Book Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord (no spoilers)

Book: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Publication: April 15th, 2014
Source: Local Library
Read: April 30th- May 4th, 2014
Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

.

My Thoughts:

I said that 2014 would be the year for amazing debuts and Open Road Summer is no exception. In fact I really couldn't tell that this was Emery Lord's first novel. She wrote like she had written 10 novels before this one. 

I would compare Emery Lord to Sarah Dessen. Her novel was a feel good summer read. The thing that I think really drew me to this book was that it was more about friendship than romance. Delilah Montgomery is a country singer going on tour for the summer. She is known as Lilah Montgomery to her fans, but to her best friend Reagan she is simply known as Dee. Reagan has always been on the right side of the law. After her awful breakup with bad boyfriend, Blake; Reagan is ready to turn a new leave in life. This involves spending a whole summer on the road with her best friend Dee. Just her and Dee for the whole summer. 

Everything changes when a tabloid scandal rocks Dee's world. Matt Finch, a washed out singer, that hasn't done much for a few years joins the tour as an open act. Matt's lyrics had to be my favorite part of the novel. They had the ability to make Reagan mad, but want Matt so badly at the same time. I have to admit I could tell that he had good, southern charm just reading through the pages and I was desperate for a relationship to form. Although you will have to read to see what happens there. 

What I appreciated about this book is that the characters were real. Although Dee was famous, us as readers got to see the other side and really Dee is just a normal girl with a broken heart. She wants a life where she can sing and share her music, but doesn't have to wear a disguise to go out in public. The one thing I was curious about was the full lyrics of Dee's song Open Road Summer, which features Reagan's name. Reagan may have a country superstar best friend, but to Reagan, Dee is just her friend. Reagan loves to take pictures and she has a very hot temper. Reagan is not a perfect character, but that is what I liked about her. Matt was a great addition to the book. He had his issues, but he had a down home southern charm which I really liked. Emery Lord created relatable characters. 

Emery Lord created an amazing story which turned into an amazing debut novel. I'm excited to see what this author comes out with in the future. I'm sure all her other novels will be amazing. Do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy of Open Road Summer.