The Stand-In: my life as an understudy

by Elizabeth Stevens

He’s a semi-famous rockstar
I’m Nerdy McNerdleton

Elijah Sweet: born rock god, gorgeous, sinful
Ella Cowan: beautiful, confidant, popular
Chloe Cowan: wait…who?

Born for the express purpose of being the understudy for my older sister, I’ve learnt that life goes faster if I just go along with the madness.

Until the madness involves me, the School Formal, my sister’s hair-brained scheme to win over the hottest boy in school, and a misunderstanding that I’m the one interested in him.

Suddenly, my quiet existence isn’t so quiet anymore and the bright neon light that heralds my eighteenth birthday and freedom is overshadowed by one that follows a boy who’s going to be the next big thing.

But I am so not interested… Am I?

Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian English, grammar and syntax.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2019

About the author

Writer. Reader. Perpetual student. Nerd.

I started out writing fantasy. But, I like to write anything, honestly. These days, I mainly stick to YA and there's always at least a sprinkling of romance, if not a 'whoops, I dropped the whole packet in'. Almost all my books are set in my home state of South Australia, either in real or fictional places - gotta write what you know - with Netherfield being the only current exception.

Like most writers, I love to read. Although, time for reading at the moment is hard to come by. When I'm not too busy writing, I'm usually reading a number of authors. Some of my favourites are Rick Riordan, Jane Austen, Kate Forsyth, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Kasie West, John Flanagan, Terry Pratchett, Isobelle Carmody, Christina Benjamin, Emily Rodda, and many more.

I'm an avid fan of Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Red Dwarf, IT Crowd, and pretty much anything similar. I've recently discovered Richard Ayoade's Travel Man and it's brilliant. I love watching soccer (go Gunners) and thoroughly look forward to seeing Eurovision every year. Celebrity crushes include Anna Kendrick and Chris Evans, because they are wonderful.

I live in Adelaide with my husband and a menagerie of animals – a cat reliving her (sixth) youth, a cowardly Beagle-Cavalier who thinks he’s smaller than he is, one meeping guinea pig who thinks any plastic bag has his greens in, two chickens who are terrified of free-ranging, and a turtle with a penchant for sticking her head up her filter pipe.

I have a Master of Arts (Writing) from Swinburne University of Technology. I also have a Master of Arts (Editing and Publishing) at University of Southern Queensland and, am now working towards my PhD. I also hope to one day undertake a PhD in Creative Writing - perpetual student, am I.

I also organise the Sleeping Dragon Emerging Fantasy Writers’ Collective writing group. The group self-published their anthology Tales from the Sleeping Dragon in 2012.

You can also find me on:
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NB: I'm usually happy to discuss review copies of my books. A track record of reviewing is preferable, but not completely necessary.

Reviews

[Treena · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 25%

I don't understand all the high ratings. Is it me? Maybe. But sorry to the fans, because I really didn't like the heroine. She's literally a slave to the whims of her older sister. As in, even if she doesn't want to do the things Ella asks, she does it anyway. Why???? I didn't understand.

Imo, a more fitting title would've been "The Pushover" or "The Doormat".

Not my kind of book because this isn't my kind of heroine.

[Mayra Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

somehow I feel that the book is a little unresolved, Her parents never apologize not make it right with Gin. Ella doesn't change and doesn't learn anything from her behavior. I'm just happy gin had a somewhat happy ending

[Anna Theurer (Anna's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stand In is an entertaining quick read that has humor, sweetness, and fun, quirky characters. The author beautifully captures the high school dynamic and weaves a story that tackles the subjects of what it is like to live in the shadow of a sibling and discovering oneself. Chloe is a nerdy, endearing heroine and Eli is the popular up and coming rockstar. I like how Chloe doesn't immediately fall for Eli and I like how Eli sees Chloe for the wonderful, talented girl that she is. The cast of secondary characters really helped make the book. The other band members, Rica, and Aunt Bow were hilarious and very supportive. Then there is the evil Ella - I always like a good villain and I like that in this case, the bully ended up being the big sister. While parts of this book were predictable, I really like how everything unfolded and that while there was a bit of romance there was also emphasis on friendship and finding one's purpose and self worth. I received an early copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming if somewhat choppy book. The characters were delightful, and the story cute.
Note that it is very British, which takes me a minute to be in the right mindset for, but tends to be amusing.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a ways from high school but this was a cute story.

