Girl with Guitar

I loved the beginning of this book. I couldn't believe what a breath of fresh air it was! So... I was really disappointed when it quickly turned into every other NA book I've read lately. It just took a nosedive after Kylie got on tour. We never hear anything about all that she's experiencing traveling and performing. I saw absolutely no reason why she would fall for Trace. They were cute together on stage that first night, then he's just a jerk to her and they hardly even interact. But she's suddenly crazy for him and insta-bff's with his sisters. Then there's a bunch of contrived birthday parties, an overly dramatic scene with her step-mother, some misunderstandings, and I was getting really bored. I probably gave this too many stars, but I really think this author has talent. I thought Kylie was awesome at the start of this book, she was strong and witty, and determined to make her way in country music. I never could get into Trace, though, and I really didn't care for the age difference (she's 18, he's 26). I would probably recommend this book, but with a warning that the beginning is definitely the best part.

This story was one that grabbed me from the beginning and I literally could think of nothing else except to tell people about it. It is told in third person perspective, which was different for me as a reader but Caisey gives us a lot of Kylie's inner thoughts which helped and made me fall even more in love with her!! This book gave me so many laughs, and then I seriously think I cried for no reason other than love and want for the other half. This book quickly climbed its way into my heart and left me sighing saying where is Caisey and how do I get my hands on her next book, NOW!! "Kid, you're either crazy or desperate - and you have to be both to make it here. I think you're gonna do just fine." Both, Kylie thought to herself. I'm both. Kylie Ryans is an 18 year old aspiring country singer who has dreams of being on the stage with the lights and everything else that comes with it, she is determined to make a name for herself and make her daddy proud. So she does what every country singer does, she takes off for Nashville with everything she has! Once she gets there she sees it truly is everybody's dream but just as she thinks she is done, she walks into The Rum Room and that's where she finds her moment, the one that changes everything, Mr. Trace Corbin..... Trace Corbin should come with a warning label: highly addictive... "She was from Oklahoma and she knew a thing or two about storm warnings. Trace Corbin was setting off all the sirens inside her. Kylie was standing directly in the path of something wild and dangerous and a hell of a lot more powerful than her." "Take Cover, they said, because the storm was here, now. And Kylie wanted nothing more than to hurl herself right into its path." Trace is a gorgeous, sexy, and the infamous country singing bad-boy who's on his own path of self-destruction. Kylie is asked to join him on tour after she puts him in his place on stage. And that stage banter doesn't end there, oh no these two continue on and off stage and that's what really made me fall in love. The tension between the two was AMAZING and it gives you the butterflies and the angst. Remember those tears I said I had yeah this is the cause!! "And then she was hit with a wave of panic. Because it was too damn good. The kind of good that ruins you for everyone and everything else. Nothing would ever be this good again." I don't know if it was the country aspect of this book or if it was just the twist of the love story but I was completely owned by this. I was so connected to these characters and I seriously felt like I was reading a CMT Country Love Story. This story was intense, it was sweet, it was emotional, and it was just PERFECT!! Oh no. She was becoming a Trace Corbin fangirl. She could feel it happening and she was powerless to stop it." She wanted to memorize it so she could recall that experience whenever she wanted. It was like riding a roller coaster. But when it was over, she'd have given anything to do it again. And this is how I feel now that I have closed this book, I just want to open and memorize every single word so that it never leaves me. I absolutely cannot wait for book 2 and I swear I can't get it fast enough but isn't that always the case with a perfect love story, it always leaving you wanting more!!

