This is my second book by Elle Spencer (I didn’t read the novellas between Casting Lacey and this, don’t know why, didn’t happen yet). Casting Lacey was much more fun, and there’s a lot more angst in this one, but angst is okay, this story wouldn’t make sense otherwise. It's also nice to see this author is able to go in various directions.

At first The Road to Madison reminded me of At Seventeen (one of my favorite novels by Gerri Hill) but more from the rich girl POV. Then it got even more tragic.

The going back and forth in no logical chronological order lost me at times, but it wasn’t a real problem.

Also, the moment when Ana’s mother changes her mind about Madison felt slightly rushed, though I guess the shock of the revelation could explain it (I’m trying not to spoil anything so my apologies if this review is a bit muddled).

While I was hoping Ana would see the light too, I get why she’d be reluctant and wary. And though I wasn’t a fan of the twist that brought her and Madison together (I’m not spoiling anything, it’s a romance, you know where it’s headed), I rather like Ana’s take on how every one had been treating her and trying to protect her.

All in all, I might not have loved The Road to Madison as much as I love Casting Lacey (which is one of my favorite books ever), but it was a very enjoyable (in an angsty way) read, that I’d recommend to anyone who loves a good romance, second chances and/or family issues.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a lot of great tropes going for it - childhood sweethearts, rich girl/poor girl, second chance. I was drawn in immediately and connected with all of the characters, and couldn''t wait to find out how the story was resolved. In the end there was just a little too much angst for my taste. I really enjoyed the backstory of what drove the girls apart, but I felt like there was too much time dedicated to "please forgive me/I can't forgive you".

A solid read for those who enjoy a healthy dose of angst.

My rating is a bit unpopular, but I didn't like it, and I had a pretty hard time getting through it.
The writing is good, but the story just couldn't catch my interest. While the characters were okay, the story just felt a bit too much like a bad soap opera.

I liked this book a lot. Although there was more angst in the book than I usually like ,it was necessary. Madison Prescott knew from an early age she would be expected to inherit her family’s banking empire. It was her responsibility no matter what dreams Madison might have had. Enter the maids daughter Anna Perez. They became best friends and grew up together. Then became lovers. Her father went to all lengths to separate the girls and finally seceded. Anna hated Madison after that. They came together burying Madison's father. Then went through hell trying to find their love again. Ms Spencer wrote a book that we have all read before but she manages to put in enough differences and surprises to make this book a very enjoyable experience.

This is a second chance story with angst. But, aren’t all second chance stories ‘angsty’?

Madison Prescott is the only heir to a multimillion dollar company and estate. Raised by her conservative father, her path in life has been predetermined by her last name. This is derailed by Madison’s relationship with the maid’s daughter, Ana Perez when they were both kids. Now in their 30s, 15 yrs after Madison proposed then abandoned Ana, her father died. Can Madison pursue the love of her life once again, or are the wounds she created too deep for Ana’s heart to overcome?

This tale of lesbian love, no doubt, does contain some dramatic moments. The narration alternates between the present and the past, the latter providing the backdrop to the present feelings. The memories served to enhance the story and did not distract nor confused me from the current storyline as some other authors have done in the past. Ms. Spencer kept these memories short and the story flow benefited as a result.

As raw as the emotions are in the present for the obvious loss of what they could have had, the flashbacks serve to cement the relationship as one that could have thrived in years to come. I would normally question teenagers being a viable long term couple, but Madison and Ana seem real and strong. The details about their sweet words and gestures sure fueled the romantic in me. Their chemistry was undeniable and is what made this book worth reading. As I told a good friend, I managed to read this one in a relatively short period of time and while working long hours. That is the ultimate proof of how I was engaged and needed to see these two gals find each other again.

The drawback in this story is a couple of events that seemed a little too far fetched and dramatic. However, just like the flashbacks, the author moved past these quickly and before I could start rolling my eyes the story moved forward and onto safer grounds. If you do not like drama and angst, pass this one up.

A quick shoutout to Tammy Seidick, designer of yet another fabulous cover. Clean, sharp and with that wonderful red dress, this cover caught my attention ever since I first saw it.

