Dirty Little Secret

by Jennifer Echols

There are too many secrets in eighteen-year-old Bailey's life. Not just the obvious one: that she told her grandfather she was going on a date, and instead is playing fiddle in a Nashville bar. There's all the stuff that makes it worse. Like how her younger sister, Julie, was offered a recording contract, and her family is terrified that Bailey is going to mess the deal up. Like the way that Bailey has been acting out. Like the way they're all mad at her, even Julie.

Bailey's parents don't want her playing any gigs at all, but when they leave her with her grandfather in Nashville for the summer so they can tour with Julie, he lands her a music job that's beneath the radar, playing old country songs in cheesy costumes at a local mall. That's where she meets Sam…

Sam's got big plans that don't include playing backup while his alcoholic dad scratches out a living as a Johnny Cash sound-alike. He intends to take his high school garage band to the big time, and as soon as he hears Bailey play, he knows she's just what he wants. That really ticks off Charlotte, the drummer for the band and Sam's ex-girlfriend, while bassist Ace just wants to keep everyone happy.

Bailey isn't at all 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. Something tells her that with Sam, there could always be a catch. And yet, suddenly, her life is no longer about what might have been, and a whole lot about where she will choose to go.

• ISBN10: 1451658044
• ISBN13: 9781451658040
• Publish Date: 22 April 2014 (first published 16 July 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rowena]

I really liked this book. I loved the Nashville setting, the country music scene and the romance that blossomed between Sam and Bailey and I really liked when Bailey finally spoke up for herself. It’s really disappointing for me as a parent to see parents portrayed so selfishly and displaying favoritism toward their kids. I’m not perfect but my daughter’s happiness is important to me and I try to make her as happy as I can be and it’s sad to me that not too many parents are portrayed as good parents in the books that I’ve been reading lately. Bailey’s parents fall into this selfish category and they pissed me off in this book.

So Bailey joins Sam’s band and the band really takes off. There’s a lot of drama between the bands because Sam used to date the drummer and she hasn’t gotten over him but he’s trying to keep the peace even though he really likes Bailey. So that was interesting and I really liked that they played songs that I actually know and like. It’s not very often that I know the songs that are mentioned in the books that I’m reading but I love me some Zac Brown Band and I loved Sam and Bailey’s band because they covered their songs.

What I really liked about this book is that the story came alive through the words on each page. I was so wrapped up in the story that I felt like I was a part of the book and not just reading it. I think Echols excels at this and when I closed the book, I had a goofy smile on my face because the book ended just the way that I wanted it to and I felt the resolutions in the book were dealt with in a realistic way and I really liked that.

There were times when I wanted to strangle both Sam and Bailey because they fought so much and usually they found about things that in the grand scheme of things were just not important. But you can see the growth between not just them but each character in the book and I really liked that.

I definitely recommend this book.

[inlibrisveritas]

I received this in exchange for an honest review.

Dirty Little Secret was a book that both delighted and disappointed me. Bailey is a eighteen year old who loves to play her fiddle and dreams of making it big, the only problem is her sister already has and she’s being forced to stay out of the lime light and out of the way. She becomes their dirty secret and the novel takes us over the course of the months that follow her sister’s discovery.

It’s not the first book I’ve read centered around music but it is the first that has been centered around country music. I honestly hate country music, but thankfully almost all of the references were to songs that I grew up with so I wasn’t lost when it came to that. I loved how we get to see how Bailey connects to the music and how talented she is, which leads to the incredibly frustrating fact that her parents don’t care. By now it is a serious peeve of mine to see parents in YA who act like this, I understand there are parents out there like these two. Hurtful, neglectful and users…though for some reason no one else seems to see them as horrible as I do. I don’t get why horrible or absent (and I don’t mean divorced or dead, I mean…nearly non-existent in the story) are a trend. At any rate, I liked this angle of the story. I loved the gigs she played and I was pulling for her.

The characters and the romance is where the story fell short for me. Bailey is a fantastic musician, but more often than not she made me grit my teeth. Her personality is a bit course and she’s not all that nice of a person, and when it comes to growth I’m proud that she really found value in herself but I never really saw her rude ways change all that much. Then there is Sam, who at first I loved but in the end really hated. He’s really charming but as the story progresses he shows just how manipulative and self centered he can be. Normally I would never mention specific instances in a book but if a person gets huffy over who you are talking to on day 1 of knowing each other, then it’s probably not the best relationship. The chemistry between these two just did not work for me at all, it was so back and forth…and just did not work. Even the side characters like Charlotte are a bit rough in the personality area. I needed someone to like and I just didn’t have that.

