BookAThonFreak: Crescendo (Hush Hush book #2) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Crescendo

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Published: October, 2010 by Simon and Schuster

Pages: 427
Series: Series #2 of the 'Hush Hush' books
Rating:3.5/5 stars

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it. A mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever (if that's possible) and what's worse, he seems to be spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.

If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

The book picks up with Patch and Nora just a few weeks after the ending of Hush, Hush — and while things seem idyllic at first, events quickly spiral out of control. Although the ‘Hush, Hush’ novel was okay....ish, I’ve had the second instalment to the series on my calibre for some time, but never felt that eager to pick it up, mostly because I had kind of forgotten what had happened in the first book. But I alas I did read and finish the book (well obviously, or otherwise there wouldn’t have been a review with the book’s title!). I found this book okay...ish too!

However, unlike the first book, where the plot was very simple and easy to follow, the story line in ‘Crescendo’ felt like it was all over the place, with different things happening all at the same time. It actually even felt like Nora (the heroine) was also feeling this complexity of the issue that she didn’t know where to look, what to think or what questions to answer. It seemed like Nora had just stumbled upon a great big ditch of bad luck and every worse possible scenario from different angles just kept hitting her. It also didn’t help that she was a pathetic character (blunt and straight-up...I know!), who didn’t know how to fend for herself, became sillier by the minute and what seems like consciously went out great lengths to get herself killed and always in the dark! Seriously, it just reminded me of those annoying horror films, where the characters deliberately go out into the dark wood. I mean, when someone who has just been discharged from the hospital from a serious injury on their arm, does not go out in the middle of the dark (when everyone is sound asleep in their bed) to investigate her suspicions despite being fully aware that someone is out there following her to kill her.

In terms of the romance department, safe to say that ‘Hush, Hush’ was a better treatment then ‘Crescendo’. During most of the book, Nora and Patch spend all of their time attempting to make each other jealous or spying on each other. Although, this does conjure up some sort of tension between the two, it was rather flat throughout most of the story. It actually didn’t seem like Patch, the moody, extremely handsome and quiet fallen-turned guardian angel, was trying at all in the so-called romantic parts of the story. What really annoyed me was that Nora always seemed to become weak and speechless whenever Patch came near her, which, granted most female characters in YA books are like that and it does give it the ‘umff’ feeling dealing with romance. However, I am positive no girl would go weak near the person who they used to love if they found out or even had their suspicions that they had killed one of their parents. I just don’t know why they have to be so weak! I was also annoyed at the secrets that Patch kept hiding from Nora and making it out, as if he was seeing someone else (which was kind of true), just to make Nora hate him, move on with her life and start afresh. I’m sorry, but why would you do that and except them to move on with their life if you keep popping up everywhere....even in their dreams?

I quite liked the new comer to the story, Scott and actually wanted the relationship between him and Nora to grow. But this didn’t happen and sadly, he disappeared before the readers got to know more about him.

Although I sound very cynical, there were some good aspects to the book too. I did find myself wanting to keep reading on, especially when Nora’s just about to be caught by someone when looking through their stuff (which happens about every 10 minutes).

However, I found myself like the ending of this book a lot. Becca left the readers on a very good cliff hanger. After the action packed drama a couple of pages before, everything seemed to be all good and sweet. However, because nothing makes a good ending then a cliff hanger......and let’s face it, we are talking about Nora’s never-dull life, the sweet atmosphere was quickly turned into one with anxiety. This ending made me want to carry on and read the third instalment; ‘Silence’, where hopefully all will be right and dull again in Nora’s life.

Notable quotes/passages:

Chapter 17: “ Faster and faster the images came, until they blended together in a strange collage of madness. The images seemed to lurch into reverse suddenly, travelling backward through time. All colour drained from the reel, until there was nothing but fuzzy black and white. It was then that I knew

I’d slipped into the other realm. I was dreaming”.