Saturday, May 11, 2013

Finale | by: Becca Fitzpatrick

*Don't read this review unless you've read the other books in Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush Saga. This will probably contain spoilers for those who haven't, but there won't be spoilers for those who have read the previous three but not this one.

The Hush, Hush Saga is one of my favorite YA paranormal romance series, but it has reached its end with Finale, a roller-coaster of an ending that kept me turning the pages and fearing the outcome. Though the other three books in the series held so much action and surprise, none of them match up to Finale in that department.

But I wasn't so excited to get through this one at first. I knew that Nora and Patch were in a (rather complicated) pickle, and I wasn't so sure how they'd manage. Nora has become the leader of the Nephilim army and must fulfill her oath to the Black Hand, but in order to do so, the Nephilim are going to have to believe in her, whether she has the self-confidence or not. She must undergo training along the way, gaining the strength she needs to defend herself, and she can't let the Nephilim realize that her boyfriend is Patch, who they'd automatically consider an enemy since he's a fallen angel.

While dealing with these dilemmas amid training, Nora discovers something that will make her even stronger... and upon this discovery, I started getting irritated with Nora. I just had that feeling one gets when reading and the character does something stupid, and then the reader sits there rolling his/her eyes thinking "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" In the past few books, I've felt relatively connected with Nora, but between her decisions with devilcraft broke this connection along with her new, unnatural dialogue. I just couldn't relate to her or understand her.

Thankfully, any negativity towards this book ends there. (At least for the most part.) Characters like Vee, Scott, and of course, Patch, still stood their ground as fabulous characters while Nora was starting to falter. I mean, what more could I ask for? Patch is one of my favorite love interests while Vee and Scott are two of my favorite BFFs.

But all in all, the best elements of Finale are the moments of action that are often followed by unsuspected twists and turns. There were a few times when I wondered if some of Fitzpatrick's twists were even plausible due to their seemingly random appearances, but that's not the case. Fitzpatrick is just so sneaky! I don't know how she keeps everything so well-hidden; I don't think I've ever been so surprised while reading before! The second half of this novel is magnificent!

Now, I'm not saying I'm in love with every single aspect of this book, either. As I previously mentioned, I had some issues with Nora, and Fitzpatrick's general writing style didn't impress me that much. But my goodness, Finale has perhaps the most explosive ending out of every book I've ever read. It's such an adrenaline rush, and it even started to tug at my heart strings. As far as how the plot progressed and came to a close, this was the perfect ending to this series. People keeping secrets, traitors, jealousy, violence, the brink of war, Nephilim officials in cloaks... Yep, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A lot of the series I've been keeping up with are coming to a close, and though I'll miss them, I must admit, I've gotten an amazing ending out of the Hush, Hush Saga. It's been such a fun series, and the crazy/amazing ending surpassed my expectations for this anticipated Finale.

4/5 Stars

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