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The Extra #2
The Girlfriend Stage
In this stand-alone sequel to THE EXTRA, Anna-Marie has never wanted to find love—but love's about to find her.
Anna-Marie Halsey loves her job as a regular on the soap opera Southern Heat almost as much as she loves living the LA lifestyle: clubbing and partying and casually dating gorgeous men—most recently powerhouse agent Josh Rios. When Anna-Marie starts feeling more-than-casual about Josh—her signature cue to break things off—she finds a much-needed excuse to get away: a family reunion in small-town Wyoming.
In Wyoming, Anna-Marie remembers why she's spent years avoiding her crazy family and claustrophobic hometown—and her ex-boyfriend, up-and-coming rock musician Shane Beckstrom, provides the perfect distraction. But when a Boy Scout troop films them nude in a hot spring, Anna-Marie finds Wyoming even more nerve-wracking than her paralyzing fear of commitment. To make matters worse, Josh Rios appears, and it’s clear that commitment is exactly what he's hoping for. Anna-Marie isn’t sure what she wants, but being trapped in Everett, Wyoming, with Josh, Shane, and her crazy family when her impromptu sex-tape hits the internet sure isn’t it.
THE GIRLFRIEND STAGE is book two in THE EXTRA series, but it stands alone, and can be read first, without missing anything except the backgrounds of the side characters. It features PG-13 rated sexual content, no cliff-hanger, and a swoon-worthy Happily Ever After.
"[THE EXTRA is] delightful, spunky, and deliciously well-written" –Bestselling Author Jen Greyson
"Packed with outrageous drama, family turmoil, and the tease of a love triangle, THE EXTRA sweeps the reader into the tumultuous life of a soap opera set." –Kelly Siskind, author of New Orleans Rush
Audible Audio
First published May 14, 2019
49 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Megan Walker
32 books82 followersMegan Walker lives in Utah with her husband, two kids, and two dogs-all of whom are incredibly supportive of the time she spends writing about romance and crazy Hollywood hijinks. She loves making Barbie dioramas and reading trashy gossip magazines (and, okay, lots of other books and magazines, as well.) Megan has also written several published fantasy and science-fiction stories under the name Megan Grey.
For more on The Extra series, or to sign up to receive bonus content and all the latest series news, visit www.extraseriesbooks.com
For more on The Extra series, or to sign up to receive bonus content and all the latest series news, visit www.extraseriesbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
January 29, 2021
This is second in a series and flows from it. Indeed, Anna-Marie is very active in that one so I recommend reading them in order.
And maybe skipping this one? I knew this would be a problematic read as the negative motivation* is revealed right in the cover blurb. And it's worse than I thought it would be. I mean, I already dislike having one of the main characters having sex with others during the story, but this was stupid and dumbly written and she's just going along because the high school ex wants to have some fun. And continues despite thinking "if Josh did this, I'd probably be upset" which she pushes aside because she shouldn't care because of the stupid negative motivation that "guys can't be faithful".
So I quit. She's feeling guilty, wondering if she should tell Josh once they connect over geek stuff and she's thinking "maybe he's worth being with long-term". So the stupid thing is going to provide stupid conflict and I kind of hated Anna-Marie already for her stupid judgment of all guys based on a limited sampling of the horndogs in her industry. And, oh yeah, her serial-cheating father. Bah.
Also, Walker has this weird occlusion with sex scenes. She doesn't get specifically explicit but sex clearly happens and she doesn't mind describing all the people who catch Anna-Marie involuntarily naked. And since the author manipulates her into stupid actions that don't do anything but leave her stupidly naked, well, by the time I stopped, that included pretty much her entire family, a boy scout troop, a creepy ex teacher, and the seventeen year-old soon-to-be-step brother. Who gaped.
One star. And ouch.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
And maybe skipping this one? I knew this would be a problematic read as the negative motivation* is revealed right in the cover blurb. And it's worse than I thought it would be. I mean, I already dislike having one of the main characters having sex with others during the story, but this was stupid and dumbly written and she's just going along because the high school ex wants to have some fun. And continues despite thinking "if Josh did this, I'd probably be upset" which she pushes aside because she shouldn't care because of the stupid negative motivation that "guys can't be faithful".
So I quit. She's feeling guilty, wondering if she should tell Josh once they connect over geek stuff and she's thinking "maybe he's worth being with long-term". So the stupid thing is going to provide stupid conflict and I kind of hated Anna-Marie already for her stupid judgment of all guys based on a limited sampling of the horndogs in her industry. And, oh yeah, her serial-cheating father. Bah.
Also, Walker has this weird occlusion with sex scenes. She doesn't get specifically explicit but sex clearly happens and she doesn't mind describing all the people who catch Anna-Marie involuntarily naked. And since the author manipulates her into stupid actions that don't do anything but leave her stupidly naked, well, by the time I stopped, that included pretty much her entire family, a boy scout troop, a creepy ex teacher, and the seventeen year-old soon-to-be-step brother. Who gaped.
