nitzan_schwarz
Written on Feb 21, 2016
This review has also been posted on Afterwords.
Under the Spotlight is probably my favorite of this trilogy. I've been waiting for this story for over a year, always curious to see how Stanton will tackle Garrett falling in love.
Who's Garrett? Don't tell me you don't know who Effin' Garrett Jamieson is. From the band? Those boys that rocked the hearts of girls everywhere until they broke said heart by breaking up? Yes, those Jamiesons. Garrett is the oldest of the bunch... and a massive jerk. He was a jerk in Rock and a Hard Place, he was a jerk inSnapshot and he's a jerk here.
And in all honesty? I absolutely loved that. I loved the Stanton wasn't afraid to keep Garrett the character she made him in books 1 & 2 instead of backtracking and trying to change him so he'll be more likable, like some authors do.
Instead, she let us see, by keeping him a consistent jerk, that he was completely unaware of what a douche he is. That, in turn, helped make him kind of lovable. Because you could tell this controlling, crossing-the-boundaries attitude was his personality and he wasn't trying to be a jerk. And once pointed in the right direction, he was willing (after a while), to make some changes. Granted, Riley has her work set out for her, but Garrett is not un-redeemable by a long shot.
Speaking of Riley, I liked her. I liked her attitude and her spunk, I liked that she wasn't willing to let life beat her down, I liked that once she made her mind about something it was set. I liked that she didn't take Garrett's bullshit and called him out on it. Most of all, I liked that she took care of her family... though I wish she threw her good-for-nothing-mom to the curve.
They made a good couple because of how they balanced each other. Garrett pushed Riley for better, believed in her where she didn't believe in herself, and Riley took Garrett down a notch, correcting his behavior and helping him see being a control freak is not cute at all.
My only complaint is that I felt the angst, such as it was, was unnecessary.
As for things I wished we got to see? At the top of my list is interactions between Garrett and Riley's siblings. I think that could've been fantastic, and maybe we could see a fatherly side to Garrett with the younger children. I think it would've been something good for Garrett and the Parks.