16081202Title: Open Road Summer

Author: Emery Lord

Publisher: Walker Children’s

Publication Date: April 2014

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

 

Synopsis can be found here.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

Love.

Reagan and Delilah have been best friends forever. So what if Delilah is growing up to be one of country’s biggest rising singer songwriter/pop stars? They’re relationship is strong and Reagan accompanies Dee on her summer tour. Reagan has been a good girl who has made some really bad choices, but she’s trying to put all of that behind her. Enter Matt Finch. Matt is a songwriter, and through a series of unfortunate events, Dee’s new opening act/tabloid boyfriend. But Reagan doesn’t anticipate falling so hard for Matt. Or risk taking a leap to the right guy.

I had such a great time reading this book. Fresh and sweet, Reagan is not a bad girl or a good girl. She’s a great complex character who has made a string of really bad choices. I love her inner monologue, talking herself out of stuff, trying so hard to redeem her bad girl past. She’s quick witted, totally loyal and has some problems expressing her emotions. She’s also got a great bite to her.

Lilah, or Dee to her friends, is the super sweet good girl, creative and talented. She’s the balancing force to Reagan. She’s the one that takes care of Reagan when she needs it, and she’s also the one of the few people Reagan will take care of in return.

This is the shining relationship in this book. They are real best friends, who fight and love and are so fiercely loyal to one another. I love portrayals of healthy, best friend relationships.

Don’t get me wrong- Matt Finch begs for attention too. Soulful songwriter and all around good guy, Matt is perfect for Reagan and their relationship is organic and grows naturally. There is some really funny dialogue between them which made me root for them the whole way through the book. Another thing I liked- Matt isn’t really introduced until pretty far in. This gives the reader a chance to get to know Reagan (and Reagan and Dee) before Matt which I think is super refreshing. I already knew I liked Reagan alot so when the love interest was eventually introduced, I had no problem enjoying the build of the story.

I read for hours, never bothering to look at the time. Totally lost in the book, I am looking forward to reading it again- perhaps in the summer with an iced tea and a blanket in the sun.

Overall, Open Road Summer is a wonderful contemporary romance filled with best friends, music and a cute guy. Most of all, it’s a fresh take on a classic story but with added layers of complications making it the perfect book for a binge read.

Rating 9 Ridiculously Awesome like Cookies and Ice Cream