Open Road Summer Paperback – March 3, 2015

Very rarely do I call a book perfection. Even five star reads always have that something that irks me or that I dislike. But, there have been a couple that are pure perfection and I now have one more to add to that list, Open Road Summer. Bluntly put, it was perfect. It had all the highs and lows of a great contemporary book. I laughed and swooned and cried and felt those deep feels that only a truly great book can make you feel. It was everything I look for in a great book and to make matters better, it was a first novel.Open Road Summer is a book about friendship, boys and figuring it all out. It's the story of Reagan(one of my favorite fans by the way) and Dee, two girls that have been best friends since they were 8 and who couldn't be any more different. Reagan is the wild child, always getting in trouble while Dee is the professional with a country music contract. With a US summer tour happening for Dee and everything at home falling apart for Reagan the two of them embark on a road trip they won't soon forget. But when a scandal happens and Matt Finch, a former boy-bander gone solo, joins them, what started out as a drama free girls summer becomes something entirely different. As the girls navigate broken hearts and healing and moving forward they also hold on to the one thing they both know matters most, each other.I don't even know where to start my love fest, because let’s face it, that's what this review is going to be. I guess I'm going to start with the writing because without it you have nothing and Emery Lord gave a whole lot more than nothing. She gave this book everything. She wrote Open Road Summer not like a debut author, but like a seasoned pro. Everything, every single thing gave me the book feels and I'm still stunned by it. There were pages and pages of quotes I want to share but I'm going with just one: 'I would like to know you for a while.' That one simple sentence gave my tummy that flutter that I love getting when I read a good book. Lord has power in her words that made me believe what I was reading like I was a part of it as opposed to just looking in. She wrote pure magic whether she was describing the locations and the scenery or the feelings Reagan was having or the connection Dee and Reagan had.Actually the relationship of Dee and Reagan was one of my favorite parts of the book. It is very rare in YA for there to be a tight bond between friends. I always find the frienemy is used more often than the friend. As a person that has had some of her closest friends for 25-30 years it has always bothered me. But Lord has fixed that. She wrote a true, real friendship between Reagan and Dee. They were just like all friends. They had each other's backs, bickered, laughed, were jealous of one another, and even fought. That's what friends do. But friends also are there for one another and Dee and Reagan were no different. Their bond was so strong and true and a complete joy to read. Some of my favorite parts of the book were when it was just the two of them being goofy or hanging out with Matt in the tour bus.Oh and Matt! OMG, Matt Finch! Add another book boyfriend to the list because...SWOON! Seriously is it getting hot in here?!?! The boy is like Etienne St. Clair and Corey Livingston with a hint of Matthew McConaughey all wrapped in one. He had manners and sass and swagger. He was confident and boyish and charming. Basically the perfect package and Reagan's perfect match. There was something just so right about their banter and Matt in general. GAH, I don't want to give away too much of him awesomeness, but man is he awesome.So flat out, I loved Open Road Summer like I haven't loved a book in a long time. It's some of this books that transports you to summer days hanging with your best friend. To those feelings you get when you first develop a crush. It comes to life while you are reading it and just gives you all the feels you can barely handle. It's amazingly written, has great characters and a great plot. Emery Lord has now become an auto buy author for me after reading just one book and I think after you pick this one up you will feel the same. Thank you Reagan, Dee, Matt and Emery, thank you.

