Laura’s Review of Hush Hush #1 by Anneliese Vandell

Synopsis

           Fifty Shades of Grey meets Revenge in this tantalizing new series about a young woman who’s willing to do anything in the name of vengeance.

           Something terrible happened to April Morrison when she was eleven years old. When she returns home to New Orleans fourteen years later as “Sophia,” she has only one word on her mind: revenge. She’s got her eye on Charles and Barbara Hawthorne, the crowning jewel of New Orleans’ elite and the ones responsible for turning her life upside down.

           Enter Liam Hawthorne, the couple’s successful, strikingly handsome, and irresistibly dominant thirty-two year old son. When Liam makes a provocative proposal, it occurs to April that he may be just the “in” she needs. But what she doesn’t bargain for is Liam’s insatiable—and thrilling—sexual appetite. And as Liam begins to test April’s limits, she realizes that appearances are not what they seem.

            This book is intended for mature audiences.

What I Loved

          The premise of this book is really good, and definitely sucks you in to an intriguing story of lust and revenge.  You first meet April at a Country Club in New Orleans trying to set her plan of revenge in motion, posing as one of the well-to-do while getting a read on the Hawthornes.  That’ s when we first meet the intriguing and mysterious Liam, from the very beginning there is something kind of dark about this handsome man and that instantly made me want more of him.  Anytime there was a scene he was in, I was giddy with excitement and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. 

          April has definitely been hurt from the past, and lives for the day the people that have wronged her pay for what they have done.  She is a determined young woman who sees Liam Hawthorne as her way into the Hawthorne’s circle but also distracting because she’s so attracted to him.  The sexual chemistry between them is instantaneous which hooked me immediately to this story and I couldn’t wait to see where that would take this story. 

          I liked that the back story of April was laid our pretty quickly yet still leaves you with lots of questions.  It built a great character foundation but still left you guessing, and I love unpredictable stories.  The development of April was awesome, and the same can be said for the character of Liam as well.  Of course Liam is still a very mysterious character, but you still know where he’s coming from and why he is the way he is.  That definitely says a lot about how the author developed this story and its characters, that part of the book made this a very enjoyable story.

Not So Much

          The entire time I read this story, April just seemed like a fish out of water and her plan for revenge just being way above of her head.  I don’t like the fact that she just doesn’t seem very smart at all, and has no real solid plan what she is going to do with the Hawthorne’s once she gets on their good side.  She makes a lot of stupid moves which made me lose respect for her character time and time again.  She’s very much out of her element, and that kept me from being completely engrossed in this story.  The same can be said for her cousin Miranda who is her mentor when it comes to this plan of revenge.  April has no problem that her own family member is a con artist and tricks people out of their money and whatever she can get out of them.  It’s not even an issue that’s ever addressed which really annoyed me.  I get that Miranda is family and took April in when she was little, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that she does horrible things to people for a living. 

          The lack of details kind of annoys me too at times, because there was so much wonderful details when it came to New Orleans itself, but the same type of detail was not paid to other parts of the story.  I know Liam has short wavy hair and blue eyes, but what color is his hair?  I know that April has mousy brown hair but I don’t know if she’s short, skinny, eye color, nothing.  I don’t like when there isn’t consistency when it comes to details and it was apparent to me very much in this book.

To Sum It All Up!

          The premise is awesome, and the characters are very intriguing, but I wish that the story was smarter in a lot of ways.  What makes Revenge such an awesome show is how cunning and smart Emily (Amanda) is and how covers every single detail and has done years of research.  April makes one stupid move after the next which just highlights her stupidity rather than her courage. I would’ve liked more detail and see more depth to April’s plans, hopefully that will begin to happen as this series continues.  The sexual tension between Liam and April is palpable and really pours off the pages, but there isn’t a sex scene until the very end of this story which was disappointing.  I get that Liam dabbles in BDSM, but the plot barely touched upon it and didn’t go into detail at all about what kind Dominant Liam is and what he likes to do.  I do think I will read the next in this series just to see what happens next, because I can honestly say I have no idea how this plot will end and I do enjoy not being able to predict it.  But I do need something more to hold my attention, the plot needs to deepen and things need to pick up to keep me wanting to read more.