Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hello new blogger buddies. I will be visiting your blog soon.

Well, I read it. Yes, I did. In two days. I have kids, people.  Plus, I'm a slow reader. I became a big fan of Becca Fitzpatrick after I read Hush,Hush, so yeah, I had some big expectations. Here is my review.
Title: Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 432 pages

The blurb:
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?

My review:
First, the cover. She has some of the most beautiful/amazing covers. Love this. If I knew nothing about the book, I probably would be inclined to just buy it because of the cover (I'm a interior designer, I like the way things look).

The story: Becca Fitzpatrick did not disappoint. The twists and turns keep me turning the page. Yeah, one of those 'do not put me down books'.  In other words, the pacing is fantastic. The writing is amazing and the story is like a rollercoaster ride that I did not want get off.

I love Nora's best friend, Vee. She is awesome. The dialogue between her and Nora was done well. It flowed so well. I love writing dialogue and love to see it done well. It helps the flow.

Patch, to me, is even more dreamy than in the first. Okay I'm shallow, sorry guys. I did get a little giddy when he showed up on the page ( I think my cheeks turned red). I know I sound ridiculous, but hey I love YA, we girls can get this way.

Now, I'm not one to point out too many bad things (it's the whole Karma thing, it will come back at me). There were a couple of times when the 'talking to the reader' sort of slowed me down, but that could be me. I'm having issues with this. Also in some spots, I wanted to slap Nora, but I don't want to say too much. I don't like to reveal any spoilers. These little measly points did not sway me from this most excellent book. They were simply minor, and like I said, my opinion.

The end: I don't even want to go there. Brilliant, I think. I actually wanted to throw the book--I would never do this, but I wanted to. It wasn't because it was bad, oh no, because it left me-- Ha! You thought I would reveal. No spoilers remember. Let's just say, I can't wait for Tempest (the last book), which Ms. Fitzpatrick better hurry up and write (I think it's due out Fall 2011, arrgh). No pressure.

Summing up: I loved this. No book can be perfect, can it? It was fast, comfortable (by this I mean the characters were comfortable to me), hot, edge of your seat, wild ride of pleasure.

Recommendation: Oh yeah, go get it now.

If you read this, what are your thoughts?

I will post the Recap of Writing the Next Line soon. Sorry for the delay. I will be posting a new Writing the Next Line on December 20th. So mark your calenders. This month is going a little too fast for me.
Don't forget Monday, Crazy holiday blogfest (December 13th).
Have a great day!