Girls with Bad Reputations

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Girls with Bad Reputations (The Lillys #2) by Xio Axelrod

448 pages | Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca

The Set Up: Kayla is the drummer for an all female rock band on the brink of stardom. She’s determined to live out her dreams, not the ones set for her by her controlling mother. The band’s first official tour has started when she meets Ty, their quiet and bookish bus driver. Ty is at a crossroads of his life, after being falsely accused of things by a former classmate. As the band travels the country, the two of them find comfort in each other.

This was the first book by Xio Axelrod I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be my last! This book pulled me in, and I thought Xio balanced romance, tension, and character development really well. It was also really fun to have her join the Zoom session for the Toledo Library Romance Book Club to discuss her writing and these characters.

Kayla and Ty’s relationship had such an effortless, natural flow - watching their easy friendship grow into something deeper was so satisfying. I thought they both grew so much as they chose to create the lives they truly wanted rather than the ones they were expected to live.

The book felt high energy and had a fast pace as the band traveled from festival to festival, and there was so much juicy detail about the behind the scenes reality of the music industry. Tour life, band dynamics, label drama – I love it all!

If you love found family, rockstars, and quiet and gentle romances, definitely pick up this book.