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hushedWhat: Hushed by Kelley York

Who: Entangled Publishing (Embrace)

When: November 11th 2013

How: Purchased.

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

4cats2Hushed is a book like none other I have ever read. It features a main character that has done some pretty despicable things, but … that you cannot help but care for, on some level.

Archer kills people in the belief that it will set his friend, Vivian, free from her tortured past. He doesn’t get a high from it, and he doesn’t find it pleasurable. He’s doing it because he thinks it’s what needs to be done.

And then Evan comes along. Oh, Evan. I loved that there was a conversation between Archer and Evan in which Archer asks why Evan likes him, because I was wondering that myself. From pretty early on, Evan is quite sure of what Archer has done, but he doesn’t condemn him for it. And he cares so much for Archer, and I couldn’t really figure out why. Archer isn’t the fluffiest kind of person, and he’s killed people.

But then … I cared for Archer, too. There were moments where he was just so vulnerable and broken, I couldn’t help but want things to go right for him. Which I guess is why this book is so good. Because it made me care for a person who, under any other circumstances, I would have detested. I don’t know if it’s because I got to read from his perspective, and, to an extent, understand why he was doing the things that he was (from his point of view).

I love the fact that this book isn’t a contemporary (although it’s set in contemporary times), AND it’s LGBTQIA+. We need more of this, but we also need exposure for the titles that are beyond the contemporary scope. If I didn’t do so much LGBTQIA+ YA fiction sleuthing, I might never have discovered this book, which would have been SUCH a shame because it’s awesome, and the ship is great.

Speaking of the ship, Archer is bisexual. So not only is Hushed an amazing book, but we have an MC that isn’t gay (because, let’s be real, gay YA is still years ahead of bisexual YA in terms of numbers and popularity). I loved that he didn’t go through the whole “oh my god, I like this guy, what the fuck am I gay, I’m not gay, we’re not gay” thing because holy dooly does that NOT need to be in every bisexual YA book. And Evan and Archer together are just so freaking cute, and I was wishing for a happily ever after for the two of them from the moment they met. AND there’s a sexy scene, and HALLELUJAH because let’s not even get into the lack of sex in LGBTQIA+ YA fiction.

Everything in Hushed comes to quite a nice conclusion, but to be honest I liked that. I liked that I wasn’t left hanging and wondering what happened to Archer, because I would have hated that. So yay for the actual and complete ending in this novel.

If you’re looking for a great LGBTQIA+ romance that isn’t straight (heh) contemporary, a gutsy thriller, or a narrator that will twist your mind around, then Hushed is the novel for you.

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning: murder, forced suicide, and non-explicit rape and domestic violence in this novel

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Posted on: December 12, 2015 • By: Chiara

9 Responses to Review: Hushed by Kelley York

  1. Kayla says:

    Oooo. I never heard of this one before and it sounds like I’ll have to read it! I really want to see what his reasoning is behind killing these people. And I honestly don’t recall if I’ll ever had the chance to read YA with a bisexual MC and that really disappoints me.

    • Chiara says:

      Yay! I really hope you do end up reading it, Kayla! It’s definitely worth it :D And yeah, there is definitely a dearth of bi MCs in YA, especially when it comes to good bi representation, as well.

  2. Um. Is it bad to say that from the description, Vivian sounds sort of bitchy? (I mean, more than sort of. The bitch factor is way over the top.) With that being said, though, I am grasping for more non-contemporary LGBT YA, and so I think I may have to pick this one up regardless of that. Perhaps. We shall see.

    • Chiara says:

      Oh, Topaz. You haven’t even MET Vivian yet. She is all kinds of terrible *shudders* I hope you do pick it up! Especially since it’s not contemporary LGBTQIA+ YA, and is all kinds of fabulously creepy.

  3. I’ve heard brilliant things about this one and am glad to hear you enjoyed it. Hushed looks nice and twisty, so will keep this in mind for when I feel like one of those. I know you’re always searching for non-contemporary LGBTQIA+ titles, so yay for finding one that wasn’t. It looks straight contemporary (double heh), so I’m interested to see what it’s like. Lovely review as always, lovely <3

    • Chiara says:

      So am I! I hadn’t actually seen anything about this book, so to find it was pretty fabulous :D It’s definitely not straight (can we triple heh?) contemporary, so it was doubly exciting to read this :D Thank you, darling <3

  4. Main characters that do somewhat despicable things are my favourite XD Also broken killers? PLEASE AND THANK YOU. (I mean, I don’t want to meet these people in real life, but I adore them in fiction so long as it’s not idealised.) This one seems to be quite cool — if I’m ever in a YA thriller mood I shall definitely check it out!

    PS: OMG did WordPress change something that all the names + etc are below the comment box now? It’s changed on like every single site I’ve visited today … but it’s pretty snazzy.

    • Chiara says:

      Ah, I really hope you get around to reading this one one day, Alyssa! And the killer definitely isn’t idealised at all. I am pretty sure you’re supposed to hate him, but I just couldn’t :O

      I think it did! I am not sure if I like it more, though XD

  5. […] One thing I really appreciated, in terms of queerness, was the fact that Archer never freaked out about being attracted to Evan. I am so over the sexuality awakening novels. So it was just really refreshing to read a book about a character who just accepted the fact that they are attracted to both sexes. AND it’s a thriller book, not a contemporary. Pretty much all the points to Hushed. *gives gold star* You can read my full thoughts on this book here. […]

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