Review: Dirty Little Secret – Jennifer Echols

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…

Series:
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Publisher: MTV Books
Source: Edelweiss
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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I had high hopes for this book, because what could be any worse than being raised on the Bluegrass Festival circuit as a duo with your younger sister and then be told that your duo was being broken apart so your little sister could have the dream you both wanted.  The family drama held up it’s end of the bargain, but the relationship between Bailey and Sam was one that left me frustrated.

We meet Baily one year after she’s booted from the singing duo she had with her sister.  It hasn’t been an easy adjustment for Baily.  She went from sharing the spotlight with her youngest sister to being shoved home and told to hide in her hometown and not make any waves that could affect her sister’s career.  It’s a bitter pill for Bailey to swallow (and rightly so).  Being seventeen, she doesn’t handle the situation in the best way and that lands her with her grandfather.  He understands what music means to Bailey so he gets her a job at the local mall as one of the musicians that walk around entertaining the crowd.  It’s this job that introduces Bailey to Sam.

Sam is a talented musician who wants to make it.  His band has a unique sound, but he’s been told it’s missing something.  Sam thinks what he’s been missing is Bailey and her fiddle.  He manages to talk Bailey, despite her numerous protests, into playing with the band.

Looking back on this story, I think it’s Sam that I have the biggest problem with.  He manipulates people and events to get him what he wants, without really taking into account anyone else’s feelings.  Bailey had a feeling when Sam discovered who she was, he would try to use it to his advantage and he did.  He used Bailey’s feelings for him to try and get what he wanted.  When that didn’t work, he dumped her using the line he uses on all the girls he’s with.  It felt slimy, dirty and made me really dislike Sam.  I knew Sam had a hard time dealing with his family situation, but the way he went about trying to get what he wanted and prove a point made me not really want him to get what he wanted.

Bailey’s family was another sore point.  I don’t understand how any parent could do what Bailey’s did.  It almost seemed like her mother was trying to realize her own dream and would use one or both of her daughters to get it.  I could understand the music company saying they only wanted one sister, but the parents should have made sure Bailey didn’t feel second best.  Instead, they feed into her feeling of inadequacy and made her feel like she wasn’t important enough to be in the family.

Not one of my favorites and one that had characters I really didn’t like.