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    Dirty Little Secret
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    Dirty Little Secret
    Unavailable
    Dirty Little Secret
    Ebook302 pages5 hours

    Dirty Little Secret

    By Jennifer Echols

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    I was being given the chance to do the one thing I wanted most in the world. The chance was presented to me by a guy so gorgeous, he turned my skin to fire when he touched me. And joining a band was the one thing I was most forbidden to do, the thing that would ruin my future forever.

    I was being given the chance to do the one thing I wanted most in the world. The chance was presented to me by a guy so gorgeous, he turned my skin to fire when he touched me. And joining a band was the one thing I was most forbidden to do, the thing that would ruin my future forever.

    Eighteen-year-old Bailey has issues—and not just that she’s lying to her grandfather about playing fiddle in a Nashville bar. There’s how her younger sister Julie’s recording contract makes her family terrified that Bailey will mess the deal up. And why Bailey is acting out. And the way everyone seems mad at her, even Julie. Bailey’s parents don’t want her playing gigs at all, but when they leave her with her grandfather so they can tour with Julie, she lands a job playing old country songs in cheesy costumes at a local mall. That’s where she meets Sam. . . .

    Sam doesn’t plan to spend his life playing backup at the mall for his alcoholic dad. He intends to take his high school garage band to the big time, and when he hears Bailey play, he knows she’s what he wants.

    Bailey isn’t sure where she stands with this boy who has a lust for music and life, and who may or may not have a lust for her. And yet, suddenly, her life is no longer about what might have been, and a whole lot about what could be. . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGallery Books
    Release dateJul 16, 2013
    ISBN9781451658064
    Unavailable
    Dirty Little Secret
    Author

    Jennifer Echols

    Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. Her nine romantic novels for young adults have been published in seven languages and have won the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Aspen Gold Readers’ Choice Award, the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Beacon, and the Booksellers’ Best Award. Her novel Going Too Far was a finalist in the RITA and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son. Visit her at Jennifer-Echols.com.

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    Reviews for Dirty Little Secret

    3.5/5

    68 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      really good book.
    • 3/5
      cute
    • 5/5
      If you're looking for the perfect musician chick lit, you've found it. As a musician myself, I found Jennifer Echols's portrayal of Bailey and Sam admirable and very true to life. Beautiful story, beautiful dreams, beautiful characters. Of course, no story is without its flaws, but Dirty Little Secret is pretty close to perfect. I may even have to purchase myself a print copy, so I can scribble in the margins and highlight and fall in love again every time I read it.
    • 2/5
      Although I enjoyed the story line, I found the characters' reactions to emotional situations (parents' essentially disowning oldest daughter etc) to either be overly muted or overly dramatic.
    • 2/5
      I needed some light fluff to take my mind off a bad day. Just the thing I needed.
    • 3/5
      First of all, thank you Edelweiss for the e-arc!
      This is my first Jennifer Echols book, and while I did not fall head-over-heels for it, I can definetely see the charm of it.

      Dirty Little Secret tells the story of a girl who lost her way and started acting out once a dream she's worked all her life for is taken away from her. When music is taken away from her. Fast forward a year and she's now preforming in malls, without her parents' knowledge, and she'll hang on to that job with her teeth because it allows her to play - even if it's kind of lousy. Enter the gorgeous Sam; a boy with charm and talent, who refuses to accept no for an answer; and he wants her in his band. And maybe his bed.

      This time, the review will be a bit different...

      WHAT I LIKED

      BAILEY'S JOURNEY
      Throughout the story, Bailey learns to stop blaming the entire world for what happened, and to stop acting like she does just because she wasn't chosen. Instead, she learn to do what she loves, with who she loves, and paves her own way back to her dream instead of giving up. I found that quite charming and lovely, and I loved watching her grow and become a better person.

      THE MUSIC
      The whole music aspect of the story was pretty great as she's a fiddle player and her knowledge of music was interesting to read about. The way she saw music was interesting to read about.

      THE ENDING and BAILEY'S SISTER
      I also really loved the ending. It was really cute, sweet and hopeful. This may have been the only place where I actually liked the love interest in this story.
      Then there was Bailey's sister. I wish we've seen more of her. I also wish we got to see more of what happened after the ending, but I liked it enough as it is.

