Jesse's Girl ~ Miranda Kenneally (earc) review [@SourebooksFire @MirandaKennealy]

Jesse's Girl
Sourcebooks Fire
July 7, 2015
304 pages
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Practice Makes Perfect.

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?

Catching Jordan is the only other of Miranda Kennealy's Hundred Oaks books I have read - and I didn't know until I was already reading it that Jesse's Girl was a part of that universe. I like that the Hundred Oaks series books are all set around Hundred Oaks High in Tennessee and the characters overlap but each book can also be read as a standalone.

In Jesse's Girl, Maya Henry (the little sister of Sam Henry from Catching Jordan)  sometimes feels like she doesn't quite fit with athletic, sports loving family. Maya - with her love of eighties rock music, her nose ring and love of cars - is more at home playing her guitar than on any field.

Music is what she wants to do with her life, whether it seems logical or not. She's more than a little surprised when her shadow day 'professional' ends u being country music's *it* boy Jesse Scott.


I really liked Maya and Jesse's introduction to each other. From that first meeting that almost derails everything, to their planned day. Maya doesn't fall all over the music star, but we do get to see that she's not completely immune to his talent - or his personality.

He's guarded and suspicious of those outside his small inner circle and it's great seeing him open up more as the story progresses.

I love that the day turns into something neither of them is expecting and brings out sides to both characters that are unexpected, but so fitting.

They have undeniable chemistry and a spark that keeps readers hoping they'll be able to work things out. The things that do provide those hurdles make the story and characters, both, fuller and more realistic.

While I didn't love everything about the characters' personalities and decisions, I definitely enjoyed the story and the decisions they each had to make, about their music, their lives, and each other.

Sam and Jordan are a fun addition to the novel that readers who've been hoping for another tale about the two will especially like.

(Did Maya maybe own a lot of leather clothing for someone with so little money, though?)







digital copy received, for review, from publisher via NetGalley