Hush, Hush Saga Book #4: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

After everything Nora has been through, she has one last task to complete before she can fly off into the sunset and be happy with Patch. She has to lead the Black Hand’s Nephilim army to war against the fallen angels. If she doesn’t, she and her mother will die. But, if she does, the archangels won’t be so pleased with her and Patch. What happened to normal seventeen-year-old problems?

At least she isn’t alone. She’s got Patch, she’s got Scott, she’s got the Black Hand’s right man Dante and shockingly she even has Marcie. Yeah, that’s right, Marcie is on Nora’s side, or at least, she’s helping Nora so she can find out who killed her father. Okay. Dante is an interesting character. He’s kind of a hard ass as he helps to train Nora so she can lead the army to war if it comes to that. But something about him just isn’t right. That something is revealed when he forces a mysterious drink down her throat.

It’s devilcraft. The substance that Hank Millar was using to help fuel his Nephilim powers and that Patch and Nora thought died with him. Apparently not. Hank entrusted the devilcraft to Dante and Blakely, and Blakely has been working on weapon prototypes that will destroy the fallen angels. There’s also the drink that basically supercharges the Nephilim’s powers. Dude.

Okay, so honestly, the only reason I didn’t one hundred percent love this book was because of Nora’s decisions and the ending. After a brief tussle with Blakely, he ends up stabbing her with a devilcraft infused knife. The problem with the stabbing is that there was so much devilcraft on that blade that Nora becomes addicted to it. Reading about her trying to overpower the addiction was painful. I actually liked Nora the last book and part of this one, until she became addicted to the devilcraft. She should have known better. As for the ending…well, if you’re into the whole ‘perfect ending’ thing, then you would have liked this ending. But I didn’t. I love when books end perfectly, really, I do, but it ended too neatly and easily. Seriously. Nora’s final plan backfires, all the fallen angels are sent to hell, and Dante is after her head. How can things end well after that? Well, apparently, Dante is the devilcraft prototypes, so with help from Scott, Nora is able to kill him, which in turn kills the fallen angels who pledged allegiance to him to get out of hell. Patch possessed Rixon to get out of hell, and Nora and him go off into the sunset together, because as a final gift from the archangels – Detective Basso, who knew? – Patch can now feel. Wow.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Nora has come a long way from her character in the first book. She’s grown stronger, but she still makes some bad decisions. The ending was great, but it was gift wrapped a little too well.

Bookshelf worthy? After a year of sitting on my shelf, I finally read it. Yay!

Hush, Hush Saga Book #2: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Recently, Becca Fitzpatrick revealed on Twitter that Crescendo was not her favorite book to write out of the Hush, Hush Saga, and I can tell. When this book first came out, I read it in one day and was supremely confused and angered by the events that transpired. How is it that a sequel to a book that I loved could turn in to such…well, crap? Now, that I’ve read it again, I still don’t have an answer, but I kind of understand things better than that first reading.

Nora is used to her life being turned upside down. Her father was murdered almost two years ago, she’s learned that she is descended from a race called Nephilim, and that her lab partner from biology was a fallen angel until he saved her life two months ago. Now, Patch is a guardian angel her guardian angel and she couldn’t be happier. But as the book begins, Nora isn’t on the path to normal just yet. Feeling overwhelmed by her feelings for Patch, she declares her love for him and he doesn’t say it back.

The next morning in summer school she learns from Marcie Miller – her arch nemesis for years – that Patch went to her house right afterwards and stood watching. Nora asks Patch about it, but he doesn’t give her an answer. Feeling hurt and betrayed she breaks up with him causing a rift. Add in a new character named Scott with a dark past of his own, and the fact that Nora is seeing her father around town and you’ve got one interesting sequel.

So, like I said before when I first read this book I thought it was a bunch of crap. Here was another second book of a series that breaks up the main characters for really stupid reasons. True, I get that Nora didn’t want Patch to rebel on the archangels, and that she was still kind of miffed about Patch not telling her why he was hanging with Marcie – although I kind of had a feeling why he was – but still… Nora is very quick to assume the worst of people and that’s kind of one of things that I really hate about her. She knows that Patch is a guardian angel now, and once he explains that the archangels are just looking for a reason to cast him back to hell, shouldn’t she guess that the reason he’s hanging with Marcie is because he’s protecting her now?

Scott was an interesting character to throw into the mix. He seemed like such a jerk at the beginning – kind of like Patch – but at the end when it’s revealed what is really going on with him, I was kind of intrigued to see him come back in the next book. And can we talk about Marcie’s dad actually being Nora’s dad too?! What was Blythe thinking? And holy crap, holy crap! The ending! Just when you think there’s going to be some much-anticipated Patch/Nora make up making out, Mr. Miller shows up and confronts Nora about the death of Jules aka Chauncey. The end. WHAT?!

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. So the ending still kind of confused me. Nora’s dad – Harrison – was told to marry Blythe and claim Nora as his own child even though it was really Mr. Miller’s kid? And Mr. Miller is the Black Hand, but he didn’t kill Harrison, that was actually Patch’s friend Rixon? And Rixon was after Nora because not only does she have the blood of Chauncey in her veins but the blood of Barnabas, who was Rixon’s blood oath host? Ouch. My brain hurts.

Bookshelf worthy? Gray scale cover art is gorgeous. I still want to know what font they use for the title.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey has a normal life. She has a chatty best friend, a mom who worries way too much, and she worries herself about getting into a good college. But everything she knows is about to change when her biology teacher decides to change the seating chart. No longer is she sitting next to her best friend – Vee – she now has to sit next to the mysterious senior transfer who seems to make it his mission to make her blush.

But things are starting to get really weird. On her way home one night, she runs over a person who somehow is able to knock out her window and try to go after her. When she drives to her friend’s house, all the damage is gone. It looks like nothing happens. A few days later, she walks in on someone rummaging through her things, when she calls the police, her room is pristine. She thinks she’s finally going crazy, especially when Patch – the mysterious senior transfer – keeps showing up everywhere she goes.

Hush, Hush was one of those books that I stumbled across at the bookstore a long time ago because of intriguing cover art. Once I picked it up though I couldn’t put it down. The same goes for the second read through I did. The story flows hard and fast, and the character of Patch is as mysterious as Fitzpatrick makes him out to be on the page. Along with Nora, you go through the motions of hating Patch, being embarrassed by Patch, and slowly falling for him. When it’s revealed that he’s a fallen angel sent to kill her, but couldn’t do it because he likes her, I totally lost my shit. As for the school psychiatrist, Mrs. Greene, I totally called it. She was acting a little bit too controlling over Nora seeing Patch to just be a school administrator.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Even through the second read through, I still got a little bit confused over some of the plot points in this book, but I think I got the gist of them to understand what was going on.

Bookshelf worthy? I got my copy for $4.99 at Borders before it closed. One of the best deals for a hardcover.

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

So the past two Crusie and Mayer books have been about hit man and movies that were actually the cover of something to do with the mob. This time around, Crusie and Mayer team up and give you an amusement park….that is the prison of demons.

Yeah, that’s right, demons. These demons apparently have been in captivity since the 1920s, when the amusement park was created, and have been contained in their chalices ever since. Well, except for that one time forty years ago when they all got out and almost caused mass mayhem, but that doesn’t play in until near the end.

The characters that you are introduced to – again in the first few chapters – include:

• Mab – Dreamland’s restorer. Doesn’t like people and is more interested in her work.
• Ethan – a Green Barret (of course!) who is back at home after almost being killed in Afghanistan. Thinks his days are numbered because of the bullet near his heart.
• Glenda – Ethan’s mom and half owner of the park. Believes in the mystical.
• Delpha – the park’s ‘Oracle’ who believes she sees the future.
• Ray – Mab’s uncle, mayor of the town, and half owner of the park. Wants riches and power.

There are more characters that are all involved in what unfolds, but seriously, can we just talk about the plot of this book?