[Rmsooon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ive enjoyed the friendships in this book it was nice

[☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stand-in to leading lady ...

https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2019...

**** I did slap a few spoilers; into this review didn’t know I would.... but I did.... because. I had too...


I liked this book; it was a little different. But also good; I liked the fact that Eli like Chloe over her evil-Ella sister “Ella... because that girl was horrible and her (Chloe) parents were more up Ella behind rather than caring about what Chloe wanted to do and what made her happy. Chloe had her grandma and her aunt and Ella had their parents. Their parents only paid attention to Chloe when she went to the dance with her friends.

Plus; I was glad when Elijah wrote that song and the other song about her... to prove to Ella that he didn’t want her he wanted her younger sister. I felt like Chloe changed Eli for the better. Because he was a man-w****... and that wasn’t good for how old he was especially when you get up in the age... you be played out! But I was waiting on her to finally admit that she wanted to be with Elijah she didn’t really get on my nerves about Eli and her feelings. I just wanted her to stop pretending and stop following and doing everything her sister wanted her to do. I was glad; when she finally became who she wanted and didn’t want to be the shadow of her sister the “stand-in” she finally came out of her shell... and became Chloe Cowan and not Ella Cowan the person who treated her like crap and everyone thought she was from a distance...


I liked how everyone half of the people anyways figures out that Chloe was the nicer sister, and Ella was the evil sister. I had to laugh at the end when Eli sang that song for Chloe in front of everyone including her sister and then in the auditorium when Ella told her not to kiss Eli, and she (Chloe) did... I was like about time girl you don’t care about what your sister thinks, and she kissed him too.... & finally got the guy & wasn’t a stand-in you look at it Chloe was actually the leading lady, she just didn’t see it for herself and didn’t see she was beautiful and guys and others liked her whereas her sister was just a horrible person. That half of year twelve which I believe in American is twelfth grade knew Ella was evil...

[Loyalhistorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Positives: The one-on-one interactions with the two main characters were great, as usual with Stevens' books. She's great with dialogue, with writing subtle exchanges and reactions of the characters, and especially of making what might seem like a simple story into having deeper, real-life substance. This one, as the title suggests, is about living in the shadow of someone else; dealing with familial expectations; learning to stand up for yourself and not worry about upsetting others to the detriment of your own happiness; taking stock of your own personal skills and successes; gaining self-respect and confidence; being mindful enough to take a step back and think through your actions/choices before making big decisions; seeing and understanding your life from a different perspective than you had previously.

I think Govi was my favorite character in the story, especially in the first half of the book. As his character became less important to the story though, he got a bit happy-go-lucky manic toward the end. Even so, that was self-proclaimed and par for the course for the character. Though they weren't a huge part of it, Lake and Ramsey were fun too. I could see Stevens taking the Quicksilver boys and writing a book for each one of them. They're each different and interesting enough to expand on.

The (Few) Negatives: This story didn't feel as fleshed out as some of her others. Maybe not through it all, but in the first 30 to 40% for sure. I think Stevens' "Accidentally Perfect" and "Keeping Up Appearances" has been my favorites of hers. So, keep in mind, I'm also comparing to what I've read of hers in the past. With this one, I think the main characters could have been built up more at the beginning, especially with their initial interactions. At first I couldn't see much of what had attracted them to each other (besides that fact that Eli appreciated that Chloe wouldn't take his crap). Chloe being a sputtering mess that could hardly talk to Eli at the beginning was comic relief, but a little much at times. As the story went along, it clicked more and I overlooked my initial concerns.

[funkelbunt.liest · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars rounded to 4

This book started quite nicely and I enjoyed it for the most part.
I didn’t mind Chloe being a “doormat” as some reviews phrased it. Because for one I appreciate modest characters and prefer them over ones that are too full of themselves and secondly it gave place for character growth which was given.

So I liked the main character and the most important side characters like the band and Chloe’s best friend.

The other characters were a little over the top for my taste. Chloe’s sister is so awful, it’s a bit unbelievable and so are her parents. Her aunt and grandma on the other hand were too funny (in a not so funny way…), too quirky, too much sunshine and rainbows.
Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t buy the whole family situation.

But that’s actually just a minor issue.
What I didn’t like was the discrepancy between what we should believe of Chloe (invisible, push over, living in the shadows, …) and what we see of her almost from the start. She is funny and quickly made friends. It’s hard to believe that Ella had more friends (and fans) than her because no one prefers a self absorbed and mean girl over a smart, funny and kind one - even if said girl is shy.

But I could have overlooked that, if the romance part wouldn’t have disappointed me so much. You can’t put a nearly perfect guy like Govi in a book and hope the reader would root for the slightly underdeveloped cocky one.
Luckily I knew early on that Chloe wouldn’t end up with Govi but I was still disappointed.
Eli is actually not so bad, but I’m missing the part where and why he changes from a total flirt and player to this sweet and genuine guy who falls for Chloe big time.
Why does he like Chloe all of a sudden and wants to change his ways?
I don’t see it and I think it’s quite naive that Chloe doesn’t question it, especially since she thought very poorly of him in the beginning even if she had a crush on him. (Which honestly annoyed me additionally…)

So we see character growth, but it kind of comes out of nowhere and I would have loved Chloe with Govi so much more…

[Jane Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good but needed a bit of editing

This would be 4-stars if it were based on characters and story telling. I really thought it was cute with it's Cinderella meets boy band vibes.
My biggest qualm was the spelling/word errors throughout the book for example, 'he' where the word was clearly meant to be 'she', 'her' or maybe even 'the' but definitely not 'he'. A few times it felt like there were wrong words used, and I don't mean in the US/AUS differences, I mean there needed to be a bit more proofreading especially in the second half of the book.
At one point, when Chloe had a perspective change, I felt like the reader didn't get the insight into what made that happen; new chapter suddenly brought a transformed narrative without any 'AHA!' moment. I had to go back and see if I missed something (I hadn't). Beyond that point, resolutions were inclusive and relatable and done well enough.

Over all, I really did enjoy this story and I still love Elizabeth Stevens!

[Char ღ Denae · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I assume not intended by the author, this book's heroine suffers from child abuse. She's been put down and neglected by her parents and sister for so long, she just goes with the flow to avoid rocking the boat. That part of the book aggravated me but it was pointed out later in the book so, since I usually adore Elizabeth Stevens writing, I let it go. Besides, I think she was going for a Cinderella-type heroine; strong though beat down. That being said, I loved the characters in this story! The camaraderie was infectious and made me smile several times. I was a bit confused as to who the hero was going to be in the beginning as Chloe, the heroine, and Govi, a secondary character, became great friends but it became clear soon that the, assumingly, arrogant, conceited rockstar wannabe would be the guy. Luckily, all turned out exactly as it should and I enjoyed the book very much.

[Megsy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the characters

I'm so glad I found this author, I love every book she has written and am excited to see she has heaps of new releases coming. The books are YA but mature and interesting and in every book I love the core main characters, they all have substance. In this book Chloe is living in her big sister's shadow, and she's not a very nice big sister!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book

I absolutely loved this story. Eli and clo are so what each other needed in their lives. I love the band they’re awesome guys and so is rica , bow and grandma. I absolutely can’t stand her parents or her sister and her minions. I really hope there will be a novela or a book 2 like a catch-up on how everything is going/ how everyone is doing.

[Jacqui Cosgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut wrenching love story

Once again Elizabeth Stevens brings her characters and story to life by creating strong leads, realistic romances and gut wrenching love stories. This is a great YA read with a happy ending.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute.

I spent the first half of the book wanting her to end up with the other guy, but Eli won me over in the end. Govi is just kind of amazing, and I was bummed when that wasn't the direction we went. There were some sweet swoon moments, and a happy ending. I enjoyed it.

[Indhu Kong · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine is basically a doormat. That's one of the main reasons I didn't like this book. Aside from that, at the end, nothing was resolved. It felt like too many things were left unsaid and I'm not sure that's even a happily-ever-after because it sure didn't feel like that.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read. It was entertaining even though 95% of the book was in the same setting. I didn’t think that Eli’s character was very fleshed out but I did enjoy the camaraderie between Chloe and the band. Contains: a smattering of language (including 2 f-bombs), kisses.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, fun read

Another great read by Elizabeth Stevens. I also love the included playlist for spotify- It brings another element to the book.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

It's an ok read, there are a few mistake. I felt like the story wasn't finished which is disappointing but I still like the storyline

[cierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute love story

[Gundega (Rouzmary) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Intended to read just a few pages before going to sleep.
Ended up reading the whole book through the night.
(Work was hard that day XD)

I came upon The Stand-In quite by accident - it was among the newly released books, title caught my attention and blurb sealed the deal for it seemed not quite your regular plot-line yet familiar enough.

In fact, even thought it's YA, still decided to give a try thinking- it will be at least mediocre because the setting seemed interesting.

Worth it.

The plot indeed is not quite your regular one. It was refreshing and yet set in the ever familiar YA setting of high school.
And I didn’t care.
I liked it.

The book & characters kept me reading page after page even as the dawn came closer, yet I did not want to stop reading. It has such an easy flow to it – effortless yet interesting enough.

Because it was truly just that good.
Entertaining, fresh, quirky.

THIS is the kind of YA I love and adore and want to keep reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not really all that relevant, but still:
The book is set in Australia, however, while reading I kinda forgot/ignored it because it felt like your regular YA american high school setting, yet as I kept nearing the middle of the book the thought finally struck me - at first I thought those were just some odd grammar mistakes, the odd word or misplaced wording here & there but then I remembered what it said at the beginning: set in Australia so will use Aussie grammar.

...were those not in fact mistakes but Aussie thing? Huh.
Learn smt new every day.

Because I honestly haven't ever read any books set in Australia or seen any movies or anything. So aside from some American books mentioning aussie british accent I've honestly got no idea how their grammar or talking would go.
...
So it's the same but with the odd mistake?

In my defense (if there even is a need for it), I was taught British English at school and pretty much learned American English through movies, tv & books...thus my own English has sort of things from both...but Australian English...beats me, got no clue XD

Well, if anyone is more knowledgeable on the subject, I’m all ears ;p
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Heh, grammar & language aside - darn, I really, truly, most thoroughly enjoyed & liked the book.
For those few hours, it did exactly what it's supposed to - engaged me in it's story.
It's the best kind of good there is – near perfection :D

Near perfection, 'cuz as usual (sadly) had the ever present teen drama part where foolishness rules them all, but luckily, it wasn't that bad. (Thou the whole dating/not dating/wtf are you doing part had me...not happy.)
The parent's on the other hand...I wanted to strangle them. For real. And the sister...don't even get me started on her.
I was quite homicidal in my thoughts where the FL's family was concerned and at times wanted to shake her as well for she was tad too giving in...those kind of people (her family, not her, her only slightly) truly annoy me, luckily they're fictional, but sadly, I know they (the family) exist in RL as well. If I'd meet such people, would have criminal thoughts about 'em in RL too XD
And the whole forgiveness shit...well, it's shit. So I'm glad it didn't truly take place. Some things are not to be forgiven nor forgotten.

