Open Road Summer
Series: None
Author: Emery Lord
Published June 14th 2018 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After my first of Emery's books, When We Collided, I was extremely apprehensive about reading any more. I had hated that book, but decided to give her work another go, and this was the first one I could get a copy of. Open Road Summer is a road trip book, where Reagan decides to go on a trip across the country after breaking up with her boyfriend. Her best friend, Lilah/Dee, just so happens to be a superstar ready to jet off on her 24 date tour - this is the perfect chance of Reagan to get back to herself, and get closer to her friend. The opening act who has just joined the tour is Matt Finch, and despite all her best intentions, Reagan can't seem to keep away from him. 

I loved how friendship focused this book was. Yes, there was romance, which I loved, but it mainly followed Reagan and Dee becoming best friends again, sharing everything like they used to, and not letting outside influences or issues get in the way of them. The banter between the two was fantastic, and it is definitely a case of friendship done right. Reagan is a bit reliant on Dee, and reluctant to make new friends, but their friendship is so good, that it's understandable why she doesn't feel the need for more. 

Matt is a really good love interest. Yeah, he's a star, and has been for most of his life, but he's far from perfect, and with Reagan, who doesn't care one jot about 'Matt Finch - the star', he can be himself. It was a slow building romance, especially as the Reagan/Dee story line took more of the plot. I felt like the chemistry was real, and the only bit I didn't like was when Reagan was getting jealous and starting to be a bit bitchy about other girls looking at/talking to Matt - that's why I've only rated this a 4. All in all, this book has redeemed Emery's writing and books for me, and I'm willing to try more of them in future.