Open Road Summer by Emery Lord [Review]

4.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release: April 15, 2014
Hardcover: 352 Pages
Publisher: Walker Childrens
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon
Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

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.

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

Sigh. What a great book.  It was like the perfect blend of funny and sweet.  I pretty much loved everything about it (which one small exception) and that is really saying something for me.  I tend to be a bit harder on contemporary YA because there aren't any flashy paranormal or fantasy elements to distract me.  But Open Road Summer hits all the right notes.

At the heart of the book is two relationships.  The first is Reagan's friendship with Lilah, who goes by Dee to her friends.  Reagan and Dee grew up together and managed to remain best friends when Dee's country music career took off.  Reagan and Dee are opposites in many ways.  Reagan comes from a broken home and likes to push the limits.  Dee comes from a strong family background and plays by the rules.  But their devotion to each other is awesome.  Their friendship is the best part of the book. 

The second relationship in the book is the budding romance between Matt and Reagan.  Reagan has a very hard time letting her guard down and trusting people, but her chemistry with Matt is undeniable.  She tries to not get involved with him, but between Matt's dogged sweet persistence and his charm, she begins to wonder if she found someone she can let in. I loved that the romance was swoony and sweet, but in fairly understated way. 

The only thing I didn't like was Reagan's reaction to a big misunderstanding.  I know she has trust issues and totally assumed the worst had happened, but I thought her reaction was way over the top and extremely drawn out.  It's too bad it happens at the end of the book, so it remains fresh in the mind, but since everything else was so good I'm willing to overlook it.

Overall, I think this is a great story of friendship, heartbreak, hope and new love.  A perfect summer read.