A review by charmaineac
Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
5.0
I am a crying and grinning mess of a person right now.
This book was so good. I read Love Story a few years ago, but I wasn't sold by it enough to pick up other Jennifer Echols books. Well, that's the end of that -- this book definitely swayed me into her corner. Dirty Little Secret had the rush of summer, the warmth of the Dirty South, love, agony, angst, and music everywhere. I felt my heart breaking a million times for everyone... Bailey, Sam, Ace, Charlotte, Julie, Sam's parents, EVERYONE. And yet it was all tied off with a realistically hopeful bow, a happy ending.
My heart went out to Bailey. Music was in her blood, yet her parents were just so awful. Toby was so awful. It's weird that both parties were always pictured in such a negative light, without any redeeming qualities, yet they still retained a sense of realism. I often gripe about flat characters in other books, but not so much here.
I loved the competitive, high-stakes picture of the music industry. How easily one bar fight or one bad performance could be the end. Or how one magical performance at the right time and the right place could mean everything in such a good way. I loved the depiction of Nashville, a place brimming with people trying their hardest to catch a break in music and life.
This book was adorable. I thought Bailey would be Sam's dirty little secret, but I'm glad that their relationship actually signified a shiny pillar of strength and recovery.
This was the perfect summer read!
This book was so good. I read Love Story a few years ago, but I wasn't sold by it enough to pick up other Jennifer Echols books. Well, that's the end of that -- this book definitely swayed me into her corner. Dirty Little Secret had the rush of summer, the warmth of the Dirty South, love, agony, angst, and music everywhere. I felt my heart breaking a million times for everyone... Bailey, Sam, Ace, Charlotte, Julie, Sam's parents, EVERYONE. And yet it was all tied off with a realistically hopeful bow, a happy ending.
My heart went out to Bailey. Music was in her blood, yet her parents were just so awful. Toby was so awful. It's weird that both parties were always pictured in such a negative light, without any redeeming qualities, yet they still retained a sense of realism. I often gripe about flat characters in other books, but not so much here.
I loved the competitive, high-stakes picture of the music industry. How easily one bar fight or one bad performance could be the end. Or how one magical performance at the right time and the right place could mean everything in such a good way. I loved the depiction of Nashville, a place brimming with people trying their hardest to catch a break in music and life.
This book was adorable. I thought Bailey would be Sam's dirty little secret, but I'm glad that
Spoiler
she was actually her parents' dirty little secret, andThis was the perfect summer read!