Monthly Archives: December 2014

Currently Obsessed With: The Looking Back At 2014 Resolutions Edition

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I know I can’t be the only one who is completely horrible at following through on New Years Resolutions, and given it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d take a look back and see how many of them I followed through on (and how well I followed through). Yesterday’s Top Ten Tuesday post made me want to revisit the ones I made back in January, so I went back to the Top Ten Tuesday post I did earlier in the year for the 2014 resolutions I made.

  1. Re-read more.  I don’t keep track of what I re-read, but I know I did some.  Maybe I need to keep track of what I re-read and when I re-read it so I have a better idea of how much I’m re-reading and what I’m re-reading.  Still, I did it to some unknown degree, so that’s good.
  2. Read what I have.  I actually did pretty good with it.  I bought quite a few books and read those, of course, but I did make more of an effort to read what I have.
  3. Listen to more audio books.  I read less audio books than I did last year.  I have so many that I need to listen to.  I really need to listen to more books.
  4. Feel less self-conscious about book-related things.  I’m pretty I’m more self-conscious about some of my reading habits.
  5. Stay on top of behind-the-scenes book blogging stuff.  I succeeded in varying degrees.  It comes and goes, but I’m also okay with not putting pressure on myself to stay on top of things at all times.
  6. Write reviews as soon as possible after finishing the book.  I stuck to this for the most part, but it was pretty hard when I was going through that reading slump.
  7. Comment more on blogs.  I started off fairly well with this, but then…I just kind of stopped.
  8. Adding in more personal posts.  I have my monthly recap posts, and sometimes I do a movie review or some other bookish but not book review post.  I actually did pretty well with it.  Well, better than I expected.
  9. I totally suck at exercising.  I had periods where I kept up with it, but what I really need to do is keep track of it, because that’s when I actually seem to do better with it.
  10. Trying new things with crochet.  I started a blanket that I still need to finish, but at least I started a big project.  I’m really proud of the Princess Anna hat I made for Halloween, and I also made fingerless gloves which is also something I don’t normally make.  And I made a capelet!  I also learned how to do foundation single crochet and the ripple/chevron stitch, and I really want to learn how to do more things, and make different things, because there are so many awesome things to make.

Of course, I did better with some things than with others, but I did accomplish some of what I wanted to do this year. Hopefully, next year, I’ll have better luck.

Happy new year!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Goals And Resolutions For 2015

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Goals For 2015

I can’t believe it’s almost 2015 already!  It went by really fast, and it’s weird to think that I’m setting new goals for myself. There are so many things I want to do next year, and here are some of them.

Reading:

  1. Read More Diversely.  This is my top priority this year in terms of reading.  I really need to get of my reading comfort zone a little, and read all kinds of books by and about all kinds of people.  I am going to consciously choose a few books a month about a character or written by an author that is not like me- whether it is race, religion, or sexual orientation (or any number of ways, but those 3 are the first 3 that come to mind) I NEED to do this.  Recommendations would be helpful, if you have them.
  2. Also: buy less books and read more of what I have.  I don’t know how well it will work, but I know for sure that my audible credits are going towards reading more diversely, since the other formats I own tend to be not-so-diverse.
  3. Feel less reading guilt.  The guilt I feel in terms of so many things really takes over sometimes, and I need to be not-so-hard on myself.

Blogging/Writing:

  1. Comment more on blogs.  I know I said this last year, and I started off great, before getting completely derailed.  I so need to start commenting on blogs again.
  2. Work on world-building/characters and maybe an outline for last year’s NaNoWriMo novel.  Last year, I realized I really wanted to re-write it (as I was writing it), because I couldn’t work on the world-building ahead of time for the life of me.  I have a much better idea of where I want things to go now that I’ve written a first draft, so working on that should be a lot easier now.

Crochet:

  1. Learn how to do an adjustable ring.  MY LIFE WOULD BE SO MUCH EASIER IF I COULD ACTUALLY DO THIS.  Do you have any idea how many projects I avoid because I don’t know how to do it?  You probably don’t, but it’s quite a few.
  2. I also want to learn how to do new stitches this year.  I really need to try different ones just to change things up.  Still, I did do a little bit better since I tried a few new things.  Like starting a blanket, and learning the ripple/chevron stitch. And I learned how to do foundation single crochet!  The learning new crochet things will continue next year.

