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befsk's review against another edition
1.0
I don't even know how to begin. This book is aimed at teenagers? That's the most horrific part. Impressionable young teenage girls will be reading this thinking that relationships this abusive are 'sexy' and desirable, and that Nora's attitude to her TTLY SRS 2 MONTH RELATIONSHIP is normal and not creepy and over the top at all. It makes me want to gag. She's such an awful role model. At one point she claims she wants to kill herself because she can't be with her boyfriend of 2 months any more. She constantly makes illogical conclusions and decisions, and I've no idea how this shit is popular and quite highly rated on goodreads, because I've never read such trash.
The plot from this was basically the plot from the first book in the series all over again, all the characters were frustrating and Nora became an even bigger twat. I spent most of my time reading it asking myself over and over why anyone would act as she acts about 90% of the time, or think as she thinks. Tip to author - if your character makes out of character choices and decisions all the time that result in tidy plot points appearing out of nowhere, then maybe they have no character at all, and maybe, just maybe, you should try place yourself in your character's shoes instead and think logically what they might do next instead of trying to make things 'fit' with the plot. I give up. I really do. This makes me want to ignore the YA genre for a long, long time.
Because this review is my way of venting about the book, because no one else I know will ever read it and I'm actually glad of that, I'm going to list all the things wrong with the book, starting with the characters (I'm gonna have to leave Nora and Patch out or it will never end) (also, SPOILERS from here on out):
- Vee. In the first book, Vee had a boyfriend who tried to kill Nora. Guess what happened this time? That's right, Vee got another boyfriend who tried to kill Nora! Vee is a great best friend/doormat. Nora just has to ring her and Vee turns into Nora's bitch, giving her rides everywhere, even when Vee isn't going in that direction or anywhere near there, or going anywhere at all. She also encourages Nora to do idiotic things like break into people's houses and steal things, which Nora generally agrees to rather easily considering she's usually uptight and worried about her school work constantly.
- Rixon. In the first book, he was 'funny accent guy', having not much purpose except being Patch's bitch. In this book, he turned into my most hated character, in that he could have, at any time, killed Nora, and instead decided to overdo the theatrics and try kill her in a funhouse only to fail because he was taking too much time. Useless bastard. And, seriously, he was the plot twist? The big bad plot twist? If you didn't see it coming three miles off, you're blind.
- Marcie, oh Marcie. For punching Nora in the eye +100 points. For screaming 'this is for stealing *boy* off me', with Nora replying 'that was _ years ago', despite the blurb to Hush, Hush saying that Nora has never been interested in boys, -50 points (from the author). For holding an idiotic 'typical teenage' party and hiding your diary in such a clichéd place -100 points. For eating up Nora's cast-offs (aka Patch) without a care as to how it looks to others and without wondering why Patch suddenly followed you everywhere -150 points. For being able to convince Nora that your dad is her dad without ever having told her the truth before in your life just because it was convenient to the plot, -500 points from Nora/the author.
- Scott. In the end, what was Scott for? A pity party? A rebound? To see someone get maimed time and time again for pointless reasons? As soon as he turned up acting like Patch's long lost partner in dickheadedness, I was like 'here we fucking go again'. The fact that he didn't see Nora STARING AT PATCH EVERY TIME SCOTT WAS WITH HER was baffling, and that he didn't put two and two together when Patch beat the crap out of him and deduce he was the ex, also baffling. Also, he was friends with Marcie for the purpose of one conversation it seems, which was also weird. Honestly thinking right now, was his only purpose in the book to buy Nora a car? Because he didn't even tell Nora much about 'THE BLACK HAND', except that Nora should have deduced that by Scott saying he'd never forget 'THE BLACK HAND's voice after getting beaten up and mocked by Patch meant that Patch probably wasn't the big bad guy, but NORA MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE WHATSOEVER and instead of jumping to this vaguely logical conclusion she jumps to ones that move the plot in the direction the author wants it to move. God, I fucking hate Nora. And the author.
