This novel was quite an enjoyable summer read. Get swept away on a road trip with Reagan, Lilah, and Matt and indulge yourself in a story of love, friendship, loss, and learning as these characters try to navigate adolescence.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

Open Road Summer was a quick and easy feel-good music read. It follows Delilah and her best friend Reagan on Delilah's music tour of the US, told from Reagan's POV. I enjoyed reading about Dee and Reagan's friendship, and how they kept their friendship solid and real through all of life's changes associated with fame and performing. Unfortunately many times throughout the book I felt Reagan was completely childish, contradictory and rude. I really did not connect with her character at all. I'm not sure if it was because I'm older, and she is a teenager, but I thought many of her thoughts and actions were unnecessary, and at times painful to read.

There was some swoon-worthy romance that I really enjoyed, and loved the development and slow burn of the character relationships and friendships. Matt was really well written and everything about his character seemed real to me. He was genuine and down to earth. He made me laugh. I wish we got to read more about Delilah and Jimmy.

Overall this book was easy to read, with a wonderful romance, if slightly annoying main character. While I enjoyed reading this book, I am unsure if I would recommend it to everyone. If you like music, feel-good teen centered reads with good romance and somewhat prickly main characters, then this book is for you.

This is my first book by Emery Lord, and it's a good one to start with. I absolutely love the Notting Hill style romance trope, and this one I actually liked better than most.

Reagan's best friend is Lilah Montgomery, country music star, and this is the summer that they are going on tour together. However, when some bad press comes up, speculating that Lilah may not be as clean cut as her public image presents, they need some damage control, fast.

Enter: Matt Finch. He used to be one of the Finch Four, but has since started a solo career that hasn't taken as well as his producer's had hoped. As he and Lilah work for the same company, the idea is born that he will open for her during the tour and let the press make whatever conclusions from that that they will.

Prickly Reagan is annoyed that Matt will be intruding on her best friend time during the summer, but he quickly causes her to warm up towards him. Given that neither Matt nor Dee publicly state an actual relationship, there is no real problem with regards to the growing closeness that forms between Reagan and Matt.

Something I really loved about this one was where the publicist, Lissa, comes to realise that throwing Matt and Dee together for favourable press alone may not have been the best idea she's ever had. It's such an overused trope in this kind of story, that I really loved seeing the 'Oh, wait...' moment here.

Apart from the inciting incident with the press, they don't actually cause huge problems for once in the romance between Reagan and Matt. Both of them have been broken by events in their recent pasts, and the kind of help each other to heal by giving each other permission to be broken for as long as it takes them to fix themselves. What's also amazing is the friendship between Regan and Dee, and how supportive they are of each other, and how important that remains even in the face of a romantic relationship.

This book was heart-warming, simple and just lovely.

This is on my summer TBR (https://prettybooks.co.uk/2018/06/03/on-my-tbr-summer/) and I'll be reviewing the physical copy soon - thank you! :)

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
And finally, a road trip novel that I’ve wanted to read for ages. After breaking up with her boyfriend, Reagan is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. Her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. 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.

Reagan and Lilah are both freshly single and as best friends, it's the perfect time for a summer adventure after Lilah, a singer, gets bad press after a photo of her and her ex circulate a online and only when Matt a member of a former teen band shows up to help deter the rumour mill do things get crazier.



As the tour goes on the public root for Lilah and Matt to be a couple only Lilah wants Jimmy back and there's a growing spark between Reagan and Matt especially after confiding in each other about their absent mother's.



Reagan's a budding photographer who's dad's a former alcoholic and now has a new partner, Brenda. However despite Reagan and Matt growing closer during the tour, hoping the press don't spot them together, they also fall out after Matt's ex Corinne shows up and a typical YA situation occurs.



There's typical teenage action from drinking, singing, experiencing love and heartache/break as well as finding out you have to take a chance on things and people, it might just pay off and make you happy. It was a great country singer read and truly felt like we were in Nashville/Tennessee with the way the girls are named and where they go and their experiences once back home especially in Reagan's case.



A musical tale about heartache, healing and of course friendship!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Look, this is straight romance, predictable and angsty, but Lord does a really great job of creating two broken girls, who seize control and own their pain.

Maybe our narrator Reagan is a bit too antsy, and her reactions late in the novel a bit extreme, but the ending makes it all worthwhile. I liked her feisty, straight talking representation.

Dee is beautifully portrayed as an up and coming singer, dealing with a public life and the tabloids at 17. It's no easy feat to put yourself out there like this. But the joy she has being on stage, connecting with fans, you can see Lilah loves that and makes the sacrifices she has to.

Lovely debut novel.