BOOK REVIEW: Hush, Hush by Lucia Franco

Hush, Hush by Lucia Franco is a story about two best friends living it up in NYC.

Aubrey and Natalie are college roommates, addicted to money and designer clothing, and are having the time of their lives. A pretty clear picture of this life is painted when they go out on the town for Aubrey's 21st birthday.

"It's time to pregame," she says dropping a pill into my hand.

"We're celebrating this birthday in true New York City fashion--with a few shots and some Molly.
"I'm gonna need to find a hot rando tonight if this is what we're doing."

Naturally, this type of lifestyle lends itself to risky behavior -- and lots of it. It also leads Aubrey to cross paths with James Riviera. Thirty years her senior, James is an attractive, incredibly wealthy, and well-known attorney. He also happens to be married.

But... married, shhhmaried.

Right?

As it turns out, James and his wife have an understanding... of sorts. This is good news for Aubrey, as it momentarily soothes her weak conscience when she can't stay away from him. Unfortunately, the good news stops there and a surprising revelation flips her world upside down. With more than just her heart at stake, Aubrey must decide how far she's willing to go to live a double life and keep the first man she's ever truly wanted.

MY TAKE

Despite having no knowledge of the subject matter and never having read another book by this author, I requested an ARC from the publisher. Why did I do this? Well, the synopsis and teaser photos intrigued me. They reminded me of Gossip Girl, and I love me some Gossip Girl.

Much to my dismay, it didn't take long for me to realize HUSH, HUSH isn't anything like Gossip Girl. Nevertheless, I still really wanted to like this book. I hate writing negative reviews for ARCs (especially when I reached out to the publisher to personally request it), which is why I never gave up on it (even though I wanted to about a million times).

The first half of HUSH HUSH is pretty brutal. Nothing happens. Seriously. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. Aubrey doesn't meet "the hero" of this series until CHAPTER 21.

TWENTY-ONE, you guys!

The twenty chapters before that are filled with nothing but page after page of inane and/or whiny dialogue.

"I could be every man's wet dream."

"Real recognizes real," she says with such a heavy Bronx accent in the back of her throat.
"Say no more. I got you, girl."

"I really don't want to fold clothes tomorrow."
"I really don't want to go to class tomorrow."
"I really don't want to babysit these bratty kids all weekend."

It was so very hard for me to power through these chapters, but things get a little better after Aubrey meets James.

REVIEW BREAKDOWN

GENRE:   New Adult

TROPE:   Forbidden Love 
POV:       First Person

***This book contains taboo subject matter***

OVERALL: ❤️❤️

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👩👩👩

STORY LINE: 📚📚

STEAM FACTOR: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

ANGST: 😒😒

PRO: well-written, hot and steamy scenes
CONS: shallow characters, slow moving plot, repetitive, casual drug use

I know that HUSH, HUSH was written for a younger audience. With that said, there are many authors who have managed to write similar books without glamorizing drug use. I'm not talking about a little pot. I'm talking about drugs like MDMA (aka molly, aka ecstasy), cocaine, and oxy. The opioid problem in this country is bad enough already. Characters who pop prescription pain pills (without consequence), as if it's the answer to their every problem, is not something we need right now.

I was tempted to give this book a one-star rating for this reason alone.

TO SUMMARIZE

This book isn't for everyone (it certainly wasn't for me), as it's centered around a taboo subject that will likely turn off some readers. Worst of all, the blurb doesn't mention the taboo subject matter or provide a trigger warning to potential readers. Other authors have tackled the same subject a bit more delicately than Franco. It's all about how the subject matter is initially presented, and it's poorly executed here.

*A big thank you goes out to the author for granting me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. The thoughts expressed in this review are my own personal opinions and have been written in my own words.