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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
I have such mixed feelings about this book, I don't really know how to go about with this.
Full review here: https://charmainelimen.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/review-hush-by-stacey-r-campbell/
Full review here: https://charmainelimen.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/review-hush-by-stacey-r-campbell/
Read this review, and others like it, at Bookmarks and Coffee Mugs.
Last week, I signed up for a NetGalley account, and it is fantastic.
NetGalley is a website where authors and publishers can post ARCs (advanced reading copies) and/or ebooks that have already been published, so that so that librarians and book reviewers can have access to them, in exchange for honest reviews. And better yet, it’s completely free, and anybody who wants to join can.
So, when I started my NetGalley account, I downloaded the book Hush by Stacey R. Campbell.
I didn’t really read the description of the book, but I thought the cover of the book was snazzy, and the story of the author was really inspiring. Stacey R. Campbell apparently has dyslexia, and was told that she would never be a writer because of it.
However, as soon as I started reading this book, I was struck by how 2-D and immature the writing, the plot, and characters are.
To start off with, the basic premise of the book is that the princess of a fictional European country has an illegitimate baby girl, who is then secretly packed off to be adopted. Then, several years later, the whole royal family is conveniently killed off in a boating accident. This leaves the baby, now a teenager named Blakeley, who attends a schmancy boarding school in Canada, as the heir, but nobody know this. Luckily, though, a British journaling student named Max figures out that she is the princess, and travels all the way to her Canada school to write about her.
To be honest, I didn’t read the whole thing. I got about ten chapters in, and then skimmed the rest. I saw something about villains attacking the school during a dance at the end of the book, but even that wasn’t interesting. The characters and plot were so flat and ridiculous that it almost felt like I was watching a nine-year-old re-enact the Princess Diaries series with paper dolls. Not one character had a single ounce of personality in this book, especially Blakeley’s friends at the boarding school, who were as cliché as could be. They swore only to remind the reader that they were cool and preppy, not for any legitimate reason.
While I appreciate the struggles the author has gone through, and what she’s attempting to promote with her life’s story, this book was shallow and disappointing. I would not recommend it.
Read review at: http://bookmarksandcoffeemugs.wordpress.com/
Last week, I signed up for a NetGalley account, and it is fantastic.
NetGalley is a website where authors and publishers can post ARCs (advanced reading copies) and/or ebooks that have already been published, so that so that librarians and book reviewers can have access to them, in exchange for honest reviews. And better yet, it’s completely free, and anybody who wants to join can.
So, when I started my NetGalley account, I downloaded the book Hush by Stacey R. Campbell.
I didn’t really read the description of the book, but I thought the cover of the book was snazzy, and the story of the author was really inspiring. Stacey R. Campbell apparently has dyslexia, and was told that she would never be a writer because of it.
However, as soon as I started reading this book, I was struck by how 2-D and immature the writing, the plot, and characters are.
To start off with, the basic premise of the book is that the princess of a fictional European country has an illegitimate baby girl, who is then secretly packed off to be adopted. Then, several years later, the whole royal family is conveniently killed off in a boating accident. This leaves the baby, now a teenager named Blakeley, who attends a schmancy boarding school in Canada, as the heir, but nobody know this. Luckily, though, a British journaling student named Max figures out that she is the princess, and travels all the way to her Canada school to write about her.
To be honest, I didn’t read the whole thing. I got about ten chapters in, and then skimmed the rest. I saw something about villains attacking the school during a dance at the end of the book, but even that wasn’t interesting. The characters and plot were so flat and ridiculous that it almost felt like I was watching a nine-year-old re-enact the Princess Diaries series with paper dolls. Not one character had a single ounce of personality in this book, especially Blakeley’s friends at the boarding school, who were as cliché as could be. They swore only to remind the reader that they were cool and preppy, not for any legitimate reason.
While I appreciate the struggles the author has gone through, and what she’s attempting to promote with her life’s story, this book was shallow and disappointing. I would not recommend it.
Read review at: http://bookmarksandcoffeemugs.wordpress.com/
A copy of this book was given for an honest review of the book by the publisher on Netgalley.
Full review can be found at: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-hush-by-stacey-r-campbell/
Stacey R. Campbell's first book in her Lakeview Series sounded great when I read the synopsis. I'm a sucker for a great coming of age story with a bit of surprise and mystery thrown in. 'Hush' was exactly that.