I was super excited that this book came up for my random read. I have been wanting to read it for a while. It was so, so good.Dee (aka Lilah Montgomery) is a teenage super star. Reagan is her troubled best friend. Reagan is trying to get away from her life and make better choices when Dee invites her along for her summer tour. Dee is a sweet girl, that has everything she thought she wanted. She is a star, and she is going on her first tour as the headliner and wants her best friend by her side. Reagan gladly accepts and goes along for the ride. Reagan is a photographer, and tells her father that she would use the time to add to her portfolio.Dee is in love with Jimmy Collier, but he wants a "normal" life and doesn't want to hold Dee back, so he breaks up with her. She is heart broken and cannot seem to get over it.When a picture of Dee is leaked of her that shows her kissing her ex-boyfriend her team goes into repair mode. They add Matt Finch as a opener. Then everything gets more complicated.I love Matt. He is just and all around nice guy who has gone though a really hard time. He use to be in a band with his brothers, but is now going trying out on his own and Dee's offer helps him achieve this goal.Dee is that friend that everyone should have. Loyal, kind and loves her friend unconditionally. Dee is the kind of friend every parent hopes their child has. I liked Reagan. I feel kind of bad for her. Yes, I say kind of bad. When you make stupid choices, you cannot expect things to go all peachy. Seriously. I do like that she finally sees the fault in her ways, and is trying to make her life better.Okay, now what I don't like. I really did like this book, don't get me wrong...but there are just a few things. I really do not like reading about teenagers taking on such serious relationships. I know there are a lot of teenagers out there that can have mature relationships, but I still don't like it. I just think its so unrealistic. I do not like the thought of teenagers going into stardom. I know it happens, but I don't usually see good things happen when it does. I just think the story would have been even better for me if they were just a smidgen older.Now, having said all of this, I still loved the book. It made me happy, and sad. When Reagan is betrayed (or so she thinks) again, my heart broke for her. I cried. Like little girl cry. Which made me crazy because she was a young girl, and she should not be going through so much heart ache.I could not put this book down. I read a few pages the other day, and knew right away that it was going to be one I couldn't put down. SO, I put it down for a day, and then picked it up last night. When I say I couldn't put it down, I am not kidding. I started it about midnight, and didn't go to bed until 5:30 a.m. YES!!! 5:30 AM. I could not put it down. I love, love, love when books draw me in like this :).Source: I bought this book for myself on Amazon. I am not affiliated with Amazon in any way. I was not compensated for my review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

A book that you get lost in. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Find the original review here: http://thisisthestoryofmyreadinglife.blogspot.ca/2014/07/road-trippin-july-review-open-road.htmlThis review is going to be so much gush. So. Much. Gush. I'd heard nothing but great things about Open Road Summer and more specifically about the ship. Which left me extremely excited to read about all the things. God, this book is just so right and adorable. The amount of book hugging as I was reading along was maybe a little creepy. But hell, it just had to be done. And that ship. I will go down with that ship. I don't think I've yet to require a sequel as much as I do now. Well really I require more Matt Finch. It's a necessity for my continued happiness.Reagan's BFF is Lilah Montgomery, a teenage country music star. So when she asks Reagan to come out on the road with her for her summer tour Reagan jumps on the chance. It's the perfect time to get away from her life and spend time traveling across the country with her best friend.So let's just get right into why I loved this book so so so much.Reagan and Dee's(Lilah) friendship. I easily ship both relationships in Open Road Summer. It's so rare to find such strong female friendships in YA. And this one is by far my favourite I've come across. They've known each other for years. Reagan was with Dee before she became a superstar. She was her best friend when Dee was awkward and friendless. So there's absolutely no jealously. They would take down the world for each other. Which is very apparent when some extremely photo shopped pictures of Dee get leaked. Reagan is not only there for Dee as she's extremely upset but she also knows the exact things to say and do to get Dee through it. She's also ready to destroy the world to get the images taken down.It's not just one way though, Dee has seen Reagan rebel and not make the best decisions over the years. Reagan's mom walking out on her and her dad when she was younger made a huge impact on her. But Dee brought along a much needed friendship as well as a second home. Dee's family is Reagan's family too.As individual people I loved Reagan and Dee, too. Reagan is very real, a little cynical, and knows how to get what she wants. But she's also realistic, witty and smart.Yes Dee is a Taylor Swift like superstar but she's so grounded. And so very sweet. She's all about privacy for her friends and family. She cares so much about every one around her and her young, impressionable fans. She handles being the spotlight like a pro. So when she does break down emotionally it totally gets you in the feels too.You must trust me when I say these girls and their friendship is one of the best out there in YA today.Than you have Matt Finch. What a babe. There is no way I can do this guy justice. But just think of this Levis wearing, guitar playing, sweet singing voiced, hair getting in the eyes, adorable guy. Got it? Now you have to pick up Open Road Summer because your imagination did not even get it close to right. I don't know where you came from Matt Finch but you've just pushed yourself right near the top of my fictional boyfriends list. I don't want to say to much about him because honestly you need read him and all his glory and come to understand why he's just perfect. He's not as famous as Dee but when he joins her on the road you see why he has a very loyal following. He is charming, sarcastic and so very sweet. Matt Finch's reasoning for joining the tour is to be there for Dee. He treats her like a sister. It's so loving and cute.Now this is one of the best ships. Ever. Reagan and Matt are freakin' ridiculously adorable. I don't think I've wanted two people to "just kiss already for God's sake" as much as I needed them to. The banter and flirting between them is so well done. I just can't even. Words fail me. They just needed to happen. They're so well suited for each other and just so good together. Give me more Reagan and Matt Finch, Emery Lord. GIVE ME!Everything about Open Road Summer is so fun. The writing and dialogue flows so easy and is packed full of personality. I think Lord does a fantastic job of painting a teenage star dealing with being in the public's eye and the crap the media constantly piles on these people's lives. It's always about the story. There's no care for what it could do to their life. So it just shows the importance of having trusting and loving people that care about you and your well being in your life. But that just doesn't come across with Dee and her relationships but with Reagan and her's and Matt and his. This book is just brilliant at showcasing strong relationships well in such a fun and summery setting. Open Road Summer took me on road trip alright. And left me smiling and giddy the whole way.“If we could capture feelings like we capture pictures, none of us would ever leave our rooms. It would be so tempting to inhabit the good moments over and over again. But I don't want to be the kind of person who lives backwardly, who memorializes moments before she's finished living in them. So I plant my feet here on this hillside beside a boy who is undoing me, and I kiss him back like I mean it. And, God help me, with the sky wrapped around us in every direction, I do mean it.”