Other Goals:

  1. Exercise.  Everyone’s favorite cliche for resolutions.  I had random periods of doing it, but that went out the window when I sprained my ankle.  Actually, it did way before that, but do you want to know when I actually felt motivated to exercise? When I couldn’t because of my ankle.  Now that it’s better, I will (hopefully) do this!
  2. Use the nail polish I have!  I have a ton of nail polish, mostly because I have the Julep subscription box, and I get nail polish every month (well, every month I don’t skip).  On the plus side, I tend to not buy nail polish at Target or wherever, because I have a lot.  I really want to wear a different color every week, because I have so many colors I don’t even wear (or wear once or twice, and then I’m done).
  3.  Drink more water.  I don’t drink a lot of water- I drink things like tea and juice and soda and coffee, so I want to start adding in some water.
  4. I see all of these great craft ideas on pinterest, and I never do any of them.  I want to start making some of them.

Mini Book Review: On The Fence

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On The Fence CoverBook: On The Fence by Kasie West

Published July 2014 by Harper Teen|293 pages

Where I Got It: I own the paperback!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find On The Fence on goodreads & Kasie West on twitter and her blog

Goodreads Summary: 

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can’t solve Charlie’s biggest problem: she’s falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

What I Thought:

On The Fence is such a cute book!  I really did love it!

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about it at first, but as I kept reading, I found that I really started to love it.  I really liked Charlie, and how she changed throughout the book- going from a tomboy who feels like she doesn’t know how to be a girl, to be a tomboy who’s still a tomboy, but a little less so.  I really could relate to that, because sometimes, the world of make-up and clothes seems so overwhelming and confusing.

I also really felt for Charlie, who lost her mom as a small child, especially since she was in the car when her mom committed suicide.  I don’t blame her brothers and dad for not telling her, because she didn’t take it well the one time she tried.  I also totally understand Charlie’s reaction too.

I LOVED the relationships that Charlie has with her brothers.  It’s so clear that they look out for each other, and I like that Charlie was included in so many things her brothers did.  While I’m not completely in love with Braden and Charlie, they are cute together, and I really liked their middle of the night talks by the fence.  I did like that Braden was part of their family. And the people that Charlie meets because of her new job!  I liked seeing her make some new friends, and that she decided she wanted to keep working at the boutique.

Let’s Rate It:

On The Fence was such such a cute, fun and heartwarming read.  On The Fence gets 5 stars.

Book Review: Teardrop

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Teardrop CoverBook: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Published October 2013 by Random House Children’s Books|304 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Teardrop #1

Genre: YA Paranormal/Re-telling

You can find Teardrop on goodreads & Lauren Kate on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

An epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic…a world where everything you love can be washed away. The first book in the new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series

Never, ever cry…Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth…and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.

What I Thought:

I was really intrigued with Teardrop, and I like that it’s a modern re-telling of Atlantis.  Raising Atlantis is pretty unique, and while I feel like it’s come up before in books I’ve read, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where Atlantis comes back.

There’s a lot going on, and there were times when things didn’t make a lot of sense, but as the story unfolded, everything started to fall into place, and you begin to understand why people did the things they did, particularly Ander and Brooks. I really liked that Ander and Eureka were on opposite sides, but that he did everything he could to protect her and keep her safe.

There is a love triangle in Teardrop, and unlike most books that feature love triangles, there is no clear love interest yet.  I actually really like that it’s not clear who she’s going to end up with (since move LT’s are super-obvious) and that it could go either way.  Given the love story between Leander and Selene that caused Atlantis to be banished, and that it very much connects to Ander and Eureka…and even Brooks connection to everything…I honestly don’t know which way I want it to go.

While we don’t get too much on Atlantis in this book- only why Atlantis disappeared, and the people it left behind- I really hope we see more of Atlantis and what kind of place it was in the coming books.  And I want to know more about the Sandbearers and Selene’s line!  I have so many things I want to know.

