Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Title: Open Road Summer

Author: Emery Lord

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

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.

You know those books everyone seems to be raving about? Those are the books I’m sometimes wary of. I’m afraid that it just won’t live up to the hype. But then I’ll give in and read the book and every so often, I will be completely blown away by what I read and understand what the hype was all about. Most recently that happened with Emery Lord’s Open Road Summer. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

Reagan O’Neill is ready for a summer on the road with her country music superstar best friend, Lilah Montgomery. This summer is supposed to be about getting over heartbreak and leaving behind all the drama that has followed her in the last year. But when rumours about Lilah start making front page news, Matt Finch joins the tour as an opening act and as a publicity stunt to quiet the rumours. Reagan is determined to stay away from Matt, to not let herself fall for him. But before long she can’t do much to resist Matt’s boy-next-door charm and Reagan once again finds herself falling for someone. Could things be different this time though?

To everyone who told me Open Road Summer by Emery Lord was amazing: you were so totally, absolutely right. I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved this book and how perfect it felt while I was reading it. I’m not going to lie, I just flew through this book. I picked it up and I couldn’t even handle having to put it down to sleep and go to work. And the whole time I was reading, I just had this big smile on my face. Because if nothing else, Open Road Summer made me happy. It was just the light and fun summer read I wanted it to be, but it was also a whole lot more. Once I started scratching the surface, I saw that there was so much more to this story. Sure, it was a about a summer country music tour, but it was also about growing up and finding your place in the world. It was about mending a broken heart but also still being open to love. It was about learning to live with grief and finding joy in life again. So yeah, Emery Lord’s Open Road Summer was a whole lot more than just a fun summery read. 

I couldn’t help but love Reagan. I started reading, and right away I connected with her and I knew that I would spend the entire length of the story rooting for her. How could I not? She was trying to do better for herself and give herself more credit. And I loved seeing her growth over the course of the story, even if sometimes I wanted to yell at her to see what was right in front of her. More than just Reagan by herself, I loved her friendship with Dee (Lilah). The way Reagan and Dee were portrayed as friends just felt real and honest. It wasn’t always pretty, but they would be there for each other no matter what. And now for the gushing. Because how can I not gush about Matt Finch? Everyone always seemed to be talking about how awesome Matt was and in my mind he couldn’t possibly have lived up to that. But he totally did. In fact, Matt Finch surpassed any expectations I may have had for him. And I LOVED him. I highly doubt anything I could possibly say about him would even come close to doing him justice. He’s just that fantastic a person and character. But what I loved most about him was that he wasn’t perfect and he didn’t pretend to be. And he was just a genuinely GOOD and SWEET guy. And honestly, those are the best.

So yes, I loved Emery Lord’s Open Road Summer. I can’t even begin to describe how much. But hopefully you’ve gotten the idea. If you’re afraid of the hype surrounding this book, don’t be. I was hesitant and afraid, but in the end, I couldn’t possibly have loved this book any more than I did.