Overall a good second chance romance with angst. 3.5 stars.

ARC generously provided to me by BSB via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Awhh this story is sweet. Not in a sickly way. In a, it warms your heart, true love swoon and be still my beating heart romance way. Yes it’s a bit formulaic and obvious in places, but it works as light and fluffy romance. Feels a bit like a missed opportunity though because more menace and a bigger inclusion of crime boss links to create some suspense could have resulted in a deeper and better book. This would have reduced the charm, but ultimately would have been a better read.

of course I couldn't pass this up. I am a fan of forbidden romance so I enjoyed yet another great book from Elle spencer. It was very slow at first but stay with it and it's very enjoyable.

Mystery, family dysfunction and deception, money, lust and everlasting love.

Maddy is a rich girl, an only child, living on an estate with her controlling father, George Prescott. Ana is the daughter of Carmen, one of the housekeepers. Maddy and Ana meet as seven and eight-year old children, and they know there is something special between them. As they grow up together, their love grows along with them. They make promises to each other as teenagers, promises that Maddy's father will go to his death making sure never happen. Through circumstances and misunderstandings, Maddy and Ana are driven apart and stay apart for fifteen years with misconceptions keeping Ana from fulfilling her feelings for Maddy.

The end of the story resolves a lot of the angst. My opinion is that it took a little longer than it should have, but this was a really well-written book with secondary characters who were defined and necessary.

The Road to Madison by Elle Spencer is a well-written contemporary romance by an obviously talented author. This is the story of Madison Prescott, the privileged daughter of a wealthy banking CEO, and Ana Perez, the daughter of one of the Prescott’s maids. Both girls started out as best friends and as they grew, this friendship became much more, in spite of Madison’s father. George Madison was a bigoted, evil man who cared for no one but himself and what he thought his legacy should be. We find out though flashbacks the evil he did to these women, starting when they were young girls, to keep them apart. The major part of the story takes place after George Madison dies and most of the damage has been done to Madison and Ana’s relationship. Now the two have to decide if there is any love left and if they can overcome what was done to them. Is George Madison really finished though? Can he still affect these two even from the grave?
This is one angst ridden story! There were moments when I was wondering if I was reading a lesbian version of Romeo and Juliet. Murphy’s Law ran rampant over these two poor women. In spite of this, I was caught up in the story from the very first page and could not put it down. I had to see if Madison and Ana would ever have some kind of happy-ever-after, so I read through this book in almost record time. That is why I say Ms. Spencer is a very talented author. She caught my attention on the first page, and I was compelled me to keep reading until the very end. That is the mark of an exceptional writer.
(By the way, I’m definitely glad I read to the end of the book.)
If you love a good contemporary romance that is full of angst, then this is the book for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I really loved the plot and their love for each other. I could feel the angst all throughout the book, but in my opinion it was dragged too much... I was not a fan of Ana's spite and in certain ways immaturity when it comes to rejecting Madison all over and over again... But the book was very good and nicely written.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first full length book by this author. I read [book:Unforgettable|42377446] which is two novellas in the one book. They were just ok but I wanted to see what the author could do with more time to flesh things out. Unfortunately, the answer is too much.

Ok, this features Madison, who is a poor little rich girl, with a complete douchebag for a father (George), and the other MC is Ana, who is George’s maid’s daughter. The girls grew up together, fell in love and then were forced apart.

The story starts with George’s death, because this is the catalyst for Madison to be able to reconnect with Ana, only Ana wants no part of this, because she was WRONGED, WRONGED I TELL YOU (and Ana tells everyone that, repeatedly). So, basically this is a story about Madison wanting to get back with Ana, Ana finding out the whys and wherefores of what happened (in all honesty Madison’s reason for leaving her was pretty legitimate) and Ana telling everyone she didn’t care no matter what the reason and wouldn’t ever take Madison back, when everyone knew she would eventually.

