Book Review: Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick

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 and, even worse, he's started 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.
Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations as she searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts. - From the inside jacket of book.

Crescendo is the sequel to Becca Fitzpatrick's international bestseller, Hush, Hush. Hush, Hush is one of my favourite books, and Crescendo doesn't fail to live up to that.

I'd been waiting for Crescendo ever since I read Hush, Hush last year, and as soon as I got it, I wanted to read it. Took me a few days to finish what I was reading at the time, then, I devoured it. I read it in 2 sittings, and I could quite happily go and sit on the sofa and read it all the way through again, right now.
In this book, Patch is no longer a fallen angel, but a guardian angel to Nora. But, as their relationship becomes a bit rocky, Nora finds Patch is drifting away, and spending more and more time with her enemy, Marcie Millar. So she's drawn to Scott Parnell, and old family friend with a secret, and Nora has a feeling that she's not going to like what she finds. She discovers things that she doesn't want to discover, and because of this, puts herself in more and more dangerous situations, thinking that she can find the answers. But she can't. The answers that she's looking for may be better staying as secrets, as the truth could destroy her life.

Hush, Hush was more about Nora and Patch's relationship, and their human/angel connection, whereas Crescendo is more than that. There are romantic, family and friendship problems, and Crescendo is a lot darker and more mature than Hush, Hush, which is fitting.

Crescendo brings up the topic of Nora's father's death, which seems perfectly normal. But, as you get further into the book, we see Nora getting more and more doubtful that this is the case. What happened to him, and why? Who did it, and could it have been prevented? These are the questions running through Nora's head, and you find yourself caught up in the mystery of Mr Grey's death. It is an awesome little subplot, and it's woven into the main plotline perfectly. Becca Fitzpatrick manages to reveal small clues slowly, which kept me guessing right to the end, and I had absolutely no idea who was the culprit, right up until the last few chapters or so.

As you may know, I love Patch. He is one of my favourite characters ever, and he's sooooo much better than any other angel, vampire, werewolf, faerie, etc. And, the sad thing is, he wasn't in Crescendo all that much, and quite a lot of the small amount of time he was in it, he was a jerk. And this affected Nora. In Hush, Hush, she was intelligent, focused and completely in love with Patch. But, in Crescendo, she's confused, quick to jump to conclusions and therefore make stupid decisions, and just a little bit annoying. There were some parts of the book in which she didn't see what was right in front of her, and didn't see the most obvious things coming, which is completely unlike the Nora I knew from Hush, Hush. Sometimes, you just wanted to jump into the book, and set her on the right path, and then carry on reading.

Overall, Crescendo was almost as good as Hush, Hush, and if there was a little more Patch, then it would have been just as good, if not better. It's fast paced and engaging, and there are some things that happen that just blow you away, though to find them out, you'll have to read the book. It's hard to put down, and as I said earlier, I could quite happily go and read it all the way through again in one sitting. And, to my delight, there's going to be another book next year, called TEMPEST! I don't think I can wait a year to find out what happens next in Patch and Nora's story, but it seems I'll have to. Anybody going to be waiting with me?

I give it 5 Feet!