Enjoyed this one!

Open Road Summer was a library read right before BEA14 for me. It stuck with me totally – it was one of those books I just didn’t want to end, where every page there was a moment that made me suck in my breath because it was so perfect. Interestingly, I remember chatting in a line with another blogger, and discussing how she couldn’t deal with the slut-shaming. So when I came home, I started writing this review, and I realized that I needed to address this. Because while the character Reagan does slut-shame girls, there is never an instance where the book or the author condones her actions. In fact, I think that Emery Lord has taken great pains to show how much Reagan’s slut-shaming is really an instance of her own insecurities – and in her slut-shaming, she is really just beating up on herself.Firstly, the plot. Lilah Montgomery is a household name in country music now, a singer-songwriter who is headlining her first big tour this summer. Reagan, her best friend, is coming along because she needs a break from the bad decisions that she’s made in the past few years, including getting arrested, and being with a really terrible dude. Dee (as Lilah is known to her friends) and Reagan are both suffering from broken hearts: Dee and her high school sweetheart Jimmy broke up awhile ago because he just wants to live a normal life, and she obviously doesn’t have that. Reagan is a mess but not as much because of romance – more because she knows that a lot of what she’s dealing with is from bad decisions, one of which was her ex-boyfriend.Throughout the story, you get glimpses at what has made Reagan such a mess. The girl is hardened, someone who is deeply suspicious of people around her. Dee is probably the only person she trusts at the beginning.Every review that I’ve read thus far has talked about Reagan and Dee’s relationship, and mine is not any different. This is female friendship done right, guys. Dee and Reagan together are hilarious and kind of unstoppable. They have adorable antics (see: zipping Reagan into a suitcase), they are kind to one another, they always know what’s going on in each other’s lives, and they pick each other up when they fall. It’s the kind of friendship that I’ve always wished I had – girls who are there for each other in an instant, and support each other even when one of them has stupid ideas.Because their friendship is so strong, in some ways, Reagan relies on it almost too much. She doesn’t feel like she needs to branch out and have more friends. She’s got the perfect friend, why try for something else? So Reagan is hostile to other girls. She’s not someone who trusts easily.“Ugh,” Dee groans, beating her palms against the coffee table. “She knows I wanted Matt to open for me anyway but he was dealing with some family stuff, so I didn’t want to ask. It would be so fun to have him along, but not like this—not with the pretend-boyfriend strings attached.”I stare down at the criss-crossed leather straps of my favorite wedge sandals. We were supposed to have so much fun. Well, maybe not fun fun, but we were at least supposed to stay together the way the two weeping willows in her parents’ backyard do—standing their ground side by side, even if they’re both drooping.Reagan is feeling a bit possessive of Dee – she’s not completely interdependent, but there is definitely some jealousy at the thought of anyone invading her friendship. And I think because it’s so great, it’s really made her distrustful of other girls, particularly because other girls don’t really treat her that well.The memory comes barreling back to me, from three years ago. I wasn’t surprised that the school counselor called me down to her office to “check in” only a few days into freshman year. Gossip had been following me around since I was in middle school, when a gaggle of mean girls started a rumor that I was anorexic. By the time I hit a C-cup in eighth grade, they were saying that I’d gotten implants, that I was an aspiring porn star, that I was a slut. Any time I missed school for a dentist appointment, I returned to rumors that I was cutting class to fool around with a senior. I was the girl who had no mom, the girl whose dad was not so anonymously in Alcoholics Anonymous. Even the school counselor believed the rumors about me might be true. I could tell she was fishing around for information about the gossip du jour—that I’d hooked up with a teacher. I was fourteen and had only kissed two boys ever. Plus: ew. A teacher?I sighed, shaking my head at the counselor. “Look, Mia Graziani started that rumor to deflect attention from her own problems. I don’t want to gossip, but . . . frankly, I’ve seen her throwing up in the bathroom twice this past month, so . . . either pregnancy or bulimia. Poor girl.”It was a total lie, and I almost felt bad about it. But I hated Mia. I hated her for choosing me as the subject of her cruelty. I hated her more for bringing out the viciousness in me. This wasn’t who I wanted to be, but how many times can a dog get kicked before she bares her teeth in return?I retreated to the girl’s bathroom as the bell rang. I went into the stall where “Reagan O’Neill is a whore” was written on the back of the door. In black Sharpie, I spelled out exactly where Mia Graziani could shove it. It wasn’t long before I heard the creak of the door and soft footsteps.