Monday, May 18, 2015

Tour-Review and Giveaway: Under the Spotlight by Angie Stanton



Synopsis

After an embarrassing stint on a reality-TV music competition years ago, Riley vowed to never sing again.  Now she's behind the scenes, working at the prestigious Sound Sync recording studio, and life is looking up.  But then Garrett Jamieson, the oldest brother in the famous Jamieson brothers band, crashes into her world.

Garrett has hit rock bottom, and he is desperate to reinvent himself.  After falling in a few favors, he ends up working at Sound Sync to learn the ropes of record producing from the industry's best.  And he can't believe his luck when he discovers that Riley has been keeping a secret--she's an amazing singer.  By producing her album, he's sure to top the record charts again.  But Garrett is forced to use every trick in his arsenal to persuade the sassy girl to record.

Riley refuses to sing--or even entertain the thought of it--and sparks fly as Garrett finally meets his match.  But in the heat of the moment, one stolen kiss changes everything.  Will Riley be the first person to finally rein Garrett in, or will Garrett succeed in getting Riley back under the spotlight?


My Review

This is the first of Angie Stanton's books that I have read, so right up front that tells you I haven't read the other two books in the Jamieson brothers series.  But as the author has stated, this book can stand alone...and since I haven't read the others, I went into this without any preconceived notions about Garrett's character.

Garrett comes across as cocky, pushy and almost has an elitist vibe to him.  As hot as he may be, I had a hard time warming up to him due to his personality.  Riley though was a mostly strong female lead who readily countered Garrett's attitude with her spunkiness.  I say mostly strong as the way she dealt with her mother was frustrating--at some point you just have to cut people off (no matter what their relation) and she just didn't seem to be able to do that.

The story focused more on Riley's ever-multiplying problems and how she could find a way out from under her steadily worsening situation rather than the romance aspect.  The banter between Riley and Garrett was fun, especially when she got in some great shots at him when he kept trying to push her.  For me though, the romance part between them just didn't feel genuine-it just lacked that spark.

Under the Spotlight is a very clean upper YA read that I'd recommend for 16+ due to some minor language and sexual references.  

Author Bio

Angie Stanton never planned on writing books--she wanted to be a Rockette.  However, growing up in rural America with her brothers' 4-H pigs as pets, she found that dance didn't quite work out.  Instead, she became an avid daydreamer.  After years of perfecting stories in her head, she began to write them down, and the rest is history.  When not writing, she loves watching natural disaster movies, going to Broadway musicals, and dipping French fries in chocolate shakes.


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