3.75, rounded up
It's an enjoyable read. Nicely written, I didn't want to stop. My complaints: the story was a bit too predictable, the characters a bit too clichè, therefore there wasn't so much of surprise. But I liked it enough to recommend it as an entertaining summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC. I hate to say it, but I did not enjoy this book. I was so looking forward to it and was beyond thrilled to have received it before the publication date, but it was a let down for me. Though, this could be someone else’s cup of tea: It was a fast read, I read it in about 4 hours, and it wasn’t horribly written, but the dialogue and characters really missed the mark for me. I couldn’t connect, and maybe it’s because the narrators were young teenagers, and I am nearing 30, but I honestly couldn’t find it in myself to care about their trials and tribulations. I would only recommend this book if you find joy in young adult narrators going to a boarding school, otherwise on to the next.

This started off good with a premise that made me excited.... boarding school drama with a dash of mean girls and murder thrown in. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this very much. I had to force myself not to DNF.

WHAT I LIKED: Not a whole lot. I thought the premise was good, as was the setting. About 1/3 of the way in, it lost its appeal.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Most of it. I hated the twins, the friends were so cliche, Mrs. Donovan was a dimwit and her husband was just AWFUL. I can’t imagine a real-life person like him.

This is a 1 Star for me. :(

Can’t wait to read more by this author. While I did have trouble getting through the first few chapters, the story definately picked up after that and really held my interest all the way to the end. Teenagers at a prestigious prep school, secrets being kept by many and some very disturbing happenings all made for a very good read.

I received this book complimentary through Net Galley. Twins Bel and Rose's parents die and they are sent to live with their grandmother who sends them to the prestigious Odell boarding school. The story begins with one twin dead and the other accused of her murder. Good story that kept me interested and wanting to know how it all ends. I didn't trust boarding school teacher Heath from the get-go and hated how naive his wife Sarah seemed to be with all of his excuses and lies. Lots of mean girl activity going on at the school. Good story with a twist at the end.

This is my second boarding school drama in under a month, and whilst I thought this was better than Tradition, I still found it hard going in parts. There's a lot of teenage angst which frankly, I am well past the need to experience (other than having to live the dream of being the mother to a hormonal teenaged boy). There were just so many FEELINGS and it all got a bit hard going towards the mid-way point. It was a great mystery though. I didn't guess the perpetrator until about 70% in to the story, so that's not a bad thing. Others might get to it earlier. I could have well done without the epilogue at the end though. It seemed really out of place, and not like the rest of the novel at all. I don't think it added anything to the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

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 !

I should have loved She Was the Quiet One - angsty teenage twin orphans, an elite boarding school setting, old traditions better left in the past, manipulative untrustworthy adults in power, and MURDER! Sign me up for that! All that being said, I should have loved this book, but I didn't.

It starts out promising, with the reader learning that one twin has been murdered by the other - the catch is, we don't know who is the victim and who is the attacker. This was kept up for the first part of the book, the mystery of who died and who is being held accountable for it, and that was effective and kept my interest. The problem is that once it's revealed which twin was killed, there is zero mystery left at all. Everything is plain as day and I'm not sure that that was Michele Campbell's intent.

After the initial opening, the book goes back in time to before the murder, to when newly orphaned twins Rose & Bel are shipped off to Odell Academy. They both have very different experiences and feelings about the school and each sister has her own problems fitting in. They each take solace in their faculty advisors, Heath & Sarah Donovan, a married couple that met and fell in love while they were students at the school years before. Heath & Sarah are new to their roles as dorm heads at Odell and they, too, have their own problems fitting in. Heath is more of a career climbing at any cost sort of person whereas Sarah has a lot of doubts about her new position but is unable to have opinions of her own and just blindly follows whatever her husband suggests is best.

My biggest issue with this book was that all of the characters felt like one-dimensional caricatures of people. I've read books where none of the characters are likable BUT they are at least complex and interesting. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here. All of the characters were unlikable and fell flat to me, with absurd motivations for questionable actions. I don't know if I was supposed to feel sympathy for any of them, but I most certainly did not. Rose was the 'good' twin, to an eye-rolling degree. Bel was the 'bad' twin, checking every box of what a 'cool, rebel' girl is supposed to be. Heath was egomaniacal and only cared about himself. Sarah was the biggest let down of the bunch, she was so, so...dumb and spineless. There are no better words for it. Faced with indefatigable proof of her husband's actions, she still allows herself to not believe it and convinces herself that everything is ok! Nothing is wrong! Heath is perfect! Not until the very end did she even remotely think for herself and by that point, it was too little, too late. SO much could have been prevented had she used her brain even a little bit. All of the peripheral characters suffered from having no real personalities either; rather, they just filled necessary stereotypes - the rich & pretty mean girl, the dumb jock boyfriend, the smart Asian roommate, etc.

My last quibble was that the epilogue felt shoehorned in for no real reason. It could have been interesting had anything that was mentioned therein been woven into the story throughout, but that wasn't the case so as a result, it felt awkward and unnecessary.