“Reagan . . .” Dee always sounds like her mom when she uses her calm voice. “C’mon. Come out.”I complied by kicking the stall door with all my might. Dee winced at the sound of the metal door slamming against the wall and then surveyed my vandalism. She was holding the bathroom pass from the class we were both supposed to be in.“They’re just jealous.”“Why would they be jealous?”“Because you’re beautiful and smart. They know it. You make them insecure.”“Yeah, right.” I scowled, kicking the door again, though with less force this time.Dee caught the door with one hand before it could hit the wall.“They’re mean to you, too, you know,” I said. They called Dee “Frizz” behind her back and talked about her songwriting contract with air quotes, like they didn’t believe it was real. But it was still unkind of me—attempting to drag Dee along the low road with me. Her cheeks flinched, trying to frown, but she wouldn’t let them. Even then, Dee was strong. Not in the loud, brassy, I-am-woman way that some girls are. She was strong then the way she’s strong now, in a quiet but irrepressible way.“Yeah, I know,” she said finally. “But my mom says the best revenge is living well, and I believe her.”Here we see the first–and I believe the only–instance of Reagan’s slut-shaming – which happened in the past and precisely stems from other girls bullying her. I’m not saying it’s right – in fact, Reagan KNOWS it’s not right, and she “almost felt bad about it…I hated her more for bringing out the viciousness in me. This wasn’t who I wanted to be.” And to reinforce the wrongness of her actions, right after this, Dee comes in and surveys her “vandalism.” The fact that the book is calling it that is indicative of how the author – and the book – feel about what Reagan has done. And to add to that, we hear that Dee herself has been bullied – but instead of doing what Reagan does, she is “strong…in a quiet, but irrepressible way.” It’s obvious who the book agrees with here.Does this make Reagan unlikeable? Maybe. For me, it made her all the more understandable, though. Because I’m not someone who trusts easily. I’ve been bullied in the past. And I used to manifest that bullying by lashing out at my friends and family, testing them to make sure that they really loved me. I got suspicious of any cool girl who looked too perfect, and yes, I acted out and did some things that were maybe a little dumb and a little wild.This is what Reagan does. She is such a mess, and such a contrast of someone who hates everyone around her and someone who is so down on herself.I was mad at my mom for abandoning us and mad at him for abandoning me emotionally. Not even Dee’s good influence could keep me from trying to hurt my parents the way they hurt me. At least that’s what my court-appointed therapist thinks, and I hate to admit that she’s probably right. I also hate to admit that she’s court-appointed.My track record started with mouthing off in seventh grade and skipping a few study halls in eighth grade. Freshman year of high school, I flirted with senior boys and made out with them in their cars, just to feel that rush of it all. I snuck out of the house to parties, where I smoked, drank bad beer, and needed Dee to help me home. After Dee left on her first tour, I lost my virginity to a guy I barely knew, which was an experience that’s barely worth remembering.An underage-drinking charge sent me to court last fall…My list of offenses runs long, and I’m not proud of any of them—except maybe the time I outran a cop while wearing stilettos. But things changed in April, and so did I. I’m trying to get my act together, but I can’t be someone I’m not. I still flirt with boys to get what I want, and I still crave the occasional cigarette. I’m just not as bad as I used to be.I turn another corner, only to find even screechier girls at a merchandise counter.Immediately after talking about her own offenses and her actions – obviously those of a girl who doesn’t have much self-esteem and is acting out, Reagan insecurely calls the girls at Dee’s concert “screechy.” This is Reagan’s defense mechanism, her way of telling herself that she is different from other girls – while they are screechy and fangirl-ish, she is different. In fact, Reagan has been told of her differences and excluded so many times that she now automatically puts herself there. She hates herself for doing things “just to feel the rush of it all,” including losing her virginity “to a guy [I] barely knew, which was an experience that’s barely worth remembering.” And yet, she is the one putting herself in the very position that other girls assigned to her – she perpetuates the same behaviors that she now slut-shames other girls for.To me, this is a clear indicator that the thought-hatred she has throughout the narrative really stems from her hatred of herself. In the scene that most other reviews I’ve read take as the biggest example of Reagan’s slut-shaming, we see Reagan trying to fight off her own attraction to Matt Finch while seeing several girls in a bar drawn to him:“Gotta go,” the girl says, turning back to us. “Don’t wanna miss Matt Finch! Yum.”As she walks away, I sneer at her. Idiot. Matt’s a human being, not an apple pie….There’s a group of girls already camped out in front of the small stage space, and more girls are gravitating toward it by the minute. They all look like they’ve tried extra hard tonight, like they’re desperate to get with Matt Finch for One Night Only. Best of luck, bitches….The squeals rise up while girls push to find a spot near the stage. They’re clapping as best they can with drinks in hand, and Matt ducks onstage from behind the thick navy curtain. Dee lets out an impressive wolf whistle, which sets off the whole crowd even louder. I wish all these skanks would just sit down so I could see. Repositioning my chair, I nearly strain my back trying to see past a tall blond in unnecessarily high heels….I’m not putting in the entire scene, but rest assured, there’s more of Reagan’s attitude. And more of her distancing herself from those girls, not only because she doesn’t want to admit to liking Matt, but also because Reagan sees herself as Other to the girls here. She places herself in a position where she is different from other girls, and thus, she is alone, separate, but also safe from any position where she might end up with her heart on her sleeve.But note her behavior after the show:Out of the corner of my eye, I see him ducking back into the bar, trying to make his way toward us. A group of doting bimbos sidelines him immediately, asking for pictures with cell phones and crappy point-and-shoot cameras. He smiles gamely as the flashes go off, girls wrapping their arms around him, and my gag reflex trills in my throat. Glancing around to make sure no one’s watching, I lean over toward the table, subtly adjusting my push-up bra.“Hey, guys.” He looks relieved, his whole body relaxing once he’s in our presence. Up close, his shirt looks damp with sweat, and, on anyone else, this would be disgusting. Instead, on Matt, I find it inexplicably sexy, and I force my eyes away.“You were wonderful,” Dee says, and my brain races to find a compliment. I mean, what am I supposed to say? That song makes me feel like I already know you completely, like we existed together in a former life. Like you get me, without even knowing me. Like maybe I need to get you alone to find out how many other ways you can make me feel.“It was good.” I flash him the hint of a smile. The more I see girls fawning over him, the less I want to be one of them.Despite the fact that Reagan sees herself as Other to the girls at the bar, her actions speak louder than her words. She is adjusting her push-up bra so that she can get an edge over the other girls, thus, placing herself squarely in the group of girls trying to impress Matt. The more she slut-shames other girls, the more she acts like one of those girls.“I don’t like any girl who bites her lip in an attempt to look cute and innocent,” she narrates. And yet, earlier on in the book, as they are getting ready to go to the very same show, Reagan also discusses her own attempts to look a certain way for Matt:I feel almost nervous, not quite as in control as I’d like to be. Something about Matt puts me off guard, and I don’t like it. As I was picking out something to wear, I caught myself worrying that I’d look like I tried too hard. I decided on a black tank-top dress, which is tight and cotton and simple, very I-just-threw-this-on. The necklace gives it a more feminine touch. Still, I lean forward in the mirror, adjusting my bra for maximum cleavage.And isn’t that eerily similar to what she’s internally shaming the other girl for? Moreover, the fact that Reagan doesn’t often voice her slut-shaming thoughts out loud also proves how timid Reagan’s slut-shaming is. She’s internalized an idea of What Sluts Wear and What Sluts Do. And when she goes on to mention her own skimpy clothing, her own actions to become the very girls she is shaming.Her choice of clothing is not her “owning” that persona. It’s a way of reminding herself that she should be shamed as well. She’s broken, she’s a mess, and her outward appearance and her hostile thoughts reflect that.I’ve gone on a long time about this, but I want to be clear. I think the author was deliberately showing us how girls run themselves down, how low self-esteem happens, and how bad decisions come from those negative thought patterns. We are ABSOLUTELY supposed to think that Reagan’s slut-shaming is not okay, and that her opinions about people are not always correct, and tinged by her own bad experiences. And that’s why, when she meets Matt Finch, she is terrified. He sees right through her, he’s a good boy, he’s everything that she’s not supposed to deserve as a “slut.”