Krista Reviews: Kelley York's - "Hushed"

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.

Every once in awhile you come across that story that you just don’t want to put down. This was one of those books for me. It was a page-turner that I found so intriguing. The description above tells more of the story than what I was originally going to touch on in my review. I intended on doing a little teaser about Archer and his feelings for Evan, but it really lays it all out for you. What the description only gives hints at, is how much this book really shows a deeper look at relationships than the angsty teenage love we see so much of in books today. Although part of that may be that these characters are in college and the time for angst has passed, for the most part.

Archer and Vivian’s relationship has been getting stronger since they were young. There is just as much as a brotherly love her for has there is physical attraction. He has decided that by killing off all of the people that have ever hurt her, that she will eventually be able to take control of her life and live a better one, hopefully with him. She has not had a very good life, and now finds herself in an abusive relationship.

Every time something happens to her, she runs to Archer for support and comfort, but never for love. When Archer finds a friend in Evan, the fact that Vivian may never love him the way he loves her, has started to become realized. When he opens his mind up to how much Evan cares, his own emotional needs are finally getting to be met.

The murder scenes become more intense as well as each one happens. Archer has been carefully planning for a long time, how to make them all look like accidents. He is very calm when questioned by the police because of his connections with all of the people and until things start getting out of control we see a very calm and intellectual person in Archer. But as his hit list becomes shorter and his attraction to Evan becomes stronger, things begin spinning out of control, fast.

It was like watching a movie, the events and plot twists all add up to an intense and unexpected ending. A deep story about relationships, family and hate.

Paperback, 260 pages

Expected publication: December 6th 2011 by Entangled Publishing

ISBN 139781937044749