I really was surprised by so many things that happened, and Kate did a great job at revealing things at the right time.  It kept me guessing, and I liked that I wasn’t completely sure what was going to happen next.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Teardrop, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  Teardrop gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Curtsies And Conspiracies

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Curtsies & Conspiracies CoverBook: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Published November 2013 by Little Brown Books For Young Readers|223 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Finishing School #2

Genre: YA Steampunk

You can find Curtsies & Conspiracies on goodreads & Gail Carriger on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won’t Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers’ quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship’s boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot–one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this bestselling sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail’s distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

What I Thought:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  It really is a Gail Carriger book, and it was a fun book to read!

Sophronia has quite a few adventures in this book, mostly because the school goes to London!  We see quite a few characters from her Parasol Protectorate series, and I really liked seeing them well before the start of that series.  I really do like Sophronia, who is such a great, adventurous person.  She has a lot to deal with, like being ignored by her friends, and realizing that she really does need them around her in order to do well as an intelligencer.

I have to say that I loved seeing an appearance from Lord Akeldama- he is the Lord Akeldama that I know and love from the Parasol Protectorate, and I’m glad he (so far) hasn’t changed much.  I really hope we start to see more of a connection to that series in some way.

I’m not completely in love with the characters, even though I really like them, especially the relationships that Sophronia has with Vieve and with Soap.  I already know where Vieve’s story is headed, but I still like seeing her before she becomes the Vieve that we see in the Parasol Protectorate.  And I really want to see where Soap’s story is headed, because I find him so interesting!

I really do love the combination of steampunk and paranormal, and Carriger does it so well.  Especially in this book, where we get more about this world- all of the inventions, and things that all of these different groups want.  I also love that we see fashion and etiquette, and it gives the book a very historical feel.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  I have no idea where this series is going, but I am glad to be along for the ride, because this is such a fun series to read.  Curtsies & Conspiracies gets 4 stars.

Currently Obsessed With: All Things Christmas

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Currently Obsessed With is a monthly (but sometimes more) feature where I talk about my favorite things and what’s going on in my life.

Tomorrow is Christmas!  I love Christmas, and thought I’d share some of my favorite Christmas things- movies and music, mostly, but a few other things too.  It might not be snowy or rainy at Christmas where I live (it tends to be sunny on Christmas here in San Diego) but I still love how festive everything is, and I still manage to get into the Christmas spirit!

Movies:

  • A Charlie Brown Christmas is something I look forward to watching every year.  Because it’s not Christmas without it. I’ll probably be saying that a lot in this post.
  • Same thing with Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, and all of the other stop-motion movies that air every year.  It’s not Christmas without them either!
  • Love, Actually is one of my favorite Christmas movies ever.  Seriously, it is.  Two words: Alan Rickman.
  • And we can’t forget about The Nightmare Before Christmas!  I only watch it at Christmas, and not Halloween.  I’ve tried, but for some reason, it’s not the same.
  • I always associate this time of year with watching Harry Potter.  I think it’s because for the longest time, the movies came out this time of year, and I don’t know why but Harry Potter is always something I really like watching (and reading) this time of year. Harry Potter is great any time of the year, but this time of year especially.
  • Home Alone!  I love Home Alone…and that reminds I have yet to watch it this holiday season.

Food:

I haven’t done any holiday baking this year, which is weird for me, but I really like all of the cookies and fun things that I seem to eat only during this time of year!  Rum balls, fudge, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, molasses cookies, peanut brittle, chocolate covered pretzels…they’re all so good!  Trader Joe’s has this really good chocolate cheddar cheese that’s only available this time of year.  I know it sounds totally bizarre, but it’s actually really good and not as weird or as horrible as it sounds.  I love hot apple cider in the crockpot, and I’ve made it on Christmas the last few years.  I’ve also made some sort of holiday punch the last few years too.  I don’t know why I don’t make punch throughout the year.  I really should start a Pinterest board for holiday treats.

