Crescendo 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 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?
{taken from goodreads.com}


Oh Becca, Becca, Becca... you have out done yourself!  This book had me from the first page all the way to the very last page.  And I'm STILL wanting more!  I read her first book Hush, Hush about a year ago and fell in love with the story between Nora, your typical teenage girl, and Patch, your not so typical Angel.  Crescendo had been on my list to read for quite awhile.  And I'm happy to say, it's lived up to every expectation and then some.


The story begins with Nora and Patch enjoying each other's company considering the ordeal they had to go through to reach this point.  Call it the "honeymoon" stage of their relationship, if you will.  Nora feels so overwhelmed with joy & caught up in her happiness that she confesses her true feelings to Patch one night.  To her susprise, he does not speak the same words back.  Not only does he withhold his feelings, he also abruptly leaves the scene of Nora's blabbering confessions, with out one reason as to why.  So being the teenage girl that she is, Nora assumes that Patch must not feel the same way and that is why he left in such a hurry.  To her embarrassment, she also finds out that after Patch left Nora that night he went straight to Marcie's house, Nora's lifelong enemy.  What the heck?!  Questions arise and Nora is left feeling hurt & mistreated.  Feelings of foolishness for even thinking Patch was capable of loving her bubble to the surface and Nora is left with one thing to do.  Break things off with Patch.  Without giving too much of the story away, I'll just say that other factors played a key role in this decision of her's.  Key factors such as Patch's relation to the Archangels.

Patch begins to spend more time with Marcie, and this ultimately seals the deal for Nora.  She can't understand why Patch would go from acting as though he wanted her, and then pick up with Marcie as soon as she kicked him to the curb.  Nora's ever-so-faithful, and delightfully hilarious friend Vee is there to pick up the pieces, where she sees best fit.  Not to mention, Vee also starts dating Rixon, Patch's best friend.  Nora feels like everything in her life always comes back to Patch.  She can't escape him.


On top of the Patch drama, Nora is dealing with her father's death.  In Hush, Hush we learned that Nora's father was murdered by someone.  The police never caught the guy who did it, but Nora has this nagging feeling that it may have something to do with the world of Nephilim and Angels.  She is in search of answers, but she remembers with Patch out of her life, she must find these answers on her own.  The search for this only leads to trouble for Nora.  Time and time again we find her in a situation that is terrifying, yet compelling.  I found myself glued to the pages, willing myself to believe that Nora would find herself out of this mess.. some how, some way!  Becca Fitzpatrick has written a true roller coaster ride, with all the ups and downs, twists and turns to make anyone feel sick, yet exhilarated at the same time.

Will Nora be able to uncover the truth surrounding her father's death?  Is Patch out of her life for good?  Just when you think you have it figured out, another curve ball is thrown at you. You find yourself ripping through the pages, not able to put the book down until answers are given.


I usually write my reviews with the ending typed out, but in this one I do not want to spoil it.  I feel like the reader should have the pleasure of taking this ride for themselves.  Between Nora's heart strings being pulled left and right, Patch's ever so sexy presence, and the rest of the cast who creates this magnificent world... Crescendo just jumped high up on my list of best YA books for 2010.