nora is genuine. His actions towards Nora and the way he treats her and cares for her shows the extent of his love for her. However, just because I like Patch in Silence, doesn't mean that I've forgotten what a jerk he was in Hush, Hush and Crescendo.

Silence is less about finding out who's the bad guy. We know who the bad guy is, but we don't know fully know what his intentions are. Silence focuses more on the impending war between fallen angels and Nephilim, but it's still a side-plot to Patch and Nora's romance. I like the tension and build-up in Silence and I hope that it leads to something explosive in Finale. I also enjoy the fallen angel and Nephilim lore. The angel ranking, the wing scars, devilcraft etc. are things that I've kind-of seen in other fallen angel novels, i.e. the foundations of the lore are similar, but its execution is unique and interesting to read about.

Out of the three books that I've read in the Hush, Hush series, Silence is the one that I enjoy the most. The characters actions actually make sense (well, everyone's actions but Nora's), Patch isn't so terrible and the events that unfold are interesting.

"I had no past, no future. Only a huge void that haunted me." (Nora Grey)

2.5 stars
Nora, wat was je leuk toen je nog geen geheugenverlies had. Ik weet niet wat er is gebeurd, maar ik was geen fan van deel drie van Hush, Hush. Ik vond Nora in het begin nog wel een oké personage, maar nu bleef ze dingen doen die ik maar niet kon begrijpen. Geeft ze eigenlijk wel om haar beste vriendin, of loopt ze echt alleen maar achter twee jongens aan die ze zich niet eens kan herinneren? En sinds wanneer is de voorheen gekenmerkte 'badboy' Patch opeens de enige die niet tegen haar liegt en wel logisch redeneert?

En als je dan even verder kijkt naar het cruciale moment op het laatste van het boek, er wordt over gedaan alsof het niets is. Je leest er bijna overheen. Beetje jammer dit...

[stefu1]

huge step up from the tragedy they call credendo (which was basically Nora whining the entire time).

I was wondering whether Patch would be human or Nora would become immortal so they could stay together forever

Like I said, a step up, plus I heard that this was supposed to be the last book, and I would actually be okay with that... zoo yeah, pretty good, okay book.

image:

definitely feeling the middle book syndrome vibe (where the author was basically doing the equivalent of busy work in school, (read: book wasn't i>really needed, but hey, still pretty decent.

[puchunga]

I love Patch even more than I did yesterday. Nora, you're really annoying, please just disappear. For real.

[tellemonstar]

Full review here
I enjoyed this one. Nora was a lot less annoying this time, and I could understand her determination for finding answers to her questions. So we uncover quite a few things about Hank Millar in Silence – like just how much of a ruthless jerk he is.
Part of it even leaves you feeling vaguely sorry for Marcie, which is a weird feeling, particularly given how bitchy she has been to Nora in the previous two novels. We also learn more about Patch – just how determined, ruthless and interesting he is. Most importantly we finally get to see Patch’s apartment. Swanky much, although in a typically Patch way, lots of blacks, navys and greys.
The ending was really good – certainly not the way Nora and Patch wanted it to end, but I guess it serves the author’s purposes for the final book. Silence was full of interesting reveals, somewhat creepy people and a fair bit of violence. I will be intrigued to see how it all gets tied up in Finale.

[Jo]

I absolutely love this series, so I was so excited to readthis book when it arrived! And I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed!

Nora was kidnapped eleven weeks ago, and has no memory of the last three months. Nothing but the image of black and some eyes. She has to start from scratch finding out about her life before she was kidnapped, and trying to piece together what happened. Who kidnapped her? And why can't she remember?

I can't tell you much more than that, because it's just all so interlinked, and I would end up spoiling it for you. But wow! It's clever! Nora has such a hard time; she's scared, and she has to meet several people all over again, trying to piece her life back together and believe the impossible. There is also the left over story of the Black Hand from Crescendo, and everything just comes together, and, oooh, is it good!

I'm really struggling trying to figure out what I can say, and I'm finding it really difficult. Because of the previous books, the reader knows a lot more than Nora does, and we're just rooting for her to remember,to fiige things out. But even so, there's still plenty of surprises for us. There's action, danger, or mystery around every corner, and I could barely put the book down, sitting n the edge of my seat the whole time! It's just brilliant. What's also lovely is seeing Patch and Nora together. Nora doesn't remember enough, so it's almost like staring out with him for the first time, and it's just so cute the way he is with her. It really is awesome!

There really isn't much else I can say without spoiling it for you. It's fast-paced and action packed, and just brilliant! A little different from the previous novels with Nora's amnesia, but just brilliant! And the ending is just incredible! And I'm so excited for fourth and final book in the series next year! I just know it's going to be amazing!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog

[Linda]

*sighs*
There were a few moments where I thought this book would be better than it's predecessors, but in the end it really wasn't.
Nora's amnesia was a very boring plot-devise, that was used to recount a lot of things the readers already knew from the first two books. Nora still was naive, and ran into danger head-first, without ever thinking of the consequences.
Blythe was a little more present, but that was mostly because someone was controlling her minde.
Patch was not around in the beginning of the book, but was very much present later.
I still don't understand where Ms. Fitzpatrick wanted to go with her story, and the ending is completely open, with more questions I don't reallyl mind not getting the answers to.

... I just noticed that there will actually be a fourth book - but not on MY kindle! Way to go to earn a frew extra bucks! Things could have been resolved in this book, if everythinng didn't have to be repeated because of Nora's amnesia...

[Cocktails and Books]

Nora Grey finds herself in a graveyard not sure how she go there or why. All she knows is that things are foggy, she's terrified and nothing seems they way it should be. So we learn Nora has been missing for the past three months, yet she has no memory of being gone those months or the two months prior. As if that wasn't enough trauma, she discovers her mother is now dating her mortal enemy's father, Hank Miller. The only thing that seems to calm her down are these dark eyes she sees in her mind. While those dark eyes should be terrifying, they comfort her in a way she can't explain.

Patch (or Jev as he's now known) tries to stick to the oath he swore when he struck his bargain with Hank Miller. He figured with Nora's memories of him gone, she'll be safe and lead a normal human life. But every time he turns around, she seems to be smack dab in the middle of the Nephilim / Archangel mess. When he discovers Hank has gone back on his word to leave Nora alone, he makes the decision to help Nora regain her memories, including those of him. He'd rather have her with him than lose her althogether.

Together Patch and Nora work to stop Hank in his quest to cause an Nephilim uprising against the Archangels, but the cost may be too high as those that Nora love become entangled in Hank's evil plan.

I think this is my favorite of the series. Nora has grown stronger and stands her ground, where before she would have whined. Because of this, I like her more. I wanted her to stand up to her mother, Hank and Patch. She was no longer anyone's stepping stone. In the end, I think it was the strength that led to her and Patch being better partners and strengthening their relationship.

Who doesn't love Patch. He's the ultimate bad boy turned good. While the traces of his badness showed up a lot more in this book, he only brought those out when trying to protect the one thing he loves...Nora. He's tries to be domineering with her when she won't listen to his version of reason, but he does listen to her and he doesn't demand from her like he did in the other two books. You can tell that the time away from Nora made him truly appreciate what he has with her.

Loved the suspense of this one and the all out evilness of Hank. I'm hoping some of that badness will move onto the next book...even if it's without Hank.

[Amber]

I love this series. How could anyone now like Patch after this book? I'm so in love.

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Review to come!