Readers of Hush, Hush will find themselves settling back to Coldwater, Maine, for more angelic adventures with Norma Grey. This sequel picks up right where the previous one tied things up. Patch, her bad-boy-turned-boyfriend, has regained his wings upon saving her from a Nephilim out to kill her. Not only is he an angel once again, but he has been appointed as her guardian angel. One would think that this would lead to even greater happiness for the two of them, but that, alas, is for naught.

Nora's best friend Vee and her mother still have major concerns about whether it is safe to keep Patch around. While they don't know about his angelic secret, they do know that bad things seem to keep happening when Patch is around. of course, that doesn't stop Vee from starting to date Patch's friend Rixon. Vee doesn't know that he, like Patch previously, is a fallen angel.

Trouble starts to brew for the relationship between Patch and Nora as Patch becomes friendly with Marcie Millar, Nora's classmate and lifelong bane. The two have fought and picked on each other for years, though Nora has always felt like Marcie always seems to come out the better. Nora doesn't understand his need to be with her nemesis and can't help but wonder if he is moving on to the next "conquest."

To make matters even more challenging, Nora's mom reintroduces Nora to Scott Parnell, a childhood friend who is moving back to town with his own mother. The belief is that Scott would be a much safer match for Nora, and she could help him re-acclimate him to Coldwater. Unfortunately, mom doesn't know that he has ties to the Nephilim, descendants of angels who are hoping to overthrow the angels for freedom at the cost of the safety of mankind. He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect himself, and that might mean getting Nora out of the way.

As the story moves, it quickly becomes clear that the death of Nora's father and her familial past are really tied to all of the current troubles, which allows for further character and plot development in the series.

As with the earlier book in the series, Crescendo builds in pace and tension as the novel progresses. Nora finds herself in deeper danger as she starts to realize how ingrained into the next wave of the Nephilim revolt all of the current events are. Who is good and who is evil is really the big question that confuses Nora and the reader.

My one complaint about this book is the constant insecurity of Nora about her relationship with Patch. She exhibits high levels of paranoia and jealousy in regard to him that could be avoided if she just took a moment to talk to him rather than making assumptions. The result is that she makes more and more bad decisions, placing herself and her friends in further danger. I just wanted to shake her and tell her to grow up because it was slowing down the real interesting parts of the story. With that said, it is worth plodding through those portions of the book to enjoy the real core plotline of the angelic civil war that is placing Patch and Nora at the crossroads.

The novel definitely ends with an interesting cliffhanger that strongly points to another sequel. My understanding is that it is coming out in October and will be called Silence. I am looking forward to it.