One star. And ouch.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
August 10, 2023
Joshamarie 🥹
November 9, 2022
Respectfully, no.
March 2, 2020
I want to say Harry Potter is my main fandom too. And I love Josh. He is the most awesome character in this book. Both are geeky and reading that was wonderful.
Anne-Marie has a quirky family and the book was funny as hell. But still the issues described in here are carefully written and like Gabby said Joshamarie all the way.
It was funny and emotional, and the ending was beautiful. I'm excited to read Felix's story next.
Anne-Marie has a quirky family and the book was funny as hell. But still the issues described in here are carefully written and like Gabby said Joshamarie all the way.
It was funny and emotional, and the ending was beautiful. I'm excited to read Felix's story next.
February 18, 2022
Ugh. I finished this book at least a week ago but I've been putting off reviewing it because I have so many bad things to say😅
First of all, Anna Marie needs therapy y'all (this is coming from someone who sees her therapist weekly, so no hate. Everyone would benefit from therapy). The ENTIRE book is her being in love but too afraid of commitment because her dad is a cheater, so literal daddy issues. At first, I was like "okay this isn't so bad" but after listening to HOURS of Anna Marie sniveling about how she has a perfect man but doesn't want him to be her boyfriend, I was so fed up. We should all be so lucky to have a hot Harry-Potter-loving man, Anna Marie! I'm honestly impressed that I pushed through the last 2-3 hours of this audiobook. I thought the first book in this series was quite overwrought, and then this book was like "lol, you haven't seen nothing yet."
The only thing that saved this from 1 star was Josh. He is an adorable nerd who must be protected at all costs, and the chapters narrated by him were infinitely more palatable than Anna Marie's. Josh is funny and sweet and WAY more patient than me.
Overall, while there were some funny bits and Josh is great, I kind of hated this book. I'm a sucker for a good rom-com, and this was not one.
First of all, Anna Marie needs therapy y'all (this is coming from someone who sees her therapist weekly, so no hate. Everyone would benefit from therapy). The ENTIRE book is her being in love but too afraid of commitment because her dad is a cheater, so literal daddy issues. At first, I was like "okay this isn't so bad" but after listening to HOURS of Anna Marie sniveling about how she has a perfect man but doesn't want him to be her boyfriend, I was so fed up. We should all be so lucky to have a hot Harry-Potter-loving man, Anna Marie! I'm honestly impressed that I pushed through the last 2-3 hours of this audiobook. I thought the first book in this series was quite overwrought, and then this book was like "lol, you haven't seen nothing yet."
The only thing that saved this from 1 star was Josh. He is an adorable nerd who must be protected at all costs, and the chapters narrated by him were infinitely more palatable than Anna Marie's. Josh is funny and sweet and WAY more patient than me.
Overall, while there were some funny bits and Josh is great, I kind of hated this book. I'm a sucker for a good rom-com, and this was not one.
August 17, 2019
I’m hooked! This book and The Extra are fast and funny, even in the midst of tension, drama, and all the ridiculousness. I laughed out loud several times and I had trouble putting the book down. I read the first chapters at the end of The Extra and immediately went and joined the readers list to get the full copy of The Girlfriend Stage. It was a bit over the top sometimes, but in an enjoyable way. A fun, mostly light read.
February 2, 2021
This book was.... a lot of things. The biggest one was "dumb as hell". Which is incredibly disappointing, seeing how much I liked the first book in the series, yesterday morning.
What separates this book from the first entry in the series is that this one is less chick-lit and romance, I think. To be clear, I genuinely adore romance and I prefer it to general "women's fiction", but I'm not fully convinced the authors were able to pull it off for this specific story.
Like. The chick lit vibe works for The Extra because we, as the audience, are watching Gabby find herself and her calling, career-wise. Her attraction to Will, her eventual boyfriend, takes the backseat. Personally, I think makes their romance subplot stronger. (Also I like male protags seen and not heard. [I'm joking about that. Mostly.]) And again! I thought The Extra was fantastic and I liked it a hell of a lot, for those exact plot conventions.
With this book though? We begin with Anna-Marie at the height of her career with no real obstacles or conflict, other than her commitment-phobia. The only real angst she has is over the fact that she's nervous to be herself around her occasional hook-up for whom she's developing feelings. This feels more like a classic romance set-up, which would be cool if the authors knew how to handle it. Which they don't. They end up exaggerating how terrified Anna Marie is of relationships and compensating for it by having her love interest, Josh, have an obsession with loving her (for literally no good reason). From here, I skimmed, so don't expect much more from me on the subject of how frustrating the romance plot was. Just.... dear God. Suffice to say, it was really weak.
