“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 RushGabby Mays wishes she had her future figured out, like her gorgeous roommate Anna-Marie, who has just landed a role on the hit soap opera Passion Medical. Gabby would give anything to find a career … to find a career she’s half as passionate about as Anna-Marie is about acting—and a love life that isn’t comprised of nights with a party-sized bag of Doritos and her Netflix account.
When Gabby becomes a recurring extra on Passion Medical, she finds a job she’s surprisingly great at. Even better, her old crush and ex-boss—the sexy, sweet Will Bowen—is writing the scripts, allowing Gabby lots of quality flirting time at the craft services table.
But between feuding divas, fake Emmys, and Gabby’s growing concern that Will might not see her as anything more than a friend, her life on set is quickly becoming a drama worthy of the soaps.
“Delightful, spunky, and deliciously well-written” –Bestselling Author Jen Greyson
The Extra is a stand-alone romance novel with PG-13 rated content , no cliffhanger, and a swoon-worthy happily-ever-after.
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Gabby is an outcast, she’s the family screw-up who doesn’t fit in with her parents or her siblings. With a scientist sister and a musical brother, she has no comparable talent. She’s always getting fired from various jobs and she seems rather hopeless.
But then her best friend Anna-Marie gets a job on the soap opera “Passion Medical” and gets Gabby on as an extra. It’s perfect for her because she’s good at fading into the background. Only Will works there as a writer, the Will she spent hours dreaming about while she worked for him at a bookstore two years ago. But then there was that incident in the break room and he fired her, story of her life.
But she still has feelings for him and hopes that perhaps now they could date, only, he’s engaged. But she loves this job and is good at it. If she can forget about Will and just be friends, things would be great. Which is hard to do because Will doesn’t see her as a screw-up. Whatever will she do?
So this was a super fun read, with some great characters. I really liked Anna and Gabby as a duo, and love the fact this is part of a series because it means there will be more! (but can totally be read as a standalone, which followers of my reviews know I absolutely love). I really liked Will, despite the fact he was married to the wicked witch, or as she’s called in the book, BB. Sometimes we get blinded by love to see the train wreck we’ve landed in, and that’s what happens to him. I also really like Karen, her receptionist friend from the set, and hope to see more of her as well.
Poor Gabby didn’t have it easy growing up, feeling like she was the lesser of her siblings. That created a vortex of low self-esteem for her, and we watch her make progress throughout the book. Progress in learning to love herself, to find her passion in which she can excel in life. The Extra was so well-written, and so much fun, it was practically a one-sit reading. Excellent!
Great drama both on and off the screen. Poor Gabby, her life and family are literally falling apart when she gets the chance to be an extra on a soap opera. She gets to spend time with a previous crush and witness the strange realities of behind the scenes TV.
Full of witty banter and masses of entertainment.
If I had to sum this book up in three words, it would be cute, funny and modern. This is definitely a millennial read, since it has lots of pop culture references. But that’s okay unless you’re older (because you might not get the references or like some of the language). I think that reflects its charm though. It’s written in the first person present tense kinda like a script, which is cute but can be frustrating to read at times. It is kinda slow in the beginning but picks up later (which I feel is the same for most first books in a series). There were a few grammatical and structural errors, but the way the authors conveyed the overall plot was pristine and descriptive.
I feel like Gabby represents most 20-30 year olds, who are still searching for themselves and their place in this world. She is relatable to those who have yet recognized that trait or quirk about themselves that sets them apart from everyone else and makes them special. That’s why I like her character and why I kept reading. I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a story about a cute, clean modern romance. I can’t wait to read the sequel to see what happens next.
* Received a copy of book from authors via voracious readers only
her life is not good while her room mate is on the up and even getting a job inn a tv sitcom. She is surprised but glad when she gets a job as an extra in the show. her life is on the up. Will it carry on going up? Will she get what she wants? Follow her journey
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a great read! Gabby is a character that was easy to get invested in, I found myself hoping that everything would turn out great for her. She was such a lovable character. The storyline was believable and well written. I look forward to reading more from Megan Walker and Janci Patterson
Let’s just say I didn’t know what to expect with this but what a pleasant surprise. It was clever, witty, inspirational & extremely well written. While perhaps it’s in the NA category the characters were definitely not, in fact quite mature.
The story revolves around Gabby, the plain Jane of a very almost perfect, yet very dysfunctional family & her search for who she really is. Lots of family dramas unfold but what had me hooked was the soap opera she worked on as an extra, while she found what job she wanted. Let me tell you she had some funny experiences in her learnings.
Passion Medical has an aging Matriarch, her protege who now seeks the limelight, the hot manwhore doctor who gets it both on & off the set, the temperamental director who takes it out on his poor overworked assistant, plus all the other cast & crew. It’s actually a soap opera within a soap opera. Gabby s friend Ann Marie scored her the job & this is where Will, a script writer on the show & a former boss, comes into it. While kissing is as hot as it gets there wasn’t any need for sex to overtake the story. I adored Will & couldn’t fathom his interest in Sarah, the directors assistant. But that’s all Im saying there.
