A stand-alone novel by Jennifer Echols, Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, July 2013.
* An ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books and Edelweiss website for an honest review.
Bailey Mayfield and her sister Julie were once a talented, blond-haired, music duo who honed their performances at all the bluegrass festivals their parents drove them to. It's been one long year since that fateful day when only Julie was signed to a recording contract and Bailey brushed aside.
Bailey feels forgotten by her family and resents the time they've spent focusing on her younger sister's burgeoning music career. She's spent the last year playing her fiddle, writing music, and being reprimanded by her parents for her bad attitude and constant shenanigans. The troubling incident on her high school graduation night is the last straw. Her parents ostracize Bailey to her grandfather's house with orders to stay away from any kind of performing, going out with friends, or generally causing any kind of scene that would jeopardize her sister's innocent country music reputation.
Her granddad knows music and fiddle playing is as important to Bailey as breathing, so he finds her a gig playing with little tribute country music groups at a local Nashville mall. There she meets good-looking, troubled Sam Hardiman, who plays guitar alongside his “Johnny Cash” dad.
Sam has a three-member country/rockabilly band that just can't seem to break into the next level of the Nashville music scene. Something's missing in their performance, and Bailey and her fiddle might be that little extra spark to move them into the music spotlight. Sam begs Bailey to join his band, and though she knows she shouldn't, Bailey agrees to play for one or two performances.
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET is the story of Bailey's turmoil at being left behind and her struggle to break free from the worthless, bad-girl image she's portrayed to the world in order to protect her heart. Through cathartic songwriting, exhilarating fiddle playing, and her new place in Sam's life and band, Bailey realizes that she is just as important as her sister and that her dreams are just as worthy. Like the protagonists in Echol's books GOING TOO FAR and SUCH A RUSH, Bailey decides to take control of her own destiny. She breaks out of her self-imposed shell and releases the confident musician and beautiful eighteen year old she really is.
I love so many things about this story. Like in all of Echols books, the characters are well-fleshed out with emotional backstories and sometimes funny, and definitely distinctive, quirks. The story is filled with behind-the-scene glimpses into unique work settings (i.e., tribute groups serenading in malls), and Echols shares her amazing knowledge of music fundamentals and the downside of being blessed with perfect pitch.
I only have two very minor complaints. The first is the protagonist's continual inner conflict about how her family doesn't want to be around her and how disappointed they are in her. Granted it's important for the character to flesh out her feelings, but in my opinion, the “woe is me” stuff is a little too thick. Second, I thought the ending stopped too soon. I would have loved to see a little of what happened the Monday following her sister's outdoor performance. (I'm not spilling the info here. You'll have to read the story to see what I mean.) But neither of these issues were enough to take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.
I loved DIRTY LITTLE SECRET with it's realistic, vibrant characters, engaging storyline, and unique settings. It's just the type of lighthearted escapism I've come to expect and enjoy in all of Jennifer Echols's books and a perfect book for the beach, a weekend, or anytime, really.
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE: Other books by Jennifer Echols, novels by Simone Elkeles, Lauren Barnholdt, Tijan, Abbi Glines, Leah Rae Miller, Tammara Webber.