by Mickie Green
The Road to Her is
the story of Holly Croft, who seems like she’s got her life pretty well
sorted. She’s a recurring character on a
popular soap opera, and by the sounds of it, she’s made a mint. The book starts with Holly receiving the news
that her character is shifting to the forefront of the show and striking up a
relationship with another lady. Naturally, as a secret lady lover in real life, Holly has no problem
with this and is excited to get started.
And this is where her problems begin.
Enter Elise, which I first read as ‘Elsie’ and thought I
might have some burgeoning cross-generational romance on my hands. Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately
depending on your standpoint – I’m just a bit dyslexic. Elise – who is starring as Holly’s character’s
new love interest – is everything you might want from a woman – she’s smart,
she’s beautiful, and she’s got a sense of humour. However, she’s also a bit of a prick – at
least to begin with – so our heroine starts off hating the enigmatic
newbie. And thanks to her cruel jibes
and Holly’s resulting histrionics, we hate her too, even though we’re 90% sure
they’re going to end up shagging. This
brings in just the right amount of angst, until eventually – like Holly – we
aren’t really sure when we actually fell for Elise, but we know we fell hard.
The setting – mostly the set of a soap – isn’t one I’ve
encountered before and it was interesting seeing a familiar sort of story play
out in a completely unfamiliar location. Though the book may have a certain measure of predictability, it was
very well executed and there was a nice amount of twists and turns to keep you
guessing.
Ultimately, The Road
to Her is the kind of novel I wish I’d been able to read back when I was
first coming out. It’s an excellent piece
of young adult fiction, and I truly enjoyed it. The message of ‘calm your tits, it’ll be okay in the end’ is hopeful and
the two characters are sweet and believable throughout. Recommended!
