Book Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Yes, it's been a while since I read a YA book and I was excited to pick up Becca Fitzpatrick's novel Hush, Hush as the cover has drawn me in for quite some time. There's just something about the YA genre. I suspect it's the constant yearning you feel as an adult reading stories about forbidden love. So often we reach out and take what we want from life, yet in the teenage world we spend our time wishing, hoping that we could do what the bravery of our adult selves take without thought.
Hush, Hush isn't an entirely unexpected novel. Like most of the YA genre we find ourselves following the story of a young girl, in this case, lanky, curly-haired Nora with a sharp intellect yet entirely dim-witted approach to matters of the heart. Cue the overly vibrant best friend, Vee, and the mysterious, dark-haired and obviously handsome lab partner, Patch, and you have the makings of most YA novels.
In this predictable story of boy meets girl, we spend at least the first half of the book following Nora on a trail of confusion and misplaced trust issues. Patch obviously has an agenda, but unlike most teenage girls ecstatic to have the hottest guy in class paired up with them during biology, Nora spends most of her time thinking of ways to avoid him. She sees him everywhere, is obviously attracted to his persistence, yet continues to label him as dark and dangerous, instead of seeking answers ... or body warmth (just saying, seriously hot guy alert).
As new, more sinister characters are introduced, we start to see a more clearly defined picture of where the story is heading. Without giving too much away, Nora finally begins to understand the roles of those around her, relinquish her trust issues, and push aside her pointless resistance to what her heart clearly yearns.
For me, Hush, Hush's characters were a little too predictable. Nora was sedate, and to be honest - boring as the protagonist. Patch, however, was interesting. A fallen angel with a past peppered with violence, hate and temptation - he was worth reading the novel. He was constantly shrouded in mystery and just hint of the darkness we readers love in our bad boys. I would have loved to see the author write the book from his perspective.
The writing style itself has good descriptive content and the interaction between characters was consistent and easy to follow. Due to the fairly benign story-line and protagonist, I cannot rate this novel as high as I would have liked despite Patch's roguish appearances and witty sarcasm. Three out of fangs is all I can go. I liked the story, but I didn't love it.

Synopsis:
When Nora and Patch are forced together as lab partners, Nora would rather fall to her death than put up with his elusive answers to her questions, his teasing, and his infuriatingly handsome face and hypnotizing eyes. It seems Patch was put on earth just to drive her crazy.
But before long, Nora's defenses start to break down as her curiosity about Patch heats up. Why does he always seem to be wherever she is and know exactly what she's thinking? How does he know what to say to both attract and repulse her? And what is up with those V-shaped scars on his chiseled back?
As their connection grows stronger, Nora's own life become increasingly fragile. Nora needs to decide: is Patch the one who wants to do her harm or the one who will keep her safe? Has she fallen for one of the fallen?