I started this book about four times and found I couldn’t get into it. The final time I tried harder and it worked... for a while. But then I found I was getting frustrated by reading a book about a very long walk. And that’s it. I know they were supposed to be soul searching but the focus was more on the actual walk and it got a bit tiresome. The characters got up, walked, found somewhere to eat and sleep so they did that and then repeat. And even though it was a dual narration they were both doing the same thing so no variety there. I actually enjoy walking, but 8d rather do it than read about someone else doing it. I was disappointed as it was floated as a novel as sweet as The Rosie Project but there was some mileage to go before we hit those heights. Not one for me but I’ve given it some stars as I can see not everyone would agree with me.

Having walked a very small part of the northern Spanish coastline (not for the Camino, but for a moonwalk training) I really looked forward to reading this book - and I wasn’t disappointed.  It subtly blends a mature relationship between Zoe and Martin, along with descriptions of the walk together with some fine observation of the various fellow pilgrims.  I loved this book so much that half way through I ordered a copy for my husband, who is also enjoying it too.  A great collaboration and actually a great inspiration and motivation to do more walking.  Although it is a work of fiction, it feels more like a memoir.  Well deserved 5 stars.

Back in 2014 my Book Group read and reviewed The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion which I adored, I found it to be a lovely, warm book that was full of heart and if you haven’t read it then you really should! Earlier this year I discovered that Graeme Simsion had written a book with his wife Anne Buist about two people who walk the Camino, a two thousand kilometre trail from central France to Spain, a route which pilgrims have been walking for thousands of years.

This is a fictional tale of Zoe, a recently widowed Californian woman and Martin a recently divorced engineer from Sheffield who both walk the Camino to get distance from their lives and problems. The story is told in alternating chapters with Graeme Simsion writing Martin’s and Anne Buist writing Zoe’s.

I initially struggled with Two Steps Forward and nearly abandoned it but then something clicked and I just fell in love with it. It is a kind of travelogue mixed with a tale of humanity and romance. It begins quite practically, with Zoe and Martin each getting prepared for the walk and spending time finding accommodation etc which felt a little laborious but there are some lovely moments where they meet for the first time and there is a genuine misunderstanding between them which is at funny but awkward. In fact the book is full of lovely moments and instances of humour that brought everything from a wry smile to a full on belly laugh.

Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist have walked the Camino twice, firstly in 2011 and then again in 2016 with this book being written in 2012. It is apparent that they have not only experienced the pilgrimage but have also lived and loved it. The pages ooze details and at times I really felt that I was there walking through the woods, watching out for small scallop shells indicating the way I should go. And oh, the imagery! So beautiful and evocative. I want to go to the towns and villages that Martin and Zoe visited and I want to see what they saw when they stood on clifftops and looked out to sea.

The premise of the Camino is that the walk is undertaken with the expectation that you will be helped by others; fellow walkers, inhabitants of the towns the walk passes through and owners of hotels and restaurants. This allows for a great exploration of the kindness of strangers and I found some of these moments incredibly touching. There are also wonderful moments like the UKIP voting Brit who has moved to France because of the “immigrants back home” and  the kind person who Zoe stays with one night who drives her back to his house in the village she spent the previous night in (and had spent all day walking away from).

Zoe and Martin are also brilliantly wonderful characters who I really fell for. I also loved how their relationship was written – at times antagonistic, at others warm and at others sad, there was a whole gammet of emotions covered. The alternating chapters were well-executed keeping the plot moving along with some clever instances. I really liked the insight into both Martin and Zoe, and I thought his British sense of humour was excellently written and spot on.

I loved The Rosie Project and expected something similar here. However, I did not enjoy this one as much. Still an enjoyable read but, I’ll be honest, I read four other books between starting and finishing this one. I didn’t capture my attention but it was... okay.

An Englishman with a point to prove, an American with a past she needs to face. And a walk of epic proportions. This book is rather remarkable in terms of having so many strengths - you can appreciate the physical challenges faced, you can focus on the emotional journeys of the main characters, you can fall in love with the towns and villages they pass through and you can take the troupe of colourful pilgrims they meet along the way to your heart. Fantastically written with plenty of pace and a clear love for the characters and their environment. Great stuff. I'd love to see the cartoons Zoe drew!

A really enjoyable read and something a bit different. This is the story of two people - Martin and Zoe - walking the Camino from Cluny to Santiago de Compostela. He's English, she's American and the book is told from each point of view alternately. I liked this idea as it gave the episodes a depth and an interest they wouldn't otherwise have had. It is part self discovery, part thwarted romance, part a record of adults stumbling through life when things don't go how they're supposed to.

Both Martin and Zoe have their reasons for walking the trail and the reasons change as they grow into the adventure. The diverse characters they meet along the way are credible and likeable and sometimes annoying - I'm guessing the real walk would be like that! Hard to escape that annoying person if you're walking 2000km in their footsteps.

The walk seems real and feels exhausting and several times I thought, oh I couldn't have done that and then catch myself because I'll never walk the Camino but reading this gave me a good flavour of what it might be like. 

Recommended if you like a little depth with your fiction but still damn good storytelling. The book has two named authors and Anne Buist deserves as much recognition as Graeme Simsion.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of The Rosie Project, Simsion’s first book and so I was very interested in reading Two Steps Forward. It is a really great read. This story is such a lovely one and totally evoked a feeling of wanting to travel to the places the characters went. The writing is charming and evocative and the characters that pop up along this journey are all quirky and fascinating. Overall a very enjoyable read.

This novel really engaged me.  It was easy to read, separated by chapters titled Zoe or Martin, following each of the journeys of the two main characters.  A journey both physical and metaphorical.

Both are walking the Camino Way, a long distance path through France to Spain.  The novel gave great descriptions of the walk, the route, scenery.  But more than all that, it is the spirit of the walk and the people on it or living along the routes that intrigued me.  Everyone on the trail has a reason to walk and will discover and learn something about themselves, even if they didn't know they needed to.

The reader wills Zoe and Martin to get together, but the story is made all the more interesting by prolonging it.  There is no obvious, cliche happy ending.  And the book is the better for it.

It was obvious the writers had walked the trail themselves, it was cleverly woven in to the story of the travellers.

So read the novel for the love story, read it for the detail of the Camino Way.  But  do read it.

I loved the idea that this was written by two authors and was about an adventure out in nature,  but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had expected to. I sat down to read it a second time after taking a break from it and not completing the whole book the first time and I am glad I persevered because, as suggested by the many 4 and 5 stars reviews, it is actually a book worthy of a read.

Another wonderful, charming and romantic read from an extremely talented author. A perfect book for the summer.

I have previously read the rosie project as part of ym book club so thought this would be equally enjoyable. However I found the writing style completely different and the subject matter self indulgent. Martin has recently divorced his wife. While he is away his daughter tries to commit suicide. Zoe's husband died only weeks before she set out on the walk. While she is away her daughter informs her that her husband had likely killed himself. Neither go home to see their daughters to check their okay before returning to continue on with their journeys. I did read this to the end but didn't enjoy it, wouldn't recommend.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project comes a story of taking chances and learning to love again as two people, one mourning her husband and the other recovering from divorce, cross paths on the centuries-old Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain.

An inspiring fiction read particulary for those interested in doing the Camino prilgrimage. The romantic twist adds another element to the story. It started off a little slow but as the story progressed it became much more interesting. By the last half, I could not wait to see what happened to each of the characters and the ending was a perfect finish.