As for other things that annoyed me-- (1) Anna-Maria's family felt weirdly exaggerated and annoying. (2) Why do random people keep seeing Anna-Maria naked?? Like. Very bizarre and uncomfortable. (3) Going back to my first annoyance point--one of Anna-Maria's aunts has this running 'quirky' gag where she's pretty racist to Josh. One of these cute little behaviors is her butchering of his Hispanic birth name. It takes Anna-Maria the majority of the book to tell her to stop. Sometimes, it's so hard to trust some white authors with romance characters of color. A lot of the times, you end up with situations like this where bigotry gets turned into a cute punchline, until the authors decide they want their white characters to seem heroic. (4) Speaking of Josh, the narrative pushes him to accept everything Anna-Maria does and says because he loves her (for literally no good reason). I felt exhausted for him.
I realize that was a lot of complaining. But all my bitching aside, I can't put this as a one-star review, in good faith. As much as I personally hate Joss Whedon, I do think that Anna-Maria and Josh having nerdy interests in common was super cute. I really liked the scene where they learn how similar some of their interests are. Honestly, both that scene and some of their early interactions makes me wonder if they would have had better chemistry if not for the wack-ass plot.
Okay. Wow. I didn't to mean to get this rambly or pseudo-analytical but I just drank a Mountain Dew and I'm listening to Kate Bush. It's 1AM. I can't be held accountable for my actions. Anyways. I'll definitely be moving on to the next book in the series, just very cautiously.
What separates this book from the first entry in the series is that this one is less chick-lit and romance, I think. To be clear, I genuinely adore romance and I prefer it to general "women's fiction", but I'm not fully convinced the authors were able to pull it off for this specific story.
Like. The chick lit vibe works for The Extra because we, as the audience, are watching Gabby find herself and her calling, career-wise. Her attraction to Will, her eventual boyfriend, takes the backseat. Personally, I think makes their romance subplot stronger. (Also I like male protags seen and not heard. [I'm joking about that. Mostly.]) And again! I thought The Extra was fantastic and I liked it a hell of a lot, for those exact plot conventions.
With this book though? We begin with Anna-Marie at the height of her career with no real obstacles or conflict, other than her commitment-phobia. The only real angst she has is over the fact that she's nervous to be herself around her occasional hook-up for whom she's developing feelings. This feels more like a classic romance set-up, which would be cool if the authors knew how to handle it. Which they don't. They end up exaggerating how terrified Anna Marie is of relationships and compensating for it by having her love interest, Josh, have an obsession with loving her (for literally no good reason). From here, I skimmed, so don't expect much more from me on the subject of how frustrating the romance plot was. Just.... dear God. Suffice to say, it was really weak.
As for other things that annoyed me-- (1) Anna-Maria's family felt weirdly exaggerated and annoying. (2) Why do random people keep seeing Anna-Maria naked?? Like. Very bizarre and uncomfortable. (3) Going back to my first annoyance point--one of Anna-Maria's aunts has this running 'quirky' gag where she's pretty racist to Josh. One of these cute little behaviors is her butchering of his Hispanic birth name. It takes Anna-Maria the majority of the book to tell her to stop. Sometimes, it's so hard to trust some white authors with romance characters of color. A lot of the times, you end up with situations like this where bigotry gets turned into a cute punchline, until the authors decide they want their white characters to seem heroic. (4) Speaking of Josh, the narrative pushes him to accept everything Anna-Maria does and says because he loves her (for literally no good reason). I felt exhausted for him.
I realize that was a lot of complaining. But all my bitching aside, I can't put this as a one-star review, in good faith. As much as I personally hate Joss Whedon, I do think that Anna-Maria and Josh having nerdy interests in common was super cute. I really liked the scene where they learn how similar some of their interests are. Honestly, both that scene and some of their early interactions makes me wonder if they would have had better chemistry if not for the wack-ass plot.
Okay. Wow. I didn't to mean to get this rambly or pseudo-analytical but I just drank a Mountain Dew and I'm listening to Kate Bush. It's 1AM. I can't be held accountable for my actions. Anyways. I'll definitely be moving on to the next book in the series, just very cautiously.
November 16, 2022
Ahhhh, I absolutely love Anna Marie and Josh. They’re so wholesome.
I love that they both have these geeky sides which make them way more interesting than just being hot people.
I also loved the fact that Gabby was still in this story which really made for a great sequel in my opinion.
Oh and I loved that we also got to read from Josh’s pov.
This book is just really cute and wholesome.
I love that they both have these geeky sides which make them way more interesting than just being hot people.
I also loved the fact that Gabby was still in this story which really made for a great sequel in my opinion.
Oh and I loved that we also got to read from Josh’s pov.
This book is just really cute and wholesome.
May 8, 2022
I was not a fan of Anna Marie. She put herself in a lot of bad situations that got her caught up. Josh was a very patient and she didn't deserve it
August 8, 2023
I really liked the first book and I liked Anna Marie’s character in, so I was all for a book following her story. I liked the main romance in this book but that was purely because of Josh and the nerdy banter. Anna Marie was annoying and borderline unbearable 75% of the time. She made stupid decisions and excused terrible behavior just because, and the daddy issues felt a little cliche. Also the reveal about her dad at the end felt like a quick patch to make the reader not hate the dad. The worst part of this book was the caricature that was her family. Anna Marie’s family can be summed up in the stereotype that all people from small towns in rural America are ignorant, judgmental, and of course racist. Idk anything about the authors so idk where they are from, but by the way this family reads, it is either not a small town or if it is, they have some major issues they need to work out. This was annoying enough to make me consider a dnf around the time Anna Marie’s aunt refused to call josh by his name for the hundredth time. This book is only a three star for Josh and the moose. Everything else is a 2.5.
February 1, 2021
Anna-Marie is gorgeous, talented and ready to take on the universe. She’s a soap actress making the most of her LA lifestyle especially when it comes to dating sexy talent agent Josh Rios. As insanely hot as Josh is, Anna-Marie has commitment phobia x1000. When she heads back to her small hometown in Wyoming to meet her dad’s latest wife (4th time’s a charm?), she’s pondering whether this hot fling will fizzle out. As she reacquaints herself with all the reasons she left, although her high school boyfriend Shane provides a nice distraction, when a sex tape of her and Shane gets released, Josh just so happens to come to town. Suddenly this leading lady is going to have to decide who her leading man will be. First of all, I love how nerdy Anna Marie and Josh were. I’m talking full on fandoms, especially my favorite fandoms. Plus, their relationship was actual goals. I love how they each brought fears to the table and dealt with them in a mature, adult way. I really loved how cute this book was.
February 10, 2021
I absolutely loved The Extra so much and was sooo excited that the authors, Megan Walker and Janci Patterson, gifted us the next two books in the series!!!
In The Extra, we meet Gabby, an extra on the set of her bestie’s soap opera. I did a review on this recently so please scroll for that review!
In The Girlfriend Stage we get to see Anna-Marie, Gabby’s beautiful actress roommate, in all her glory. She has commitment issues and enjoys keeping her relationships casual. Until she meets super agent Josh Rios. He is every girl’s dream. (One thing I absolutely love about Josh is his awesome obsession to all things Harry Potter! It was so much fun reading about that part!) Anyway...Josh follows Anna-Marie to her hometown where they each have to answer some tough questions about their future. All while the universe is seemingly against them.
These books are so entertaining and easy to read! They are the perfect go-to books when you are looking for something that you can’t put down! Please go check out this awesome series asap! You will not be disappointed!
In The Extra, we meet Gabby, an extra on the set of her bestie’s soap opera. I did a review on this recently so please scroll for that review!
In The Girlfriend Stage we get to see Anna-Marie, Gabby’s beautiful actress roommate, in all her glory. She has commitment issues and enjoys keeping her relationships casual. Until she meets super agent Josh Rios. He is every girl’s dream. (One thing I absolutely love about Josh is his awesome obsession to all things Harry Potter! It was so much fun reading about that part!) Anyway...Josh follows Anna-Marie to her hometown where they each have to answer some tough questions about their future. All while the universe is seemingly against them.
These books are so entertaining and easy to read! They are the perfect go-to books when you are looking for something that you can’t put down! Please go check out this awesome series asap! You will not be disappointed!
April 7, 2023
This book was a horrendous experience on Audible. It was a tragically long story with about 8 hours of horrid. It had potential, during the first hour, when the characters are beginning to realize they have feelings for each other. But then it just gets worse and worse. The trauma just keeps building up. Yes a story should have raising action, a climax, falling action then resolution. However this book was seriously off the mark with the storyline arch. The reader keeps getting dragged down by the mess and drama with a super quick resolution at the end that leaves a gaping hole. The resolution did not fill in enough of the holes and resolve enough of the storyline to make it worth being dragged through the drama.
Also once the plot twist occurred, the voice actor for the female lead made her sound frantic, desperate, and hopeless. Even when something good was happening. Which meant the audience was always tense and didn't get a full resolve.
Also once the plot twist occurred, the voice actor for the female lead made her sound frantic, desperate, and hopeless. Even when something good was happening. Which meant the audience was always tense and didn't get a full resolve.
June 24, 2021
I hated parts, loved parts and the drama point was completely out of sorts. The one thing that drives me crazy is long, dragged out, embarrassing scenes. Three chapters back to back to back and I almost stopped listening. From 25% to 75%,i really liked this story. The blow up scene was beyond ridiculous and the H was completely out of sorts with his character throughout the entire story. I liked the ending overall but this author needs to allow people who do terrible things to face severe consequences instead of just moving on.
March 23, 2024
Oh, the disappointment... oh, the let down...
After "The Extra" I was expecting so much from this book and I was sorely disappointed. Anna Marie sounded like she would be one hell of a heroine, but that, she was not. From the very beginning of the book, she was having a casual affair with the manager of stars, Josh and she was already worried that she might have feelings for him, so there was almost no build-up there.
I say she was worried, because she clearly had some attachment issues, because of her father's unhappy relationships and constant cheating, which was literally the only conflict in the story.
SPOILERS AHEAD
She didn't look for a career path like her bestie Gabby in "The Extra", because she was already doing the thing she loved, acting, and getting paid for it. She didn't get to know her family members like Gabby, either; because she mostly knew them already (her father's sex addiction came as a shock, though)and we got to know them too, but all the while I was thinking that maybe I would have been better if Anna Marie's family weren't such a big part of the story.
They were too much. Too extra, too exaggarated, too chaotic, too... everything. I didn't particularly like them, either.
But, more than everything I mentioned above, there was one thing that bothered me to no end: was Anna Marie alergic to clothes? She was getting naked... always. She was naked with her ex-boyfriend when they went to swim at the lake and she flashed a group of young scouts. She was naked with her ex-boyfriend, again (while she still had feelings for Josh, which is a problem in its own right) in her bedroom and when they were "attacked" by a bat, she flashed her entire family. She was naked with Josh and she experienced yet another flashing scare, but thankfully, that was a false alarm.
And, she has the audacity to act shocked when her nudes in the form of a sex tape and up online.
Girl, I am shocked that didn't happen before, considering you don't like wearing any clothes and your ex- boyfriend has a literaly collection of your nudes.
If I didn't enjoy this book, why did I give it 2 stars, you might ask. Josh. It was all because of Josh. He was the dictionary definition of a perfect boyfriend; he was strong, and, calm, and understanding, and supportive throughout the story, which cannot be a easy feat because Anna Marie. I was literally hoping he wouldn't sign Anna Marie as a client because Josh should be protected for all costs as the perfect man, and why should he bother with Anna Marie's mess?
P.S. I admit I also enjoy Josh and Anna Marie's extreme geeking when they are together, which might be another reason for my rating.
After "The Extra" I was expecting so much from this book and I was sorely disappointed. Anna Marie sounded like she would be one hell of a heroine, but that, she was not. From the very beginning of the book, she was having a casual affair with the manager of stars, Josh and she was already worried that she might have feelings for him, so there was almost no build-up there.
I say she was worried, because she clearly had some attachment issues, because of her father's unhappy relationships and constant cheating, which was literally the only conflict in the story.
SPOILERS AHEAD
She didn't look for a career path like her bestie Gabby in "The Extra", because she was already doing the thing she loved, acting, and getting paid for it. She didn't get to know her family members like Gabby, either; because she mostly knew them already (her father's sex addiction came as a shock, though)and we got to know them too, but all the while I was thinking that maybe I would have been better if Anna Marie's family weren't such a big part of the story.
They were too much. Too extra, too exaggarated, too chaotic, too... everything. I didn't particularly like them, either.
But, more than everything I mentioned above, there was one thing that bothered me to no end: was Anna Marie alergic to clothes? She was getting naked... always. She was naked with her ex-boyfriend when they went to swim at the lake and she flashed a group of young scouts. She was naked with her ex-boyfriend, again (while she still had feelings for Josh, which is a problem in its own right) in her bedroom and when they were "attacked" by a bat, she flashed her entire family. She was naked with Josh and she experienced yet another flashing scare, but thankfully, that was a false alarm.
And, she has the audacity to act shocked when her nudes in the form of a sex tape and up online.
Girl, I am shocked that didn't happen before, considering you don't like wearing any clothes and your ex- boyfriend has a literaly collection of your nudes.
If I didn't enjoy this book, why did I give it 2 stars, you might ask. Josh. It was all because of Josh. He was the dictionary definition of a perfect boyfriend; he was strong, and, calm, and understanding, and supportive throughout the story, which cannot be a easy feat because Anna Marie. I was literally hoping he wouldn't sign Anna Marie as a client because Josh should be protected for all costs as the perfect man, and why should he bother with Anna Marie's mess?
P.S. I admit I also enjoy Josh and Anna Marie's extreme geeking when they are together, which might be another reason for my rating.
March 22, 2023
I am truly impressed with myself for finishing this book. Maybe it’s the bonus of just listening to the audiobook but I actually think that made Annamarie even more insufferable. She was so dramatic about absolutely everything and relied so much on her notion that all men cheat. I understand having trauma and learning from her serial-cheating dad, but also, as a grown women it was exhausting to see her rely so closely to a notion that is obviously not always true. Early on she was saying she loved Josh, yet also she was convinced he’d cheat on her at any moment, it was so frustrating. Also, Annamarie’s family was being clearly very racist toward Josh for like half the book, yet Annamarie just thought in her head how that was bad, but didn’t say anything to her family about it, or attempt to stop it until the end part of the book, and even then it was mild. It made me really angry that she just ignored the racist comments and basically just brushed it off, and couldn’t even stand up for “the man she loved”. Lastly, on Annamarie, it was also so annoying to watch her give Shane the time of day when he was clearly an asshole. He treated her so terribly, yet she just let everything slide, which for someone who, for the entirely of the book, displays severe trust issues, it didn’t make any sense that she just assumed he meant well. She thought Josh, the man who consistently showed he wanted the best for her, would hurt her, yet turned a blind eye to Shane, the man who consistently screwed with her.
And while I enjoyed Josh, I also found it hard to believe he was so in love with her so quickly. All they had done before Wyoming is occasionally hook up, and only had surface level conversations, yet he was read to marry her? Also I did not like that he basically did nothing when Shane made a slideshow of Annamarie naked. I know it’s written as Josh “letting Annamarie decide how to act” but at some point there has a be a line where the current love interest doesn’t want to watch homemade porn of his girlfriend and her ex on his phone.
I don’t know, this book was just truly so hard to read, and the author relied so much on Annamarie’s stupid belief that all men cheat, that the story failed to have any depth.
And while I enjoyed Josh, I also found it hard to believe he was so in love with her so quickly. All they had done before Wyoming is occasionally hook up, and only had surface level conversations, yet he was read to marry her? Also I did not like that he basically did nothing when Shane made a slideshow of Annamarie naked. I know it’s written as Josh “letting Annamarie decide how to act” but at some point there has a be a line where the current love interest doesn’t want to watch homemade porn of his girlfriend and her ex on his phone.
I don’t know, this book was just truly so hard to read, and the author relied so much on Annamarie’s stupid belief that all men cheat, that the story failed to have any depth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2019
Anna-Marie has had to return home to Wyoming for a family reunion, something she's avoided doing. It's a small town, everyone knows everything and rumors and gossip runs rampant. But she might just find herself the center of such gossip, especially because she's an actress on a soap opera. She plans to get the reunion done and then return to her casual boyfriend Josh back in California. Things take a downhill turn from the start and Anna-Marie finds herself in hot water, literally, and things get hilarious super quick.
When Josh shows up, she's shocked. Not only because she spent the previous night with an ex-boyfriend in a few compromising situations, but because his showing up might mean he's thinking of becoming more serious than she's prepared for. She's petrified of commitment, her father is a serial marrier and adulterer and wasn't a good role model for how relationships should be. If he can cheat on her mom and so many others, who's to say Josh won't do the same. Better to keep things casual for sure.
Ugh, Josh is pretty perfect, and the fact that both him and Anna-Marie have Hollywood personas isn't surprising. He puts up with a lot from her, but she's scared and is acting out because of that. The fact her family is a touch out there added to the story, especially her cousin Lily and her obvious attempts at trying to steal Josh. There were some super fun characters in the book and the writing was excellent. A fun story with a duo perfectly suited for each other.
When Josh shows up, she's shocked. Not only because she spent the previous night with an ex-boyfriend in a few compromising situations, but because his showing up might mean he's thinking of becoming more serious than she's prepared for. She's petrified of commitment, her father is a serial marrier and adulterer and wasn't a good role model for how relationships should be. If he can cheat on her mom and so many others, who's to say Josh won't do the same. Better to keep things casual for sure.
Ugh, Josh is pretty perfect, and the fact that both him and Anna-Marie have Hollywood personas isn't surprising. He puts up with a lot from her, but she's scared and is acting out because of that. The fact her family is a touch out there added to the story, especially her cousin Lily and her obvious attempts at trying to steal Josh. There were some super fun characters in the book and the writing was excellent. A fun story with a duo perfectly suited for each other.
June 10, 2019
This book in my opinion was funnier than the first of the set. I loved the background characters and I really felt that in general they improved the story and amped up the comedy. The cousin was just annoying, but really the one liners from the rest we're hilarious. The one thing that really bugged me was *spoiler* her dad being a sex addict** That one just felt too gimmicky and thrown in and I didn't care for the casual and all too easy way that it described her father's issues. I think that the reality of her father's issues would be too complicated to get into in a lighter book like this but even so, using that as a catch-all explanation was just cheap to me. It was a too fast way to tidy up Anna Marie's issues and I did not care for it at all. That being said, I really enjoyed the book and I loved a lot of other things about it.
February 11, 2022
I am going to agree with another reviewer who said "there are things I liked and things I hated". I hated all the interactions with the ex boyfriend and the fact that she has sex with him Even though she has feeling for the leading man and has been dating him for a while -even though they didn't say they were exclusive. I liked the leading man and his secretly geeky side, he was good in the crisis management department - luckily since the leading lady moves from crisis to slap sticky crisis. This was a free audible plus listen. I enjoyed the first book the Extra - also audible plus - and this one was mixed. There is one more book to go i n the series, but I am hesitant to read about the brother of the first leading lady who was a train wreck background character in the first book and is a recovering addict.
April 3, 2023
Hollywood Life ♥️🎬🎥💙
I found this book to be very entertaining, and I liked most of the characters. The hardest part for me, was liking the main h, AnnaMarie. I generally don’t like to read books where one of the main character sleeps with someone after they’re together. I didn’t care for her cavalier attitude towards sleeping with other people, and the way she casually hurt people was not a very good trait my opinion.
On the other hand, I really liked Josh. Even though I felt like he should’ve been a little more angry about the fact that she was so casual about what they had. I understand the way she acted had a lot to do with her family, but she was still hard to like.
The family was interesting, the setting was fun, and for the most part, the writing was good. So far the series has been OK, and worth checking into.
I found this book to be very entertaining, and I liked most of the characters. The hardest part for me, was liking the main h, AnnaMarie. I generally don’t like to read books where one of the main character sleeps with someone after they’re together. I didn’t care for her cavalier attitude towards sleeping with other people, and the way she casually hurt people was not a very good trait my opinion.
On the other hand, I really liked Josh. Even though I felt like he should’ve been a little more angry about the fact that she was so casual about what they had. I understand the way she acted had a lot to do with her family, but she was still hard to like.
The family was interesting, the setting was fun, and for the most part, the writing was good. So far the series has been OK, and worth checking into.
September 25, 2019
Can she keep running from commitment or will it finally catch up to her
The Girlfriend Stage is a witty, funny and thoroughly enjoyable story about a commitment-phobic actress who keeps running from men. That is until she ends up being run down by two men, one from her past and one from her present. Add in her wacky family and their reunion and an outrageous hot tub night with her ex and you have all sorts of drama.
I really loved this book as it made me laugh, cringe, gasp, tsk and so much more. It is well written and the story-line and characters have been well developed and have depth and humor.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are all my own.
The Girlfriend Stage is a witty, funny and thoroughly enjoyable story about a commitment-phobic actress who keeps running from men. That is until she ends up being run down by two men, one from her past and one from her present. Add in her wacky family and their reunion and an outrageous hot tub night with her ex and you have all sorts of drama.
I really loved this book as it made me laugh, cringe, gasp, tsk and so much more. It is well written and the story-line and characters have been well developed and have depth and humor.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are all my own.
September 22, 2019
A Lovely Romantic Read!!
What a lovely romance; one could almost feel the main male and female characters' connection and love leaping off the pages of this novel. Their road to romance certainly was filled with obstacles, angst and confusion. They did manage to wend their way to a happy ever after but with the assistance of both of their best friends helping out. Lots of interesting characters were introduced in this story and every character was clearly delineated and believable.
Recommended romance read.
I voluntarily received an advance review copy of this novel via Booksprout and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review. I have no affiliation to this author.
What a lovely romance; one could almost feel the main male and female characters' connection and love leaping off the pages of this novel. Their road to romance certainly was filled with obstacles, angst and confusion. They did manage to wend their way to a happy ever after but with the assistance of both of their best friends helping out. Lots of interesting characters were introduced in this story and every character was clearly delineated and believable.
Recommended romance read.
I voluntarily received an advance review copy of this novel via Booksprout and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review. I have no affiliation to this author.
February 10, 2020
This was a fast and enjoyable read for me when I finally got to it on my TBR list.
Anna-Marie is like lot of young women, her age. She is commitment phobic and I felt she thought maybe there could be some body better for her than Josh.
She has to go to a family reunion that I don’t think she was all that up about going. But she hooks up with her ex-boyfriend really fast. But she doesn’t know that Josh is also on his way to Wyoming.
Even though Anna-Marie and Josh have had a rough ride to romance filled with obstacles and confusion, but with the help of their friends they realize what is really important and it is each other. A cute romantic book goes great after The Extra.
Anna-Marie is like lot of young women, her age. She is commitment phobic and I felt she thought maybe there could be some body better for her than Josh.
She has to go to a family reunion that I don’t think she was all that up about going. But she hooks up with her ex-boyfriend really fast. But she doesn’t know that Josh is also on his way to Wyoming.
Even though Anna-Marie and Josh have had a rough ride to romance filled with obstacles and confusion, but with the help of their friends they realize what is really important and it is each other. A cute romantic book goes great after The Extra.
January 28, 2022
I loved reading the Extra and I was really excited to read Anna-Marie’s story.
Wow this was pretty fun/crazy! There was A LOT going on. Sometimes it got a little overwhelming, but I still enjoyed it.
