3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was weirdly fun. By the time I got around to reading the galley I could no longer remember the synopsis of the story, making this a complete surprise.

This book is funny and endearing and it has a pretty solid cast of characters that the author represents well. The author also explore alien culture and language in a very interesting way.

What a great and fun read. This was my first book by Connie Willis and I think it is safe to say that it will not be my last. The travels and trials of Indy, Francie, Wade, and the rest of the crew makes for a fun up and down story that leads you to a fun and interesting end.

There were times where the writing felt superficial and almost repetitive, however this could have been due to the book being an ARC and editing was not completely finished. In any case, it did not detract from my enjoyment when reading this book.

My only complaint would be the last few pages of the book. It is entirely possible that some of what occurred is setting things up for a sequel. However, if that is not the case, it left me a bit confused and made me feel the ending was rushed. I hope that there is a second book to follow The Road to Roswell to expand on what occurred at the end.

Well this was just plain fun! It didn't have the complexity or hyperactivity of some of Willis' other books, which is good, neither would have worked here. This was a good old fashioned what-happens-next plot with a splendid group of charmingly warped characters all perfectly believable because we've all met several of them ourselves. Except for the alien of course. Well, probably. I especially love how all preconceived notions of just about everything (including, but not limited to, what aliens look like), are thoroughly tromped on and left for dead. I enjoyed this immensely.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time. It was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up a little ways in then couldn’t put it down!

OMG! That was so friggin' good.

Thank you, kind NetGalley people, for the chance to read an ARC of this fun, fast, phenomenal read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for granting me access to an early copy of this book*
Status: DNF

Reason: Connie Willis is a very hit or miss author for me, and unfortunately this was another miss for me. It mostly comes down to the fact that this book just didn't align with my personal taste. I'm very selective about my rom coms, and basically never read them and this novel came across as a mid tier rom com (more so than a light hearted science fiction), with a very odd alien element. This book is probably fine as a whole, but feels very average and unless I have a specific and concrete reason for completing a book I can't waste my time on books that I'm not motivated to read and I don't see the potential for pay off upon completing.

Francie is on her way to Roswell in hopes of talking her college roommate out of marrying her UFO enthusiast fiancé. While helping with wedding preparations, France is abducted by an alien. Though they are unable to communicate, the alien directs her to drive and the alien ends up grabbing more people to join their group including a con man, a UFO believer, a gambler, and a Western movie aficionado. The more Francie gets to know the alien, the less she thinks she's in danger and the group tries to help the alien reach it's destination before they're caught by government officials. Overall, a fun adventure featuring an endearing alien and an entertaining ensemble cast. Some plot elements have to be taken at face value, but still makes for a good summer read.

Connie Willis has long been one of my favorite authors. I like her special blend of serious SF and silly humor. This isn't the strongest of her books but it's fun. The book's blurb tells it all. It's an absurdist take on alien abduction and you will enjoy it very much.

The Road to Roswell is a comical road trip novel, Connie Willis in pure slapstick mode. I found it to be a modest success, but not among her best work.
The story begins with Francie traveling to Roswell, New Mexico to attend the wedding of her longtime pal, Serena, who is marrying a UFO conspiracy nut. She is not in Roswell for long before she is abducted by an actual alien - a small round creature comprised of hundreds of whip-like tentacles - who forces her to steal Serena's car and drive it... somewhere? Along the way the mute alien they eventually start calling Indy wrangles a whole gang of oddballs and outcasts, and together they try to figure out what the creature wants and how to help it get there.
Francie is an easy character to empathize with, though the supporting cast is a mixed bag: some I found amusingly eccentric, like bucket-lister Eula Mae and the Western movie-obsessed Joseph, while others - such as the jumpy, paranoid UFO nut Lyle - come off as tired stereotypes. The story moves a frantic pace (a bit too frantic at times), though sometimes feels padded, and stretches on a bit too long for the amount of plot it offers.
The Road to Roswell is likeable enough, but if you're not familiar with Willis, you would be better of starting with something like Doomsday Book or To Say Nothing of the Dog.

Francie would do anything for Serena, her old college roommate. And that's how she finds herself in Rowell, New Mexico, determined to stop her friend's wedding to a crackpot UFO enthusiast. But then Francie is kidnapped by an alien herself and unwillingly taken on a madcap road trip through the Southwest. Can she figure out a way to escape? And more importantly, can she make it back to Roswell to stop the wedding?

I was not expecting the author of the Oxford time travel books to write about my home state, but here we are. This is an adorable, light-hearted take on aliens that reminded me of
John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars and just a bit of Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" (the latter just because communicating with the alien is a big component of this-- otherwise a VERY different feel). I really, really enjoyed it from start to finish.

Despite the fun, breezy feel of this, I'm also impressed by what a tight book it is. Road trip books are hard-- without a careful hand, they feel boringly predictable, pointless, unsatisfying, or all three. Willis carefully builds the set up (with Francie's first day in New Mexico just getting worse and worse), crafts her team, and then lets all hell break loose. There aren't any huge surprises here, but it was quite a journey.

Quirky, heartfelt and wholly original. Great characters and a vivid setting. I really got into this book and would love a sequel!

It was a fun read that blended several genres together. Of course it would be a science fiction read, but the author also blends in Westerns, road trippin', a little romantic comedy, and lots of humor.

Science fiction and fantasy author Connie Willis has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. She has written comic novels, and stories of time-traveling historians. So, why not an alien who looks like a tumbleweed in The Road to Roswell?

