Actual rating: 4.5 
 The Start of Me and You proves that Emery Lord is very good at what she does. She writes complex contemporaries that don't just focus solely on a single thing. Her books delve into topics like love, friendship, family, grief, and self discovery, just to name a few. While I really enjoyed myself with Open Road Summer, I wasn't completely head over heels as almost everyone seemed to be, mainly because the main character grated on my nerves sometimes. However, I enjoyed her sophomore novel so much more and am really looking forward to When We Collided in a couple of months. 
 Emery Lord is a master at writing relationships, whether it be romantic, familial or friendships. Her connection with her three best friends is something I can relate to so well, as I'm in a super tight knit group with four others and we'd do anything for each other. I gravitated so quickly towards Paige and her group; their dynamics bouncing off each other absolutely perfectly. I've been in similar situations, felt similar feelings, and this all felt so damn believable. It's so refreshing to see such girl love in a book. 
 Obviously, the other strength Ms. Lord has is creating fantastically lovable, swoony boys. Max Watson is a dream boy for me. Nerds are in. Nerds are cool. Nerds are boys I love. And the fact that he loves Firefly so much makes me love him even more, because hell yeah, that show is fucking amazing. Of course, I love the friendship to romance tale between Paige and Max but I'm so sad we didn't get to see a bit more of that, which is sadly why I docked half a star. I WANT MORE!!! 
 Other than that super, duper, minor reservation, this book is beautiful and fun and swoony and a must read. Please and thanks.