This book has been blowing up my goodreads feed lately. Lots of people have been throwing glittery stars and puffy hearts at it, and I was intrigued. Because for some reason I am always intrigued by the plot lines on NA books. A small-town girl, recently orphaned, who heads to Nashville to follow her dream? She somehow gets noticed and brought on tour with a handsome older star, but they don't like eachother and the sparks fly? Yes, please. Admittedly, I didn't go into this book expecting an epic read. I expected a fun guilty-pleasure book to pass some time in between heavier stuff. I wanted to spend some time in Nashville and experience what it would be like to work your way up the ladder in the music industry and finally get your big break. I wanted to know how a girl would feel if she went from being a struggling-waitress nobody to suddenly being the opening-act for last year's Country Music Artist of the Year, literally overnight. I wanted to see their relationship progress from hate to love and feel happy for them in the end. Maybe my expectations and wants were unreasonable. What I got was a frustrating mish-mash of plot devices, a girl who started out strong and likable and wound up weak and co-dependent, a hero with a drinking problem who I didn't like or care about, inconsistent and unbelievable behavior from the main characters, and some really ridiculous WTF moments that made my suspension-of-disbelief switch short circuit. I actually really liked the beginning of this book, especially the scenes set in the bar and her interactions with Tonya, the single working mom who helped her get the job. I liked the idea of her signing up months in advance to get a single shot at amateur night and having to re-work her song at the last minute and get someone to cover her tables so she could run up there and sing. But after that it just started going downhill. There was no fleshing out what happened between her big performance and her suddenly standing on stage as opening act for Trace Corbin. We are told she did this and did that, but didn't get to see any of it or experience it with her. It all felt very forced to me. This book was all about her relationship with Trace, but that was a mystery to me as well. I had to wait half the book to find out Trace was 26... I honestly expected him to be a lot older with the way he was described. What exactly did he do or say, besides glare at her a few times and make her look like an idiot at her very first show, to cause her to suddenly develop feelings for him? Lust I could understand, but feelings strong enough that she would give up her goals, her promise to her father, and her self respect? I think this book just pushed one of my big `hell no' buttons: the one where a girl gives up who she is and everything she says she wants to get the guy, and then something silly happens that makes him doubt her and he treats her like crap, and then she winds up apologizing to him. I'm actually not one to be overly feministic or do a cheer over girl-power, but during Kylie's speech to Trace on the bus, the one she gave after he said some really hateful things, I wanted to shake the girl and beg her to just. stop. talking. Where is your self-respect?? Please, shut up and walk out with some dignity! But she wouldn't listen to me and I was embarrassed for her. In conclusion, I didn't like this book. I admit that I am stingy with my stars and maybe my expectations for this genre are too high... although I have read several new-adult books that I did really enjoy so I know its possible to write a somewhat believable smutty fluff read. The key to a good guilty-pleasure book is the suspension of disbelief. Did the author suck me into her world and make me like her characters and the story enough that I could forget the scenarios are far-fetched and stuff like that doesn't happen to normal people? Did she make me root for the characters? Did she keep the plot going without resorting to silly misunderstandings and immature behavior? For this book, for me personally, the answer is `no'.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Originally just looking for a quick read and mildly intrigued by the storyline, I admit the price tag was what convinced me to get ahold of it. I liked Kylie and her no prisoners attitude towards success but I also really loved that no one pulled their punches with her. There was no excessive angst or stress put on her from the people who were supposed to support her, but they told her how it was without a lot of the nonsense that I've found usually comes with a story about someone trying to achieve something. What I really enjoyed about this book was that although fictional, the characters and their personalities were very realistic to me. Also and it might just be the imagery but when reading about Trace's home in Georgia I couldn't help but wish I was there, especially in the writing room. Now I have to clarify that although lacking what I consider nonsense drama, this book in no way lacked drama or entertainment. The supporting characters in this book were great, Tonya, Clive, Paulie, Chaz and Trace's sisters were endearing in their own ways. They were interesting on their own before they met Kylie which made them more believable as apposed to books where the supporting characters serve no purpose other than to embellish the main one. Too often I've read a book where everything surrounded the main character to a fault and I thought this book had a great balance of letting us get to know her without having her shoved down our throats. Overall the fact that she and Trace weren't automatically obsessed with each other entertained me. I liked that there was work involved in getting them together. Also Trace was just a good hunk of man. With that I'd say if your a fan of country music or the industry lifestyle in general this could be the book for you.

I was hanging over on Facebook with my friends in The Book Cooler group and several people had been talking about this book, Girl with Guitar. After reading so many great endorsements and also the fact that the book was on sale for only .99 (price is now $1.99 for the eBook). I one-clicked and hit the buy now button. The book sat on my Kindle for a few days, until one morning during my commute I started reading.. I was almost late for work that day and coming back from lunch as well! I LOVED this book, it was AMAZING! It was so good I felt like I needed to send the author more money because for only 99 pennies it felt like highway robbery. I recommended this book to several of my friends, and here are just a couple of quotes from the emails they sent me after they finished reading: "WOW! best book I have read it an long time. I didn't think it would be good. Some of the .99 Kindle books sound the same to me, but this one really picked up. Good eye, thanks for the suggestion." "Okay, I loved the book! I can NOT wait to read the next one." "I am going to give you my Kindle and my credit card so you can pick all my books going forward, this one is AWESOME, I wanted to re-read it all over again as soon as I finished the last page. Are you sure this only cost me .99?" Caisey Quinn is a new author for me, but going forward she will be on my auto-buy list! I am giving this book 6 STARS on a 5 STAR scale!