Exclusive Cover Reveal + Excerpt: Girls with Bad Reputations, the Second installment In the Lillys Series

Xio Axelrod’s The Lillys series follows the adventures of the eponymous all-girl rock band, complete with fiery characters, lots of emotion, unexpected romance, and a deep love and understanding of both music and the industry around it. Fierce, unapologetic, and deeply feminist, the series’ first installment, The Girl with the Stars in Her Eyes, followed the story of guitarist Toni Bennette and her slow-burn romance with a former childhood crush. And its second, Girls with Bad Reputations, is set to arrive next year.

The latest installment will feature Lillys drummer Kayla Whitman as she and the rest of the group try to navigate the pressures of their first official tour together. Her unexpected connection with quiet, bookish tour bus driver Ty is an unexpected surprise and a safe space, but increased scrutiny from the press means her most carefully guarded secrets about her past won’t stay secret for long.

Here’s how the publisher describes the story: 

All her life, Kayla heard the same refrain: Don’t be so loud. Don’t act so wild. Don’t take up so much space. Now she’s the beating heart of an up-and-coming rock band…and the whole world is going to know her name.

Once upon a time, the pressure to be the perfect daughter nearly broke Kayla Whitman. Desperate to find an outlet away from her controlling mother, she picked up a pair of drumsticks, forever altering the rhythm of her life. Since then, she’s been determined to make her own way, finding her home with her bandmates even as she fights to keep her past and her present firmly separate.

Things were simple enough when the Lillys were playing local gigs at dive bars, but now they’re on their first official tour—and all Kayla can see are warning signs. Desperate to escape the worry churning inside her, Kayla finds solace in quiet tour bus driver Ty Baldwin…and discovers in him a kindred spirit like no one she’s ever met before.

Their connection is immediate and intense, but when increasing scrutiny from the press threatens to destroy Ty’s newfound peace and Kayla’s carefully guarded secrets, Kayla’s forced to make an impossible choice: pursue her dream and risk destroying everyone around her? Or give in and lose the chance of ever becoming the person she’s always known she could be.

Girls with Bad Reputations won’t hit shelves until February 6, 2024, but we’ve got a first look at its colorful cover and an excerpt from the story itself right now! 

“Hey,” she said quietly, rounding the corner before she stopped in her tracks for the second time that day.

In his hands, Ty held a copy of her mother’s newly published book. His brow furrowed as he scanned the pages.

Stepping back, Kayla took a moment to reorient herself. Her mother’s face stared at her from the cover, her expression one of grace and compassion, wisdom and understanding. Gisele Larrington was capable of all those things to wildly varying degrees. However, she was an expert at writing exactly the type of thing other people needed, or wanted, to hear.

Ty seemed utterly engrossed in whatever he’d found on the pages. Emotions passed over his face like ripples in a pond.

“Find something interesting?”

Ty looked up at the sound of Kayla’s voice, and the corner of his mouth tipped up into a grin. “I can’t recall if I’ve read this author before. I saw the cover and thought she kind of reminded me of you.”

“D-does she?” The air was suddenly very thin. Kayla leaned against one of the shelving units and hoped it was sturdy.

He flipped it over to read the back cover.

Kayla’s stomach dropped as her mom’s exquisitely photographed likeness stared back at her.

“This says she’s written a series of children’s books that’s sold millions of copies. Damn. The Little Miss Yolanda series.” He shrugged. “Never heard of it, but apparently she’s president of…” his eyes widened, “Carradine University. Wow,” he said softly as he looked at the front again.

It hadn’t even occurred to her that a store this small would carry her mother’s work, but of course it would.

When Ty held up the cover again, Kayla fought to control the tremor in her hands. “Looks just like you, doesn’t she?” he asked, oblivious.

“It’s…uncanny.” Kayla congratulated herself for sounding so unaffected.

“She’s even got your freckles.”

“Yep.” Kayla said dismissively. She didn’t want to ruin their first time hanging out with her unresolved parental angst. Setting the book facedown on the nearest stack, she pointed to the shelf Ty had been scanning. “You read a lot of nonfiction?”