Anna-Marie had a lot of daddy issues and she could be frustrating. But once you learn more about her background and more about her family, you can see where a lot of her concerns and worries came from.
Josh was AMAZING! He was such a book boyfriend and he really was exactly what Anna-Marie needed.
I also loved hearing about Gabby and Will! And Josh’s friends, Ben and Wyatt!
Overall, this was a cute, silly read. I’m excited for Felix’s story!
Wow this was pretty fun/crazy! There was A LOT going on. Sometimes it got a little overwhelming, but I still enjoyed it.
Anna-Marie had a lot of daddy issues and she could be frustrating. But once you learn more about her background and more about her family, you can see where a lot of her concerns and worries came from.
Josh was AMAZING! He was such a book boyfriend and he really was exactly what Anna-Marie needed.
I also loved hearing about Gabby and Will! And Josh’s friends, Ben and Wyatt!
Overall, this was a cute, silly read. I’m excited for Felix’s story!
January 29, 2020
I enjoyed this book, it was light and funny. It didn’t have me on the edge of my seat and was a little predictable but sometimes that’s okay!
I liked the way both Anne-Marie and Josh have parts of their lives that they keep secret due to their careers and industry expectations and enjoyed seeing them finally expose their true selves and find acceptance and of course love!
There were a few times where the story was a little fetched but I didn’t find it off putting.
An nice easy read if you’ve got a few hours and fancy a Happy ever after.
I liked the way both Anne-Marie and Josh have parts of their lives that they keep secret due to their careers and industry expectations and enjoyed seeing them finally expose their true selves and find acceptance and of course love!
There were a few times where the story was a little fetched but I didn’t find it off putting.
An nice easy read if you’ve got a few hours and fancy a Happy ever after.
February 13, 2020
This series keeps surprising me. Every book is absolutely amazing! I thought I didn't really like reading romance but look, it's the fourth book I read of The Extra Series and I'm about to start the next one! This book tells the story of Anna-Marie and Josh, who are perfect for each other. They struggle a lot, with themselves, Anna-Marie's family, and even a moose. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading The Girlfriend Stage, I loved it! I definitely recommend it to people who like to read romance and even to people who don't know if it's something for them.
April 27, 2020
Heart, humor and chemistry.
This book sang vibrantly to my inner geeky soul. I absolutely loved Anna-Marie and Josh’s story and all the sparks flying between them. The journey to their HEA isn’t a straight path. It’s a winding road full of laugh out loud embarrassing moments. Family drama, heart to heart talks and realizing you have to open up, showing vulnerability when you’re ready to be all in with someone. Even if doing so means you might lose them.
I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.
This book sang vibrantly to my inner geeky soul. I absolutely loved Anna-Marie and Josh’s story and all the sparks flying between them. The journey to their HEA isn’t a straight path. It’s a winding road full of laugh out loud embarrassing moments. Family drama, heart to heart talks and realizing you have to open up, showing vulnerability when you’re ready to be all in with someone. Even if doing so means you might lose them.
I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.
September 24, 2020
Adored this book!!! I’m such a sucker for a good romcom & I couldn’t put this one down.
I loved the first book “The Extra” a lot, but I actually enjoyed this one even more. Anna-Marie is a great character and I really loved how her and Josh’s relationship developed through the book.
The references to books/fandoms aka Harry Potter, game of thrones, Star Wars were so fun as well!
Highly recommend for anyone wanting a good fun romcom series, I’ll definitely be picking up the rest of the books!
I loved the first book “The Extra” a lot, but I actually enjoyed this one even more. Anna-Marie is a great character and I really loved how her and Josh’s relationship developed through the book.
The references to books/fandoms aka Harry Potter, game of thrones, Star Wars were so fun as well!
Highly recommend for anyone wanting a good fun romcom series, I’ll definitely be picking up the rest of the books!
January 30, 2024
Anna Marie is a soap opera actress in LA and has difficulty committing to relationships. But then Josh Rios, the guy she is currently dating in LA and having difficulty not becoming attached to, shows up at her family reunion in Everett, Wyoming and she realizes she wants him there. A number of scandals arise about Anna Marie, testing them both.
It is hard to warm up to Anna Marie given her behavior. She is such a ditz and makes terrible decisions. Plus Josh and Anna Marie have only been dating for two months!
The story had its moments, but not gripping enough
It is hard to warm up to Anna Marie given her behavior. She is such a ditz and makes terrible decisions. Plus Josh and Anna Marie have only been dating for two months!
The story had its moments, but not gripping enough
September 14, 2019
If we always knew what we wanted and got what we needed.......sorry, got lost in that fantasy for a moment. Life mistakes earn life lessons, so AnnaMarie is prepped to learn a lot when she has to return to her hometown. Funny moments and real moments weave through this book and make us hope she ends up making the right choice.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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