Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo is the second book in the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. It was released in Hardcover in the UK on 14th October 2010 by Simon and Schuster and it is 432 pages long. The paperback will be released on 2nd May 2011.

Plot

Nora’s life is far from perfect. She has a fallen angel/ guardian angel as a boyfriend and recently managed to escape being murdered. Things aren’t getting any better either. Patch, her boyfriend, is beginning to shy away from her and distance himself from the relationship. What Nora can’t figure out is why. He’s either trying to protect her from something or he’s interested in her arch enemy, Marcie.

The mystery of Nora’s fathers’ death gets more and more complicated when she begins to see visions of him. Patch isn’t answering any of her questions and she begins to doubt everything he has ever told her. Without him to rely on, Nora turns to a mysterious newcomer and an old acquaintance. Is she trusting the wrong guy or was she right all along?

What I thought
After loving so much about the first book in this series, Hush, Hush, I was dying to read Crescendo but having to wait so long for it was a complete killer. Sometimes with sequels like this, I end up feeling a bit let down but that certainly wasn’t the case with this one.

I was so happy to get back to Patch. Oh how I had missed his brooding badboyness! Although he was missing from this story quite a lot more than I would have preferred, he more than made up for it when he was actually around. Sometimes I really hate how much I love the bad boys because if I was looking down upon him and what he was doing, I would have wanted to slap him…hard. Now, I never thought I would ever say this but…I really kind of felt sorry for Nora. Not all of the time though mind you. The reason I felt sorry for her was because she truly didn’t deserve to be messed around at all.

Nora goes through a lot of changes in Crescendo but it makes me wonder if it was too many. Her character went back and forth many times in relation to how she felt about different people and what she was going to do about things. It would have been nice to see her stick with one decision or one idea for longer than five minutes. I know I sound like I’m beating down on her a little bit too much here but I think she needed more sense knocking into her. Nora is slowly growing to be quite a strong character and I think she is really going to come into her own soon and really begin to believe in how she feels and what she thinks she wants. Best friend Vee was doing a pretty good job of trying to get that done though so I have to applaud her for her consistency and her ability to kick Nora’s ass into gear at times. I’m totally Team Vee!

The story barely has time to get started when there are some quite steamy moments between Nora and Patch. I was getting myself all excited when I thought I was going to be getting a sizzling YA book. Unfortunately, the passion doesn’t last for very long and the heat simmers down very quickly. I would have loved for this excitement to have been carried on throughout the story but I realise I can’t ask for everything. Even though the passion calms down very quickly, there was more than enough to keep me happy and I understood why the story had to be this way.

New guy Scott definitely gave Patch a run for his money in the bad boy department. Scott has just moved back to town but no one really knows where he and his mum have been or why they are really back. Scott’s return brings up a lot of questions and they’re mostly ones that he isn’t willing to answer. He has some of the same characteristics as Patch; arrogance and way too sure of himself at times. The difference with these two characters is that I was always unsure of whether or not Scott was putting on an act whereas I truly believe that Patch loves himself. Knowing a little bit about Scott as a child made me think of him as cute but misunderstood, making him extremely likable. I can’t wait to find out more about Scott in book 3. He had such a large presence this time around so I keep my fingers crossed that there are more good things to come from him.

What I loved most about this book was that it was so unpredictable. Crescendo has so many plot twists and characters that are extremely mysterious and this made me feel like I never knew what was coming next. Just when I thought I knew how I could trust and what was going to happen, something completely shocking happens and I end up right back at square one again. Hush, Hush had some massive shocks but Crescendo pushes everything to the limit.

I was really happy to see more of the Nephilim history brought into the story. I do love a good background and historical information added in so this aspect of the book was perfect for me. It was so interesting to find out more about the Fallen Angels and what had been going on behind the scenes. When The Black Hand appeared, it added much more mystery and depth to the story, with many possibilities as to who he really was. Along with The Black Hand, the hints at what really happened to Nora’s Dad were fantastic and a great addition to the plot. Although quite a lot was explained, I still feel like there is a lot more to come in book 3.

Becca Fitzpatrick knows how to write a bloody good cliff-hanger. I thought the ending to Hush, Hush was pretty awesome but this cliff-hanger blew the other one out of the water. I would never have seen this ending coming in a million years and I sat staring at the book for a good while after finishing it. I was in a little bit of a state of shock I think, wondering how Becca could have done this to us all. Trust me, you will not be prepared for this ending.

Crescendo is so superior to Hush, Hush that it is quite insane. I really enjoyed the first book but was 100% in love with Crescendo. It is a rollercoaster ride of emotion, throwing you in every direction possible with a heart plummeting drop when you least expect it. I’m a bit scared of thinking about what lies in store in Tempest (book 3) if I go by this one. Becca Fitzpatrick, you amaze me!