“Some,” Ty replied with no hint of embarrassment. He cocked his head at her. “You don’t?”

“To be honest, I haven’t. Am I missing out?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, his eyes widening in surprise. “You can learn a lot through self-study.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way.” Kayla grabbed a book from a different shelf, dismayed when Ty stopped to pick up her mom’s book again.

Apparently, she’d earned another reader.

“Are you one of those perpetual students, always learning?”

Ty’s jaw flexed, his smile hard to read this time. “Something like that. There’s always something new to learn,” he said. “It’s a big world. The day we stop wanting to understand, the world will be lost.”

“You’re surprising,” Kayla said as they turned down another aisle.

Ty peered down at her. “How so?”

She searched for words to explain. “I love that you love what you love, if that makes any sense. You’re unapologetically you.”

Stopping, he turned to her and frowned. “Is there something I need to apologize for?”

Without thinking, Kayla grasped his arm. “No, God, no. Not at all, I just meant…” She blew out a breath. What was she even trying to say? “I like you. That’s all.”

Ty’s gaze softened before he ducked his head. He nodded. “Good to know, ’cause I like you too.”

“Cool.” Kayla let her hand drop away as warmth ran, unbidden, up her arm and into her chest. 

This was straying into dangerous territory. She turned away.

And walked right into a stack of books.

Ty’s arm shot out above her head, steadying the precarious pile.

Kayla couldn’t stop herself from following the line of his arm down to his shoulder as she turned to face him.

He met her eyes, his going dark. “Kayla, I—”

For a moment, time stood still.

She could do it. Just once. Lean up and…

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Kayla back to her senses just as Ty dropped his arm and stepped back.

They stared at each other for a long minute. In a moment of startling clarity, Kayla realized how much she actually liked this guy. Like, really liked him. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt the giddy anticipation of being in a room with someone. It wasn’t about sex—if he was even interested in sex, that is—but about companionship. The easy banter. Their shared interests.

As if he could read her thoughts, Ty gave her a sheepish grin. “We should get back before the others think I’ve kidnapped you.” There was a little more edge to the joke than she would have expected.

“Oh,” Kayla said. “We don’t want that.” She moved to leave, but Ty took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I don’t know if I should even say this, but… I meant it when I said I like you,” he said, his voice low. His gaze dipped from her eyes to her mouth and back, faster than a blink. “I do. A lot. You’re a very cool chick.”

“I’m a cool chick, eh?”

Ty pushed her hand away and laughed. “Too corny?”

“Just corny enough,” she said, holding out her thumb and index finger to demonstrate. “Only just.” Kayla looked at him. “This was fun. You’re fun. We should hang out more often. No pressure,” she added.

“No pressure,” he echoed. “Are we allowed to hang out? I wouldn’t want to get fired for breaking my contract.”

Kayla couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but she rushed to reassure him. “Socializing with me isn’t part of your job, Ty. I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Obligated?” He arched an eyebrow. “Not at all. I was making a joke, a bad one, about the clause that says I can’t fraternize with my boss.”

This brought her up short. “Does it actually say that?”

“Essentially.” Ty walked toward the register to pay.

“Really?” Kayla scoffed, following him. “Whose dumb idea was that?” And then she remembered. Ugh, Candi. Ruining things even when she wasn’t around anymore.

Laughing to himself, Ty paid for his books, and they walked back to the bus.

The others were boarding as they approached, and Kayla tried not to feel any particular way when Ty put some space between them.

She understood the logic, even agreed with it. Whatever was happening between them, friendship or anything that friendship might possibly lead to, it didn’t need an audience.

Ty stopped and turned to her, his gaze lingering on hers for a moment before he looked away. Smiling, he walked backward. “Okay, well… That was fun. You know where to find me if you wanna hang again.”

Kayla wanted to keep that smile on his face for as long as she could. “With your nose buried in a book. Where else?”

Girls with Bad Reputations will be released on February 6, 2024, and you can pre-order it now.

---

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB