Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Title: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Published: April 15th, 2014
Read: August 3rd to 5th, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

I read Open Road Summer after most of my friends had raved about it and said how much they enjoyed this inspirational story about best friends, a swoony romance, a road trip and always welcomed character growth. Plus, a story with a pretty cover and gorgeous writing is always a must-read if you ask me.

“It takes a long time to see a person as a whole spectrum, from worst to best—from the mismanaged heartache that lands them in AA to the pancake dinners, from the hurtful things shouted in a dressing room to the huge-hearted strength that only a best friend can understand. Once you get there, it’s forever.”
The book starts with our leading lady Reagan going on a road trip with her best friend Lilah (or Dee to us) who also happens to be a world-wide pop-country superstar. These two have awesome chemistry and the suitcase scene made me smile, as did most of their scenes. Their support and encouraging words for each other were some of my favorite parts in this novel and I think this is what a friendship should be like: supporting each other through thick and thin. Dee and Reagan definitely had a great relationship going on.

We also get some great family dynamics and see two sorts of families: the ones who have it all together and the ones who are still trying to reach that point. Dee’s family was adorable and I loved the growth of Reagan’s as well. Reagan, her dad and her stepmother had a lot of growing to do, but I liked where they all ended up. This road trip Reagan took was really the thing everyone in her family needed.

I also enjoyed the slow-burn romance between Matt and Reagan. Reagan is of course attracted to Matt, but she’s been burned before and Matt isn’t her type at all (though isn’t he really?) and throughout the novel we see her come to a realization that Matt is exactly what she needs: a sweet guy who’s fun, respectful, makes her laugh and is all around a complete charmer! These two had a good banter going on and their dates (public or private) were really just too darn adorable. As for the side romance, I was hoping to see a tad more of Dee’s, but I’m happy with the way that storyline turned out for her by the end of the novel.

It’s the perfect kind of book to cuddle up with on a warm summer night, but you should also crack it open when you’re missing summer and want to read some heartwarming scenes, the best kind of friendship and a slow-burn romance. Put Emery Lord on your watch list, people! She’s on her way to steal your hearts in the best possible way!

Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Stars: ★★★★

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