I really loved this book. I haven't read the Rosie titles but the blurb of this title intrigued me and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed having the male and female perspectives of the main characters and how they viewed their journeys along the Camino as well as experiencing their own personal milestones. The pace of the book is perfectly in tune with their progress along the Camino, not rushed, but steady and giving opportunities to explore along the way. I could feel the peace the characters were taking from the Camino through the writing and I liked that the main characters were older and had life experience that gave them more depth and something to work with as they dealt with the reasons that had led them to walk the Camino in the first place and tentatively began to explore what they found in each other. The descriptions of the places along the Camino are so much the richer for the authors having been there themselves and make it easy to picture the landmarks along the way. A wonderful book, highly recommended.

Two Steps Forward follows two different middle-aged people, Zoe and Martin, as they embark upon the historic pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. Both characters have a lot to think about, and they end up meeting each other, and other people along the way to help them on their journey, as well as gaining experiences that could never be replaced.

I actually ended up feeling a bit disappointed and overwhelmed by this book which I'm so surprised by because having completed a week of the Camino myself, I thought there would be so much in this that would resonate me and bring me back to that week.

First of, I have to say that I found there to be a weird sense of snobbery about the Camino in this book from many of the characters, both about which way people decide to do (mostly French versus Spanish) and how people do it (the whole thing versus a week or two). While yes, there are people who are able to put aside several months to walk the entire thing, that's just not feasible for many people who want to experience it so why put people down for only walking a week or two weeks, and deciding to walk a more 'tourist-heavy way.' Everyone does the Camino for different reasons whether it's religious, spiritual. health etc and even though our characters were super preachy about their reasons, I felt like the overall message got a tiny bit lost halfway through when the Camino snobbery became apparent.

I also really, really didn't like the main characters Zoe and Martin. I found both of them super stiff, and really anal about well, everything. It would have actually made for a nicer dynamic if one of them had been a little bit more free-wheeling but whatever it was with them, I just hated them both. There was also a lot of drama between them both, though mostly on Zoe's part that, at times, was definitely not needed. It made reading them a little bit exhausting. Yes, some of Zoe's freak-outs and feelings were realistic given her situation but the amount of times they ran off on one another, come on. Also I felt ZERO chemistry between the characters anyway and it just felt like the authors mashed them together just because they could.

So with all the bad things said, I will say that the camaraderie between the walkers on the Camino was portrayed very well. No matter how little or how much you talk to the people walking the trail with you, you're all doing the same thing and feeling those same aches and it definitely creates a bond, even if you never see each other again.

This is a story of character growth, learning who you are as a person and growing while taking part in a gruelling endurance test. The novel follows two main characters, Zoe, a woman from America whose husband has recently passed away, and Martin, a man from the UK who has gone through a messy divorce. At the beginning of the book they don't know each other at all, and just happen to be in a similar place at the same time. They are both planning to take on the Camino, which is a walk from France to Spain. To do the walk properly takes several weeks of walking all day everyday. They both start their walk for very different reasons, both within a few days of each other. This book is evidence of not judging a book by its cover, as they both make inaccurate first impressions of each other while on the journey. What develops from here is a story which sees their paths cross and intersect at times, all while taking on this gruelling walk, and discovering new things about themselves.

I'd somehow never heard of this very famous walking path. It's something that the husband and wife co-authors have walked twice, and so they were able to keep this book very accurate, while also taking creative liberties. The paths, and hardcore setting are all very real, though they did choose to make restaurants and hostels/hotels created more from their imaginations than real ones that they actually went in. While the story is a work of fiction, and may glamourise the walk slightly, the overall essence of the personal pride and joy at walking it properly still remains. Some characters in this book do cheat and get taxis occasionally, and their reasons for doing so does get explained. To each their own, and everyone gets something different from the experience, which is very much a soul searching journey.

This book is written from dual perspectives and generally alternates every other chapter between Zoe and Martin. It made for a fascinating read to see each point of view of a particular moment and see how differently each of them would think about that specific incident. It was also great to see how other characters personalities would become more fleshed out, as you would see the lies if they try to play Zoe and Martin off each other. This helps set the scene for further character development in the story. I really enjoyed meeting all the different characters in this story, and getting to know each of them in turn. Even more though, I loved seeing everyones development, as this book reads as a real journey of development for everyone. This book is fantastic at showing off how to learn to spend time with your own thoughts. Also, how to not judge others, as they may have reasons for doing what they do.

Despite this book having alternating perspectives and also being written by two authors, the flow of the story was fantastic. I didn't feel like it dragged, I couldn't stop reading to see whether everyone would make their own goals, and also solve their reasons for doing the walk to begin with. I fell in love with Zoe, who is such a strong woman. Martin was equally loveable, and I liked seeing how different their journeys were in some ways, yet so similar in others. 

I loved this book, and it is definitely one of my favourites of the year so far. I have read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, and I thought this was a lot more enjoyable than that, and I did enjoy that one. I can't wait to try other books by these two authors.

Also, I could totally read a sequel to this one. I feel like there is space for one with how everything ends. The ending does wrap everything up, but I still want more time with these characters.

I think the Camino de Santiago is such a fantastic setting for a novel that I would not be at all surprised had there been lots of attempts, if so I doubt many authors will tackle the route and atmosphere as knowledgably as Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist in this, their seamless writing partnership.  

For most, the pilgimage begins in the foothills of the French Pyranees, but some start further afield, maybe in their home countries even, the two characters in this story begin way back, deep in France, only now and then encountering each other and occasional other pilgrims.  Then the trail becomes buiser and busier until it turns into a pilgrim mega-highway on the run-in to Santiago itself.  I most enjoyed the French stages, long miles in isolation, mud, deep countryside, probably more as the historical route was originally,  in centuries long past.  I liked both main characters, but boy were they tough on each other, constantly assuming the worst, misjudging motives, not giving the benefit of the doubt, and missing out themselves as a result. At times you wanted to bang their heads together.  I won’t spoil whether this eventually resolves itself, but I can say I was moved towards the end, and both conclude their journeys changed, not by flashes of the divine, but wiser nevertheless.

There was a real authenticity to the long route, mainly because the authors have walked it, twice I believe!  Half of me longs to do so too, but like most I doubt I will, and I suspect I’d actually find the final stretches, with the rushes for hostel beds each night, more stressful than inspiring.  But what an achievement to complete, and perhaps the crowds are rather inspirational evidence that the modern human spirit still longs for something more.  

Because the book has to trace through this huge distance, it keeps the pace going and I wondered if a little depth was missing in places, but that was just a vague impression and hard to avoid unless they were going to write a tome, which would have been a mistake.  So, actually the pace was necessary, maintaining the interest, whilst still allowing the reflections, dead ends and revelations.  There were a number of side characters, including an initially annoying German, who himself developped en route, and a whole host of Brazilian women, whom I found a bit confusing as there were just too many of them to get to know properly.

I was initially put off by the list price, though in reality it has come down quite a bit now, but, setting cost aside, this book takes you along the pilgrimage and you glimpse its different feels through the eyes of experts, while being drawn into the sensitively told stories of the two protagonists.  I enjoyed it a great deal.  Avoid if you are after thrills a minute, but if you fancy an armchair pilgrimage, without religeous lectures, then this story leaves you in very good hands, with plenty of food for thought along The Way.

Such a great mix of characters making a wonderful story and leaving you feeling like you want to walk the Camino one day.

I loved this book...took me a few chapters to really get to grips with it, but once i did, i couldn't put it down. A great holiday read. Interesting facts and history. Loved the way it was written from a male and female perspective. Really hope there is a follow up

Loved this. Wasn't overkeen on The Rosie Project, although I enjoyed the concept. This is the tale of two totally different people searching, except they aren't really sure what they are searching on. One is intent on doing the Camino, the other finds herself on it by accident really. Having said that, the descriptions of the places, the people they both meet enroute, together and separately, is enthralling. All the characters are well rounded and endearing. Lovely entertaining book, well written

I really enjoyed this book. I found the description of the Camino interesting and I enjoyed the different characters.