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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
She Was the Quiet One is the first book I’ve read by Michele Campbell. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not. I found myself rolling my eyes during conversations between the teenage characters. They just seemed unbelievable, like teenagers don’t talk to each other that way. But to be fair, I don’t know how teens at a boarding school speak. 🤣 I enjoyed Campbell’s writing style besides that small point.
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I did end up enjoying it. Consider reading this one if you don’t need a lot of twists in your thrillers and if you don’t mind reading about inappropriate relationships. A lot of reviews I’ve read suggest that She Was The Quiet One reads more like a YA book and I’d have to agree!
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Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an egalley in exchange for an honest review
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I did end up enjoying it. Consider reading this one if you don’t need a lot of twists in your thrillers and if you don’t mind reading about inappropriate relationships. A lot of reviews I’ve read suggest that She Was The Quiet One reads more like a YA book and I’d have to agree!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an egalley in exchange for an honest review
This book wasn’t exactly thrilling and didn’t have much depth to it. The plot twists at the end were expected with no real conclusion. It seemed as if the book was hurried to be finished with some meaningless plots thrown in to spice it up.
The blurb for this one promises twists, turns, and dark secrets. It is an interesting story, and there are plenty of dark secrets, but I didn't find much in the way of twists and turns. Instead, most of it was rather predictable, especially the killer's identity in spite of a few decent red herrings. A few things were a stretch on the believability scale, but a lot were necessary for flow and plot so could be easily overlooked. The exception to that came toward the end - first, with the twins' grandmother and her change in personality. I just didn't buy it. The other was the epilogue, and while I can understand wanting to wrap everything up with a neat little bow, it was just over the top. Sadly, it was also the only real twist in the book. As the setting for the story is a boarding school, quite a bit of it revolves around teenage angst, primarily that of Rose and Bel, but that was expected given the storyline. At the end of the day, it did hold my interest, but I was disappointed in the complete predictability of it all.
Oh this was good.... so addictive! Private boarding school girls are so nasty!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first part moves really slowly and the characters are annoying. The second part makes the book bearable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Murder
If you've been following me for the last year, then you may remember me gushing over a novel last summer called IT'S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND by Michele Campbell. It's the kind of novel that was genuinely dark, well crafted, and addictive...it's also the kind of novel that the minute you finish, you're anticipating and craving this authors next piece of work. Naturally, when I saw that Michele Campbell announced her next novel, SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.
Reading a second novel by an author after you loved their first one so much can be scary. What if I don't like it as much? What if it's not as unique? What if it's a completely different direction than the previous novel? It's scary! Well, have no fear because Campbell is back with a bite. One of my favorite things about IT'S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND was the Ivy League setting that about half of the novel took place in. Well, it's like my prayers have been answered because this entire novel takes place in a boarding school! Hallelujah.
This one started out a little weary for me. The prologue was dark and terrifying, leading you into a cautionary tale similar to Campbell's first novel. While I enjoyed the prologue, I was quickly introduced to two sisters in a way that made me question if I would like this one as the first chapter was a little cliche for me. Orphaned twins go to live with rich grandmother, etc. I was nervous. But, then good old grandma spends a ton of money on school supplies and clothes and sends them off to this prestigious and illusive school that their father had went to and all hell breaks loose. Chapter two and so forth had me hooked, so I won't fault Campbell on that and I appreciate an author who gets right to the point. Boy, does she ever. The plot takes a turn into this world that is not only unfamiliar territory to the two sisters, but to the reader as well. Cliques have been formed, friends have been made, and these two newbies are not sure where there place is. I loved the psychological aspect of this part as you see their relationship go from being so strong to really changing rather quickly.
I adored the characterization in this novel. I was hesitant on reading an adult novel with young adult characters as I feared it may come off too much like a young adult novel, but the characterization in this read is multi-layered and nothing short of dazzling. There is a multiple character narrative in this one that really shines above the rest when other novels have failed to get their point across using this method. Campbell does it flawlessly. While I haven't been in school in quite some time, the way these characters are written was brilliantly executed using modern day technology and dealt with some pretty dark elements considering they are still in high school. Not one character felt cliched, not useful to the story, or was wasted by being outshone by another character. I absolutely hated some of them because we are meant to hate them, I loved more of them because of the way they were written, and I feared for two young women knowing that their lives were going to change forever.