Francie Driscoll owed her college roommate, Serena, and she’s always been there to talk Serena out of disastrous marriages. This time, Serena is in Roswell, New Mexico to marry a man Francie thinks of as a “UFO nut job” at the UFO Museum. Francie thinks it’s all nuts, but the airport and the entire town has been taken over by fans there for the UFO Festival. They’re going crazy because there’s talk of a sighting outside Roswell. But, it’s Francie, just doing a favor for Serena and walking to the car, who is abducted by an alien.

Francie’s bright, always trying to think of a way to escape from the alien she’s nicknamed Indy. But, he ties her hands to the steering wheel with his tentacles. Then, she picks up a hitchhiker named Wade, and Indy grabs him, too. Wade isn’t too upset. He claims he’s a con man selling anti-alien abduction insurance policies. Of all people to kidnap next, Lyle is a true believer in all the UFO stories, although Wade continually accuses him of believing in scenes from movies about aliens. Indy’s last two kidnapping victims are Eula Mae, who claims she’s just fond of casinos, and the owner of an RV. Wade and Indy hijack the entire RV because they need a bigger vehicle for their adventures. This time, Joseph is on the trip of a lifetime in his Western trail wagon where he has every Western movie ever made.

It’s a rollicking adventure as the crew follow Indy’s attempts to guide them through the desert. They hit casinos, Las Vegas, a wedding chapel. And, then, they’re betrayed by one of their own.

The Road to Roswell is as over-the-top as it gets, and it’s just fun. If you can suspend disbelief, and just hang on for the ride, it will be one heck of a story. Connie Willis knows how to tell a story that makes the reader believe in aliens, love, and communication. It’s just fun.

And, I love the last paragraph of her Acknowledgments. “And to Starbucks, who provided me with iced chais and any number of interesting aliens to observe while I was writing this book.”

In this Sci-Fi / Cozy Mystery we follow Francie as she arrives in Roswell, NM for her old college roommate’s wedding. She’s a bit skeptical from the start given that her friend is marrying an alien conspiracy nut. Francie is far from a “believer” that is until she gets kidnapped by an alien herself.

Road to Roswell includes a cute alien, quirky side characters, and some fun banter. My one complaint is that this book is very conversation driven and there is a bit of talking in circles. I do feel like this could have benefited from cutting about 50 pages as it got a bit repetitive, especially in the middle section.

Overall, this is a really fun ride, I definitely recommend to fans of “Finlay Donovan” or anyone that’s a fan of cozy adventure stories. I would definitely read more cozy Sci-Fi, very different than anything else I’ve read but very entertaining for a lighter read.

Thank you to NetGally and Ballantine Books for the ARC!

I love Connie Willis, and I did read this entire novel, despite not really being engaged much of the time. The alien is great, but Willis goes a little overboard with her trademark wackiness. Constant artificial obstacles are pretty much the entire plot-line. I liked this in To Say Nothing of the Dog, and it worked well in Passage; but in this one it got a little old.

In a world full of serious sci-fi with unknown worlds and freaky aliens, The Road to Roswell is set on earth with tumbleweed alien. Sign me up!

This book was such a fun romp. A ridiculous Roswell-themed wedding, a florescent bridesmaids dress, hilarious characters, Vegas wedding, an adorable alien, and an RV (ahem! Western Trail Wagon). It was an original, fun ride that kept me turning the pages.

This is my first Connie Willis book and it won't be the last. Also, if there's any movie producers looking for new content, I would 100% watch this movie and drag everyone I know to see it too.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

If were to rate the experience of reading this book, I would give it five stars. In fact I was ready to give it a five-star rating until I was about 2/3 of the way in and the author used a word that left me cold. I know it was intended to be funny because Indy learned English from watching Westerns, but that word has a lot of history behind it and is not lighthearted at all.

Other than that one word, this a weirdly wholesome book. As menacing as the abduction should have felt, I fell in love with Indy, the tumbleweed-shaped alien, at first sight. I also loved the motley crew of people Francie and Indy abduct throughout their road trip.

Another madcap sci-fi comedy with heart from Connie Willis! Admittedly I love her more tragic books more - you know the ones - but despite the fact that I'm not interested in aliens, UFOs, and the mythos of Roswell, I couldn't help but be completely engrossed.

Francie comes to Roswell, New Mexico to act as maid of honor when her college roommate marries an alien conspiracy fanatic. Francie is not a believer in aliens, until she is kidnapped by a tumbleweed-shaped alien and forced to drive him to parts unknown. Along the way, the alien, who comes to be known as Indy for his whiplike dexterity with his “extendable arms”, also kidnaps a con man, a preternaturally calm little old lady, an hysterical believer in every outrageous alien theory and a western movie aficionado with a fancy RV.

This book is the scifi equivalent of a cozy mystery. It is humorous and has a mild romance. Indy is definitely the best character and he is really adorable once he and the humans learn how to communicate with each other. What begins as an abduction turns in to an attempt to help Indy. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job with Indy. The book was charming, although it would have been improved if it lost about 50 pages. 4.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This sci fi abduction road trip story is good for anyone wanted something fun and light. The plot is interesting enough and the characters were fun, but I did feel some of the writing bogged down the pace a bit. Too much discussion of different roads and areas of the Southwest and too little action. It might appeal to non-sci fi readers wanting to dip their toe in the water.