Hush follows the story of Blakely Henry, a student in boarding school who was adopted at birth by her loving family. Max, the main male figure in the story, is a student at St. Andrews University in Europe and thinks he has found the last living heir to the Tamura throne. In the process, he may not be able to keep those heart strings in tact...
Needless to say 'Hush' is jam packed with mystery, suspense, fun, and a little love. It is the perfect mixture of everything that makes a good book. Campbell had well developed characters that we could relate to and were fun to read interacting together. The only part I found a slight let-down was the revealing of the big secret in the story. I had been building up to it and it happen so suddenly and in a way I was not expecting that it left me wanting more. But the ending of the book more than made up for it and that small part did not seriously effect my opinion of the book. A great read by Campbell and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series, 'Whisper'. Four stars well deserved.
Full review can be found at: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-hush-by-stacey-r-campbell/
Stacey R. Campbell's first book in her Lakeview Series sounded great when I read the synopsis. I'm a sucker for a great coming of age story with a bit of surprise and mystery thrown in. 'Hush' was exactly that.
Hush follows the story of Blakely Henry, a student in boarding school who was adopted at birth by her loving family. Max, the main male figure in the story, is a student at St. Andrews University in Europe and thinks he has found the last living heir to the Tamura throne. In the process, he may not be able to keep those heart strings in tact...
Needless to say 'Hush' is jam packed with mystery, suspense, fun, and a little love. It is the perfect mixture of everything that makes a good book. Campbell had well developed characters that we could relate to and were fun to read interacting together. The only part I found a slight let-down was the revealing of the big secret in the story. I had been building up to it and it happen so suddenly and in a way I was not expecting that it left me wanting more. But the ending of the book more than made up for it and that small part did not seriously effect my opinion of the book. A great read by Campbell and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series, 'Whisper'. Four stars well deserved.
Posted Originally Posted On: Where's My Bookmark?
Rating: 1.5/5
Stacey R. Campbell’s debut novel Hush, follows the journey of seventeen year old Blakely Henry and her friends at a prestigious Canadian boarding school.
Blakely’s life takes a turn when handsome Max Ryder arrives on campus as a foreign exchange student, but is Max really all that he’s cut out to be?
Hush had an interesting premise and I looked forward to reading it, however, I was disappointed by much of the story.
Blakely and Max seem like well rounded characters, but Campbell does nothing to show or characterize that. It’s just, there.
Max is set out to discover whether or not Blakely is a long lost princess. We knew from the start that she is and now we have to begrudgingly go through the novel knowing full well that Blakely is the princess.
I had many issues with Blakely and Max’s relationship. It didn’t feel forced, but it also didn’t feel like it progressed naturally. Their relationship didn’t seem worth it in the sense that they didn’t overcome any obstacles. I didn’t find myself rooting for them. Now, literary relationships don’t need to have obstacles to overcome, but when a relationship seems obvious, they might as well get together.
Also, Max is there to discover whether or not Blakely is actually a Tamuran princess. First, if he was really an investigative journalist student, he would have found out quicker. Second, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to get ‘involved’ with the subject. Third, is investigating seems highly unethical. I was questioning his actions most of the time. I know this is fiction and I know it’s supposed to be a fun light read, but it wasn’t fun for me because I had these questions bouncing through my head most of the time.
Campbell introduced characters haphazardly. The conflicts were weak. The characterization needed some more work. “Blakely would be a good princess” - exactly how and why would she be a good princess? You can’t just say, hey she’s taken part in model UN and has aced her government classes. You need to show and demonstrate it as well.
Campbell has two more novels planned in the Lakeview series. I have higher hopes for the second novel, Whisper, because he has a more interesting plot premise.
Recommended For: contemporary, romance, boarding school
Rating: 1.5/5
Stacey R. Campbell’s debut novel Hush, follows the journey of seventeen year old Blakely Henry and her friends at a prestigious Canadian boarding school.
Blakely’s life takes a turn when handsome Max Ryder arrives on campus as a foreign exchange student, but is Max really all that he’s cut out to be?
Hush had an interesting premise and I looked forward to reading it, however, I was disappointed by much of the story.
