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!Despite starting a relationship with Patch, her guardian angel (whose title is the only angelic thing about him), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking good for Nora Grey. Aside from fearing her boyfriend is interested in her nemesis, Nora is haunted by images of her father and becomes obsessed with understanding his disappearance. As Nora delves into the mystery of her father’s death, she begins to wonder whether her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it. And since Patch isn’t answering her questions, Nora 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?The paperback will feature an exclusive first look at the next book in the Hush, Hush saga, on sale Fall 2012!
Series: Hush, Hush (Book 2)
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416989447
ISBN-13: 978-1416989448
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.4 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,056 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #31,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #66 in Books > Teens > Mysteries & Thrillers > Romantic #67 in Books > Teens > Mysteries & Thrillers > Fantasy & Supernatural #73 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Dating & Sex
As a rule I'm afraid sequels. Especially YA sequels. The spark of first attraction has usually burned out, the blush of first love has usually dimmed, and the mystery has usually been solved. I say usually because there are always exceptions to that rule and CRESCENDO is a big one. In fact, in many ways it's even better than Hush, Hush.The writing is actually quite a bit better, with better pacing, better use of flashback memories, and better dialogue. The mythology of Nephilim is explored more fully, and Nora's own history and the mystery of her Dad's death are revealed in shocking, game changing detail. But the real pull in CRESCENDO is once again the alluring and poignant love story between good girl Nora and the ultimate bad boy Patch.Patch, the fallen-turned guardian-angel, is every inch the bad boy we loved from Hush, Hush but with one important distinction. We know his motives now. He can be the same thoughtless, jealous, jerk he always was, but everything he does from spending time with Nora's arch-enemy Marcie Millar, to his increasingly cryptic and bizarre behavior, isn't as suspect as it once was. He chose Nora before, giving up his chance for humanity, his chance to experience touch, all of it, for Nora. I don't doubt him anymore. Nora, of course isn't as trusting. She sees Patch with Marcie and sees red.And if you thought one bad boy wasn't enough, wait till you meet Scott. A childhood friend of Nora's (and by friend I mean he used to make her eat bugs) who moves back to town with his vintage mustang, brutal good looks, and a dangerous past. Scott, or as Vee calls him, Scotty the hottie, is trouble in a way Patch never was which means, in Nora's mind, he's the perfect guy to make Patch jealous.
Silence thrilling, action packed, pulse pounding novel. I think it's probably the best book of the series thus far. If I didn't want to smack Nora every other chapter I'd have given this a 4-5 star rating. Sadly I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not a huge Nora fan, and unfortunately for me likeable characters are key for my enjoyment of a series, so take my rating on this book with that in mind. At first I thought my dislike of our gal, Nora, I may have forgiveness issues after all the silly, childish games she played to get under Patch's skin in Cresendo, but now I think it's more than that.Nora is spunky, sassy, and pushy to the point of being belligerent. She has a temper and regularly explodes and spews bitter vitriol filled words at people she cares for. I think it would be very hard to be her friend or boyfriend.Here's the real kicker for me - Nora is also weak. She's the kind of girl that needs a man to save her. Now I like a good "white knight rides to the rescue" moment as much as any girl, but Nora pushes the bounds of patience. She literally can't do anything right. I noticed it finally in this book - anything Nora sets out to do she messes up, gets herself in a bind, and needs someone to come save her. And she sets out to do a LOT of dangerous things. Basically any time you see Nora doing detective or spy work, or trying to help anyone - just watch - she'll do some hair brained thing and get herself caught. Every time. Just once I want to see her do something truly heroic, and bad ass, and SMART, and succeed at it. Just once! Le Sigh. I don't feel her character has grown throughout the series - she's no smarter, savvier, more cautious or bad ass than she was in the beginning.
Currently, I'm trying to decide why fallen angels would build an amusement park. Is it...an evil amusement park? Although, asking such a question would then bring up what fallen angels do in their spare time, which appears to be nothing much. The answer is then why not build an amusement park? I mean, they ain't doing much else.So here's the thing. I kind of didn't loathe Hush, Hush like I'd expected. Besides Nora's impossibly shallow personality (and no, shallowness isn't excused when the main character admits as much) and a shocking lack of sense, I found it amusing enough to take another plunge into this series. What I found was a ramshackle plot (expected, given I wasn't quite sure what was happening in Hush, Hush either) and an amazingly stupid mystery.You know who's after Nora after you've read the prologue. If by some chance you missed the big flashing neon lights with fireworks illuminating that plane that is writing the secret antagonist's name in the freaking sky, you get another fairly obvious kick in the shins about halfway through. And then again three quarters of the way through, which happens to be when NORA should have put two and two together. However, because she's too wracked with relationship issues and busy being short-sighted and gullible, the reader is left beating the book over their own forehead while Nora is asking multitudes of questions that take huge info dumps to answer when we more or less already knew who is secretly who. For Nora this is like rocket science. Motives are a little more tricky. As far as I can tell, the supernatural elements in this series don't have a reason for anything they do at all. They just are and do and that's pretty much it.Plot holes abound.
Crescendo
