Crescendo

Crescendo is a young adult paranormal romance novel by Becca Fitzpatrick. It was first published in 2010 as the sequel to her best-selling novel Hush, Hush. Crescendo spent ten weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The book was also voted as one of the Young Adult Library Services Association's Teens’ Top Ten for 2011.

Nora Grey's life is right on track: she has a new boyfriend Patch, who was once a fallen Angel but is now her guardian angel. Their new relationship seems perfect and Nora devotes every waking moment to Patch. However, when Nora tells Patch that she loves him, he doesn't respond. Soon Patch isn't calling Nora and doesn't respond when she calls him. Nora is shocked to finds out from Marcie that Patch stood outside Marcie's house the night that Nora told Patch she loved him. That night Patch shows up at Nora's house. She confronts him about why he was outside Marcie's house and he doesn't answer. Patch seems cold toward Nora, upsetting her even more. Patch informs her that since getting his wings back he has been put on a short leash; archangels will probably send him to Hell if he tells Nora he loves her. Nora, scared that she will lose Patch completely, decides to end their relationship.

Nora begins talking to Scott Parnell, an old friend, and soon finds out that he has some dark secrets. While her mother insists that she stay away from Scott, Nora becomes obsessed with finding out Scott's secret. Nora believes that Scott could very well be Nephilim, and convinces Vee Sky to come with her as she follows him. After Scott confronts her, he invites her to a pool hall with a reputation worse than that of Bo's Arcade, Patch's old haunt. While there, she runs into Patch, who insists that Nora isn't safe and that she needs to go home. Patch also confirms that Scott is a Nephil, and a member of a Nephilim Blood Society, an organization which works to break the hold fallen angels have on the Nephilim. Ultimately refusing to takes Patch's advise, she decides to make Patch jealous when she later spots him there with Marcie. Soon someone attempts to rob the pool hall. When Scott refuses to hand over his money, a fight breaks out and gunfire takes place. Pulling her out of the mayhem, Patch offers Nora his Jeep. When he refuses to leave Marcie behind, she refuses the Jeep and fires Patch as her guardian angel.

While she is with Vee having lunch, Scott appears at a window luring Nora outside to come talk to him. Nora also receives a envelope containing a ring and a note telling her the 'Black Hand' killed her father. Scott invites her to a Battle of the Bands. Nora, still curious about the secrets that surround him, accepts. While waiting for Scott to find a parking space and waiting for Vee to arrive, Nora spots a figure that resembles her father, and follows him to an abandoned townhouse where he disappears. She hears his voice telling her to turn around that she is in danger, Unwilling to turn away Nora calls out to the voice. The voice, responding to her changes, becomes colder. When Nora responds, a hand reaches out to her and soon she is being attacked. Once Nora is able to free herself she finds that no harm has been done to her. She realizes that the voice was not her father, and someone is trying to kill her.

At the Battle of Bands, Vee and Marcie get into a heated argument. Then Marcie tackles Nora to the ground and punches her in the eye. Leaving Nora to fight back; she manages to clip Marcie in the jaw, winning her victory. Patch pulls Nora off Marcie, and pushes through the crowd, then doing the same with Marcie. Vee drives home with moody Nora and her black eye.

That night Patch visits Nora in her dreams – the only way he can communicate with her without the archangels hearing them. Caught up in the heat of the moment they kiss and remove parts of their clothing; both urging desire for each other. Suddenly Nora's finger brushes against Patch’s back, taking her into the past. Only, this time, it’s a few hours back when Nora saw Marcie get into Patch’s car. She sees Marcie kiss Patch and is heartbroken when he doesn’t pull away. She is then brought back to her dream where she angrily confronts Patch, rips off the chain he gave her and demands for her ring back. Patch refuses and leaves. When Nora wakes up the next day she is forced to conclude that her dream was real as Patch’s chain is no longer around her neck.

The next day, she heads off to the media center, where she passes out after receiving a drugged letter of apology 'from Patch' for what happened during her dream the night before. She wakes up and runs when she hears someone. When she is pulled over and fined for speeding whilst trying to get away the police investigate the library to find no evidence of disturbance. Nora becomes concerned that it's the work of a fallen angel or Nephilim.

Nora meets Scott at a party on the beach. While she is waiting, Scott, who is drunk says to the people at the party, to drink free beer at his house. Nora drives drunk Scott to his apartment; vomiting everywhere. She takes him to his bedroom and hints sexual innuendos at her. Ignoring him, she goes and gets Scott water, then sees Patch. Their awkward/casual conversation makes Patch ask Nora to run away with him, to defy the archangels. Nora refuses and tells him she's delivering water for Scott. Patch tells her to be careful, but she brushes him off. Scott then kisses her, and she doesn't pull away because she wanted to get back at Patch. Then Scott removes his T-Shirt which causes Patch to burst in the room and throwing Scott's shirt back at him. Scott gets rough, but Patch defeats him by punching his jaw.

Nora and Vee go to Marcie's house party with the intent of snooping to see if they can find any evidence on Patch's and Marcie's 'relationship'. Nora gets locked out onto Marcie's roof trying to escape being caught. Patch finds Nora and is amused but tells her (telepathically) that he'd go rouge for her if she asked him to, so that they could have some time together because he's tired of 'living halfway'. Though tempted Nora doesn't want to be the cause of Patch's downfall and rejects his offer.

Vee decides to drag Nora to the beach with Rixon because she wants a tan. Nora agrees because she wants to seek information from Rixon about Patch and Marcie. Rixon says to Nora that Patch is the Black Hand (the person who killed Nora's father) and Nora is devastated. Rixon tells Nora that Marcie and Patch get on well; aiming to put Nora off. He leaves early, with just Nora and Vee. While heading to the Neon, Vee notices a clamp on her car and they aren't able to remove it. They see Patch's Jeep, which gives Nora an alternative for the two to get home. Back at the farmhouse, Nora makes pasta, while she is taking it to the table, she is shocked to see Patch standing before her. She explains to him why she 'borrowed' the Jeep. But he informs her that she owes him 'tabs' from the favours he's done for Nora, but she refuses to repay them. As Patch turns more cocky and arrogant; Nora tells Patch that he deserves to go to hell after everything he's done.

Nora decides to go nack to Marcie's house to return the diary. But Marcie catches her with it and smugly admits that Nora's mum is having an affair with Marcie's dad, Hank. That's why Marcie was ruthless towards Nora for 11 years. Nora refuses to believe it but in the end, the affair was really happening.

Patch visits Nora in her dreams to give some bad news: he is now Marcie's guardian angel. And worse, he has to prevent Hank from sacrificing Marcie. Patch softly says to Nora he is doing everything he can to keep her safe, but she must let him in her dreams. Nora doesn't, waking up.

Nora, Vee and Rixon head to the amusement park, where Scott appears with a gun. Rixon leads Nora to an underground tunnel for her safety. Nora hears her dad’s voice in her head, telling her to touch Rixon’s scars. She complies and is whisked to the past, where she sees Rixon holding a gun at her dad, just like the prologue. She returns to the present and tries to escape from Rixon, realizing he is the real killer. Rixon pursues her, wanting to use her as a human sacrifice. He also tells her he planted the dynamite in Patch's apartment, planned to break-up Nora and Patch from the very beginning and dated Vee simply to get closer to Nora. She bumps into Scott, and informs him that he is an immortal Nephilim so he cannot die. Rixon shoots Scott more than once, leaving Nora to be his sacrifice but then Patch appears just when Nora was shot.

After checking out of the hospital, Nora finds Patch, who is happy to see her and tells her he sent Rixon to hell. He takes her to Delphic, down to the underground shed and they embrace; caressing, kissing and nibbling at each other. Then Patch tells her he loves her. Just then, Hank Millar, Nora's real father, comes in and takes Patch away from her. The book ends when Hank Millar asks Nora if it was her that killed "his dear friend, Chauncey Langeais."

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