BR: Crescendo

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

4 out of 5 stars

You can read my review on Hush, Hush here

After reading the first book in this series, Hush, Hush, I couldn't wait to get back to my dark and unpredictable Patch. So yesterday I sat down with this book expecting an engaging YA read.

And that's exactly what I got. I read this book just like it's predecessor in one sitting. In this instalment Patch and Nora go through a hard time. The archangels are interfering and making it almost impossible for them to be together. We also learn more about the mysterious death of Nora's father and the war between the fallen angels and Nephelim.

This is a rather dark book for a young-adult novel. For the greatest part it focusses on Nora's relationship with Patch, and the problems between them. Nora can't seem to make up her mind if she wants to stay with him or if she wants him completely gone out of her life. Some people might find this struggle annoying, but I thought it was a spot-on display of trying to chose what's good for you while you know in your heart you want something else. At one point or another we all feel like Nora. Sometimes it is just impossible to make such a choice.

Nora does a lot of things I wouldn't want my daughter to do. She is unsupervised the whole book, and this shows in her actions. She constantly gets herself in danger that could easily have been avoided. Luckily, she has one hell of an angel that has made it his goal to try to keep her safe. And he doesn't get a day's rest from his task.

The character that made me smile throughout the book was Nora's best friend Vee. She's always there for her with a cheesy remark. I also liked the fact they always seem be talking about food. At one point Vee actually makes Nora carrying a hot dog on one of their reckless break and enter-missions. This was so absurd it made me laugh just picturing the situation.

I really liked this book. It was nicely paced, enough plot twists to keep you interested and some new characters to spice things up. The only thing that really annoyed me was the cliffhanger ending. Why, oh why do writers always do that to us! Now I have to wait another year until the next part, Tempest, comes out...

Blurb

Feisty teen Nora Grey somehow survived the crises of Hush, Hush!, but dangers just as frightening loom in this standalone sequel. Patch, her guardian angel and love interest, appears to have a dark side and a wandering eye. Worse yet, he seems intent on obstructing Nora as she hunts for the truth behind her father's mysterious death.

Updating..

O my, it's almost Christmas, and pre-Christmas time always brings so much to do! For some reason it always seems those two last months of the year you have more obligations than those ten other months together. So, I'm behind on my review work *ashamed*, but I also have some very exciting news!

More reviews coming up for The Romance Reviews, including:

More YA reviews, including:

This blog's first guest posts and interviews!

And last but not least, my very first giveaway!

It will be international so anyone can join in on the fun.


So stick around for some more updates in this very busy time!

BR: Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Read this in one night. It is a fun and quick read, you get sucked in immediately. I don't get all the Twilight comparisons. It is nothing like Twilight. Twilight, to be honest, quite sucked. This was fun. Patch (what I think is quite a cute name) is damn hot. Wish I could touch his back too..

Fitzpatrick has created a world that's quite believable. I was glad it didn't resemble Fallen too much. It starts off the same; mysterious boy at a school that seems unreachable. But where Daniel is really rude, Patch is just being distant, but he is never mean to Nora. He is a tease, but who doesn't like a hot guy teasing you...

The process of Nora accepting that Patch isn't human, and that angels do exist was a bit rushed in my opinion. She only deals with Patch being unhuman, not with that the Bible was right and her whole world is upside down. Shouldn't she doubt what else is real if angels are real? I think this is one of the great gaps in the story.

The Nephelim lore was interesting. I haven't read a lot of books that focus on angels, so it felt quite new for me. It is refreshing to read something different than the old vamp/were stuff. I would like to read more about angels, they are quite interesting (and hot!).

You can just feel the chemistry between our couple. Patch cares for Nora from the beginning of the story, and Nora slowly grows into it. The development wasn't rushed and felt natural. She acts very like her age, which I think is quite an achievement. You see her slowly admitting her feelings for Patch, even though he is dangerous and she knows nothing about him. She does some irresponsible things, but who doesn't at that age? I liked that even though Hush, Hush is a young-adult book they don't act like sex doesn't exist. It isn't that implicit and in-your-face, but you can tell Nora wants more from Patch than just a little kiss.

Okay, the ending might be predictable, we all knew this would be the best solution, but it was sweet. Now we can read more about our new favourite angel-human couple. Give me part two!