A tale of two strangers seeking answers to unknown questions. 
The two storytellers intertwined beautifully and by chapter seven I was searching the Internet for 90-day pilgrimages. It was hard to put down and I couldn't wait for each next chapter. I found myself forgoing evening television to continue my journey with Zoe and Martin. It was a delightful book to read - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of Two Steps Forward in exchange for my honest review.

This must be a first for a book on the Camino – it is a real page-turner – life stopped as I needed to know if Zoe and Martin were finally going to get together and stay together. I laughed and cried with and for them. The love story was really wonderful but the reflections as they walked on so many levels were very moving. The Camino is very special. It is a place for companionship with people stepping out of their comfort zones. It is a place – if you can call a long distance path a place, where emotions are tested. The emotion of pain. Blistered feet and aching bodies. The emotion of facing ones emotions (some call them demons). Sadness, regret, lost friends and wasted lives all come to the surface. Walking alone can be lonely but it can be healing and this book shows this truly. I loved their voices and the honesty of the writing is intense and wonderful. If I can have one small complaint it is that I was confused at the start of the book. Various characters were thrown into text with no introduction and I kept wondering if they were important to the story. As it turned out they were and they weren’t. What mattered was that Zoe and Martin discovered they could release themselves from the baggage of their past lives and start again with energy.

I can’t wait to tell everybody about it!

What a wonderful film this book would make.   It brings to life the challenge of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail with feeder routes all over Europe, all leading to the tomb of St James in Santiago.  It is a heart-warming story of the camaraderie between strangers, of second chances, of friendship, of mature love, of beating the odds and surviving by taking one step at a time.  At the conclusion you will feel a real sense of loss and a desire to carry on walking with the Zoe and Martin.

A novel with a difference and the real sense of two people going on very different journeys then meeting in the same destination. A bit like life  - and that’s exactly what this novel takes you on - a journey of life.

From the authors of The Rosie Project, a novel I wasn’t that keen on, I wanted to read this as it had that ‘je ne sais quoi’ about it. I supposed I’ve fascinated why people should go on that walk, and what they do in order to get there. both people here had have had very different journeys even to get to where they are going. And it;s a very interesting read along the way.

I love walking (not just on booktrails) obviously and this had a lot of that walking jargon, observations and chat that is very real. Across two countries, with two languages there are also some understandings and funny moments along the way. I really felt as if I was on that walk with them and it was a lot of fun! Their paths cross, recross, they meet some characters along the way, encounter some strange things....the joy is doing the walk yourself (by reading the book if not the real thing) and seeing what your version is like.

This book made me smile, laugh, frown, wonder and dream and then think about what I would be like on a journey like this, how an ordinary person or persons can have the most fascinating stories or reasons for going.

It’s a the international version of Harold Fry to some degree and that’s no bad thing! A really insightful book!

Brilliant book that takes you on the psychological, emotional and spiritual journey of two people that end up in Camino to find themselves and meet each other. The story is told in alternating chapters between the two - Martin and Zoe. I’ve read the Rosie Project and enjoyed that so was keen to read this novel by the same authors. Really enjoyable and highly recommended.

Really enjoyable read. Told from the points of view of Zoe and Martin. Both are walking the from Cluny to Santiago de Compostela, and end up walking part of the route together. They meet a diverse bunch of characters along the way, each with their own reason for doing the walk.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. We follow the pilgrims’ way from Cluny in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, in the company of Martin – an Englishman, and Zoe from California. Both are walking the trail for different reasons – Martin to prove his travelling cart on wheels has commercial promise, and Zoe to take some time for herself following personal tragedy. We follow their individual stories, as they come together at various points on the trail, along with a variety of individuals whom they encounter along the journey. The characters are well-crafted, and the scenery described in beautiful detail, it’s a great read.

Lovely romance story that isn't too "twee".
There is an interesting dual narrative to this story. Zoe is from California and Martin is from Yorkshire but they both meet in France, looking to make a fresh start and following the Camino.  As Martin and Zoe take their first tentative steps along the walking trail they also begin a romance which is by turns funny and sad, and full of misunderstandings. The characters are very likeable and there are some lovely humorous touches within the story which kept me engaged.
Very enjoyable and light reading.