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...
I might sound like a broken record when it comes to Jennifer Echols, but seriously, it never fails to amaze me how much she writes my life. Somehow she creates characters that I have so much in common with, yet their stories are so different from my own. Her talent for creating relatable, yet interesting and unique, characters is just one of the many reasons I love Jennifer Echols so much. This time around, I connected with the country music (love it!) and the violin playing (I played for 9 years), so even though I never had big musical dreams or a sister on the verge of superstardom, I totally get Bailey.
I love the musical aspect in this book. I played violin for a long time (I gave it up to switch to flute - I couldn't play violin now to save my life, which makes me pretty sad) and I grew up with country music (despite my parents' disdain for it) so I got really excited when I saw that Echols' new book was all country. I've always loved the idea of Nashville, even though I haven't spent too much time there. So this music culture and what it takes to stand out was so cool to read. It was the perfect background to this story and there's a built in soundtrack, which makes the whole book so dynamic.
I don't know if it's just me, but I totally pictured Bailey's sister as Taylor Swift...So in my head I have Bailey out-shined by T-Swizzy which is a pretty tough shadow to be in. I think Bailey actually handles herself pretty well, considering she got the short end of the stick. She was a little hard to get to know in the beginning, I think her walls are pretty tough to get through even for the reader. But as she lets Sam in, I feel like she let me in as well. By the end, I was just totally attached.
So Sam. I don't really know what to think about him. I've always fallen hard for the boys Echols writes. She's great at creating guys that are totally flawed, but are perfect for the heroine. But Sam kind of made me really cranky. There were times it definitely came off that he was using Bailey and I never really felt like he was genuine. Still, I think he's pretty true to life, because there are a lot of guys like this. And maybe they come off the wrong way or can't quite communicate right, but they always pull through for you in the end.
I think where Echols stepped it up in this book were in the secondary characters. Bailey's grandfather was awesome, even though he only made a few appearances. And then the other band members - Charlotte and Ace - were definitely highlights of this book. They have a bit of a side story going on and that was so fun to watch unfold. The whole band dynamic had me rooting for them and really wondering if they could make it big time if they really existed.
I love Echols' writing - she's definitely an author I'll always read no matter what. She has a real talent for creating vivid characters and settings, and Dirty Little Secret is definitely a great addition to her body of work. I love the country and the music and all the characters that make up this story. It's larger than life and so full of hope and healing, yet accessible at the same time. It has all the elements of the stories we've come to expect from Echols.
