Excellent book, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Nick Alexander is one of my favourite authors so I was delighted to be able to read an advance copy of The Road to Zoe.
This book is basically the story of a marriage break up and the effect this has on the whole family. It is extremely authentically written and I could so identify with Mandy who is left to cope with her two children Zoe and Jude. Her daughter Zoe ends up disappearing as a young teenager and we follow her brother Jude and his girlfriend Jess who set out to find her years later. I love the quirky characters of both Jude and Jess and it is fun following them on their quest. and Zoe's 'difficult' teenage years are all too believable.
Nick always writes so movingly about families and relationships and you feel you have been on a journey when you read his books. I would thoroughly recommend any of them.

Relatable characters and a believable story of a family life. All the twists and turns. I found this quite a compelling story and would highly recommend it

This is my first Nick Alexander book and I'm loving him!
Jude's family is broken since his sister Zoe disappeared. So he makes it his mission to find her and reunite his family. Even though his parents are divorced, Jude things that he can make things better once he finds Zoe and finds out why she left. Did something happen with Zoe and her mother's new boyfriend.

It was such an emotional book that really focuses on emotions. Jude was a wonderfully flawed character who I loved. I've been through similiar experiences which is why I think this book affected me so much. Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

Brilliantly written! I couldn’t put it down and found myself itching to get back into it at every opportunity.
An excellent and very believable story that I can honestly say I enjoyed from start to finish.
The characters were very likeable and I found myself getting quite emotional towards the end of the book.
I have always been a loyal reader of Nick Alexander and he certainly hasn't disappointed me with his latest masterpiece. Congratulations on a wonderful book

Zoe disappeared from her English middle class family. The story of her disappearance is narrated by the mother, Mandy. The search for Zoe is narrated by brother Jude.

Despite Zoe's disappearance, this isn't really a mystery. Rather it is the story of a disfunctional family in the wake of a divorce.

I wanted to like it but I found the book repetitive and a bit trite. The writing was very good, but the story was stale.

I received an advance copy of this book and am leaving my honest review.

An absolutely wonderful book from Nick. Characters were great. Story flowed well. Will definitely look out for more by Nick.

Wow, this one really got me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mother, or that I’ve been through similar experiences to Mandy & Zoe - actually it’s probably a combination of all three! Humans, their emotions and thought processes are so complex. I’ve read most of Nick’s book and I still love them. This one is so powerful that it actually kept me awake at night. I seriously hope you give it a shot, because it’s totally worth it!!

NICK ALEXANDER – THE ROAD TO ZOE

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Nick Alexander is one of the top-selling indie authors on Amazon’s charts, whose novels regularly reach the top ten here (and around the globe in their translations), and often number one. And having read The Road to Zoe I would be surprised, slash that, astonished, if this little gem did not achieve the same status.

It is a story about a family searching for the truth about wayward Zoe, daughter to long-suffering Mandy, and sister to Jude, and why she became such a thorn in their sides, doing everything she could to disrupt, if not actually destroy, her loving family.

This is told not through Zoe’s POV but that of her tormented mother and – in a clever time shift – the adult version of her brother who, along with his girlfriend, attempts to track Zoe down years later. These parallel narrations allow us to see the disruption she caused at the time, together with Jude’s take, from his perspective many years later. Eventually the two time-lines merge, with an unexpected twist.

Nick knows how to tell a story, as can be witnessed from his considerable and successful back catalogue, and this one rollicks along with the best of them. My only problem with it was that I had to ration myself, to slow myself down, otherwise I would have finished it in one sitting - it was that fast paced. Not only do you care about the human characters and their predicaments, but the settings were well-realised characters too, especially the deliberate boo-hiss contrast between the grey socialist bleakness of rundown England, compared with the idyllic golden hued warmth and sunshine of the south of France where the author lives. You can smell the fresh baguettes and coffee.

This is an easy one to recommend.

