The Hush by Skye Melki-Wegner Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN:978-1-5107-1248-5 This is part three of the Once Upon A Book Club reviews. If you missed what OUABC is, I will include a link here: pickupabooktoday.weebly.com/fun-book-stuff/once-upon-a-book-club to the original review. This is the last review I plan on doing regarding these crates. I figure two books in should really give a feel for how accurate they are with creating a interactive experience, as well as if the price is worth it. But of course, the first bit I am going to review is the book itself. The Hush isn't exactly a book that spoke to me when I saw it. But man did the story actually turn out to be quite intriguing. Hats off to Skye Melki-Wegner, you really created something different here. In this world the author has blended a mix of magic, old western, and mythological creatures. I know. NONE of that sounds like it should be put together into one world, but here we are! When I say old western you should think: ranches, sheriffs, saloons, pistols, plantation owners, and public executions. Oh, and rough-country accents in little towns with dirt streets. When I say mythological creatures, I'm talking about Pegai and Griffins. Not kidding. And then there's magic. The center of it all. In this world musical instruments are a man's greatest weapon, if they know what they're doing. Of course, they shouldn't know what they're doing unless they're Songshapers. People who have spent seven years at the Conservatorium learning about music and Music. Yes, Music with a capital M is very much different! It is a form of sorcery. It is the ability to cast spells and create things by playing music. For instance the lighting in this world are Sorcery Globes, little balls that glow with a distinct spell and color. To a trained person they can hear the music used to create the spell if they touch the globes! Sounds insane, right? It definitely gets crazier. If you're caught playing Music without a license you are a blasphemer and will be put to death for illegal Music. This is where we introduce Chester, a teen around the age of 16, roaming from town to town playing his fiddle for cash. All the while he's searching for answers on his father's disappearance. Now, Chester, being a poor small town boy, cannot afford special training, and so he knows nothing about creating Music. But it doesn't seem to stop him from slipping into, what is called, The Song. It is the beat of the world, it makes everything go round, but no one is allowed to disrupt the song or play into it. For an unlicensed and untrained boy to be able to touch the song... well, let's just say that's dangerous. Inevitably Chester is discovered and despite it being a complete accident, he ends up on the run from the law. Thanks to a rough young man helping him escape his execution, Chester now finds himself a part of a group called the Nightfall Gang, which is this world's version of Robin Hood. They only steal from the rich, truly distribute most of it back to the poor/needy, AND they only rob the rich who deserve it. They are notorious and are never caught thanks to the the Hush. The Hush is like another version of our world. Except its dark and filled with magical deposits, from all the spells being created, creatures that are dangerous and can destroy anything they touch, and in general an environment that cannot be trusted not to shift and kill you. As Chester is strung along with the gang and given a specific role in their most important heist ever, he still seeks answers about his father's disappearance. Could all the answers be found at the location of the gang's biggest robbery ever? And will he make it out alive? The chances are stacked against him when his own team seems to be keeping things from him. The Captain is a beautiful woman, stealthy and very capable. Dot the technician and an inventor/Songshaper, Travis a talented actor and medical examiner, and then there's Sam, the rough emotionally unstable boy who saved Chester's butt to begin with. Each one with their own background and reason to be in the Nightfall Gang, each one waiting for this heist with baited breath. But what will they find waiting for them? The answers they find may not be what they are expecting. And what if everything you think you know is a lie? How do you proceed with the rest of your life... well, if you live long enough for that to be possible. Honestly, I think this is a very interesting story. I found myself very much on edge waiting to see what was going to happen next. Hoping for a blossoming romance and holding my breath when the inevitable dangers struck the gang! I think The Hush is a story most people can enjoy and I sort of have a feeling the ending was left with the possibility of this world being returned to at some point. But I could be wrong. Now, if you've stuck with me then you must be ready to hear how Once Upon A Book Club did with their crate for this story. Here is the book and all the things that came with the crate. Alright, now the gist of this is as you come across the pages on the gifts, you will find a sticky note telling you to open your gift. It's supposed to be interactive to the story, so you should be receiving gifts that properly fit with something going on in the story. Here's what was in those packages! How do I feel about the gifts that were in this crate. Well, I have to say they are all accurate to the story and well put together. For instance, next to the book on the left hand side, there is a candle. In a photo below you can see the lid where they put their own scent label on it so that it was fitting to the story. That was pretty clever and the candle smells really good, lol. The glowing orb is my personal favorite. It is Once Upon A Book Club's take on the sorcery lamps. Ah, see there was a reason I mentioned those earlier! The cleft note (Oh, man, if I got that wrong my husband's family is going to come for me!) tattoo was also relevant to the story and perfectly placed in the book. The same thing can be said with the little blackboard. Now the last gift is that red case it has a necklace inside of it. (You can see it better in the picture below.) I thought the case the necklace was sent in was very clever and the jewelry itself was also very fitting to the story. Overall, I feel with this crate there was more of a push to make sure the gifts were relevant to the story rather than that they were spiffy or "shiny". If you saw my last review on The Daughter of a Burning City, than you saw that the gifts were fitting and flashy and their price definitely added up. I feel with this crate it was a little less exciting but everything was completely relevant and appeared to be good quality. So there you have it. That's two crates that I can say they definitely did their research and tried hard to make it interactive to the story. My compliments to them and I look forward to the next crate I receive. I think the crates over all are going to be hit or miss depending on how you feel about the story. To each their own, but I do hope you guys got some enjoyment out these reviews and maybe even decided to get one for your loved one OR yourself! Spoil yourself! Read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's library. As always, there will be links to the authors pages below, as well as OUABC. Referral link to Once Upon A Book Club
https://onceuponabookclub.cratejoy.com/refer/Miran-FUXHWZMI
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December 2018
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