Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away, and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch, or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?
Title: Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Format: ARC, 427 pages
Genre: young adult, paranormal romance
Source: review copy
Published: October 19, 2010 by Simon & Schuster
Buy the book: The Book Depository | Amazon
Find the author online: website | blog | twitter | facebook
Why I Read this Book: Ever since I read Hush, Hush last year (which I really enjoyed), I’ve been dying to read Crescendo. A year seemed like too long of a wait but the time has arrived! And let me just state for the record, I re-read Hush, Hush (in 24 hours nonetheless!) before cracking open Crescendo. That is so unlike me to re-read a book! But I don’t think I would have been able to make it through Crescendo without doing so. It was a nice refresher because I had really forgotten a lot of what happened in Hush, Hush since I read it a year ago.
The spooky thing about this all: I read Hush, Hush (the first time) and re-read it on the exact same day, one year apart. I didn’t realize this until after I had finished reading it the second time. I had started reading it on 10/17 and finished on 10/18, both times. Freaky!
What I Liked: The writing is good. The author took me through a range of emotions, good and bad. There was many a time where I wanted to throw this book at the wall because of either Nora’s emotions or her actions.
The suspense was killing me! Crescendo is definitely a page turner. I was glued to the book trying to find out what was going on.
Another thing I was pleased to find out in Crescendo: Patch’s real name.
What I Didn’t Like: Nora and Patch frustrated me to no end, mostly Nora with her being so naïve. There are many situations and circumstances that I will not go into because they will give part of the story away. But I will say that her emotions completely took over her sense of reasoning. She acted irresponsibly and erratically throughout most of Crescendo. I’m kind of upset with the way things left off between Nora and Patch in regards to their relationship. The author evoked such strong, unfavorable emotions from me towards these two characters.
Patch’s reasoning at the end of the book did not justify his actions, especially his involvement with Marcie. Patch caused Nora so much grief, so much pain. This was another cause of frustration for me.
Overall Impression: I liked Crescendo; I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Hush, Hush. Becca Fitzpatrick throws in a killer cliffhanger ending which has me anxiously awaiting Tempest, the third book in this series. I was also left with quite a few questions that were left unanswered. Questions I hope will be answered in the next book, which I will definitely be reading.
The Book Vixen’s Rating:
Totally agree with you on this one. It such a disappointment for me - though after Hush, Hush maybe I has unrealistic expectations. The whole Patch & Marcie thing rubbed me the wrong way too. I know the Marcie thing had to be added somehow but this book was blah for me. I am however still eager to read the next one & see how she wraps it all up :)
ReplyDeleteI just won a copy of Hush Hush in a giveaway, so I'm very interested and thankful for this review.
ReplyDeleteIs this a trilogy or do we not know?
Heather - I have no idea if this will be a trilogy or a series. Becca's website only lists 3 books as of now.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more! I actually threw the book down in the hopes it would knock some sense into Nora in the process:) Just like you I enjoyed it overall, but not as much as Hush, Hush. Still looking forward to book 3 though:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you guys, i adored hush hush, but i didn't feel like the patch i loved was still there, the way he treated macie and Nora really pushed me and Nora was beyond idiotic and made so many mistakes! but like you all the ending has me wanting more, look forward to the third, great review chick :)
ReplyDeleteJenny - LMAO!!!
ReplyDeleteI do hear a lot of people complaining about Nora, and I am sure I would too. Still great review, and I do want to read it one day
ReplyDeleteI ended Hush hush a couple days ago... And it's a great book... I'm waiiting for start this one.... And now, I need reading it!!!
ReplyDeleteI want to know about Patch and Marcie... :(.... And obviously, I need to know about Nora!!!!
Great review!!
Oh no. Hush, Hush was a 5 for you, and this one was a 3.5. Hush, Hush was a 1.5 for me, so Crescendo would be a zero. I will DEFINITELY be avoiding this one. If Nora and Patch worked your nerves, I would probably go nuts and have to reach through the book and kill them. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteLike often with this series, I would have rated Crescendo and Hush,Hush differently. I really enjoyed Crescendo. For once, Nora wasn't as annoying as I thought she was in the first book and Patch wins me over. It took time !
ReplyDelete