Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2)

Crescendo (Hush,Hush #2)

By: Becca Fitzpatrick

Pub date: October 19th, 2010

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 further Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim bloodline 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?

summary from goodreads.com

My Rating: 3.5/5 

*Review is spoiler free for those who have read Hush,Hush, the first book in this series*

I love and adored Hush, Hush. It was the first novel I read which exposed me to the concept of fallen angels which I find beyond intriguing to say the least. As far as paranormal elements go, fallen angels are one of the most interesting to me. Naturally, even though I felt that Hush, Hush ended off quite well, I was elated to discover that there was a sequel in the works and that Hush, Hush would be comprised into a series.

Readers will be happy to know that Crescendo does a fantastic job of answering all of your questions. The whole mystery surrounding Nora's father's murder which I was dying to uncover in unveiled and I'm happy to say that I finished reading Crescendo with a lot more knowledge and understanding of what was going on as well as a hunger to know more and more. This book also poses many new questions and really although obviously connected to Hush, Hush, content wise, it is very different in the sense that so much introduced is  new.

Character wise, I have to say that Nora was very different. At first I wasn't sure what to make of the changes but seeing what she went through in the first novel and now this one, it's easy to see that she's naturally just evolved. I can't say that I'd be the same person either if I was thrust into her world and experienced what she has. Vee was just as hilarious in this novel as she was in the first. I always loved her character and she really is a great way to break the tension and get a good laugh in. Patch was in fine form as always. I'm still very fascinated by him (he's filled with secrets plus he has that whole brooding thing going on) I kind of have a love/hate relationship with him. One moment I think he's fantastic and sweet and the next; he's doing something that bothers me greatly.

The only problem I had with Crescendo revolved around Nora and Patch and their relationship. What is it about dating that turns some girls into crazy people? I mean, don't get me wrong, Nora had reason to feel as she did but the way she went about expressing these feelings rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that in order to make a suspense novel work, there need to be secrets which I'm all for but I just felt that in this book, so much conflict between Nora and Patch could have been understood quickly had Patch just said something! He wouldn't even have had to have said much but again, the way he went about it much like Nora, was just crazy to me. It's like he purposely made matters worse just for the heck of it and I really couldn't understand why he wouldn't just stand up for himself and explain.

I feel as if the main character is always kept in the dark (again, for novel purposes I get why this is) but at the same time, seeing as they're such a huge part of what is going on, I feel as if they deserve a right to know something, anything upfront. I kind of get caught up between looking at books from a novel/writing standpoint and from a reader's standpoint. I can justify why from a novel's standpoint Patch maintains so much secrecy (for pacing, for plot purposes etc) but as a reader, I can't really justify why he doesn't just speak up from time to time. He doesn't have to give away huge amounts of information but why not clear the air? Why keep digging yourself into a hole when there's no reason or need? I get he's mysterious I just can't justify this way of reasoning.

Really, I'm blabbering and you probably have no idea what I'm getting at. It's obvious that if I wrote a novel like this it would be ten pages long haha. ;)

Overall: Once everything is said and done, as a whole, I really liked this novel. There were parts that bothered me (see ranting paragraphs above) but it's a page turner and I couldn't wait to find out what was truly going on. Also, a fun little plus, you find out what Patch's real name is in Crescendo which I think was adorable. Actually, that whole scene was adorable. (refer back to love/hate relationship with Patch)
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A BIG thank you to Chelsy and Big Honco Media for providing me with an ARC!
Read my review for Hush, Hush here