      So far, so good.

      WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

      SAM.
      I pretty much hated him and his self centered way, how when he knew Bailey's story he was still mad at her for not using her 'connections' to get the band a record deal (what connections, you twit? The 'connections' that banned her from music???) . I hated how the band came first and how he never cared how others felt when he saw an opportunity for the band. I only warmed up to him (a little) at the very end there, when he finally decided to act like a proper human being instead of a using bastard. (Can you feel my burning hatred?...)
      However, do notice this is a very subjective thing. You may find him irresistible ;)

      THE ROMANCE
      As I didn't like the love interest, I by default wouldn't have liked the romance. Though my dislike of the romance seeps from a few different factors all together.
      The first:
      A) This is very Insta love. They're particularly kissing the first day they know each other. With me, Insta love almost always takes down a star from a story. The only time it doesn't is when it's so well done, it doesn't feel like Insta love. Here, it was painfully instant. Like, 'just add water' (or in this case, a guitar) and viola!

      B) I didn't really like the way they fought, and then Bailey would be like they never fought. It was like they completely ignored all the bad things in their relationship... and there were a lot of those.

      PARTS OF BAILEY'S BEHAVIOR
      There is really one part I disliked about Bailey, and that was how she always told Sam 'no' when inside she thought 'yes', how she continued to preform even though she "cared so much about what's at stake", and how she said one thing and then did the other. I know this sounds like a lot of things, but they just usually came together at the same place, so it's not really.

      All in all, there is something charming about this story and Jennifer's writing for sure. Sadly, as I ended up hating one of the main characters (and this is subjective), that really put a dumper on things. However, don't cross out this book just because of that - you may love the guy.
    • 3/5
      As a big fan of country music, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. The story revolves around Bailey, and her struggle with being pushed aside by her parents, but not her grandfather at least. The younger sister Julie has been pick up by big country music executives and is on her way to stardom leaving Bailey is in the dust.

      Bailey is labeled as the black sheep of her family. She was bitter and filled with jealousy, and who could blamer her. She didn’t make the best decisions all the time but she did her best I suppose. She’s still growing and learning, and we all learn from mistakes that we make. I can’t really say that I connected with her, but I did feel for her for what she was put through. When she meets Sam her life changes somewhat gets a little bit better. Sam was something else, he was cocky and has no problem doing whatever it took to get what he wanted. I didn’t really care for him, he was extremely manipulative when it came to Bailey. But she seemed to care for him, and they did make some good music together. The secondary characters, Charlotte and Ace were great.

      Now on to the plot, what happens when a girl falls for the guy who is “trouble”? Drama of course, and there is no shortage of it. Family drama, lovers drama and friendship drama too. One thing that Bailey had going for her, is she had the support of her grandfather and his help. Because her parents are just awful. The things they tell her and and the way they treated her were horrible. How can parents show such favoritism for one child and desert the other? There was some romance but the relationship between Bailey and Sam is partly why I had a hard time completely enjoy this fully. It was hot and cold, and more possessive on Sam’s side. Those types of relationships just get under my skin, but Bailey’s passion for music was something that I really enjoyed. So it kinda weighed the two out for me. This does deal with some of those real life issues that I was glad to see that was somewhat resolved toward the end, and I certainly can’t complain about the ending.

      The story moves fairly quickly and the characters grew, and the music was just fantastic. Overall, Dirty Little Secret was a pretty good summer reads.

