20 Nov 2014

Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
April 15, 2014 · Walker Childres
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 352
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 added Open Road Summer to my to TBR last year, and since then, have read countless rave, positive reviews. I follow Emery Lord on Twitter, but it wasn't until she tweeted something the other day that finally gave me the kick I needed to run out, grab a copy and read it, pronto. All I can say is that all the love this book has been receiving this year? There's a reason. This book was fan-freaking-tastic. I'm so glad I squeezed it in before the year ended!

Reagan was a breath of fresh air; layered; and definitely unexpected. But I mean that in the best way possible. She was not without her faults and was always ready to push people away, from having her heart broken too many times. She's very real and I loved her as a character. She grew throughout the book, but still has a lot of growing up ahead of her, and I liked that. Some characters do a complete 180 degree turn around and by the end, are basically tied in a bow, with everything neat, fixed and perfect, but that wasn’t the case with Reagan. Dee, her best "infinity" friend, was an amazing character as well and I loved getting to know her. Both girls are very different, but make a perfect match as friends. They complement one another well and always have each others backs. All characters, great and small, were written with gusto and depth.

Open Road Summer read like the author had done her research with the fame and celebrity side of things. Touring; the paparazzi; getting noticed wherever you go; the constant fear of getting photographed. It was written in an insider-only voice, as if the author has first hand experience or has been secretly hiding away in Taylor Swifts tour bus. I know 99% of articles and tabloids are fake and only written to sell magazines, but again, it was a reminder of the way they twist words and edit photographs, all to make money.

My favourite aspect of Open Road Summer was without a doubt the friendship between Reigan and Dee. They have such a strong, healthy friendship and I definitely think we need to be seeing more of those on the page. I’m all for a good love interest (see: Matt Finch. Sweet guy + a big heart = swoon!), but considering how important friends are, this book shows me need way more books that showcase not only friendships, but positive ones.

Emery Lord has written one heck of a debut! Not only is it entertaining, it's beautiful and contains depth that the cover doesn't exactly let on to. Lord has a way with words, and has proven that she can write a great story, with all the trimmings (guess I'm getting in the Christmas spirit? Haha). I absolutely can't wait to read her next book!

5/5

11 comments:

  1. WHOO ANOTHER AUSSIE BLOGGER HI *waves creepily at you*

    Anyhoo, I definitely agree with you on most points here. This was such a fantastic contemporary, and I loved the whole music aspect to it too. I actually just bought myself the hardcover copy of this because the cover is too pretty to not own, amirite?

    Lovely review, girl! <33

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    1. Hi! *waves back* Thank you!

      Glad you enjoyed it, too! I never touched on the music aspect, but I also enjoyed that, especially the lyrics. Definitely think I need to buy a copy and pre-order her next book. Both are going to look so pretty next to each other on the shelf!

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  2. OMG THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR THIS WEEK AND LIFE JUST WANTS ME READING THIS ONE. I mean, I'd heard the hype from before but it's resurged in the past week. People are pushing me towards this one, left and right. I'm super glad that you loved this one! I'm in quite the contemporary mood right now so may have to pick this one up. I'm curious about the touring aspect and everyone raves on about this Matt so perhaps I'll have to meet him for myself ;) Fantastic review!<3

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    1. Yes! Jess, you must read it! It's amazing and you'll love it, especially if you're in the mood for contemporary. The world is conspiring for you to read this. Take it as a sign and READ IT, OK?

      Thanks, lovely!

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  3. Clearly I need to pick this book up. I've heard nothing but rave reviews, and yours made me feel even more persuaded to give it a try. It sounds like my favorite aspect would also be the relationship between Reagan and Dee. I agree that we need more books about positive friendships - I almost always prefer reading about friendships to reading about romances - and this one sounds fantastic!

    I'm so glad you liked this title, and hopefully the author's other books end up being just as great. :)

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    1. It IS fantastic. If you enjoy contemporary, complex characters and awesome friendships, you will love this! I hope you end up giving this one a go :)

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  4. Great review! This has been one of my favourite books of the year and all the glowing reviews are well deserved. I especially liked that there was such a strong focus on the friendship between Reagan and Dee, and that it wasn't pushed to the side by the romantic aspects of the book. I can't wait to read The Start of Me and You!

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    1. Yay, another ORS fan! This is one of my favourites of the year, too :) The Start of Me and You is definitely one of my most anticipated books of next year. It looks like it's going to be fantastic as well, based on the blurb and the reviews so far. Can't wait!

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  5. You put into words every single thing I feel about this book. <333 So much love! I utterly can't wait for Emery Lord's next book. I sure hope her sophomore novel will be as good as her debut novel. :)

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    1. Me too! Her upcoming book is definitely one of my most anticipated of 2015 after how much I enjoyed ORS. I've heard good things so far, so I'm hoping it'll be just as good, if not more :)

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  6. So glad you touched on the friendship here. It's weird... I read this in April but I've been thinking about it all week. That reading experience is just so vivid in my mind. :)

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