Monday, October 11, 2010

CRESCENDO Review



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?

From Goodreads.com

SPOILER ALERT If you have not yet read Hush, Hush, I would recommend not reading this review. Because it is a review of the book's sequel, it will include details from Hush, Hush that will spoil that book, but I will not spoil Crescendo.

I loved Hush, Hush. Honestly, I thought it was the perfect book, though it had many loose ends. This sequel is something I've been waiting on for a while. This being said, let me move on with my review.

It is extremely difficult for me to provide any more summary of the book than what's written up there from Goodreads.com because there is so much going on, and anything I say may spoil it, so I'm going to skip right past all that and simply move on to what I thought about the book.

I had high expectations. Very high expectations because Hush, Hush was wonderful. This book did not disappoint, though it is different from the first. Crescendo is to action as Hush, Hush is to romance. In the first book, the action remained in the background of Nora's love for Patch. In Crescendo, the romance takes the back burner as the novel is filled with heart pumping action that keeps you reading the book.

I will be honest. At first, I was disappointed with the lack of romance in the book, but here's the best part. Two words that come up in nearly every YA review. Love. Triangle.

About time! Anyone out there reading the books and thinking Patch was a bit too much, almost like the sparkly glitterpire in another hit YA series? Were you looking for the underdog, some tension in Nora's love life, something? Apparently, Becca Fitzpatrick isn't just an excellent author, but she's also a mind reader.

Though, like I said, the romance takes a back seat, it's still there, smoldering and festering, waiting for its turn on the stage, and when the romance jumps in, wow. That's simply all I can say. Wow. If you wished Patch was real while reading the first book, just wait for this one!

As always, Nora and Patch are strong characters, though, in this book, we get to know some of the more minor characters in a great way that enhances the plot. I can't say anything more on this topic without screaming out the conclusion of the book.

And while we're on the topic of conclusions, let me take this moment to warn every reader. Don't read the final page of Crescendo in public. The book should come with a stamp that reads.
WARNING: Final chapter may cause screaming, kicking, crying, looking around for "lost pages," turning of book into projectile and uncontrollable exclamations of WHY, BECCA FITZPATRICK, WHY? Read at your own risk.

That being said, I can't say anything more.

Rating: A


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