Overall I thought that Dirty Little Secret held promise and while I loved aspects of the story I just couldn’t get into the story or connect to the characters. I wanted to like this one more, especially since so many others loved it.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

This review contains unmarked spoilers. I simply cannot write the review without them!

There is one big, massive problem with Dirty Little Secret, and it comes in the form of a seriously big douchebag named Sam—the love interest. Before I talk about what a massive asshat he is, let me give you a bit of essential background information.

Bailey always played the fiddle and sang with her sister, Julie. They were a duet for years and years and years. Then, Julie got a music contract, but Bailey didn't. And on top of that, the company who picked up Julie insisted that Bailey be hidden away. She's not allowed to play music, have social media accounts, or make it known that she's Julie's sister. The reason is that the music company doesn't want the public to pick up on the fact that they separated Julie from her "duet partner"/sister because it would give them bad press. And Julie's parents are 100% compliant in this.

So, Bailey meets Sam and at first he seems like an okay guy and a brilliant musician. He's seems nice, funny, and obviously hot. The first red flag to me was when they had ZERO romantic development, and then they kissed. Totally out of nowhere. He was just like, "I'm going to kiss you." Totally randomly. Then later that day they're practically having sex in his car (not quite that far, but lots of groping, clothes coming off, making out).

Then the second red flag came up when Sam's bandmate informed Bailey that he's had 50 girlfriends and uses the same lines on them all (the exact same ones he used on Bailey). He uses the lines to hook girls in, then dates them until he gets bored, then breaks up with them. But more on that later.

So, from there, huge horrible things exploded. Bailey told Sam all about her situation. She didn't say who her sister was (didn't give him a name), but she gave him the whole story about her parents, the record company, being forced to stay hidden, etc. And Sam was 100% on her side. He basically said, "Screw your parents! You don't need them anyway!" But then, a few days later, he found out exactly who her sister was and how incredibly big and successful Julie was going to be. Then, he flipped a bitch at Bailey. He was SO mad at her for not telling him. And he DEMANDED that she go crawling back to her parents, kiss their asses, and try to get an "in" with the record company for their band. But he KNEW that Bailey was supposed to stay invisible, so why would the record company give her the time of day? He just wanted to use Bailey and her "connections" to promote his band; he literally did a complete 180 because he realized that he could profit from Bailey's horrible situation.

Obviously this upset Bailey, but not as much as I would have thought. She was mad at him for a while, then went crawling back to him and had sex with him... WHAT THE HELL?!?!? And after sex, this exact conversation happened, starting with Bailey:

"I started the night thinking that way, Sam, but now... don't you want to try to work this out?" [their relationship]
"Are you going to ask your family to try to get an in for our band?"
"No."
"Then we can't be together."

ARE YOU READING THIS???

Let's recap:

Sam uses his "lines" on Bailey (the ones he uses on all the girls) to gain her trust and get her to like him. He toys with her for a while and seems like he might still be an okay guy... then he completely turns on her when he realizes that she has a connection to a record company and didn't tell him. Now that she is refusing to help him "profit", he totally bails on her. For some reason Bailey isn't that phased and goes running to him for sex, stupidly thinking that she might get a relationship out of it too. Sam is totally fine with the sex, but when she inquires about a relationship afterwards, he makes it clear that he can only be with her if she helps him get a record deal.

But in the end he apologizes, so it's okay that he was an asshole. O_O (not)

Overall, Bailey's whole relationship with Sam was terrible. It was gross, manipulative, one-sided, and they were completely wrong for each other. I can't believe she gave Sam the time of day after he turned on her like that.

At first, I did really enjoy the music in Dirty Little Secret. It was a really interesting part of the book, and as a result, I started out reading Dirty Little Secret on a positive note. But soon, it just downward spiralled. On top of everything I've already said, Sam's band was a nightmare. In fact, the whole band reminded me of Sam and Bailey's relationship. It was an unhealthy relationship and they were all totally wrong for each other and should not be in a band together. They fought all the time and it gave me whiplash and a headache like you wouldn't believe. Charlotte was a complete bitch in particular. So maybe, in that sense, they did all deserve each other, because they were all pretty horrible.

[nitzan_schwarz]

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.

[Cocktails and Books]

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.