Absolutely wonderful read. The story itself is very well told , superbly written, and flows seamlessly between the fabulous cast of characters . I liked that the end story moved forward slightly into the future, it was a surprise, but it felt right. A number one best seller for sure!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC.
Another smashing read by Nick Alexander features Jude and his mother Mandy, both devastated by the disappearance of Zoe, who left home and hasn't been heard from since. When Jude and his girlfriend decide to look for her they end up on a lengthy trip during their vacation, all over England, ending up in France. Jude wants to know why his sister left his mum and him, leaving them behind heartbroken, without a word or warning.
I loved the trip itself, covering a lot of England, including Blackpool and then the beautiful setting of Nice, France and the fabulous surrounding area.
Jude and Mandy are very likeable, Zoe not so much! But when I found out the reason for her disappearance, I felt for her; but still wanted to shake her for causing so much pain to her family. Every book of Nick Alexander's is a treasure: his style, his sensitivity, his well drawn characters and the stories themselves are unputdownable must reads. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's. Another great book from Nick Alexander. Absolutely devoured this book. Characters are well developed and the issues raised in the book are current.

I absolutely devoured this book! I have enjoyed Nick Alexander books for a long time but I think that this one is my favourite.

I love the way that he creates fun and quirky characters that I could actually relate to and get behind. Sometimes when you read a book, there's one character which is better developed than others, or one character that you struggle to understand their purpose in the book... but this story has amazing characters all round. From Jess with her quirky and fun personality to Mandy who is obviously very hurt and struggling... each character made me feel for them, they felt very real.

I could almost feel Mandy's frustration and desperation with Zoe. It made me think about my own life and what I would do if I was her, what approach would I take if one of my own daughters behaved in such a way.

I found that the descriptions of places were very good too - the darker sides of some the cities that we don't see as well as the warm sun on a wintery day in France... all made it feel very atmospheric. Yet the descriptions weren't too long, weren't pages and pages of setting a scene so it was just enough to paint the picture without losing the tension and the flow of the story. Perfectly done.

I liked how the book was also grounded in current-day issues; mentions of Brexit, Corbyn, Veganism... keeping it on trend with peppering the story with these little items.

I would fly through the pages, enjoying being lost in the world of others for a while. I devoured it within a few days and think it's Nick's best yet.

I think anyone who likes a story about well-formed characters, a bit of mystery, a journey to some kind of self-discovery will enjoy this.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Road to Zoe. The characters are expertly written as a real dysfunctional family full of miscommunication, secrets, and raw emotion. Mandy, a divorcee trying her hardest to rebuild and find happiness after being betrayed. Zoe, overflowing with teenage angst, and Jude, just trying to be a normal kid but he cannot escape the emotional wounds inflicted by Zoe. In the beginning I thought this would be Zoe's story, however, the plot became just as much about Mandy and Jude.

Each chapter was a puzzle piece and it was challenging to put them all together. The book is initially written from Mandy and Jude's point of view but in two different time frames so you need to fit them together. Zoe's point of view is not made clear until the end, which finally makes the picture clear. I felt I was going to finish this book with a lot of questions but they were all answered in the end, so I'm happy with that!

I made the most of a day off work and read The Road to Zoe in one sitting!

At first, as I was reading, I thought this was going to be a story about a child who died due to her eating disorders... But no!

The author has managed to deal and express Mandy's point of view so well, from the exasperation and frustration of dealing with a hormonal teenage daughter, to the worry and despair at her situation - the self doubt, the anger, the pain - all these emotions have been captured well, along with her giddiness at feeling love again!

Also, I am so glad the author had Jude explode in rage at his sister. In a typical selfish teenage way, Zoe really didn't understand the impact of her disappearance on the lives of those left behind.

We never really see Zoe's point of view till the end. So we are left in limbo, a bit like Mandy and Jude and everyone else who is affected by her disappearance.
I liked that. It certainly kept me turning the virtual pages!

I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it!

Having read All of Nick's previous books I was excited to receive this. Such a great storyteller, I felt like I was right there on every step of the journey, wonderful characters. Full of ups and downs and I'm a sucker for a happy ending. My only small niggles were the political parts, and that's only because I'm not interested in politics.