After Reading: Crecendo

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:57 AM

By Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as 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 further Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim bloodline 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?

Okay, I'll admit that I really didn't particularly like the first book in this series, Hush Hush. I mean, it had some good points, but it just didn't draw me in a whole lot. The same goes for the second book. I enjoyed it, and kept reading, which is a good thing, but there were elements that bothered me from the get-go. I think the main one is Nora herself. I have a hard time placing her character. Fitzpatrick keeps referencing Nora as some goodie-two-shoes, and every action Nora then does completely blows that out of the water. Nora managed to do some seriously stupid things in this book, and I often found myself wondering WHY. That shouldn't happen. The action should organically grow from the character's life and beliefs, not be forced. Anyhow, that bothered me. Patch has always been a rather rough character, but I just don't find him all that appealing. Also, I found myself re-reading some of the details because I was so utterly lost on what was going on. This is probably more a factor of lack of sleep than anything else though :) Anyhow, I will pick up the next book in the series, but I did find this one lacking in some departments.