The pacing with this novel was exceptional. I can't say it any other way. Between the setting, the time of year that everything takes place, and the way that Campbell paced this novel on top of everything else that I enjoyed about it just made it a really splendid read. The tension in this one just skyrockets as it continues and the story goes from innocence to eye-opening and alarming. I found myself going to take reading breaks for the necessities in life (bathing, food, water, etc.) and was flabbergasted at how far I had made it since I last looked. For me, I need to plan my life out down to the minute, so I am usually reading and even when enjoying something, I am taking note of how far into it I am and how I need to finish it before dinner or before a certain day. With this book, I was just so immersed that the outside world just faded into the background and I lost track of time and nothing else really phased me. That's when you know it's one hell of a read. As a bonus, there's another aspect that I wasn't expecting and didn't see coming, but just added a whole other level to how good this read was. When I read BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty, I loved the small chapters of the detectives interviewing different people about this event that happened that the reader didn't have a full grasp on. With this story, I knew early on (the prologue) what had happened, I just didn't know a lot of the details and Campbell really tied so much together in such a "blink and you miss it" kind of way by including these interviews as smaller chapters in between the other ones taking place in the past. I loved it. It worked for me and it kept me allowing myself just one more chapter...
As the ending was approaching, I found myself at a crossroads. Do I slow down and really savor these last few chapters or do I just keep going and know that I am eventually going to have to literally close the book on this world and these characters and this story that I was so bewitched by? Well, all good things come to an end and this book is an example on how all amazing things can come to an end as well. I loved the darkness, the eeriness, the harrowing elements and the emotion that Campbell really brought front and center with the ending. There were so many things going on and I felt that she didn't hold back at all with being 100% honest to the story and keeping it suspenseful, emotional, and tying everything up so well. One thing I really enjoyed with both of her novels was that there are some twists that happen throughout, but the endings aren't full of shock-factor and twists that you never saw coming, they are just dependent on her storytelling abilities and how she effortlessly ties everything up with a neat bow at end. No question left unanswered. I find this flawless and unique. I was so satisfied with this read that I almost missed the epilogue that just left my jaw resting on the floor and my mind being blown. Shock factor? Not a huge amount. Just the way that she wrote the epilogue and the few things that are revealed in it really took me for a loop. I was even more in love with this story more than I thought I could be. So, I guess I have one question left; when do I get to pre-order book number three?
Special thanks to St. Martins Press for this copy in exchange for my honest review.
Reading a second novel by an author after you loved their first one so much can be scary. What if I don't like it as much? What if it's not as unique? What if it's a completely different direction than the previous novel? It's scary! Well, have no fear because Campbell is back with a bite. One of my favorite things about IT'S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND was the Ivy League setting that about half of the novel took place in. Well, it's like my prayers have been answered because this entire novel takes place in a boarding school! Hallelujah.
This one started out a little weary for me. The prologue was dark and terrifying, leading you into a cautionary tale similar to Campbell's first novel. While I enjoyed the prologue, I was quickly introduced to two sisters in a way that made me question if I would like this one as the first chapter was a little cliche for me. Orphaned twins go to live with rich grandmother, etc. I was nervous. But, then good old grandma spends a ton of money on school supplies and clothes and sends them off to this prestigious and illusive school that their father had went to and all hell breaks loose. Chapter two and so forth had me hooked, so I won't fault Campbell on that and I appreciate an author who gets right to the point. Boy, does she ever. The plot takes a turn into this world that is not only unfamiliar territory to the two sisters, but to the reader as well. Cliques have been formed, friends have been made, and these two newbies are not sure where there place is. I loved the psychological aspect of this part as you see their relationship go from being so strong to really changing rather quickly.
I adored the characterization in this novel. I was hesitant on reading an adult novel with young adult characters as I feared it may come off too much like a young adult novel, but the characterization in this read is multi-layered and nothing short of dazzling. There is a multiple character narrative in this one that really shines above the rest when other novels have failed to get their point across using this method. Campbell does it flawlessly. While I haven't been in school in quite some time, the way these characters are written was brilliantly executed using modern day technology and dealt with some pretty dark elements considering they are still in high school. Not one character felt cliched, not useful to the story, or was wasted by being outshone by another character. I absolutely hated some of them because we are meant to hate them, I loved more of them because of the way they were written, and I feared for two young women knowing that their lives were going to change forever.
