The Book Addict Reviews: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 2 stars for most of it--but the ending pushed it up to 3 stars  

Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
After Nora survives the attempt on her life, she thinks that it is time to return to normal, but with one wonderful exception: she has a boyfriend that she loves.  But almost as quickly as her life started looking up, turmoil starts again.  Patch starts to pull away--and then starts to pursue Marcie Millar.  As Patch withdraws, Nora starts to hang out more with Scott Parnell, the boy she knew growing up who recently returned to Coldwater, Maine.  But Scott seems to have secrets of his own--could they end up threatening Nora's life again?

Review:  
Second books in series have become a road block for me.  After the intrigue and suspense of book one, book two always feels like a let down.  Crescendo followed this pattern for me.  For the majority of the book, I was bored.  Nora went from whining to wallowing in self-pity--and her mood seemed to completely depend on Patch.  If he is ignoring her--Nora is whiny.  If he is spending time with Marcie--Nora is wallowing in self-pity.  And watching Nora swing between these two emotions is boring.  

It also started to remind me of the things about Bella from Twilight that I did not like.  The relationship between Nora and Patch does not seem healthy.  Nora seems to be so devoted to Patch that when the relationship starts to sour she cannot cope.  She keeps putting herself in dangerous positions and risking her life--either to test Patch's status as her guardian angel or his commitment to her?  I am not always sure.  Whatever her ultimate motivativation, I found myself getting frustrated with Nora more often than not.  

However, my feelings about the book changed completely after the last quarter of the book.  At that point, the flow of the story seemed to change almost instantaneously (almost like a switch had been flipped).  The action of the book sped up.  We started to learn so much about the characters, the history, and some of the reasons why.  I could not turn the pages fast enough--and could not wait to get into the next book.  I wanted more.  

On a side note,  I do want to know what was up with the science teachers in this town.  In Hush, Hush, the biology teacher forces Nora to work with Patch. In Crescendo, the chemistry teacher partners Nora with her archenemy, Marcie Millar.  What is the physics teacher going to do to Nora?

Recommendations:
I am lucky--the next book was immediately available at the library:
 

The Book Addict Reviews: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars   
Borrowed this book from a friend who recommended it.  

In A Nutshell:  
Nora Grey has a new biology partner--one she did not pick and one she does not understand.  Patch is quiet, complicated, and secretive.  But somehow he knows things about her that even her best friend does not know.  Nora is confused, but slowly her confusion shifts to intrigue and interest.  And slowly Nora learns that there are forces in her life that she never expected--forces she used to think were the stuff of myths and legends.  

Review:  
This book raced through the informal book club in my office--everyone who read it raved about it.  So when my turn came, my expectations were rather high--which kind of worried me especially when I learned that this book was Becca Fitzpatrick's debut novel.  What if it did not live up to my expectations?

However, I am happy to report that this book definitely lived up to my high expectations.  Becca Fitzpatrick put together a gripping story that had me turning the pages as quickly as I could.  I was so engrossed at one point that I missed my stop on the light rail and had to walk a little longer to get to my office.  But it was worth it because the story was so good!

Becca Fitzpatrick impressed me with the characters she created and the growth that we see over a relatively short period of time.  For instance, Nora Grey has a complicated and gripping history that contributes to her unique combination of vulnerability and strength.

Becca Fitzpatrick, also, created interesting relationships.  For instance, Nora and her best friend, Vee, are an interesting combination of birds of a feather and complimenting opposites.  Together, they make a pair that I want to be friends with.  I want to be in Vee's Neon going to Enzo's for coffee and pastries.

And in the end, Becca Fitzpatrick left me with a cliff hanger that made me want to run out and get book two as quickly as possible.   

Recommendations:
I immediately requested book two from the library (good thing I already read two of my three resolution books and have the third partially done before Crescendo was available--or I may have failed on my resolutions before I really got started!):

The Book Addict's New Years Resolution

Last month I reached a milestone I had been working towards for five years--I finished my Masters degree!  So I apologize for my lack of participation in my blog, but I have made it a resolution to do better in 2013 (19 days to start working on this resolution isn't bad, right?).

I have also made a resolution to read at least one book in each of the following categories each month this year:

1. A book from my house.  I have a box of books that I bought because I wanted to read them but for various reasons the books got pushed aside for other books.  I went through the books after Christmas and realized I really did want to read them--so I made a promise to myself that I would get through at least one per month.
   Here are some examples of what I have waiting for me:
   
2. A book recommended by a friend.  I have so many friends who recommend books to me--in fact we have started an informal book club at work where we trade books back and forth.  Also, I get so many great book ideas from my book blogging friends.  So this category will be very easy for me to reach every month.
   Here are some examples of what I have waiting for me:
   
3. A non-fiction book.  I realized that without my classes and reading lists, I would not have anyone to force me to read a non-fiction book.  But by nature, I love learning (that was my biggest reason for working towards my masters).  So I decided to challenge myself to read one non-fiction book a month.  The advantage of doing it this way versus as part of a program is that I get to pick the book and the topic.
   Here are some examples of what I have waiting for me:
   

And once I finish a book in each category (and probably more--because really three books a month is not that much), I will be able to blog about them.  Thus helping reach my goal of blogging at least 4 times per week.  I love when resolutions work together so I feel like it is more probable I can be successful.  Let's see.