- Nora's mum. Apparently just decided to go along with marrying someone who wasn't the father of her unborn child, who she'd never met before and she didn't protest at all. Fantastic message to send to teenagers.
- Nora's dad's ghost. Might as well have screamed 'I'M A PLOT POINT'. I actually would've preferred it if Nora had accidentally touched Rixon's back instead of having her dead not-dad turn up and tell her to. Ridiculous.
- Marcie's dad. Great idea, man, becoming rich and powerful and well known and film TV commercials when you're immortal. I have to say, I didn't see the twist coming with him being Nora's dad but that's mainly because Nora's angel blood lineage was traced by Patch to her dad, and it made no sense to take that away and still have her related to Jules from the previous book, but after a very confusing page of explanation that I had to read three times, I think I understand. Wait no, I don't. A female angel takes over a woman human for 2 weeks, gets her pregnant in that time and somehow, the MAGIC FALLEN ANGELNESS stays in the human's body and creates a first-gen Nephil. Okay then.
Miscellaneous complaints:
- The 'plot twists'. No. Most were forseeable from a mile away. Most were the exact same twists as the ones in the first book.
- The 'ending'. How was that an ending? It finished in the middle of a scene. I know you're meant to end on a cliffhanger to make the reader come back for more but that was ridiculous. It wasn't an ending, it was as if she ran out of pages and just cut the story off mid-way through. More money for nothing must be nice, eh?
- Nora never ringing for help. The police at the end of the last book were nice and they were reasonable. At the end of this book, they were nice and reasonable also. Yet Nora, at every opportunity, passed up calling them for help. You get date-rape-drugged and locked in a library? Phone the police? Nah, wander around for a while wasting time, then escape the approaching footsteps by throwing a computer through a window. Someone breaks into your house? Phone the police? Nah, talk to him while he approaches you menacingly and only phone the police when he's knocked unconscious by your ex's best mate who coincidentally appeared.
Seriously speaking, the page where Nora described staying up all night thinking about killing herself because she couldn't be with Patch, who she has known for 2 months, had me tearing my hair out. YA vampire/angel type books do this sometimes, the girl acts as if she couldn't live without the guy. I guess the authors must justify this to themselves by thinking that this is not a normal situation, that these impressionable young teenage girls they aim their books at don't actually date vampires and angels, so they won't think their situation compares to the ones in the book. But teenage girls, a lot of the time, think that their first love is everything. So if these protagonists in these books they love so much say they want to kill themselves because THEIR super-special-supernatural love has dumped them after two months, they won't think in terms of reality. They'll take it as encouragement, or normal behaviour, and convince themselves they feel the same, and teen suicide rates will increase and it will be all these shitty piss-poor author's faults.
The plot from this was basically the plot from the first book in the series all over again, all the characters were frustrating and Nora became an even bigger twat. I spent most of my time reading it asking myself over and over why anyone would act as she acts about 90% of the time, or think as she thinks. Tip to author - if your character makes out of character choices and decisions all the time that result in tidy plot points appearing out of nowhere, then maybe they have no character at all, and maybe, just maybe, you should try place yourself in your character's shoes instead and think logically what they might do next instead of trying to make things 'fit' with the plot. I give up. I really do. This makes me want to ignore the YA genre for a long, long time.
Because this review is my way of venting about the book, because no one else I know will ever read it and I'm actually glad of that, I'm going to list all the things wrong with the book, starting with the characters (I'm gonna have to leave Nora and Patch out or it will never end) (also, SPOILERS from here on out):
- Vee. In the first book, Vee had a boyfriend who tried to kill Nora. Guess what happened this time? That's right, Vee got another boyfriend who tried to kill Nora! Vee is a great best friend/doormat. Nora just has to ring her and Vee turns into Nora's bitch, giving her rides everywhere, even when Vee isn't going in that direction or anywhere near there, or going anywhere at all. She also encourages Nora to do idiotic things like break into people's houses and steal things, which Nora generally agrees to rather easily considering she's usually uptight and worried about her school work constantly.