The pacing with this novel was exceptional. I can't say it any other way. Between the setting, the time of year that everything takes place, and the way that Campbell paced this novel on top of everything else that I enjoyed about it just made it a really splendid read. The tension in this one just skyrockets as it continues and the story goes from innocence to eye-opening and alarming. I found myself going to take reading breaks for the necessities in life (bathing, food, water, etc.) and was flabbergasted at how far I had made it since I last looked. For me, I need to plan my life out down to the minute, so I am usually reading and even when enjoying something, I am taking note of how far into it I am and how I need to finish it before dinner or before a certain day. With this book, I was just so immersed that the outside world just faded into the background and I lost track of time and nothing else really phased me. That's when you know it's one hell of a read. As a bonus, there's another aspect that I wasn't expecting and didn't see coming, but just added a whole other level to how good this read was. When I read BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty, I loved the small chapters of the detectives interviewing different people about this event that happened that the reader didn't have a full grasp on. With this story, I knew early on (the prologue) what had happened, I just didn't know a lot of the details and Campbell really tied so much together in such a "blink and you miss it" kind of way by including these interviews as smaller chapters in between the other ones taking place in the past. I loved it. It worked for me and it kept me allowing myself just one more chapter...
As the ending was approaching, I found myself at a crossroads. Do I slow down and really savor these last few chapters or do I just keep going and know that I am eventually going to have to literally close the book on this world and these characters and this story that I was so bewitched by? Well, all good things come to an end and this book is an example on how all amazing things can come to an end as well. I loved the darkness, the eeriness, the harrowing elements and the emotion that Campbell really brought front and center with the ending. There were so many things going on and I felt that she didn't hold back at all with being 100% honest to the story and keeping it suspenseful, emotional, and tying everything up so well. One thing I really enjoyed with both of her novels was that there are some twists that happen throughout, but the endings aren't full of shock-factor and twists that you never saw coming, they are just dependent on her storytelling abilities and how she effortlessly ties everything up with a neat bow at end. No question left unanswered. I find this flawless and unique. I was so satisfied with this read that I almost missed the epilogue that just left my jaw resting on the floor and my mind being blown. Shock factor? Not a huge amount. Just the way that she wrote the epilogue and the few things that are revealed in it really took me for a loop. I was even more in love with this story more than I thought I could be. So, I guess I have one question left; when do I get to pre-order book number three?
Special thanks to St. Martins Press for this copy in exchange for my honest review.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I bought this book bc it was on sale and it was pretty interesting at first, but it just dragged on towards the end. By the end of part 1 you know what is going on and just waiting to see how it ends. Although predictable, I did enjoy the side track twist. Side note… Heath is also the reason I hate men and that they can’t be trusted
The twin Sisters were once close, until boarding school changed them, changed everything. Now one lies dead with multiple stab wounds; the other locked in the infirmary accused of her murder with a large lump on her head and a foggy memory... sure she had a fight with her Sister but that doesn't mean she would kill the only family she had left - would she? how could she?
This novel is gripping from the start, I read the first two pages in a bookshop whilst waiting for a friend.... but I couldn't put it down, I was hooked - so naturally I had to buy it! I loved the structure of this novel, it combines present day, with police interviews and the past. Drip feeding the reader the lead up to the crime revealing the who, how, what and whys along the way. Maintaining the intrigue though out, Campbell keeps the twists coming right until the very last pages. This is a must read for fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies.
This novel is gripping from the start, I read the first two pages in a bookshop whilst waiting for a friend.... but I couldn't put it down, I was hooked - so naturally I had to buy it! I loved the structure of this novel, it combines present day, with police interviews and the past. Drip feeding the reader the lead up to the crime revealing the who, how, what and whys along the way. Maintaining the intrigue though out, Campbell keeps the twists coming right until the very last pages. This is a must read for fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies.
First I want to thank netgalley and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my kindle! This book was a bit slow in the beginning but wow a few chapters in you were introduced to a set of twins named bel and rose. Rose is more the reserved twin and bel is the rebellious. After losing their mother they move in with grandma who sends them to a boarding school, that there family has gone to in the past. Bel joins the group of friends who is constantly getting into trouble and hold a contest on which girl can sleep with the handsome teacher named Hearh Donovan who is married to another teacher named Sara. He’s also in the running to become headmaster. Bel soon has a crush on him and he isn’t the perfect husband. Sara his wife is either a bit naive or chooses not to believe rumors. When bel ends up dead and her twin sister is found with the knife that’s where the mystery begins! I enjoyed this book! I loved the back and forth chapters for each twins point of view. I found my jaw dropping at the end! Nice easy read for me !