Beautifully written and moving, I found this novel both hilarious and heartbreaking. It will make your heart soar and leave you completely captivated within its pages. I loved the three dimensional relationships and the raw honesty around motherhood.

A superb novel, hugely impressive debut. Hush examines the complexities of one woman's life as she has a child, alone, something she's always wanted, only to find the birth of her son feels alien, shutting her out of a vibrant work life she loved so much and changing her identity. This is an honest, raw and engrossing story, a love letter to NYC and ambition, the difficulties of motherhood and family. I was completely drawn into Stevie's world, her sadness, her shifting confusion of wants and needs.

Wow! To say I was gripped by this novel is an understatement. It’s a beautifully written book which tells the story of Stevie, a woman who goes it alone on the journey of having a child, and the pain and challenges that go with it. This is bound to strike a chord with many readers for whom this resonates personally but the broader story about a family’s dynamics and long kept secrets will resonate more broadly still. I was surprised that this was the novelist’s debut as she has such a command of prose, deftly and delicately painting the psychodrama in a way that never feels heavy handed. This is bound to be a book club favourite of 2022 and I look forward to more from Maxwell.

I listened to the audiobook which has excellent narration throughout. I wish I could give this title more than 5 stars. It’s an exceptional debut from a gifted writer who has packed a lot of emotional content into this multi generational tale. I was particularly drawn by the artwork on the cover (of the audiobook); it created an immediate sense of place. The story switches between New York and London and the central character is Sadie. She’s talented, single, late thirties and wants a child. But she’s not keen on having a man in her life. Sadie is pivotal to every scene in the narrative; her friendships, employer, sisters, parents and others all shape her life in different ways. She moves to NY where she has an elder sister who’s successful but troubled. There’s another sister in the UK who is the parents’ favourite. This is very much character driven as Kate Maxwell explores Sadie’s conflicts, challenges and dilemmas. This isn’t my usual genre; I usually go for psychological thrillers, crime, historical fiction or non fiction. But Hush is so beautifully written, I was immediately invested in Sadie’s life and more than once my heart went out to her as she tried to overcome challenges. There’s a brilliant twist at the end which I didn’t see coming and the plotting throughout is accomplished. This is an amazing debut and I’ll be looking for more from this talented writer.

Beautifully written. It deals with heavy subjects with a light touch: friendships, family, love in all its forms and walking the tightrope of being a new mother. But it’s naturally written and not preachy. Recommend