An Assortment Of Christmas Randomness:

  • Every Christmas, I wish I had more Christmas hats!  I have a Santa Hat that I always seem to have to go looking for every year, but I really want to crochet a few different hats- I know there are elf hat patterns, and I am pretty sure that there are Santa hat patterns too.  It was actually hard to find an elf hat crochet pattern for adults- I know that I could change up the pattern a bit to make it fit, but I am not confident in my ability to do that, or in my ability to come up with my own pattern for it.  I could with so many different colors- red, white, green…I have some bright pink and bright green that aren’t Christmas-y, but would still be awesome for an elf hat.
  • And speaking of crafts, there are a ton of Christmas crafts that would be so fun to make.  I’ll have to do some Christmas crafting one of these days.  Like, maybe I should find some I want to make, and if there’s something Christmas-y involved, get it after Christmas?  Because that’s when it all goes on clearance.
  • Christmas decorations!  I love seeing how people decorate their houses.  It’s so fun to just go out at night, drive around and see all of the lights.  I really miss Candy Cane Lane, which was this one really cool neighborhood that went all out with Christmas decorations, but I think there’s a newer version (with a different name, of course).  I may have to go see it one year.

Music:

I love Christmas music so, so much!  Once Thanksgiving is done, it’s Christmas music almost all of the time. Christmas music is one of my favorite things about Christmas, and I really could listen to the same songs, done by different people.  I love hearing how different artists do the songs, but I have a soft spot for the classic Christmas songs by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and anything from that time in music.  I put together a small playlist of some of my favorites.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas & holiday season, no matter what holiday you celebrate!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Getting From Santa

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Getting From Santa

It’s almost Christmas!  I can’t believe it.  I would love it if these books mysteriously appeared under the tree and were from Santa…

  1. Prophecy by Ellen Oh.  This one seems so interesting, and I totally wouldn’t mind getting it!
  2. The Art Of Brave.  It’s one of my favorite Disney movies ever (top 5, along with Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast and Frozen), and this would be totally awesome to have.
  3. Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour.  I’ve heard such good things, and it seems like my kind of book.
  4. Veil Of Rose by Laura Fitzgerald.  This book (which is about a woman who moves from Iran to the U.S.) is different than my usual YA comfort zone, but it also sounds super interesting.
  5. Banana: The Fate Of The Fruit That Changed The World by Dan Koeppel.  I know a book about bananas is super-weird and random, but I love bananas, and it really does seem interesting.
  6. Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins.  I’m very much intrigued by this book about a girl living in India, dealing with her father leaving India to find work in the U.S.
  7. The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon.  I’ve wanted this cookbook for months!
  8. Horrotstör by Grady Hendrix.  It’s a book set in an Ikea-type place, that looks like an Ikea catalog.  How could you not want it?
  9. Positive: A Memoir by Paige Rawl.  Ever since I saw this book about a teen bullied for being HIV-positive, I knew I wanted to read it.
  10. Homemade Decadence by Joy The Baker.  I LOVE her first cookbook, and when I heard she was coming out with a second one, I wanted it immediately.  (I am very sad I still don’t have it).

Mini Book Review: Beauty

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Beauty CoverBook: Beauty by Nancy Ohlin

Published May 2010 by Simon Pulse|118 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-telling

You can find Beauty on goodreads & Nancy Ohlin on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own, including her only daughter. And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain and earn her mother’s affection, she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires. But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

What I Thought:

I liked Beauty!  It’s such an interesting take on Snow White, and it makes me want to read more re-tellings featuring Snow White.

I was struck by what Ana did to stay plain in order to earn her mother’s love, and what her mother did to stay beautiful, including sending away her own daughter to an Academy and giving out orders to have Ana killed. It definitely makes you think about how obsessed with beauty and youth some people are, and what people will do to retain that beauty and youth. Potions and pills and sending away girls to the Academy, only to give them pills that make them beautiful before making them sick.  Queen Veda really will do anything she feels she needs to, even it means taking the beauty and youth from the girls at the Academy.

I also liked the Academy, which wasn’t what it seemed- the Academy was interesting but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

The one thing about Beauty that made it hard to love (or even really like) was the length.  It’s not much over 100 pages, and I felt like the idea, the world and the characters weren’t as fleshed out or as detailed as I would have liked.  It seemed like nothing really got the attention it deserved, which is sad, because the story itself is really intriguing and different.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Beauty, and while it does make you think, I also wish it were a little longer, because not a lot was explained.  Beauty gets 3 stars.

