Book Review: Hush, Hush, Crescendo, Silence & Finale (Hush, Hush #1, #2, #3 #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick

 

Title: Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1), Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2), Silence (Hush, Hush #3), Finale (Hush, Hush #4)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publishing Date: May 2010, April 2011, June 2012, October 2012

Length: 391 pages, 432 pages, 464 pages, 454 pages

Keywords: YA, fiction, romance, fallen angels, arch angels, Nephilim

Source: Bought, For Review

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Summary by Goodreads 

This review contains light spoilers for people who haven't read past CRESCENDO!

The events of HUSH, HUSH have been set into motion decades ago, when an unfortunate man is being forced to swear fealty to a fallen angel. A war between fallen angels and Nephilim, the children of angels and humans, breaks out and enormous sacrifices are demanded of everyone involved.

Meet Nora Grey, who  is drawn into the conflict against her will and, to additionally complicate things, feels attracted to fallen angel Patch.

Nora is a naturally kind girl. Patch is the total opposite of Nora. He is a real bad boy, playing games all the time. His character confused me and never appeared as likeable as Nora sees him or wants him to be.

To be honest, Patch in his all-black uniform, never achieved to put a spell on me. Many fell for his bad-ass attitude and craved his tough, sometimes almost aggressive demeanor. He never became a well-rounded character to me that I could’ve said, I knew the true essence of.

Although it says opposites attract, I simply didn’t see the necessity for Nora and Patch to be together. But I suggest you’d better decide for yourselves if Patch matches your version of an admirable book boyfriend. 

Besides the war and her relationship with Patch, Nora miraculously still has some time to spare to meet up with her best friend Vee. Or later into the story with Scott, who poses as alternative love interest in CRESCENDO. Good choice to let their attraction to each other recede, so that we didn't have to worry about a possible love triangle for long. Jealousy is still a dominant part of all books in the series with potential to easily displease readers. The secondary characters felt almost more important to me than the actual protagonists, they are diverting and especially Scott was one character I loved.

The HUSH, HUSH books can’t be sold as your typical angel series. There is no heavenly mission to rid the world of evil. The angels we meet are definitely no heroes. They all felt shady and it appeared they weren’t 100 % honest with their allies. These dark and vengeful versions of angels are quite zestful indeed. Even Nora developed an unhealthy pattern of deceit in the last book that tended to annoy me.

Overlooking the entire series’ course of action, I can’t seem to see a major progress from the first book to FINALE. HUSH, HUSH was a good start into the series, with so much happening in the first book and the appeal of a brand new story. CRESCENDO was the worst out of all of them, because Nora kept on constantly putting herself in dangerous situations and fought with Patch about the most enervating issues. A definite turn-off!

Next up, SILENCE posed as the part of Nora’s story which I enjoyed most. Due to her abduction, Nora has lost her entire memories concerning her boyfriend Patch and everything about fallen angels and Nephilim. I liked to see Nora rebel against her blockade and act out at everyone who would try to hold her down. The third book marked the part of the series in which things finally got interesting.

Fallen angels, arch angels and Nephilim have been hating each other for years. Their conflict has been simmering in the first three books, only waiting to fully break out towards the finale. But the ending we are waiting for, never actually results in an epic battle scene. Instead it comes short in detail and misses out on drawn-out one on one fights. The ending in general came too suddenly and didn’t serve all the information about the characters’ futures I was hoping for. 

1) we like our Tacos hot

2) of exceptional mind-communication techniques

3) loyal friends stay with you till the bitter end

4) its angels are not of the ordinary peace-seeking kind

5) of tough heroines who learn to stand up for themselves

3/5 *** HUSH, HUSH series- No need to keep this novel quiet, tell all angel novel fans about it! 

Recently I've been feeling highly attracted to YA books with their ­focus on heavenly missons and angelic beings. The HUSH, HUSH series couldn’t score a place on my top list and I wouldn’t exactly recommend it as a first choice read to anyone who hasn't read an angel-related book before. Nevertheless Becca Fitzpatrick has shown her qualitative writing skills with varied sentence structures and easy-flowing dialogues. I am very looking forward to find out more about her next book!

* What comes after the HUSH, HUSH series? Simon & Schuster will be publishing Becca's standalone novel, BLACK ICE, in 2014! 

* Read an excerpt of HUSH, HUSH! 

 

* Book trailers! 

 

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* Click here to listen to the HUSH, HUSH playlists. 

 

* For further information aber Becca Fitzpatrick and her books, visit www.beccafitzpatrick.com

  

* Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a copy of Silence & Finale for review! 

Mini Reviews # 5

Today's mini reviews are linked by a common paranormal affinity. Leigh Fallon's CARRIER OF THE MARK scores with its elemental forces. FATED features a bunch of demons, a female demon slayer and a romance surprisingly grown out of enmity. Melissa Darnell's CRAVE serves us both, witches and vampires, to complete the paranormal creatures tour.

Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1) by Leigh Fallon

Mythical Ireland is home to our carriers of the mark. A country that is on top of my list of places to visit, because of its wide landscapes and allurement of  originality. But we aren't granted to revel in its stunning beauty for long,  Megan has to face the paranormal side of her life very soon.
When Megan and her father move to the green island, everything seems to come together just perfectly. She easily finds new friends, adapts well to her new school and is immediately drawn to gorgeous Adam DRís.
Adam is the local boy of high romantic interest, that Megan just can't take her eyes off. He and Megan sense an instant attraction that quickly leads to more deeper feelings. But them being together promises to be hard. Adam and Megan are both marked ones who are forbidden to by physically together. Their love story is dainty, but I wouldn't declare it the story's strongest feature.
The DeRís family is charismatic and sticks together like an old clan and like every family should. There wasn't one family member I wasn't fond of. Adam and his siblings Aíne, Rían and Fionn in their union made CARRIER OF THE MARK a kick-ass read characterwise. DeRís daughter Aíne is a character with best friend potential which one cannot but approve of.
A certain paranormal kick is supplied by assorted elemental abilities the DeRís kids and apparently Megan possess. The teenagers don't hesitate to make use of their powers and present us with what they're capable of. Earth, air, water and fire form an essential quartet in the task to fulfill their prophesied fate.

3,5/5 ***/* CARRIER OF THE MARK- An atmospheric and mystical read with the elemental powers of Ireland!

Megan's story might have a complex and mythical background, even so it never entirely grabbed my full attention. CARRIER OF THE MARK is about inheritance, bearing your family’s fate and learning to be your own person and to figure out what to make out of it all.

Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Publishing Date: October 4th 2011
Length: 342 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, Ireland, elements, myth,  romance, paranormal
Source: Publisher
Goodreads Summary
Carrier of the Mark Excerpt
Author's Info

Fated (Fated #1) by Sarah Alderson

I’m a big fan of Sarah Alderson’s  HUNTING LILA and at the time, FATED came in handy as option to bypass the wait for LOSING LILA, the sequel to Sarah's debut. 

FATED tells the story of Evie, who has to discover that she's been born as the descendent of an ancient line of Demon hunters. So this book is another that jumbles its heroine's life as it has been, and leaves her with a seemingly insurmountable task to conquer.
Evie has to train hard to face the dangers her fate presents her with. Her training makes up a major part of the book. She even receives a helpful guide with all kinds of useful information about demons. Finally a heroine who doesn't have to figure out everything on her own! Unfortunately I wasn't always that into it, because she's attached to a mentor that appeared more pesky than beneficial. 
Against Evie and her task to rid the world of evil, stands an organised group of demons. Among them specially gifted shadow warrior Lucas. It's his task to spy on Evie and eliminate her before she's trained enough to pose a threat to the demons. 
Easy to predict that there will be more between Evie and Lucas than just the usual slaying business. Compelling about their romance is that Lucas was initially sent to her as a spy. Alternating perspectives between Evie and Lucas allow us to see how different their lives really are. Before Lucas knows what he’s feeling for Evie it's in his instincts to protect her. He would rather die for her rather than risk her death and that makes him one of the most amiable demons I've encountered so far.
The demons Evie has to face are all different kinds of dark creatures. There are scorpio demons, mixen demons and a certain shadow warrior. This demon gang is even funnier and more sarcastic than one would expect.

3,5/5 ***/* FATED - An arsenal of weapons, a demon fashionista and a boy who steps over his shadow.

FATED is a book about the dark side. Where others highlight the task to extinguish evil, FATED has it the other way round: Destroy the one person who could save the world. The first half of the story was primarily about Evie’s daily life and her finding out about her destiny. Even the encounters with Lucas didn’t feel as charged as expected. More speed and a higher entertainment factor are guaranteed in the second half.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publishing Date: January 5th 2012
Length: 320 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, demons, romance, paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads Summary
Fated Excerpt
Author's Info 

Crave (The Clann #1) by Melissa Darnell

CRAVE tells the story of Savannah and Tristan, who aren't allowed to be together. She a vampire, he a warlock, and still they can't help it. They are willing to break the rules of two worlds to date secretly and with that, dare to cause an enormous conflict. 

Told from two perspectives, we get offered a detailed understanding of both of their emotional conditions, but are robbed of any chance for surprises. They both have the same feelings for each other, no need to interpret Tristan's motives.  Strangely I found myself anticipating the scenes from Tristan's point of view and ignoring Svannah's as she started to bug me more with each chapter.

CRAVE appeared to have potential. At some points the love story had me really involved and I couldn't wait to see Tristan and Savannah  meet secretly and give their relationship a chance. At first CRAVE seemed to be different, but in the end I found myself  reading the same old story of a love that shouldn't be and a heroine who can't act consequently or think straight for even a few minutes.

Savannah and Tristan's story spans over 400 pages. I'm into long stories, but CRAVE is one that could've been shortened in many scenes. Large parts have nothing to do with Tristan or the Clann. They're about Savannah doing what she loves. Dancing. She's talking more about her dancing than the consequences of her transformation into a vampire, which left me fed up at numerous occasions.

The conflict between the witches of the Clann and the vampires didn't feel like an actual problem or a conflict that couldn't have been solved.

3/5 *** CRAVE - Unimaginative in its witches versus vampires conflict, yet respectable basic approaches at an appealing love story.

The spells the Clann is capable of are nice tricks, but not nearly enough for a fan of paranormal tellings expecting powerful magical action. We don't get to see the full potential of CRAVE's paranormal beings. It's mostly about strategy and intimidation, than grand fights or clever maneuvers. Let's put our hope on its sequel!

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publishing Date: October 25th 2011
Length: 416 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, vampires, witches, romance
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary
Crave Excerpt
Author's Info