    • 4/5
      "I was being given the chance to do the one thing I wanted most in the world.The chance was presented to me by a guy so gorgeous, he turned my skin to fire when he touched me. And joining a band was the one thing I was most forbidden to do, the thing that would ruin my future forever."Vaguely known as the big sis of a soon-to-be-famous country star, Bailey Mayfield is asked by her parents—no, commanded by her parents—to lay low while her sister Julie's tour kicks off. If she doesn't, she risks her college tuition, her future, so as unfair as her situation is, she has no choice but to abide by the rules—which is something she's always been good at, but lately has been compelled not to do.This suppression renders music meaningless for her; once, music was something she loved, but her family has taken even that away from her. Rebellious as she is, or at least claims to be, she'll go out of her way to indirectly spite her parents, because of what they've done, what they've snatched away. And while Bailey Mayfield may be your typical teenager when it comes to sulking over the things she doesn't have, the summer she's stuck at her granddad's house—the ultimate injustice to a self-righteous girl—will be far from typical...Dirty Little Secret is way more than a YA romance. It has a fantastic, heart-fluttering romantic plot, but it also gives an exclusive glimpse at the personal significance of music, as well as connects readers with an untraditional heroine whose last intention was to fall in love.Sam is an amazing character, whose depth of emotion is so powerful, so real. Not only did I swoon over him (typical of me, but really, he's adorable!), but I also really felt myself sympathizing with him too. When Bailey meets him, she can tell right away that he will be her downfall. Having had her heart broken before, she knows he's the last distraction she needs, especially when he comes with a tempting musical offer that's vehemently against her strict parents' rules. But one look into his glittering brown eyes, and she finds herself falling for him anyway. And that, as you can tell, becomes a bit of a problem...As they get to know each other platonically and musically, they both discover there's something between them—something outside of friendship and within great passionate potential—but neither is naïve enough to fall for the other, and neither is strong enough to take the chance, which consequently develops a hot, sparked, tumultuous relationship that never catches Bailey a break. The frustration Bailey feels over Sam is raw, realistic, and will be gobbled up by any girl who's ever been in a complicated relationship. Echols weaves an off-key love story that is accurate of what teenage heartbreak is: an ache so exquisite, a pain so depthless in emptiness and intensity.As a result of different goals, different futures, and different outlooks in life, Bailey is the opposite of what Sam ever wanted, and Sam is nothing like what Bailey really needs. Regardless, they do what teenagers do; they refuse to back down from their desires and choose to treat their hearts recklessly. It is universally acknowledged that in the moment, it is so easy—too easy—to open up to somebody you really connect with, to give yourself wholly to someone you love; this fact is what makes it clear that they are each other's tragedy.I was really impressed with this book overall because it is the perfect balance of angst, mind-whirling romance, true passion, and self-discovery. Bailey is super relatable and is a well-developed character. I connected with her a lot—particularly over her resent of her family and outlook on relationships—but she's not very likable. She has a no-nonsense attitude, which is amusing and kick-ass at times, but I generally thought she's rather inconsiderate and uncooperative. I know she is supposed to come off as tough (on the surface), but the author overdid it and makes her a bit too much of a bitch. Since Bailey is the narrator, this sours the overall tone of the story. Otherwise, though, Dirty Little Secret is a superbly crafted novel; I recommend this one to those who can appreciate sophisticated young adult with a side of sweet, heart-melting all-American romance.Pros: Intelligent, respectable tone and issues; mature YA // Complex relationships and characters // Sam♥ // Insightful behind-the-scenes look in the country music industry // Emotionally sound // Very relatableCons: Didn't think too highly of Bailey as a protagonist and narrator // Some of the musical descriptions just didn't click for me... mainly because I don't know squat about country musicLove: "My heart raced and my skin sparkled with the knowledge that no one would disturb us now. No one would stop us. There was nothing to prevent us from losing ourselves to each other, except logic, heartbreak, and every sound reason in the world.""[Sam's] eyes shifted to me. I never forgot how handsome he was, but when he looked straight at me, his brown eyes fringed with long, dark lashes gave me a shock. A guy should not be this handsome when a girl wanted desperately to keep her boots on the ground."Verdict: Canny in tone and surprisingly perceptive, Echols's newest novel is a classic YA story about a girl who has her pitch perfected, future planned out, and boots firmly planted on the ground... and the one boy who changes it all. Highly emotional at times and wild and carefree at others—as every teenager's life is—Dirty Little Secret calls to pursuing what you truly love, and dealing with what the things you are given in life. Jennifer Echols masterfully captures the essence of teen romance: that false invincibility a first love makes you feel, and the evident heartache that follows it; pick this one up for a compelling, heart-wrenching, and completely empowering ride.Rating: 7 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable.Source: Complimentary copy provided by author, via Itching for Books, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review for the Dirty Little Secret virtual book tour (thank you, Jennifer!).