A Nook for Books: Review and Giveaway: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Dirty Little Secret

By: Jennifer Echols

Pub. Date: July 16, 2013

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 288

Source: Publisher

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.

Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again.

Bailey is an 18 year old fiddle player. Already I am super intrigued! She has spent her life performing with her younger sister in the Bluegrass festival circuit. Now, her sister has a record deal and Bailey is forced to live with her grandfather and it not allow to follow her dreams of playing fiddle in public. I felt so bad for her! It was bad enough that her she is separated from her sister, but now her parents and her sisters record company are stopping her from doing something that she loves. That is just horrible, but I am happy that Bailey is a rule breaker, and even though she was doing it secretly, she kept on playing!

Bailey meets Sam while playing in a Johnny Cash tribute band. Sam is the guitar player and his dad is Johnny Cash. From the first minute you meet Sam you know there is something up with him and his dad, but you don't know what it is. Sam was a very interesting guy and very hard to figure out. He was super talented and so dedicated to his music and it was hard not to admire him. But you never know what his true intentions and feelings were. For someone who wore his heart on his sleeve (something that is mentioned multiple times in the story) his feelings were always clouded by something else. I felt by the end of the story I finally understood him!

I really enjoyed Sam and Bailey together. They had a wonderful connection, even when they were fighting! I think Bailey was the one who wore her heart on her sleeve. She loved so passionately-her sister, her parents, even Sam, even after those people hurt her so much. I loved Bailey. She was so relatable and honest. I wanted to give her a big, fat hug!

Jennifer Echols writes the best contemporary out there! I am a fan for life.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4