Lovin' los libros

Girl with Guitar (Kylie Ryans #1)
   by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: May 22nd, 2013
Publisher: Createspace
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: Bought from B&N.com
Page Count: 210 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

I've seen this book getting some chatter the last few weeks on Twitter and I do love a good book about music, being on the road, and making it big! When I saw this was currently $0.99, I knew I had to snatch it up! Not to mention- I love helping promote indie authors. It seems like the best books I've read lately are from them! So, I was tweeting about Caisey's book being on sale and then I pulled Sheri and Dani into the mix and they bought it. Then, I tweeted Trish, CeCe, and Chelsea and told them they should get it, and then we got Wendy in there too! And then it was like- READ-ALONG! I do heart you girls so much. What's cool about reading together is that everyone is bound to have differing opinions and some of us might love a book and the others might not. And that's ok! It's just fun to get together and read and have someone there to talk to about those OMG moments. So girls, I do hope something has been born here.

I really enjoyed this book. As I said earlier, I love music and I actually love to sing myself (I used to have 'concerts' in my room...) So- reading books/fanfic about being a singer, going on tour, and all the other things that come with it are some of my favorites. I live in Nashville, so reading a book about trying to make it big in country music and make a name for yourself was really fun for me. Not to mention, I really liked our main character Kylie.

I won't even lie- the prologue made me tear up. It is a very emotional start for Kylie, who is 18, and has recently lost her father. Being a Daddy's girl myself, I couldn't even fathom what she must have been going through- but to see her make the decision to follow her dreams and want to make him proud was really heartwarming for me.

Kylie is a fun character to read about. She's snarky, sarcastic, and stands up for herself. She won't let anyone hinder her from going after what she wants. I liked that she was realistic. She moved to Nashville, but knew she had to support herself first and foremost. She knew finding a job was top priority and that music would come after. She wasn't afraid to live the hard life- working all day and late nights, then putting in time to devote to music. She wasn't out trying to do more than she could. However, Kylie is young and we do see that at certain points in the book. She doesn't have the worldview that Trace or some of the other people she encounters do. This can be both a good and bad thing. It's good because she's not jaded and cynical of the industry. She isn't bogged down with the materialism and the vices that typically go with being a musician. She wants to do what she loves: make music. However, it's also a bad thing because Kylie jumps in headfirst to situations. She is quite emotional and she does let her emotions be her deciding factor. The music industry is very vicious, and its a dog eat dog kind of world. There will always be people there to push you and pull you into directions you may not want to go in. As much as Kylie wants to make music and make a name for herself- it's not that easy. Early on, there is one instance where Kylie gets a bit of a reality check. She is going to play an amateur night at the bar she works in and she wants to play one of her own songs she's written. Cora, another waitress (who helped get her the job) tells her straight out that she can't play that. She's not going to get noticed. She needs to work the crowd and make them happy by singing something they know. Kylie is really let down, but that's how it works. Do what the industry wants you to do and then once you made your name- then you can try and branch out to your roots and what defines you.

Well, no contemporary romance is complete without our male lead! Let's talk about Trace. Oh, boy. Where do I even start? He was a very difficult character to figure out. One minute he would ooze charm and sex appeal, and the next he was a complete douche. He was very back and forth when it came to Kylie. To be honest, I didn't even know he liked her! But then he'd go all alpha male and 'rescue' her from a potentially unsafe situation. And then he would go back to being a jerk. And then he's telling her to walk out the door before he loses control with wanting her. I wanted to like Trace, I really did. I was hoping to see the jerk, bad boy slowly make the transformation to tortured, but loveable soul. I can't say I saw that. There were moments where he would be very sweet with Kylie, but I felt his anger and his overall dislike ruled his personality. Again, Kylie is young, and she does fall rather fast for him. Its hard to believe that she would consider giving up everything in order for her to relive a special 24 hours she had with Trace. But, I'm probably jaded and cynical because I haven't found my "one". But if I were fighting for my dream, I don't think I would consider trading it for a guy. At least not one I had only known for a short time and who was hot and cold with me.

Don't get me wrong. These two definitely have some sexual tension when it's all said and done. She's not afraid to call him out on his crap and really make him think twice about some of his decisions. He is older and has been in the business for awhile, so he is jaded by a lot of things. He is throwing away his career and spiraling down into a dark place. He is very reluctant to trust and is quite unforgiving when some truths come out that Kylie withheld.

Kylie, however, is a bit more forgiving when it comes to Trace. I can't say that I would be the same, especially after how much he hurt her and made her feel the way she did towards the end.

There is a sequel to this book, Girl on Tour, and I am quite looking forward to seeing how Trace and Kylie's relationship is going to progress. We also have a lot of other plotlines introduced in this novel that need to be resolved. I am curious to find out what Darla's (Kylie's evil stepmother) next move is going to be. And I am very interested in finding out what happened with Trace and his ex-girlfriend Mia Montgomery (who is another singer) and how she's going to interact with Kylie in this next book.