From the Publisher
"Emmett and Luke's love story is pure joy in book form. Absolutely stunning!" — Mason Deaver, award-winning author of I Wish You All the Best and The Ghosts We Keep
“Equal parts emotional, earnest, and entertaining, A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY made my heart sing from the very first line. Emmett and Luke’s joyful, tender story left me swooning, while Kennedy’s lyrical writing captured the beauty and humor perfectly on every page. This impressive debut should be moved to the top of everyone’s TBR immediately!" — Jennifer Dugan, author of Hot Dog Girl and Some Girls Do
“I devoured this heartfelt and honest LGBT+ romance in a single sitting, unable to tear myself away from Luke and Emmett’s story. With sweet original lyrics, a heaping serving of comfort food, and the heart-stopping aches and flutterings of first love, A Little Bit Country is a glittering love song of a debut.” — Erin Hahn, author of You’d Be Mine and Never Saw You Coming
“Sweetly romantic and completely charming, A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY is a heartfelt celebration of finding out who you are and doing it on purpose. Just as Emmett and Luke fall for each other, you’ll fall head-over-heels in love with Brian D. Kennedy’s fresh, funny new voice. This is a stunning debut, and it shines from start to finish." — Katie Henry, author of This Will Be Funny Someday
"Like the best country songs, Brian D. Kennedy hits every emotional note! I found myself remembering the first time I fell in love, the anxieties of when and how to come out, my hopes for the future that I could be out and proud and thriving in the career field I was most passionate about. I immediately wanted to hit repeat like with my favorite music. I'll be singing the praises of A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY everywhere I go!" — Jason June, author of Jay's Gay Agenda and Out of the Blue
"Kennedy’s dual first-person perspectives earnestly showcase Emmett’s irrepressible passion for his dreams and Luke’s courage in the face of vulnerability, making for a light and hopeful debut." — Publishers Weekly
"Fans of Jennifer Dugan will devour this ode to music, summer love, and being true to your own desires." — Booklist
Jason June
"Like the best country songs, Brian D. Kennedy hits every emotional note! I found myself remembering the first time I fell in love, the anxieties of when and how to come out, my hopes for the future that I could be out and proud and thriving in the career field I was most passionate about. I immediately wanted to hit repeat like with my favorite music. I'll be singing the praises of A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY everywhere I go!"
Mason Deaver
"Emmett and Luke's love story is pure joy in book form. Absolutely stunning!"
Jennifer Dugan
Equal parts emotional, earnest, and entertaining, A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY made my heart sing from the very first line. Emmett and Luke’s joyful, tender story left me swooning, while Kennedy’s lyrical writing captured the beauty and humor perfectly on every page. This impressive debut should be moved to the top of everyone’s TBR immediately!"
Erin Hahn
I devoured this heartfelt and honest LGBT+ romance in a single sitting, unable to tear myself away from Luke and Emmett’s story. With sweet original lyrics, a heaping serving of comfort food, and the heart-stopping aches and flutterings of first love, A Little Bit Country is a glittering love song of a debut.
Katie Henry
Sweetly romantic and completely charming, A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY is a heartfelt celebration of finding out who you are and doing it on purpose. Just as Emmett and Luke fall for each other, you’ll fall head-over-heels in love with Brian D. Kennedy’s fresh, funny new voice. This is a stunning debut, and it shines from start to finish."
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-02
Country music, Southern food, and teenage dreaming populate this earnest debut.
Emmett Maguire knows exactly who he wants to be, and that’s country music’s biggest gay star. Luke Barnes knows who he wants to be, too, but he’s not about to tell anyone about it. When, at 17, both boys find themselves working summer jobs at Wanda World—a fictional, Dollywood-esque amusement park in Tennessee owned by country star Wanda Jean Stubbs—their very different lives collide. Romance blooms as the pair struggle under the burden of multiple secrets. No more can Luke bring himself to come out than tell his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, that the theme park is keeping food on their family table: A messy history ties Wanda Jean to his grandmother, and the job feels like a betrayal. As more of this history comes to light, the novel teeters on the edge of drama but ultimately veers away from exploring this tension. In alternating first-person point of view chapters, Luke and Emmett parse their tumultuous summer with a pinch too much editorializing to ring true. Could-be-complex mosaics of character development end up more paint-by-numbers. The leading characters are White; Emmett’s new friends and co-workers, one Chinese American and one Black, embody other country music outliers as they fight alongside him for representation.
Stifled by the weight of its own good intentions, the story struggles to maintain a human spark. (Romance. 13-17)