Blakely and Max seem like well rounded characters, but Campbell does nothing to show or characterize that. It’s just, there.
Max is set out to discover whether or not Blakely is a long lost princess. We knew from the start that she is and now we have to begrudgingly go through the novel knowing full well that Blakely is the princess.
I had many issues with Blakely and Max’s relationship. It didn’t feel forced, but it also didn’t feel like it progressed naturally. Their relationship didn’t seem worth it in the sense that they didn’t overcome any obstacles. I didn’t find myself rooting for them. Now, literary relationships don’t need to have obstacles to overcome, but when a relationship seems obvious, they might as well get together.
Also, Max is there to discover whether or not Blakely is actually a Tamuran princess. First, if he was really an investigative journalist student, he would have found out quicker. Second, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to get ‘involved’ with the subject. Third, is investigating seems highly unethical. I was questioning his actions most of the time. I know this is fiction and I know it’s supposed to be a fun light read, but it wasn’t fun for me because I had these questions bouncing through my head most of the time.
Campbell introduced characters haphazardly. The conflicts were weak. The characterization needed some more work. “Blakely would be a good princess” - exactly how and why would she be a good princess? You can’t just say, hey she’s taken part in model UN and has aced her government classes. You need to show and demonstrate it as well.
Campbell has two more novels planned in the Lakeview series. I have higher hopes for the second novel, Whisper, because he has a more interesting plot premise.
Recommended For: contemporary, romance, boarding school
Reminiscent of "Princess Diaries", this is a story of a seventeen year old adopted girl named Blakely who has no idea that she is actually a royal heir to a fictitious country. Max, a high school senior in a journalism program finds evidence that she is a royal heir and manages to get his school to transfer him to her prestigious private school for one semester so he can investigate and find out if she is indeed who he thinks she is. Romance and murder plots, rugby and boarding school drama abound in this YA novel. This book is the first in a series. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next one. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
I received Hush quite a while ago, but did not get around to reading it until I was in a book tour. I was actually quite thrown off, I thought it would be more of a summer camp mystery kind-of-thing, but that was not at all what the story was about. I think the whole “Lakeview” part through me off.
Likes:
I like when I have no real idea what is going to happen (because I rarely read the synopsis), I love when I am pleasantly surprised. The book had reminiscent parts to The Princess Diaries, but it did well to stand on its own.
Blakely (what a cool name) was a fun MC. I loved her upbeat attitude and how she was nice to everyone. She reacted about the same I would finding out the secrets about her past.
I loved the romance with Max. The slow burn with baggage is always my favorite to read. I love when love is slow and wins overall!
Gripes:
I am not sure how I felt about this being a series. I have the rest of the series, so I will probably read them, but I felt like it would have been a nicely wrapped up stand-alone with a few more chapters.
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Likes:
I like when I have no real idea what is going to happen (because I rarely read the synopsis), I love when I am pleasantly surprised. The book had reminiscent parts to The Princess Diaries, but it did well to stand on its own.
Blakely (what a cool name) was a fun MC. I loved her upbeat attitude and how she was nice to everyone. She reacted about the same I would finding out the secrets about her past.
I loved the romance with Max. The slow burn with baggage is always my favorite to read. I love when love is slow and wins overall!
Gripes:
I am not sure how I felt about this being a series. I have the rest of the series, so I will probably read them, but I felt like it would have been a nicely wrapped up stand-alone with a few more chapters.
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Another quick review, thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for honest feedback.
Hush is a very cute, very feel-good book with a plot that will keep you interested while also not being an emotional dead weight on your mind. I love finding cute light reads because they often come as such a breath of fresh air after reading some of the anxty YA's that I am so used to. I also find it so cute that Campbell wrote it for and loosely about her daughter and the other books in the series are written about her other daughters too, I wish my mum was that talented.
Personally, I feel as though this book should be aimed at a younger age range, maybe young teenagers, however the language used in the book may be inappropriate and this confused me. Five years ago I would have loved the writing style and the story but I think the age of the characters and the language they used is what would push this book into the YA category and I just felt conflicted about who the target market of the book would be.
The POV changes were very jumpy, some within the paragraphs and others changing by chapter, and all of them were confusing to me. A lot of the story I just had to kind of 'go along' with rather than fully understanding what was happening, and if someone were to ask me what all of the characters were called I would only be able to answer confidently with two because I have no idea what name belonged to what character or what their purpose was in the book. Especially those based in Blakely's native country, I barely grasped what was happening to their government or who the villains were and I think this was because that part of the story was written from there own perspective and as a result the details are lost as, obviously, the person telling us what was happening already knew what was happening. I do think that Campbell struggled getting parts of the story across and sometimes even sunk to having the characters speak to themselves to make sure that the reader knew what was happening rather than letting them draw their own conclusion.
I am looking forward to the release of the next book, which I hear is based around Halle, and I'm hoping to read it in between the major releases that I know are going to sever my soul and leave me emotionally and physically broken.
Hush is a very cute, very feel-good book with a plot that will keep you interested while also not being an emotional dead weight on your mind. I love finding cute light reads because they often come as such a breath of fresh air after reading some of the anxty YA's that I am so used to. I also find it so cute that Campbell wrote it for and loosely about her daughter and the other books in the series are written about her other daughters too, I wish my mum was that talented.
Personally, I feel as though this book should be aimed at a younger age range, maybe young teenagers, however the language used in the book may be inappropriate and this confused me. Five years ago I would have loved the writing style and the story but I think the age of the characters and the language they used is what would push this book into the YA category and I just felt conflicted about who the target market of the book would be.
The POV changes were very jumpy, some within the paragraphs and others changing by chapter, and all of them were confusing to me. A lot of the story I just had to kind of 'go along' with rather than fully understanding what was happening, and if someone were to ask me what all of the characters were called I would only be able to answer confidently with two because I have no idea what name belonged to what character or what their purpose was in the book. Especially those based in Blakely's native country, I barely grasped what was happening to their government or who the villains were and I think this was because that part of the story was written from there own perspective and as a result the details are lost as, obviously, the person telling us what was happening already knew what was happening. I do think that Campbell struggled getting parts of the story across and sometimes even sunk to having the characters speak to themselves to make sure that the reader knew what was happening rather than letting them draw their own conclusion.
I am looking forward to the release of the next book, which I hear is based around Halle, and I'm hoping to read it in between the major releases that I know are going to sever my soul and leave me emotionally and physically broken.
First off, I'd like to express my gratitude towards the publisher for giving this copy to me on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I did find myself enjoying this book. The writing was done well, and the characters were flat but likable in their own respects, and ohmylanta, the setting was beautiful. However, despite these nice things, there were also some things that felt a bit too rushed and unrealistic.
Blakely Henry knows that she was adopted and is comfortable with not knowing who her real parents are. It's doesn't seem so important when she has wonderful adoptive parents who love her as if she were truly theirs, in fact, she feels like she's got everything she could ever need. That is, until Max shows up at her prestigious boarding school and seemingly turns her world upside down for the better. What she doesn't know is that Max is really there to investigate her apparent link to the recently deceased Tamura family. With a semester full of friendship, love and a bit of danger, it's difficult not to root for Blakely there in the end.
I've seen this book be compared to The Princess Diaries so many times. Personally, I don't see it that way. Sure, one of the names is a bit close (Renaldo / Renaldi) but even that isn't too big of an issue. I thought that the writing was well done and descriptive. I only had two small problems with it. The first was the fact that things seemed to progress too quickly and without warning. For instance, whenever Max comes to the boarding school, he seems to instantly become best friends with Blakely. We don't get to see very much as to how this friendship developed, and it really confused me. There were also a few other awkward time jumps throughout the book, but they weren't as deterring as this one.
Secondly, the way that it was written let on that we knew everybody's mindset. Not only did we know our main characters when it was their chapter point of views, but we knew what their friends were thinking as well. For the chapter headings to state that it was from a specific person's point of view, it just felt odd that she knew what her friends were thinking.
As far as the pacing went, I didn't have any problems with it. Things progressed well, besides the little time jumps.
Character-wise I found everybody to be sufficient. They all seemed to be flat and a bit too perfect, but still likable. We don't really get to delve very deep into anybody's life, besides Blakely, but perhaps that was for a specific reason.
Our lead; Blakely was popular and beautiful and everybody knew and at one point has wanted to date her. That's fine, because sometimes it does happen, but kindly don't rub it in my face. Her intelligence and grace made up for this in my mind.
