Girls with bad reputations

Axelrod's spirited second the Lillys rock and roll romance (after The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes) turns the spotlight onto the eponymous indie band's drummer, Kayla Whitman. Raised by a controlling mother who made her feel like a constant disappointment for being too loud and boisterous, Kayla's lifeline growing up was her older brother, Zach, who gave Kayla her first pair of drumsticks. After Zach died, Kayla clung to his love of music to cope with her grief, joining a local indie girl band. Now the Lillys have blown up and embark on their first national tour. It's a different beast than the local gigs Kayla's used to, and with her mother still calling to berate her about how she needs to "get her life together," she worries she'll crack under the pressure. Comfort comes from tour bus driver Ty Baldwin, a strong and silent type with whom Kayla discovers an unexpected spark. This sweet couple find a rhythm as the tour goes on, but Kayla's still torn between pursuing music and packing it up for a safer life. Bolstering both the slow-burning love story and Kayla's personal growth is the charming chosen family she finds with her bandmates. Readers are sure to be entertained. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc. (Feb.)

The Lillys return in this follow-up to The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes (2021), with new romance and more music-industry drama. Ever since Kayla Whitman's older brother, Zach, handed her a pair of sticks and encouraged her to play, she's never felt more herself than she does behind a drum set. But having been born Katherine Yolanda Larrington, daughter of celebrated academics Geoffrey and Gisele Larrington, comes with a lifetime of high expectations. Kayla knows that her life as a college dropout who's the drummer for up-and-coming rock band the Lillys would never meet her mother's exacting standards, so she's decided to keep her two lives--in one, the dutiful daughter; in the other, following in her late brother's footsteps as a touring musician--entirely separate. Tyrell Baldwin also understands something about not living up to expectations. Barely coping with the fallout of having been kicked out of school after false accusations of plagiarism and assault ruined his chances at an academic career, Ty is living at home with his grandfather when he's offered a job as a tour bus driver for the Lillys. When Kayla and Ty bond over a shared love of books, their connection quickly turns romantic. But as the Lillys' star continues to rise, media scrutiny follows, and both Kayla's and Ty's pasts are put under a spotlight. And they'll have to decide whether to wilt or grow in its glare. The author tackles a lot in this sequel--including weighty topics such as death, grief, microaggressions, racial profiling, and false imprisonment--which sometimes results in tonal whiplash. But the characters are compelling and richly drawn, and the text smartly leans more on sharp dialogue in this installment. Readers will no doubt chant for an encore. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.