Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush Hush Book 2)

(Buy it HERE)

The sequel to the New York Times Best selling phenomenon, Hush, Hush!

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described 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?

I have to say that I finished this book in one day. It was a page turner, but I can't say that it was for all the right reasons. As I was reading the book, I was left in a constant state of anger. At one point I cried with Nora as Patch was being a complete jerk. With that being said, you don't get a happy story with this one, by chapter two that's pretty much shattered. The extreme feelings were a good thing as the author was able to portray them, but in a sense back fired as I wouldn't read this book again as it made me irate.

Nora does start seeing things in a different light, but in one page flies off the handle into left field leaving you in the state of "WHAT???" Then in retaliation to that, Patch also comes from left field. He does things in the whole book, that maybe as an older reader, were completely infuriating. And there was no real, honest explanation, only a fall back one you know is coming. This doesn't (in my book) even begin to cover the stuff he does to Nora. (Does being a guardian angel involve always kissing and making out with your charge?) On one hand I tried to think of it as "Boys think different than girls. What isn't a big deal to them is HUGE to us. That's the point she's trying to prove." But it made me mad like no other, especially at the end when the reasoning was weak at best.

There are several new twists and turns in this book that leads you into the next one (Silence due out Oct 2011). You get to see into Patch's history a little more. Nora finds out some shocking things in her past. Rixon and Marcie become major characters in the book, both adding to the ongoing plot. While Vee is still the best friend, at times you wonder where her loyalties truly lie. (One portion in particular I was left standing with a 'huh?' because if my best friend did that, we wouldn't be best friends any more.)

This is why it took me an extra day to do the review. I still have pretty harsh feelings for the treatment of Nora and her acceptance of it. But all in all I would say read it once as it is what I call a "bridge" book. There will be things you need to know for the next one. I hope the next book has the characters and format return to what drew me to this series in the first place.