Also, I kinda liked the FL's... -let's just ignore it and not worth my time attitude?- though at times she somewhat was too...depressing/too giving in, but all in all, I liked her don't truly give a f*ck thoughts. And she did have progress by the end, so - yussss!

Now, back to the positive XD
Appealing plot - part expected as it is with such story & characters, but also intriguing enough with it's own spin on it, the characters were also of the same variety aka interesting and tad predictable – but overall: me like a lot :D

The Stand-In had that little spark that made the book engaging to the reader, therefore it’s a success in my opinion, at least to me. Liked it, recommend it, will (probably) read again. \_(ツ)_/¯

The Stand-In is a good YA book. Thumbs up :D

[Tristabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Stand-In" is about a girl named Chloe who lives to make her sister's life easier. Well, not really. Life is just easier for Chloe if she doesn't put up a struggle, as many fights are avoided. Chloe and her sister Ella go to a school for the arts, the place for soon to be celebrities and rock stars. When Ella develops a desire for Elijah Sweet, already semi-famous rock star, to take her to the formal, she tells Chloe to talk her up to Eli. This is how Chloe finds herself on the school formal planning committee, and against all odds finds new friends there. The only problem? Eli thinks Chloe is the one who's interested in him.
I really enjoyed this book. When it comes down to it, it is jut a cheesy teen romance. However, the growth and character development throughout the story is very well done. I particularly liked how each character had at least one trait I could relate to. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a light, enjoyable read void of any heavy issues or drama.
Content Warnings:
-mild suggestive language

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admission time: I always was and am still happy to be a “Nerdy McNerdleton”, so I welcome any book starting another one. No surprise that I love Chloe Cowan, the star in Elizabeth Stevens’ The Stand-In: My Life as an Understudy. Really, though, the budding romance between semi-famous rock god Elijah and Chloe is superbly done, the leads are well-crafted and the supporting cast - both good (special cusps to Rica and Aunt Bow) and bad (hello, Ella, you’re no Cidarelld story) - are great. Add in some lessons on loyalty and Sind very appropriately done teen angst, and viola!, one heck of a fun read. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed a lot and couldn't put this one down!

Absolutely love this book! I'd even let all my girls read it.

Chloe has lived her life in her sister's shadow, always hearing her parents encouraging Ella and telling Chloe to support her sister. So when her sister tells her to go to the dance committee meetings in her place, Chloe does just that. Ella has told her to talk to Eli and try to interest him in asking Ella to the dance.

I love that the right people see Chloe for who and what she is.

This is a must read if you enjoy humor and music references. I loved the progression in this book and the character developments.

[Kaity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous book!

I loved the story and all the characters! I enjoyed watching Chloe with the band and how she changed all of them in some way. The boys and Aunt Bow are a hoot. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet romcom book! This book is a clean romance book. I love the characters so much I keep reading the book over and over again just the spend time with so.e of my favorite characters.

[Daisy✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️ because this is still one of my favourite books and i still prefer it to a lot of my 5⭐️ books

i love this book and i have read it countless times. however every time i notice how nothing is resolved with Chloe’s parents or Ella, apart from the scene where her parents compliment her. apart from that i love this book and will probably read it several more times.

[Melissa B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story but Chloe unnerve me to no end. The premise was good it's just that Chloe's kept repeating the same vicious cycle.
I'm voluntarily reviewing this after receiving a free copy from Hidden Arcs.

[Mimia The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars (not rounded)

What we came to expect from Elizabeth Stevens. Very, very good!
However, I would have liked to understand the sister and the parents better - we get a few glimpses but nothing more

[evieo17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoyed this book but Chloe drove me crazy. There were times I wanted to yell at her to stand her ground. I am glad she go the guy in the end. Her sister needed to be taken down a peg or two.

[TSN ☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just adore Elizabeth Stevens writing.