Audio Book Review: Crow

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Crow CoverBook: Crow by Barbara Wright, narrated by J.D. Jackson

Published July 2013 by Listening Library|Run Time: 7 hours, 28 minutes

Where I Got It: from audible.com

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

You can find Crow on goodreads & Barbara Wright on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

The summer of 1898 is filled with ups and downs for 11-year-old Moses. He’s growing apart from his best friend, his superstitious Boo-Nanny butts heads constantly with his pragmatic, educated father, and his mother is reeling from the discovery of a family secret. Yet there are good times, too. He’s teaching his grandmother how to read. For the first time she’s sharing stories about her life as a slave. And his father and his friends are finally getting the respect and positions of power they’ve earned in the Wilmington, North Carolina, community. But not everyone is happy with the political changes at play and some will do anything, including a violent plot against the government, to maintain the status quo.

One generation away from slavery, a thriving African American community—enfranchised and emancipated—suddenly and violently loses its freedom in turn of the century North Carolina when a group of local politicians stages the only successful coup d’etat in US history.

What I Thought:

I am so glad I listened to Crow!  I didn’t even know that there were race riots in Wilmington in 1898, or that it was the only successful coup d’etat in U.S. history, and I really want to know more!

What I really like about this book is that it takes place a generation after the Civil War.  As far as civil rights and politics go, it’s definitely an unusual time period- at least, in my experience with middle grade/YA historical fiction.  I really love it when historical fiction focuses on something I’ve never heard about, because I also want to learn more, and this book is no exception to that.

I don’t know much about the South during that time period, but I really liked seeing how Moses dealt with his family, friends, and people in Wilmington, and how aware he was of what had happened, and what was going on.  It really is a good look at what someone’s life might have been like during that time.  I could picture everything so well, and there is a lot of detail.

It did start off slow, and it took awhile to get to the actual riots and events of what happened that year.  It made it hard to get into at first, because I wasn’t sure where things were going, but I did like that we saw what things were like before this happened.  I also LOVED that there was an author’s note at the end of the book, explaining what happened and where the author got her inspiration for the book.  It doesn’t seem too common in middle grade/YA historical fiction, so it was nice to hear it.

I thought it was fine as an audio book, and the narrator…he fit, and yet he didn’t.  I did feel like there wasn’t much variation in his tone- there was something sort of monotone about his voice, and I couldn’t listen to it in the car, because something about  his voice was very soothing, and kind of made me want to sleep, which isn’t good when you’re trying to drive.  Yet I could picture him as a 12-year-old boy.

Let’s Rate It: 

Overall, I really liked Crow, and I feel inspired to learn more about what happened in Wilmington in 1898.  I have mixed feelings about the narrator but overall, I liked the narration too.  Crow gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Dirty Little Secret

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Dirty Little Secret CoverBook: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Published July 2013 by Gallery Books|225 pages

Where I Got It: from the Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Dirty Little Secret on goodreads & Jennifer Echols on twitter, facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music fame.

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…

What I Thought:

After reading (and loving) Such A Rush last year, I knew I had to start reading Jennifer Echols’ other books, so I started off with Dirty Little Secret.  I did like it, but I didn’t completely fall in love with it.

On paper, it seems like the kind of book I would love.  It’s set in Nashville and focuses on country music, and is about a girl trying to deal with being pushed to the background while her sister’s music career takes off.  I totally understand why Bailey acted the way she did, given her sister got a record deal, and all of a sudden, it was like she never existed.

There is a certain simplicity in this story, and there’s something very quiet about it too, which I really like. But there’s also a part of me that wishes it were a little bit louder.  I love that Bailey and Sam are following their dreams, and that Bailey decides that she is going to follow hers, no matter what, and even when it something that the people around you don’t want for you.

I did like that it’s set in Nashville and focuses on country music, because I love country music.  I was actually reminded of the t.v. show Nashville, and there’s something about going for your musical dreams in both shows that are really similar.

Back to Bailey and Sam: they are interesting on their own, but I didn’t really like them together- I just felt no spark or chemistry between them.

I love the relationship that Bailey seems to have with her grandpa, but I really wish we got to see a little of what her life was like before Julie got her record deal.  I felt like I didn’t have enough context for how bad things were between Bailey and her parents, and even Julie and Bailey before they seemed to work it out.  I think things would have made a lot more sense if I had that history.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Dirty Little Secret, mostly because it’s set in Nashville and is about country music!  It didn’t have the emotional impact that Such A Rush did, but it was still a fun and slightly dramatic read.  Dirty Little Secret gets 3 stars.