Book Review: CRESCENDO

Title: CRESCENDO
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Other books by Author: HUSH, HUSH
Release Date: 10/19/2010
My Rating: 4/5
Good if...you like books with the ultimate bad-boy type

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.  The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she 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?

Here we go, my thoughts: So CRESENDO is the sequel to HUSH HUSH.  Now I don't know for sure (someone help me out here) but I believe this is the middle novel of three.  And in this middle novel we pick 2 months after HUSH HUSH left off.  Now, I hadn't read HUSH HUSH in over a year and when I start reading I kept thinking this was the sequel to FALLEN so I was all confused.  But I must say, Becca Fitzpatrick did a good job of creating a 2nd novel that didn't necessarily need it's 1st.  I got sucked into the drama right away. 

PROS:
-The Dialogue:  No matter who is talking, it is always snappy, well written, and I know exact who is speaking (without even using he said/she said).
-Patch: ultimate bad-boy type.  The kissing scenes in this novel are off the chart, romance novel except not a romance novel in the sleaze factor way good!  The one thing I do remember about HUSH HUSH is the one kissing scene in the kitchen (you know you remember this one!), well there was another in a dream this time that was par to that one!
-Suspense
-Uniqueness factor:  Okay, so the whole forbidden love thing has been done over and over in teen romances but to me this novel felt new, with new situations, and uniqueness in the characters I hadn't seen in other teen novels ten times over. 
-VEE (the best friend character):  A lot of people hated her in Book 1.  I really liked her in this novel.  She's the comic relief and I thought she added a whole lot of substance to this novel.  She was my 2nd favorite character (after Patch of course) in this book.  And she hardly used the word 'babe' at all this time around.

CONS:
-Some of the Angel/Fallen Angel terminology threw me. I mean what in the world is a Nephilim??? Did they explain that in the first novel??? Because I'm so lost on that one.... But for the most part the storyline made sense and it kept me interested the whole way through.

-And the cliffhanger at the end...  But I guess it worked because now I really want to find out what happens in book 3. 

So I recommend to buy it if you'd like or check it out from the library or whatever.  But I do think you should read it.  And if you haven't read HUSH HUSH yet then what are you waiting for! (My review of HUSH HSUH)