Poor downtrodden Gabby you can’t help but feel for her & underneath all the wit is a wonderful story of her journey to finding herself. She was faceless throughout life, in her family & there are some clever moments on the set from the cast & crew towards her. Just loved, loved, loved it!
Looking forward to hearing more about her hopefully in Ann Marie’s story.
The first in the series, I usually read the first book then I am done. But, this series actually has me hooked on all the characters. Gabby is cute and quirky and even though it can be quite annoying you find yourself routing for her and hoping it all works out. Good read and a change of pace from the normal.
Boy, how shallow are people in LA
Gabby didn’t need a date. She needed therapy. About the third, “oh poor pitiful me.” I decided this would be a slog fest and just kept reading. Am I supposed to identify with a woman just flitting through life because it’s hard to dream whenever the people around you are perfect. How about No. Cause some of us had our dream taken by a cruel hand of fate, but we still get up in the morning. You get up you move on however you can and, try not to become bitter. Everyone of the people in this book are narcissistic self indulgent trolls who wouldn’t know a real emotion if it kicked them in the teeth. They are so busy running and being a false image of what a person is supposed to be that they never grow up. And when reality tried to set in in this book–her brother’s addiction and her parent’s losing all their money-it’s quickly swept under the rug. Real gets replaced by cheap soap opera drama that the reader can’t distinguish what’s important to Gabby. Because none of it is. Not a single event in another person’s life is important to Gabby.
A soap within a soap. Terrific listen that will make you laugh and root for the 2 main characters. Really enjoyable and a HEA is always good.
This book caught my eye because I love fiction about Hollywood and this amusing, fast-paced, highly entertaining story did not disappoint! Its heroine, Gabby, is a floundering twentysomething who’s tried her hand at and done poorly with a variety of jobs and hobbies. When she finds herself unemployed once more, she agrees to let her actress roommate hook her up with a gig as an extra on the soap opera, Passion Medical. Gabby soon learns that the drama, backstabbing, bed-hopping, and shocking reveals fans love to watch on the show pale in comparison to all the juicy stuff that goes on behind-the-scenes.
Poor Gabby has a lot to deal with in this story—her family’s falling apart, her non-existent love life suddenly becomes very complicated, and she doesn’t know who to trust on the set of Passion Medical. How will things play out for her? You’ll have to read the book to find out! I enjoyed THE EXTRA so much that I plan on reading the next book in the series, which will focus on Gabby’s fabulous roommate, Anna-Marie, very soon. I’m so glad to have discovered some fun new authors!
Loved this series!
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
The first half of the book moved very slow, and I honestly probably kept reading just because I was supposed to review it. The main character is just relatable enough to get through the first half of the book. I also noticed several spelling and grammatical errors that I feel could have been caught by a better editor.
The second half of the book is much better than the first. The pace picks up, and you can start really caring about not just the main character but all the side characters, as well.
While the girl does get the boy in the end you’re still left with a lot of questions in the end, and a more interesting story could have probably been found in the main characters brother than in the main character herself.
The main character Gabby May (who narrates the story) is a young woman with several problems. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life and goes from job to job and from night time classes, like cake decorating and CPR, to name a few. She is the somewhat stereotypical middle child of wealthy parentd, she has always thought they had everything going for them. Her older sister is a beautiful scientist with what appears to be a perfect marriage and an adorable little boy. Her younger brother goes to Juilliard as a Chekhov’s player with a bright future to look forward too.
Gabby has a best-friend, Anna-Marie, a wanna be actress and why not they already live in Hollywood. Gabby & Anna-Marie share an apartment and when Anna-Marie gets a full time job on a soap opera, she convinces Gabby to try out for an extra on the show. She does, and gets called back a few times. But has another problem a guy she had a big crush on a few years back until he fires her from a job. When she sees him again, she realizes she still has feelings for him but he is engaged.
I don’t want to give away anything that would be a spoiler, but this is Hollywood wnd nothing is really as it appears to be. I recommend this for a fun romantic comedy, with some serious parts and some sex and bad language but is built somewhat around a soap opera so you shouldn’t be surprised, a VERY GOOD read.
Really enjoyed this read. Fun ! What a fascinating soap opera world. Loads of details that had me dreaming about the characters.
Good story
Always fun to read a book set in my own locale …. just to see how far off the author is. This one wasn’t too bad on that part. I was rooting for Gabby … and especially her pivotal night class.
Fun, Easy Read!
I am not usually a reader of romance books, I am happy that I gave this one a try. This was an enjoyable read that actually had, in my opinion, close to real life characters. I didn’t feel like I was being fed over sweet dreams.
From the first chapter I was caught up in the world of Gabby Mays. Truly entertaining and funny yet, made you think about how you view yourself in your own life. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series. Janci Patterson and Megan Walker are a great writing team! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a clean, easy to read, laugh out loud book with a touch of romance. Perfect for everyone!
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
Average.
Loved the humor.