Hush Hush, the much anticipated end?

Nora and her fallen angel boyfriend, Patch have survived. After killing the leader of the Nephilim army, her step father, Nora becomes their leader. Although many do not agree with this take over, it is what the Black Hand wished. In order to keep their alliance a secret, Nora and Patch stage a pretend fight to end their relationship. With the help of Dante, the Black Hand's second in command, Nora begins to slowly gain the allegiance of her people. As the anticipation of the battle between the Nephilim and the fallen angels begins, Nora needs to decide what is more important: having power, or Patch. The two are confronted with many differences between their kind, and it is up to them to determine if this defines their path.

I am going to be honest here. I did not completely read this novel. Before you call me a fraud, let me explain:
Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick was a most anticipated end to the saga. After reading Hush Hush, readers are sucked into this world of fallen angels, love, and passion. Once you continue reading, you wonder if there was anything special about it to begin with. Then there's this book. I was most disappointed with the 3rd: Silence. It was meant to be the final book, but because the author clearly needed a whole other book to end her deeply developed story, it turned out to be a tease. Silence was nothing special at all. I found myself bored and disappointed, especially because the main character, Nora, seems to get more intolerable as the series continues.
I decided I would read the final book. When you come so far, you think to yourself: Self, let's just finish this off. This was, quite literally, the conversation I had with myself on this novel. Picking this book up and starting it was easy because I anticipated a shallow, easy to follow plot. However the more I read, the more I became quite aggravated. The way the author goes about describing characters, setting, plot was so trite. I felt as though she gave up halfway through writing this series.

Hush Hush was one of those books I fell in love with because it was great all around. The plot and theme were new, the ideas were interesting, and it really felt like I wouldn't be let down for the rest of the journey. I was wrong. Her writing was slapdash, her ideas were boring, and the main character could not pay me to get involved in the story. EVEN THE TITLE IS LAZY! It was a mess. So halfway through, I began to skim. I skimmed all the way through the end of the book.
I got to the resolution and, honestly, started laughing. Not only does everything end fairly quickly with no big finish, but the epilogue focuses on the marriage of Nora's best friend, Vee, who can only be described as horny, overweight, and occasionally a great friend to have. Maybe there's more depth to her, but I couldn't really see it. As for Patch, he turned from sexy and mysterious, to Edward. What does he even see in Nora?!
The only thing I really got out of this novel was the fact that Fitzpatrick tried to be the new Stephanie Meyer without bringing in vampires and werewolves. Instead it's fallen angels. Basically the same story. I haven't even read Twilight, but I can imagine it follows the same plot.

So no, I did not officially read this book cover to cover, but I read enough to know it was a disappointment. If you need a series to pick up, this is not the one. Unfortunately, this series ends with the first book. And it makes me sad because I really did like the first one. I just feel the author got lazy and hitched her writing on the coat tails of other ideas. In this case, it didn't work for me. When you start to feel sorry for the author because you think "THIS is the best you came up with?" it's officially time to close the book and move on. Trust me, I don't do that often. It's safe to say this one did not hit any type of mark in my book. We can only hope if Fitzpatrick decides to write another novel that it doesn't relate to this one. At all. Please.

This Place is the Thing Behind Madness. There is Nothing Good Here

Cas is still heartbroken after losing Anna 6th months ago. She sacrificed herself and was dragged to hell by the Obeahman, the same monster who killed his father. Now, Anna is in his nightmares being tortured and begging Cas to free her. He is convinced that Anna is in a hell she does not deserve, and he needs to go after her.

His best friend, Thomas, understands, but he knows it will not be an easy task. Thomas's grandfather, Cas's' mother, and even their friend, Carmel, know this is a fight not easily won. Everyone says to leave the dead alone; she was a murderer, so she belongs in hell. But Cas won't let the girl he loves rot in a hell designed by the Obeahman. Determined to set things right, Cas and Thomas begin researching ways to get to Anna, and how to bring her back.
A packet from Gideon, his father and mother's close friend, may prove to serve up more secrets and bring about new enemies. Armed and ready to avenge Anna's noble death, Cas will stop at nothing to bring her out and into a world she belongs. Even if it means his death.
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake is an amazing read! I specifically kept it until October so it would be the perfect Halloween book, and it did not let me down. Just like Anna Dressed in Blood, the writing is so ridiculously good. A few times I had to look at the back cover just to be sure the author was a woman because she does such a great job with Cas's voice. All the characters are likeable and able to relate to in some way. The description is incredible. I absolutely fell in love with these two books! I don't know if there will be a third because of the ending, but I sure hope Blake writes more in the future.
I think at least somewhere down the line there should be a movie made. I could see a Zac Efron playing Cas...not just because of the age, but because I feel like he could do dark, mysterious, and oh so hot. Me thinking of Zac Efron is hot when he is practically my younger brother's age is disgusting, by the way. *Side note: technically he's only two years younger than I am...so I can feel okay oogling him. :p*
But read this book and tell me you don't see a great male lead who is a loner and completely gorgeous?
Read these books. End of story. You want an intense spooky ride with great writing: read these!