Being Hartley by Allison Rushby
Title: Being Hartley
Series: none
Author: Allison Rushby
Source: Netgalley
Description:
Fifteen-year-old Thea Wallis was born to entertain. Her mother, Oscar winning actress Cassie Hartley, thinks differently and has kept her daughter out of the spotlight since day one. Coming from showbiz royalty, it hasn't been easy to go unnoticed, but mismatched surnames, a family home in Tasmania and a low-key scriptwriter father has made this possible.
Just like her cousin Rory on the hugely popular TV show Saturday Morning Dance, Thea loves to dance. She learns the show's routines off by heart each week, despite her mother's attempts to convince her that dentistry would be a far more fulfilling career choice.
However, when Rory goes off the rails in LA, Thea's mother is suddenly left with no choice at all – Rory needs them and to LA they must go. Within forty-eight hours, Thea finds herself a long way from Tasmania and living her dream – on the road to Las Vegas with the Saturday Morning Dance team.
It doesn't take long before Thea's talents are discovered and she's offered everything she's ever wanted on a plate, including the dance partner she's had a crush on forever. But, as her mother has always told her, Hollywood dreams come at a price. Thea soon realizes she will have to work out just how much she's willing to pay. And, ultimately, discover her own way to be Hartley.
Just like her cousin Rory on the hugely popular TV show Saturday Morning Dance, Thea loves to dance. She learns the show's routines off by heart each week, despite her mother's attempts to convince her that dentistry would be a far more fulfilling career choice.
However, when Rory goes off the rails in LA, Thea's mother is suddenly left with no choice at all – Rory needs them and to LA they must go. Within forty-eight hours, Thea finds herself a long way from Tasmania and living her dream – on the road to Las Vegas with the Saturday Morning Dance team.
It doesn't take long before Thea's talents are discovered and she's offered everything she's ever wanted on a plate, including the dance partner she's had a crush on forever. But, as her mother has always told her, Hollywood dreams come at a price. Thea soon realizes she will have to work out just how much she's willing to pay. And, ultimately, discover her own way to be Hartley.
My Thoughts:
Being Hartley was exactly what I expected. It had a great bunch of relatable characters, a wonderfully realistic tone and an adequate writing style, but it lacked that special quality to made it into to something more. It needed a little extra kick, a bit of oomph, a bit of punch, to make it really stand out from the other books in its genre.
The characters really were very well written. They developed satisfactorily across the book and were true to the sort of people they represented. All of them had a hidden depth that was explored at some point during the book and this allowed us to get into their heads and see everything clearly through their eyes.
My main problem with Being Hartley was that it was too slow-paced and uneventful. It dragged on with little progress and everything was over-dramatized for the sake of it. I wasn't necessarily bored but I was waiting for something exciting to happen the whole time. The more climatic moments were taken away from us because we already knew that they were going to happen from Goodreads' description.
In the end, this was nothing more than I expected. It was light and nothing but a piece of fluff. I wouldn't be hasty to recommend it but there isn't too much I could really fault. A easy read that could have been better but wasn't too bad.
Note: a copy was provided courtesy of Allison Rushby and Patchwork Press through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given or taken during this process
The characters really were very well written. They developed satisfactorily across the book and were true to the sort of people they represented. All of them had a hidden depth that was explored at some point during the book and this allowed us to get into their heads and see everything clearly through their eyes.
My main problem with Being Hartley was that it was too slow-paced and uneventful. It dragged on with little progress and everything was over-dramatized for the sake of it. I wasn't necessarily bored but I was waiting for something exciting to happen the whole time. The more climatic moments were taken away from us because we already knew that they were going to happen from Goodreads' description.
In the end, this was nothing more than I expected. It was light and nothing but a piece of fluff. I wouldn't be hasty to recommend it but there isn't too much I could really fault. A easy read that could have been better but wasn't too bad.
Note: a copy was provided courtesy of Allison Rushby and Patchwork Press through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given or taken during this process
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