One of main reasons I dislike ‘reunion’ stories is because whatever broke the main couple up originally usually takes up too much space in the story. Here it takes up all the space. There’s so much DRAMA. And crying. Did I mention that Madison spends a good deal of time crying? Madison is kind of a wimp. The flashbacks also didn’t help. Maybe if they’d been chronological it would have worked better, but all the jumping around was enough to make me seasick.

Sometimes authors write love/hate relationships, where both characters dislike each other but they fall in love anyway, this is a different type of love/hate, because Madison loves Ana and would get back with her in an instant but Ana doesn’t like Madison to start with due to REASONS and is pretty awful to her all the way through. She also strings her girlfriend/fiancé along, which is another mark in the no column.

There’s also a ridiculous subplot involving Madison’s family that was inserted just to provide some different drama and also fabricate a reason to force Ana back into Madison’s orbit (seriously, this book involved so many tropes it was hard to keep track of them all. It was like reading a telenova, only they’re usually entertaining). Even with all of this and knowing everything that had driven them apart, Ana still acts like a petulant two year old, and can’t get over herself enough to be happy. The eventual coming together happens right at the end of the book, by which time I was so far from caring, I was in another country. I didn’t like these two together (mostly because I couldn’t stand Ana), so the HEA fell flat.

I’m not sure why this wasn’t called The Road To Ana, since that’s actually the way it was written. 2 stars, frankly even that feels high.

I've been a fan on this author since her fanfic days...and boy, did she write some good ones. I loved Casting Lacey, probably one of my faves from last year. I was excited to read this one and I really like how it started out.

I found both of the mains to be likeable even when considering Madison's actions in the past. Speaking of the past, I don't totally love flashbacks. Personally I'd rather the book start in the past and then jump to the present if needed. At least these flashbacks were pretty short.

I completely understood and agreed with Ana's anger. She didn't know the motivations behind Madison's actions. I did feel like she was a little wishy-washy with her interactions with Maddy towards the end, though.

I like a side of angst with my romance, but this was a main course of angst. I could deal with Madison's dad's antics while he was alive, but him still pulling strings from the grave was a bit much.

I really felt the chemistry between the two and was immediately rooting for them from the beginning. It was hard not to. I felt their love for each other from beginning to end.

This is definitely a book worth reading.

(A copy was generously provided by BSB via NetGalley)

The Road to Madison is a wonderful story of never-ending love, despite a homophobic father who is determined in life and in death to keep his daughter and only heir from being with another woman, someone she has loved almost her entire life. I loved the continual flashbacks to Madison's and Ana's childhoods where they first became friends and slowly fell in love before being pulled apart by Madison's father, George Prescott.

George is a true bastard for how he treats those who are not of his same class or beliefs. Even after his death, he knows his daughter will try to reconcile things with Ana and he still tries to keep them apart. What a scumbag! He is one of the most hated characters I have read in all of the lesfic stories I have read.

In the end, this story is an amazing story of love that has never ended, despite all of the hatred that has kept them apart. It is a story that I didn't want to put down and kept me wanting the two women to get together all the way to the end. It is a definite must-read for any lesfic fan.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for this unbiased review.

There was a perfect amount of romance and angst. The book started off strong and kept me on the edge of my seat up until the last page. I felt like some of the characters could have been a tad more fleshed out, but overall I enjoyed it.

Madison Prescott knew from an early age she would be expected to inherit her family’s banking empire. It was her responsibility regardless what dreams Madison might have had. Her father didn’t agree to her being a lesbian so her dream of marrying her childhood friend wasn’t something she should do. She was to marry a man and produce the son’s her father so desperately wanted.
When Ana Perez’s mother went to work for the Prescott’s the best part was having Madison as a friend. Growing up together, playing together was ok as long as Ana remembered her place. She wasn’t what Prescott wanted for his daughter and if it took some lying and threatening to make it happen wasn’t that big a deal.
The question is can Madison and Ana find their way back to each other?
Ms Spencer wrote a book that we have all read before but she manages to put in enough differences and surprises to make this book a very enjoyable experience.
ARC via NetGalley

Oh this is fraught with heartbreak and angst. In a good way though – not the heartbreak and angst – for the tension and suspense a second chance romance creates. Madison Prescott fell in love with her childhood friend, Ana Perez, when she was 8-years-old. Her father didn’t want his daughter to even be friends with the maid’s daughter let alone allow her to be gay or in love with her. On the day of his funeral, Madison sees Ana again.

