Under the Spotlight is the third book in Angie Stanton's Jamieson Series. Each book can be read as a standalone story though, so it isn't necessary to read them before reading this book. There will be some things spoiled though as this book picks up after those two, with everything that has happened to the band. These books are sweet and easy to read, and if you are looking for a clean romance this series is one you will want to give a shot.
After the band broke up, Garrett Jamieson finds himself angry and lost. He knows that he can't make it with a solo career, but he doesn't know what he wants to do. He spends his time drinking and hooking up with girls, and getting into trouble. When he gets arrested for again, his dad finally steps in and suggests a new direction that will hopefully occupy Garrett's time and keep him out of jail. He shows up at Sound Sync set to work behind the scenes this time, and become a music producer. There he meets the feisty Riley Parks. Garrett finds out that Riley was once a contestant on a reality show, and after hearing her sing he knows that he needs to produce her album. The only problem is that Riley vowed she would never sing again, and refuses to agree. What happens when Garrett refuses to give up, and Riley finds herself in an impossible situation?
Garrett and Riley were both good characters that were likable but also had issues. I had to keep reminding myself of their ages, and I think that had a lot to do with some of the dumb things that they each did. Riley was 18 and Garrett was 22, so it made sense that they were still figuring things out but at times there were things that really had me shaking my head. Garrett was pretty oblivious at times and seemed to be very selfish. He often times would do whatever he wanted without informing others of his actions, which wouldn't have been such a problem if it didn't affect them more that him. It got pretty old, and he didn't really seem to grasp that it wasn't okay. Riley was feisty and fun, but she was also pretty naive considering how mature she seemed at other times. She was working at Sound Sync at a young age and knew about how her mother was, and yet she was constantly giving in to whatever her mother asked for even knowing that her mother would use her. She never put up a fight when it came to her mom, and then she was shocked and angry when her mother took advantage of her again. The main reason this really bothered me was the fact that she had no problem telling Garrett no, and I wish some of the fight she had with him would have been there with her mother. Her mother was a piece of work and while I felt badly for Riley, I also felt like it got way out of hand with too many bad things happening and part of that was Riley's fault.
The thing about this series for me is that there is very little romance in each of these books. They are clean with not much romance actually taking place and it usually doesn't happen until the end. The first time (and it only happens a few times total) that Garrett and Riley even kissed was at about 70% in, and even then not much of a relationship progressed from there. I didn't like that things seemed to be over before they ever really got started for these two, with them only reuniting at the very end of the book. I had the same problem with this book as the previous ones when it came to the ending. While I liked how things ended, I feel like they are pretty abrupt and would liked to have seen more. An epilogue or a look down the line for these characters would have been really nice for readers since things are just barely resolved when the book is over. I think if you want something quick and easy to read that is clean and doesn't have a ton of romance in it that you might give this one a shot.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
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