At least it was a quick read!

I received this ARC as a courtesy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After the death of their mother, Rose and Bel are sent to a prestigious boarding school by their grandmother, Mallory Towers this is not! Good twin bad twin? Not that simple actually, they both have good and bad traits in equal measure I think. The school seems to bring out the worst in both of them and it's quite sad how the gulf between them just keeps getting wider. Add to this an ambitious, unscrupulous teacher and his unassuming wife and you've got quite the mixture. Early on we know that someone has died, we’re just not sure who. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

Overall take ways - after a slow start, a near perfect beach read. You'll be flipping pages and lose track of time speeding towards the end of this thriller. Lack of character development keeps you from truly connecting with the story, but it twists and turns in interesting enough ways that you don't necessarily mind. I wouldn't recommend if you're looking for a book with great depth, but it sets itself a part from the numerous thrillers on the book shelf.

Michelle Campbell seems to be carving a niche for herself within the thriller genre. With both "She Was the Quiet One" and "It's Always the Husband", Campbell plays out her stories in the most obvious ways. There are no secret background characters who pop into prominence or an alternate personality. Rather, she does an excellent job at writing the most believable, obvious story - but working within that narrative to incorporate twists, turns, and unexpected ways for the reader to come to the most obvious conclusion.

A very well written book by a talented author. I subject that is often taboo but Michelle tackled it with sensitivity.

I loved "It's Always The Husband", so I was super stoked to get an advanced copy of this book. Even though I figured out the ending halfway thru the book, I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth the read. Thank you, Netgalley!

I found this book to be very suspenseful, I could not put it down until the very end.! There were so many twists and turns that I suspected everyone. The writer is talented in digging to the depths of the characters personalities and demons.

I liked “She Was the Quiet One” but liked “It’s Always the Husband” more. This book did grab me in the beginning and then it got to be a bit predictable and slow for me. I still think it’s worth reading. I would recommend this for someone who is looking for a easier mystery. I look forward to future novels by Michele Campbell.

Wow. . .talk about pulling you in. . .a non-stop action-packed drama that where the action of one twin sets the stage for the other in this suspenseful and gripping tale that had me all over the place. From the headmaster to his wife to Bel to Rose to Grandma to Warren, all played party to societal behavior of entitlement and the aftermath that resulted in the destruction of one’s soul. A complex tale that traveled down a dark road as each scene begat another and I’m left with my heart palpitating as this riveting story reached its conclusion.

This book is an extremely easy read. It’s not super twisty. Actually for someone who reads a lot of thrillers/mysteries this is not difficult to figure out. The characters are well established. Not many are very likable. The book feels like it’s written to be adapted in to a movie! It has a mean girls feel to it too. All in all I felt like it was more of YA genre than anything else. I felt like this was more of quick beach read or something I’d pick up to get a break from reading thrillers non stop to be honest.

**Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s press for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.**

I actually would give She Was the Quiet One 3 1/2 stars. It kept me entertained but I figured out almost everything well before they were revealed. Twins, recently sent to live with a rigid grandmother, are enrolled at an elite boarding school. The characters seemed to fit too well into their roles: good twin, bad twin, good wife, cheating husband, stalking boyfriend. The Twins relationship didn’t seem realistic to me, especially in certain scenarios. Sarah’s naivety, even when faced with photographic evidence, also seemed unbelievable to me. I found her to be the most likeable character. Fun to read. I do think that it is perfect for late teens. Thank you to Michele Campbell, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for this soon to be published book - July 31st.

I loved this book! I was so excited to read it. 1. Because I liked the authors previous book and 2. Having went to private and boarding schools myself it’s always a topic that has a special meaning to me.

From the second I started I was intrigued and could not put this book down. While I was at work all I wanted to do was go home and finish reading it. It had been a while since a book peaked my interest like that.

This was an easy read. I thought the characters stories were interesting and tragic. I’ve seen mixed reviews on the Epilogue but I thought it added to the story well. As for the story some YA based stories I feel can be hard to get into, but I didn’t feel that way about this book.

I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for an interesting summer read and enjoy books told by multiple narrators. Really looking forward to see what this author comes out with next. I will definitely be excited to read that one as well.

If your looking for a page turning plot twisting Psychological Thriller go no further. She Was The Quiet One is all that and more. Two sisters, fraternal twins and complete opposites have been dealt with some unfair things in life but when they land as Sophomores at an expensive boarding school life throws them into a world they are not ready for. A world filled with secrets and people they can’t trust. Will their secrets be revealed, will they find someone to support and believe in them... was it the Quiet One? A must read for those that love a great Suspenseful Thriller!

I could not get into this book at all. I didn't like the writing style and without giving it all away, one cliche after the other. You can read the first few pages and know exactly where this book is headed. I struggled to complete this book and did so simply because Net Galley provided me an ARC and I wanted to keep my end of "the bargain".
With so many great books to read, I was excited to put this one down and grab another!