Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
Published by MTV Books on July 16, 2013
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss, Publisher
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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…

You know, I haven’t quite read all of Jennifer Echols’ books yet but I’m kind of kicking myself for that. Dirty Little Secret is another one of her books that has earned a spot on my favorites shelf. I know I’m going to have a difficult time doing justice to the awesomeness of this book so you guys will just have to bear with me!

Dirty Little Secret does take a little time to get into but once you do, you won’t want to put it down. There’s enough mystery surrounding Bailey’s past that readers will want to keep reading just to find out those secrets alone. And if that’s not enough to get you hooked, there’s the romance between Sam and Bailey. They have a very tumultuous relationship but I loved it. The chemistry between them is clear from the start and no matter how much they fight, it’s easy to see how perfect they are for each other. Jennifer Echols has a way with romance and Dirty Little Secret is her at her best.

The story itself is so unique! I’ve never read anything quite like Dirty Little Secret and I loved it. The music aspect was really fun. I don’t know anything about music or the music industry but that was okay with Dirty Little Secret. There’s a lot of background information about the music industry included in the book but it blends perfectly with the story.

The setting was also really fun. I’ve never been to Nashville but it’s always been on my list of places to visit. Reading Dirty Little Secret taught me a lot about Nashville’s history and made me want to go there even more. Sure, Bailey isn’t always hanging out in the best parts of Nashville, but still. Dirty Little Secret includes the glamorous and the gritty side of Nashville and I loved that.

As for the characters, there’s really nothing I didn’t like about them. Bailey has had a hard life and sure she is a little depressed about that but when she gets the chance to change things, she takes it. No matter how hard she has to fight, she does. She’s smart, funny, brave, and loyal. Sam is the same way. Sure he’ll take whatever help he can get in breaking into the music industry but it’s really his talent that gets him there. He’s a little cocky at times but he’s so cute and funny. Bailey’s family was hard to like for pretty much the whole book but they did get a little better. I really liked her sister and her granddad. They were more down to earth than her parents and it was more obvious that they cared for Bailey.

Overall, Dirty Little Secret is a must-read for contemporary fans. If you have yet to read anything by Jennifer Echols (what are you waiting for?) this is a good one to start with.

Chick Loves Lit’s review: “In short, DIRTY LITTLE SECRET has a perfect mix of Nashville, emotion, and protagonist.”

Peace Love Books’ review: “Trust me, you’ve never read any YA book like it and you definitely won’t ever want to put it down!”

Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile’s review: “Dirty Little Secret more than surprised me and made me feel despite the rocky start.”