Being Hartley by Allison Rushby

Being Hartley
By Allison Rushby
Published: March 1, 2014
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Stand-Alone
Pages: 223

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.

*Novel provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

My Rating: 2.5 stars

My Thoughts:
This book was pretty much exactly what I expected.  The writing was good, the characters were likable and relatable, and the tone was realistic, but it was lacking that something special that could've made me really love it.  
To start off with the positives, I thought that the characters were developed very well, and the writer gave us a very good insight into the way that each individual character thought.  I really liked Noah, though that may be just my soft spot for guys named Noah, and I think that he's probably my favorite character.  
Something that I really enjoyed was the dynamic between Thea and her mom.  I thought it was very true to the way that mother-daughter relationships actually are and that was something that I really appreciated.
The plot was really what killed this book for me.  When things were happening, I was interested and engaged and excited to see what happened next.  The problem was, there were long stretches in which nothing was happening and I was really bored.  
This is definitely a coming of age story and if you don't read it as such then it is almost a guarantee that you won't enjoy it.  
I don't really have a lot to say about this book.  There isn't a whole lot of negative things, nor are there a whole lot of positive things.  Nothing really super substantial happened and there just wasn't anything to set it apart from the flurry of other YA contemporaries.

Thanks for reading!
Amber