When I’m in the mood, this type of story where a couple finally get a chance at re-uniting, and all the past pain that goes with it, really appeals to me. All too often though, the story is fairly predictable and I often think that the reason the couple originally parted ways is something that could have been fixed with a little conversation. This is not one of those and it sets it apart.

I enjoyed the pace and liked both main characters. There are lots of flashbacks that are non-linear which added to the unravelling of the story. The only thing that I was a little disappointed by was that I was put through all their hurt and sadness without little return on my investment of time. I would have like a little more expression of love between them to counterbalance the trauma.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I luuuuurved this one. It's SO well written, and it's a breath of fresh air in the romance genre.

The changes between past and present works really well, and the characters are great. Often, I find that what sets a book apart for me, is how the supporting characters are written, and here, they have depth and is well written.

To be recommended!

Elle Spencer is starting to become one of my favorite authors, for sure. The way she engages the audience from the start is amazing. I was enthralled from the beginning and at times I wanted to get inside the book and smack some sense into the characters.

At some point I felt the drama was unnecessary but Elle did a great job keeping things interesting and avoiding falling into the repetitive pattern some authors fall into. Character emotions were palpable, the ending felt a bit short and I could have used more romance, but when the flashbacks appeared it was great, the chemistry felt real and the couple was relatable.

Great book, highly recommend it. Look forward to reading more from the author.

If it were possible to give this book 10 star review I certainly would. I haven’t read a book that is so good to warrant such an extremely high star rating. This book is exceptionally good, the writing is superb and very tight, the characters were very well developed to the point that part way through the book you got a good understanding of where both Ana and Madison were. That in itself drew me into the book as I wanted to know what was going to happen with these two characters. First we have Madison who is the only child of an extremely wealthy and very misogynistic father who controls everything in her life and everything around her; next there is Ana who is the daughter of a maid in the mansion where Madison lives. These to form a bond from the age of eight on. Both young women are very good at concealing their relationship and have a desire to get married and have a family. Of course that plan does not work out as Madison‘s father went ballistic when he found out his daughter was involved with the daughter of a maid and of course in his usual mean and vindictive nature puts a stop to the relationship in ways that are absolutely unbelievable. While Ana knows nothing about all of this Madison knows that the only thing she can do is break the relationship off and marry a man in order to protect Ana and her mother.

As controlling as Madison‘s father was while he was the life he has the same amount of control in death as he made arrangements to a sure that his daughter would never get back together with Anna and would lead the life that he wants her to have as the sole heir to his empire. From this point on in the story there are so many twists and turns that I was unable to put the book down until I completed it because there was never a clear possibility of a happy ending for these two women.
I highly recommend this book it has so much going for it you won’t regret the purchase.

I received an ARC from Netgalley.

This is a typical forbidden romance story between rich girl Madison Prescott and poor girl Ana Perez, when they're suddenly ripped apart by Madison's father George who is set on making Madison the perfect heir for his company. 15 years later Ana and Madison meet again when George dies. Madison is set on making everything okay between the two but Ana still feels betrayed and heartbroken.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book, 40% in I was ready to just DNF it but I continued and it actually ended up getting better.

I think the one thing I didn't like about this book was the writing. All the different perpectives left me pretty confused at times and made it feel like I was watching a tv show.The flashbacks left me confused a lot of the time as well, and I had to go back and re-read certain things to understand what was going on.

I think what made it better towards the end though was that it focused more on just the two main characters and not everyone around them as well. All scenes between Madison and Ana were great and filled with passion and chemistry. It was super angst filled as well, maybe a little too much at times for my liking.

It wasn't my favorite book ever but I did end up liking it more than I thought when I started it. I have another Elle Spencer book on my shelf and I will definently give her another chance.

I ended up giving this book 3/5 stars and I would recommend it if you're a fan of forbidden romances that includes a lot of angst but also cute, romantic scenes.