Mab gets involved in with this guy named Joe who always makes her laugh and makes sure that they only talk about happy things. Even when you don’t really know these characters well enough, you can already tell that something is up with this guy Joe. And even when it gets revealed that he’s a ‘demon hunter,’ there’s still something not right about him. Although I do give points to Crusie and Mayer for throwing in the demon hunter bit. Turns out Joe is a demon – the Trickster – and when Mab finally figures it out, it’s a little too late. She’s already slept with him and is pregnant with his child.

But it’s not the first demon possession pregnancy. No, Mab and Ethan are both creations of a demon possession pregnancy. Remember what I said about the whole 40 years ago thing? Yeah. Apparently, these demons have more on their mind than causing pain and suffering. Ethan and the other Guardia – a force that guards and entraps the demons – do put everyone back in their chalices, except for Funfluns, and all live happily ever after.

I haven’t seen such a ridiculous plot since Crusie’s other book Maybe This Time, and that one had ghosts! And these characters! Although they were definitely better than the characters in Don’t Look Down, they still had their own issues. Like Mab right before the final battle, decides its time to have sexy time with Oliver it was just ridiculous. You’re about to go stop demons from taking over the world and you’re going to go at it? Talk about priorities.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Although ridiculous, it was rather fun.

Bookshelf worthy? Support your local library.

The Night Huntress Series Book #1: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Popular books, of late, have lead me astray – I tried reading the Outlander series but barely made it 50 pages into the first book before calling it quits and barely made it four chapters into Seraphina before giving up – so when it came to Halfway to the Grave I didn’t mark it as ‘currently reading’ until I was almost halfway through.

Catherine – Cat – Crawfield is a twenty-two year-old college student who appears to be a normal girl sitting in a bar when the book begins, but as the first chapter unfolds you find out that Cat isn’t who she appears to be. No, instead she’s a half-breed – half-human and half-vampire – and she is hunting vampires in revenge for her mother who was raped by one twenty-two years ago. This night seems to be going differently than her previous ones. Instead of having a vamp come hit on her, she goes up to him and asks very bluntly – because he doesn’t seem to be falling for her usual sexiness – if he wants to fuck? He turns her away, much to Cat’s chagrin, and she finds another victim for the night. Feeling bold she goes back the next night, only to run into the vamp from the night before who turned her away. This time thought he’s ready for her, and they leave together.

The only problem is, this vamp knows what Cat is capable of – he followed her the night before – and he pulls a fast one on her. She wakes up in a cave shackled to a rock and in her underwear. The vamp – Bones – demands to know whom she is working for, and that’s when it is revealed that she’s a half-vampire. He doesn’t believe her at first, until he sees her eyes glow. He proposes a deal, if she helps him take out vampires, he’ll help her find her father. Cat agrees and the fun begins.

Where to even begin with how much I loved this book? The character of Cat reminded me a lot of myself – except for the whole half-vampire/assassin thing – but her cryptic views on love, her shyness, her naïveté when it came to sexual innuendo (seriously, I blushed with her every time Bones said something highly sexual). The character of Bones grew on me too, especially when I started picking up on his feelings for Cat – speaking of, the vampire club scene where he intentionally gives her a day off to spend with him was really cute and sexy. The overall plot was intriguing too – big bad vampire who Bones is after turns out to be the mastermind behind a blood whoring plot that goes very high up in the government. I just wished I had found out why exactly Bones was after Hennessy.

The only two things I didn’t like about this book were:

A. The character of Cat’s mom. I got where she was coming from with the whole anti-vampire thing because of what she went through. But to put all that onto her daughter was in poor taste. To basically squeal too on her daughter’s love affair with a vampire to those agents too, was just horrible. I kind of wished that the mom had died after that. Ugh.

B. The ENDING! Why is it that whenever a couple is going great, an author has to throw in this major complication that separates them or, like in Halfway to the Grave’s case, that causes the female interest to run away to protect the male? It’s frustrating, but it does make for some interesting reading.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Great characters. Great plot. Great cliffhanger ending. Can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 and see what Bones is going to do.

Bookshelf worthy? I’m going to start stacking books on the floor, I swear.