Name: Shaq H's review of A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Item: A Little Bit Country
Rating: 3
Author: Shaq H

Brian D. Kennedy

Dumplin' meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this heartfelt and funny contemporary romance inspired by Dollywood, about two boys who fall in love against the backdrop of a country music-themed amusement park, from debut author Brian D. Kennedy. Perfect for fans of Erin Hahn, Phil Stamper, and David Levithan.

Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar—a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet—and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song? 

A Little Bit Country

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Shaq H

A Dollywood inspired themepark is the stage for this sweet romance story between a boy with dreams of becoming a country star and a boy who thinks he has no options.

Fast paced and fun prose create an engaging story with a sweet cast of characters that still don't manage to take this book to the next level. A perfect weekend read.

Céleste 

A Dollywood inspired themepark is the stage for this sweet romance story between a boy with dreams of becoming a country star and a boy who thinks he has no options.

Fast paced and fun prose create an engaging story with a sweet cast of characters that still don't manage to take this book to the next level. A perfect weekend read.

CW: casual homophobia

Brian D Kennedy

Carrington Kinslow

I really loved this. The romance was so so cute, I loved the characters, and the plot was super interesting. I just can’t give it 5 stars because I thought that the third act breakup was handled really poorly. There was so much back and forth between Emmett and Luke regarding Luke being unable to come out, but Emmett was always the one taking the punches and suffering for it. It felt like Emmett constantly had to be punished because of Luke and his feelings were never considered. Of course, coming out is a very serious thing, but Emmett deserved to be treated better and I wish he had stood up for himself. By the end of the book, I wasn’t even fully convinced they belonged together because of how terrible Luke was to Emmett. Idk. This was going perfect until the third act. 

A Little Bit Country - 3.75 Stars

Latitude Tamarind

Uhhhhh so I felt Entirely Neutral about this book. Weirdly paced, the main conflict of the plot is that one character is like “why won’t you come out of the closet? aren’t you proud of me?”, it wraps up really badly, but you know what! Straight people have had ten billions mediocre romances published! Gay people deserve to read a mediocre romance too! Also I guess I don’t know anything about country music so that wasn’t a bonus for me. The entire time I just wish that I was reading GHOST WOOD SONG, which is just a much better book in a hundred different ways. Three stars

Steph L 

Characters I loved the characters in this novel. They were so sweet and so real. They both had family problems, and things that tried to bring them down. Readers will relate to Emmett and Luke because they are both characters who have actual feelings, and ones that are relatable.

 Plot- The plot of the story was fantastic. I loved how Emmett and Luke met, and followed their journey as they round love. The side plot about Wanda Jean and Emmett's family was a fantastic story to follow as well. 

Writing-The writing in this novel was great. The lighter scenes had a light tone. A Little Bit of Country had some heavy moments as well, and these were seen in the novel by the tone as well. 

Romance The romance in this novel was so sweet. Luke and Emmett started off as two people who didn't know each other and then grew to find love over the course of a summer. A summer rom-com is perfect for this time of year, and the romance of this book hits all the vibes of a summer romance. Recommend For/ 

Enjoyment I recommend this book for those that enjoy LGBTQ+ stories. I really enjoyed this romance and I believe others who enjoy the same types of stories still as well.

Farid Martínez Yd

I would say this is a 3.5 for me but I'm rounding it up.

The story is cute, but the characters can be a little annoying at times. This is mainly because of 0their internal monologues which at many times feel taken from some kind of self-help book.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Little Bit Country

Author: Brian D. Kennedy

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: 2 Gay MCs, Mexican American character, Hispanic characters, character with Multiple Sclerosis, f/f romance mentioned, Lesbian character, m/m romance

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBT, m/m romance, country music

Publication Date: June 7, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 15+ (sexism, sexual harassment, sexual content, romance, micro aggressions, language, homophobia, gore, underage alcohol consumption, religion)

Explanation of Above: There are some mentions and comments about sexism. There is one brief sexual harassment comment made by an obvious slimey character to a side character. There is some sexual content in the book in the form of jokes and mentions, and there is one fade to black scene. There are a few curse words throughout the book, but not a lot. There is some slight homophobia in the book and homophobic comments. There is one moment with gore, blood, where two characters are hurt. There is one small scene of underage alcohol consumption. There is a brief mention of religion.

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Pages: 351

Synopsis: Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Review: Overall I absolutely adored this read. It was a sweet romance between two gay characters and how country music/small town life affected that for both of them. The book is kind of a band book, but definitely a coming out journey and it’s perfect for fans of It This Gets Out or Kiss and Tell. Honestly, I don’t know what we did to deserve 3 gay boy band books this year but I’m loving it! There are a lot of pop culture references to country music in this, which is perfect for fans of the genre. The book is also Multi POV and the author did well to make sure that the characters had distinct voices, especially in how they talk (subtle northern/southern differences). The book is an insta-love romance with a happen chance meeting. The characters are well developed and the world building is good. I loved the writing and the book is definitely a page turner!

The only issue I had with the book is that it felt like some of the plot was a bit slow in the middle. I felt it dwindled down significantly and then really picked up about 15% left in the read. It really rushed the character development of a few people and I think some of that and a little of the plot was still left unresolved by the end. I think it would have been better a bit slower throughout or a bit faster throughout.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!


Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy