Birdie's Books: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Published: Walker, April 15th, 2014
Pages: 368
Source: Paperback, purchased
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 4/5 (88%)

How I felt: This is the perfect summer read! I was surprised by this book, I didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I've seen many negative reviews about this book so I went into it with pretty low expectations, and came out satisfied and pleasantly surprised!

The fact that this was about the best friend of a celebrity really interested me and was half of the reason why I picked this book up. After this book I'm definitely reading books with similar situations.

I really found myself liking and connecting with the main character, Reagan, and her constant need to build walls to protect herself because so many people in her life had hurt her. I really liked how her friendship with country superstar Dee was written and portrayed, it reminded me a lot of the relationship Maya and Riley have on Girl Meets World.

I really like Matt, I liked how he was able to hold a conversation with Reagan and tease her without backing down or getting scared. I admired him for being able to stick around even after she told him about all her mistakes.

I really liked Emery's writing style, it was easy to read and enjoyable. I can't wait to pick up her other book!

One of my favourite parts was at the end when Reagan talks to her Dad about Matt and he's trying so hard not to laugh, it was just so adorable to see her family mending itself and slowly coming together.

I read this book very quickly, in less than a day. I picked it up randomly for a quick, cute, fun contemporary and that's exactly what I got. I just kept reading until the pages melted away and I finally read the last line. This was such a beautiful story, and there were definitely points that made me tear up a bit. I definitely recommend this to fans of contemporary!

Favourite Quotes:

“I want to reach back into my history with a grade-school pink eraser, scrubbing away my decisions like mistakes on a math test. To bad I drew my mistakes in ink.”
“His eyes are somewhere between gray and blue, and his hair is somewhere between brown and blond, and I am somewhere between hostile and attracted.”
“I think it's the bravest thing in the world - to run straight at love, even knowing how badly you could get hurt.”
“Stop documenting the moment for a second, he told me. Just be in it.”
“Dee says that phrases in songs are like beads in a necklace – they should stand on their own, but they make the most sense together.”
“Laughter feels like our flotation device -- it won't pull us out of the storm, but it might carry us through, if we can just hang on.”