- Rixon. In the first book, he was 'funny accent guy', having not much purpose except being Patch's bitch. In this book, he turned into my most hated character, in that he could have, at any time, killed Nora, and instead decided to overdo the theatrics and try kill her in a funhouse only to fail because he was taking too much time. Useless bastard. And, seriously, he was the plot twist? The big bad plot twist? If you didn't see it coming three miles off, you're blind.
- Marcie, oh Marcie. For punching Nora in the eye +100 points. For screaming 'this is for stealing *boy* off me', with Nora replying 'that was _ years ago', despite the blurb to Hush, Hush saying that Nora has never been interested in boys, -50 points (from the author). For holding an idiotic 'typical teenage' party and hiding your diary in such a clichéd place -100 points. For eating up Nora's cast-offs (aka Patch) without a care as to how it looks to others and without wondering why Patch suddenly followed you everywhere -150 points. For being able to convince Nora that your dad is her dad without ever having told her the truth before in your life just because it was convenient to the plot, -500 points from Nora/the author.
- Scott. In the end, what was Scott for? A pity party? A rebound? To see someone get maimed time and time again for pointless reasons? As soon as he turned up acting like Patch's long lost partner in dickheadedness, I was like 'here we fucking go again'. The fact that he didn't see Nora STARING AT PATCH EVERY TIME SCOTT WAS WITH HER was baffling, and that he didn't put two and two together when Patch beat the crap out of him and deduce he was the ex, also baffling. Also, he was friends with Marcie for the purpose of one conversation it seems, which was also weird. Honestly thinking right now, was his only purpose in the book to buy Nora a car? Because he didn't even tell Nora much about 'THE BLACK HAND', except that Nora should have deduced that by Scott saying he'd never forget 'THE BLACK HAND's voice after getting beaten up and mocked by Patch meant that Patch probably wasn't the big bad guy, but NORA MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE WHATSOEVER and instead of jumping to this vaguely logical conclusion she jumps to ones that move the plot in the direction the author wants it to move. God, I fucking hate Nora. And the author.
- Nora's mum. Apparently just decided to go along with marrying someone who wasn't the father of her unborn child, who she'd never met before and she didn't protest at all. Fantastic message to send to teenagers.
- Nora's dad's ghost. Might as well have screamed 'I'M A PLOT POINT'. I actually would've preferred it if Nora had accidentally touched Rixon's back instead of having her dead not-dad turn up and tell her to. Ridiculous.
- Marcie's dad. Great idea, man, becoming rich and powerful and well known and film TV commercials when you're immortal. I have to say, I didn't see the twist coming with him being Nora's dad but that's mainly because Nora's angel blood lineage was traced by Patch to her dad, and it made no sense to take that away and still have her related to Jules from the previous book, but after a very confusing page of explanation that I had to read three times, I think I understand. Wait no, I don't. A female angel takes over a woman human for 2 weeks, gets her pregnant in that time and somehow, the MAGIC FALLEN ANGELNESS stays in the human's body and creates a first-gen Nephil. Okay then.
Miscellaneous complaints:
- The 'plot twists'. No. Most were forseeable from a mile away. Most were the exact same twists as the ones in the first book.
- The 'ending'. How was that an ending? It finished in the middle of a scene. I know you're meant to end on a cliffhanger to make the reader come back for more but that was ridiculous. It wasn't an ending, it was as if she ran out of pages and just cut the story off mid-way through. More money for nothing must be nice, eh?
- Nora never ringing for help. The police at the end of the last book were nice and they were reasonable. At the end of this book, they were nice and reasonable also. Yet Nora, at every opportunity, passed up calling them for help. You get date-rape-drugged and locked in a library? Phone the police? Nah, wander around for a while wasting time, then escape the approaching footsteps by throwing a computer through a window. Someone breaks into your house? Phone the police? Nah, talk to him while he approaches you menacingly and only phone the police when he's knocked unconscious by your ex's best mate who coincidentally appeared.
Seriously speaking, the page where Nora described staying up all night thinking about killing herself because she couldn't be with Patch, who she has known for 2 months, had me tearing my hair out. YA vampire/angel type books do this sometimes, the girl acts as if she couldn't live without the guy. I guess the authors must justify this to themselves by thinking that this is not a normal situation, that these impressionable young teenage girls they aim their books at don't actually date vampires and angels, so they won't think their situation compares to the ones in the book. But teenage girls, a lot of the time, think that their first love is everything. So if these protagonists in these books they love so much say they want to kill themselves because THEIR super-special-supernatural love has dumped them after two months, they won't think in terms of reality. They'll take it as encouragement, or normal behaviour, and convince themselves they feel the same, and teen suicide rates will increase and it will be all these shitty piss-poor author's faults.
lorilaws's review against another edition
3.0
Where to start..Where to start. First let me say I loved Hush, Hush. I loved the whole concept of the fallen angels. (It was a new concept at the time Hush, Hush was released.) Crescendo fell very short for me. Maybe it has the sequel syndrome. Where you expect a book to be as good, or better than the one before it. Maybe it's just a stepping stone book, and the next installment will be great. Whatever the reason, Crescendo was a disappointment.
It started out great. I was sucked right into the storyline, but then the petty childish fights started between Patch and Nora, and ruined everything. If there is one thing I hate it is immature fights for no reason. Sure, there was a reason, but Nora actions still made zero sense. One minute she was angry about one thing, then the next she had completely forgotten about that one thing and was angry about something else. She wasn't consistent at all. I would have been able to tolerate the silly fights much more if they would have been consistent. Add all of this on top of the fact that Nora makes decisions throughout the novel that make no sense, and all she does is cry and you have a excellent read. (Heavy sarcasm)
The plot is still interesting, I just found it hard to get past all the character issues. Will I still give book 3 a chance? Yes, but if I write another review like this one for it, there will be no chance for book 4.
I still gave this book 3 stars, out of the goodness of my heart. It could have easily been 2 stars.
It started out great. I was sucked right into the storyline, but then the petty childish fights started between Patch and Nora, and ruined everything. If there is one thing I hate it is immature fights for no reason. Sure, there was a reason, but Nora actions still made zero sense. One minute she was angry about one thing, then the next she had completely forgotten about that one thing and was angry about something else. She wasn't consistent at all. I would have been able to tolerate the silly fights much more if they would have been consistent. Add all of this on top of the fact that Nora makes decisions throughout the novel that make no sense, and all she does is cry and you have a excellent read. (Heavy sarcasm)
The plot is still interesting, I just found it hard to get past all the character issues. Will I still give book 3 a chance? Yes, but if I write another review like this one for it, there will be no chance for book 4.
I still gave this book 3 stars, out of the goodness of my heart. It could have easily been 2 stars.
skittles12393's review against another edition
2.0
It started out really good then all of a sudden BAM suck city. I was able to stomach about half of the book and then after that I just skipped to the parts that had Patch in them. The rest of the story was really just filler. There was no point to it. *TINY SPOILER* CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK
At one point she does something semi-interesting and steals that other girls journal, but then she doesn't even read it. If I thought my kinda bf was cheating on me and I went through all that goddamn trouble to get the stupid journal there is no way in hell I wouldn't read that. Hell I'd cut out the good sections and paste them up on my wall.
So basically the story sucked but I'll read the third one because I love me some Patch. And maybe he'll get smart and dump her ass for good.
At one point she does something semi-interesting and steals that other girls journal, but then she doesn't even read it. If I thought my kinda bf was cheating on me and I went through all that goddamn trouble to get the stupid journal there is no way in hell I wouldn't read that. Hell I'd cut out the good sections and paste them up on my wall.
So basically the story sucked but I'll read the third one because I love me some Patch. And maybe he'll get smart and dump her ass for good.
lara_bookish_turtle's review against another edition
1.0
This book was a train wreck.
Nora is at least 12 different varieties of idiot in one character. She wasn't nice to anyone really in the whole book, and she's just not at all a likeable character.
And I honestly do not understand Patch at all? Even after he explained everything, I was just like, ArE YoU SerIoUS MaTe!! I just... no.
Vee was a cool character, but because the story is all from Nora's perspective, we didn't get to truly appreciate her at all which was really disappointing.
Marcie is def. a loser.
Okay, the ending plot twists were good. I can give them that!
But other than the ending, this book had no plot.
It was all moping-whilst-pretending-not-to-be-moping with a nice side of act-irrationally-to-make-other-person-jealous-instead-of-actually-doing-anything, topped off with a final helping of nobody-talk-to-each-other-about-our-feelings-just-be-miserable.
I don't know if I have the strength to finish this series, but I'm going to get through them, I am determined!!!
Nora is at least 12 different varieties of idiot in one character. She wasn't nice to anyone really in the whole book, and she's just not at all a likeable character.
And I honestly do not understand Patch at all? Even after he explained everything, I was just like, ArE YoU SerIoUS MaTe!! I just... no.
Vee was a cool character, but because the story is all from Nora's perspective, we didn't get to truly appreciate her at all which was really disappointing.
Marcie is def. a loser.
Okay, the ending plot twists were good. I can give them that!
Spoiler
RIXON WAS LIKE THE ONLY CHARACTER I REALLY LIKED ALL BOOK AND TURNS OUT HE WAS EVIL?!?!?! I guess this says something about me... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯But other than the ending, this book had no plot.
It was all moping-whilst-pretending-not-to-be-moping with a nice side of act-irrationally-to-make-other-person-jealous-instead-of-actually-doing-anything, topped off with a final helping of nobody-talk-to-each-other-about-our-feelings-just-be-miserable.
I don't know if I have the strength to finish this series, but I'm going to get through them, I am determined!!!
sharonsm_28's review against another edition
4.0
September 2016 Review
Actual Rating: 3.5
This was a great read. I actually changed my rating from a 5 to a 3.5. As I re-read the book, I want to be reminded of why I loved it besides Patch. It just did not have the same impact on me the second time. I found the story to not be as engaging as the first one, which I loved. Also, the characters were annoying at times and boring at others. The plot twists within the storyline were great. I can't believe that. I can't wait to read Silence. Overall, a sequel that could have been better.
October 2015 Review:
Actual Rating: 5.0
This was amazing! This series is totally interesting. I loved this book! The concept of forbidden love between a human and a fallen angel is quite unique. I thought the world was cool. I loved the relationship between the main characters. I did not expect that ending. I can't believe that. Total plot twist. Can't wait for the rest of the series. Overall, an enjoyable read.
Actual Rating: 3.5
This was a great read. I actually changed my rating from a 5 to a 3.5. As I re-read the book, I want to be reminded of why I loved it besides Patch. It just did not have the same impact on me the second time. I found the story to not be as engaging as the first one, which I loved. Also, the characters were annoying at times and boring at others. The plot twists within the storyline were great. I can't believe that
Spoiler
Nora and Marcie are sisters!October 2015 Review:
Actual Rating: 5.0
This was amazing! This series is totally interesting. I loved this book! The concept of forbidden love between a human and a fallen angel is quite unique. I thought the world was cool. I loved the relationship between the main characters. I did not expect that ending. I can't believe that
Spoiler
Nora and Marcie are sisters!shubba_the_emo_reader's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
I am going to start with this books cover. It is so beautiful and really eye catching. I love the silver/bluish tone to this cover and with feather its very subtle but speaks volumes.
I had been anticipating Crescendo since last year when I finished Hush, Hush. So when my best friend (the postman lol) finally delivered to my copy I was so excited. When I started reading I did find it a little hard to get into. I had to re-read some parts because I forgot what happened the page before.However, within about 4 chapters I was loving. Crescendo was everything I imagined it to be and so much. It is full of turns and twists that I honestly didn't see coming.
The characters we grow to know and love in Hush, Hush are all back. We also get to see a couple of new characters. Nora and Patch relationship is rocky all through the book which really kept me on my toes as to what was going to happened next. Vee is also more involved in this book and I found myself starting to like her as I didn't really like her in Hush, Hush. Scott who was a childhood friend of Nora plays a big part and I found myself getting drawn deeper into the story when he appeared. Rixon who is the first book, returns in this one with a bigger role. And we get to read more about the Irish Man. In my head I could his Irish accent I made up. lol.
Crescendo, really has outdone Hush, Hush. It has answered so many questions left unanswered in Hush, Hush, mainly about Nora's Dad. It leave you hanging and begging and screaming for Tempest to be out so we can find out what happens next with Nora and Patch.
Becca has produced yet another amazing gothic tale. It is thrilling, captivating and takes on an emotional rollcoaster. LOVED IT.
Recommended to those you love a gothic tale full of twist and turns.
I am going to start with this books cover. It is so beautiful and really eye catching. I love the silver/bluish tone to this cover and with feather its very subtle but speaks volumes.
I had been anticipating Crescendo since last year when I finished Hush, Hush. So when my best friend (the postman lol) finally delivered to my copy I was so excited. When I started reading I did find it a little hard to get into. I had to re-read some parts because I forgot what happened the page before.However, within about 4 chapters I was loving. Crescendo was everything I imagined it to be and so much. It is full of turns and twists that I honestly didn't see coming.
The characters we grow to know and love in Hush, Hush are all back. We also get to see a couple of new characters. Nora and Patch relationship is rocky all through the book which really kept me on my toes as to what was going to happened next. Vee is also more involved in this book and I found myself starting to like her as I didn't really like her in Hush, Hush. Scott who was a childhood friend of Nora plays a big part and I found myself getting drawn deeper into the story when he appeared. Rixon who is the first book, returns in this one with a bigger role. And we get to read more about the Irish Man. In my head I could his Irish accent I made up. lol.
Crescendo, really has outdone Hush, Hush. It has answered so many questions left unanswered in Hush, Hush, mainly about Nora's Dad. It leave you hanging and begging and screaming for Tempest to be out so we can find out what happens next with Nora and Patch.
Becca has produced yet another amazing gothic tale. It is thrilling, captivating and takes on an emotional rollcoaster. LOVED IT.
Recommended to those you love a gothic tale full of twist and turns.
kchewreviews's review against another edition
3.0
First off, I didn't think that Hush, Hush was that good. I decided to read Crescendo though because I heard some good things about it.
As many other reviews have said, this book is very "Twilight-esque". Basically, it seems to follow the same basic plot line as the first 2 Twilight books. Even so, this books plot was pretty good. Although it wasn't amazing, it had a twist or two that surprised me.
Nora was a lot more annoying in this book though. I thought she relied to much on Patch and she didn't know how to act when she had to make decisions without him. I thought that Patch was a bit annoying too, mainly because I felt like he kept secrets that should have not been secrets.
Overall I love Becca Fitzpatrick's writing and voice, but I don't know if I'll be reading the next installment in this series.
As many other reviews have said, this book is very "Twilight-esque". Basically, it seems to follow the same basic plot line as the first 2 Twilight books. Even so, this books plot was pretty good. Although it wasn't amazing, it had a twist or two that surprised me.
Nora was a lot more annoying in this book though. I thought she relied to much on Patch and she didn't know how to act when she had to make decisions without him. I thought that Patch was a bit annoying too, mainly because I felt like he kept secrets that should have not been secrets.
Overall I love Becca Fitzpatrick's writing and voice, but I don't know if I'll be reading the next installment in this series.
alereading's review against another edition
5.0
bought a physical copy cause this is my fav one out of the saga but rereading it for the 3rd?? time made me want to reread the others too