“Besides, Matt Finch, classifiable good boy, would never go for a girl like me. Of course he wouldn’t,” Reagan says. And yet he wants her. And the things he likes about her are all the things that she’s tried to bury within herself – the vulnerable parts that make her a great photographer and a great friend and a girl who is way more hurt and broken that she wants to admit.“God,” he mutters. “Most girls love it when I write them a song.”“Well, I’m not most girls,” I snap at him.“No shit!” His voice rises into a frustrated laugh. “That’s why I want you to stop being like this and just go out with me!”What’s fascinating about this scene is that while Reagan does not think of herself as something special, Matt has, in fact, singled her out as the one girl who isn’t “most girls.” He believes that her differences are real and good, while Reagan only sees them as weapons or more evidence of her own slut identity.My appearance and collection of tiny clothes are like flypaper, drawing in good boys and bad boys, boys younger than me and men old enough to be my father. Their reactions make it easier to tell the difference between the harmless guys and the ones who are venomous—the ones who will make it sting. But sometimes they fool me.What’s my point here? Not only does Open Road Summer not condone slut-shaming, but, in fact, it celebrates strong, complex, flawed characters in a way that is more feminist than any I’ve read in a long while. I’ve now read ORS four times, and each time, I felt an amazing connection with the main character and the complexity of the issues they were dealing with. Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner did a post earlier this year on whether it’s the author’s job to write realism, or to write something that really promotes a good way of thinking. In my opinion, Emery Lord has brilliantly done both – it just takes a little unpacking to see it.

“God,” he mutters. “Most girls love it when I write them a song.”“Well, I’m not most girls,” I snap at him.*eye roll* Oh yeah, this is one of those.The more I consider every note I made for this book, the more I wonder if three stars is too generous. But I will stick to my initial instinct because there were things to really LOVE about this book. In fact, I was completely falling in love for at least the first quarter and I kept making excuses for it in my head even when everything started to go downhill. This was *almost* the wonderful Summer read I've been seeking, complete with friendship, romance and humour. Almost, though, doesn't quite cut it.This book started so well I thought it might get five stars. That's how strongly the opening chapters lured me in. The key things I liked about this book were: the central friendship between Reagan and Dee, the romantic interest - Matt, and the multitude of beautiful settings in this road trip. I felt like I could hear the opening chords of Keith Urban's Long Hot Summer as Reagan and Dee set out on the road after being introduced to the reader in a way that made me curious and instantly sympathetic towards the narrator. This book would have hardly revolutionized the YA Contemporary market, but it did seem to promise an enjoyable and memorable read.Despite my criticisms of this novel, I understand where the blogger hype stems from. But I could not like Reagan and, after a while, I didn't even have the energy to care about her. And no matter how good a book is, if you don't care about the protagonist, it will never be a complete hit. I get why she has issues and I used them to excuse a lot of her actions and thoughts for the first half of the book. I just don't think those issues justified her hating every single girl. Some of her inner dialogue was really annoying: "I can’t deny that she’s beautiful—but it’s such an uninteresting beautiful. Medium height, slender, with no features that particularly stand out. Beautiful but forgettable. Besides, based on the fact that she sold their breakup story to the tabloids, I assume she has the personality of a trash bag."The truth: Reagan became just like the majority of Contemporary Romance MCs - a girl with issues hates all other girls because she's so superior. And she almost always hates them for doing the stuff she also did, like obsessing over Matt and wearing revealing shirts. But it is true that this book was a compelling, well-written read that I devoured in no time at all, so I cannot be wholly negative. In short: I feel majorly conflicted.