Next, our lead male; Max was a bit too cocky for my liking. I dunno, he just seemed to rush and jump to so many conclusions that I was still trying to figure out. Truthfully, he just really didn't impress me that much.
The big violence scene towards the end just kind of seemed sprung on us. Also, why didn't anybody think to call the police?Spoilers ->
Teenagers rushing and jumping criminals with guns, could it be more unintelligent and hasty of a decision? This was one of the unrealistic things that really stopped me.
Also, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to read much about her life being a princess. This will come in future books?
Overall, Hush was a light read. The setting was amazing, as was the overall story, and the characters were likable. Even though some things felt a bit rushed, it was still a nice story overall. For those of you going into this believing that it's going to be like The Princess Diaries, this isn't true. Blakely is nothing like Mia, and vice versa. This was a fun, short read and I feel like I might recommend it to some people.
☆☆☆/5
Recommend?: If you're searching for a light read.
I did find myself enjoying this book. The writing was done well, and the characters were flat but likable in their own respects, and ohmylanta, the setting was beautiful. However, despite these nice things, there were also some things that felt a bit too rushed and unrealistic.
Blakely Henry knows that she was adopted and is comfortable with not knowing who her real parents are. It's doesn't seem so important when she has wonderful adoptive parents who love her as if she were truly theirs, in fact, she feels like she's got everything she could ever need. That is, until Max shows up at her prestigious boarding school and seemingly turns her world upside down for the better. What she doesn't know is that Max is really there to investigate her apparent link to the recently deceased Tamura family. With a semester full of friendship, love and a bit of danger, it's difficult not to root for Blakely there in the end.
I've seen this book be compared to The Princess Diaries so many times. Personally, I don't see it that way. Sure, one of the names is a bit close (Renaldo / Renaldi) but even that isn't too big of an issue. I thought that the writing was well done and descriptive. I only had two small problems with it. The first was the fact that things seemed to progress too quickly and without warning. For instance, whenever Max comes to the boarding school, he seems to instantly become best friends with Blakely. We don't get to see very much as to how this friendship developed, and it really confused me. There were also a few other awkward time jumps throughout the book, but they weren't as deterring as this one.
Secondly, the way that it was written let on that we knew everybody's mindset. Not only did we know our main characters when it was their chapter point of views, but we knew what their friends were thinking as well. For the chapter headings to state that it was from a specific person's point of view, it just felt odd that she knew what her friends were thinking.
As far as the pacing went, I didn't have any problems with it. Things progressed well, besides the little time jumps.
Character-wise I found everybody to be sufficient. They all seemed to be flat and a bit too perfect, but still likable. We don't really get to delve very deep into anybody's life, besides Blakely, but perhaps that was for a specific reason.
Our lead; Blakely was popular and beautiful and everybody knew and at one point has wanted to date her. That's fine, because sometimes it does happen, but kindly don't rub it in my face. Her intelligence and grace made up for this in my mind.
Next, our lead male; Max was a bit too cocky for my liking. I dunno, he just seemed to rush and jump to so many conclusions that I was still trying to figure out. Truthfully, he just really didn't impress me that much.
The big violence scene towards the end just kind of seemed sprung on us. Also, why didn't anybody think to call the police?
Teenagers rushing and jumping criminals with guns, could it be more unintelligent and hasty of a decision? This was one of the unrealistic things that really stopped me.
Also, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to read much about her life being a princess. This will come in future books?
Overall, Hush was a light read. The setting was amazing, as was the overall story, and the characters were likable. Even though some things felt a bit rushed, it was still a nice story overall. For those of you going into this believing that it's going to be like The Princess Diaries, this isn't true. Blakely is nothing like Mia, and vice versa. This was a fun, short read and I feel like I might recommend it to some people.
☆☆☆/5
Recommend?: If you're searching for a light read.
Thank you to netgalley for releasing this book to me! I can't wait for more books in this series to come out, especially since the next few will be based (loosely) on the author's daughters. This book, Hush, was a major page turner and I finished it quickly. An easy read for the YA community, the book follows Max and Blakely; Max trying to secretly prove that Blakely is the long lost princess of Tamura. Although at times you could guess what was going to happen next, I still thoroughly enjoyed this Lakeview novel.