Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush #4

"Will love conquer all?

     Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

     Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

     But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

     As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for."

So the fourth book still gives me mixed feelings. While I did really like it, I felt that the story took place over too few days. A lot happened in the 2-week span of the book. More than anyone could actually handle. Nephilim or not. Going from the elated emotion of being rid of The Black Hand, to the down of being questioned and judged by every Nephil in town, then being thrust into training all while devising multiple plans on how to keep both oaths.

Nora and Patch were complete equals in this book. Sure they both kept trying to make stupid decisions without the other's approval, but it was for the same selfish reason to keep the other safe. And this is the book that I actually start to really love Patch's character, and if you marathon these books you get a great perspective on his character development. In book one he is a pretty hardened character. Focused only on his own goals with no regard to anything or anyone else. He's kind of more of a background character, in a way, in book two and book three is when he finally earns Nora's love.

There were vast moments of this book where I kind of wanted to stuff Nora in a barrel. She was far too gullible, trusting Dante was her biggest mistake. She should have made a note not to trust anyone that Hank trusted. If she had used more of her brain then she could have relieved  herself a lot of grief. And everything that happened since trusting Dante was just too easy and convenient in his favor for her not to notice. She was also far too trusting with Marcie moving in, personally, I think she should have mind-tricked her into confessing what she was doing. Nora has a very conflicting sense of right and wrong, she essentially murdered Hank, yet she doesn't like to use mind tricks on others, I get her not wanting to do it to her own mother, but Marcie should be more of a free target. If only for the reason that Marcie wouldn't give her the same treatment. One part kind of confused me, it was hardly a real surprise that Vee was Nephilim, but at the same time, wouldn't Patch have noticed it sooner? As well as Rixon? Or even Hank? There should have been more clues, other than her height.

The ending was intense, gruesome battle. And unsurprisingly, they win. But the gift that Patch was given by the Archangels, it honestly confuses me. Did he get a human body, or did he retain his Fallen Angel immorality? Because that wasn't exactly clear, and since they keep establishing that Nephilim stop aging when they swear fealty... Nora never swore anything like that, not that I'm aware of. From what I gathered, Patch is still a Fallen Angel, and Nora is a regular Nephil, but if that's the case, Nora will eventually start to age and get old while Patch stays young. Unless, since he's a Fallen Angel, and she's Nephilim their "marriage" might make her look 17 forever. Again, wasn't exactly clear. I still really love this series, and I wish there was more story of Nora and Patch, after the war and all, it would have been nice to see more into their future.