This is my second book by Alison Cochrun and I enjoyed it! I am excited to read more of her books from her backlog!

This book, quite simply, hit. I laughed, I cried, I felt seen.

Sadie is questioning her sexuality and who she is as a person. Mal is running away from another breakup and her dad's impending funeral. Both are heading to the Camino for a break from reality and a change of pace. When the two meet on an airplane and later learn they will be roommates on this guided trek, they are thrust together into this forced proximity romance.

I think we can all relate to feeling lost or stuck in our lives, but also feeling like it us too late to change anything. Or in some cases, constantly running from our life in an effort to only feel the good. I know I do. So when these two characters meet and are opposite sides of the same coin, it is bound to make you feel. Finding someone who will stay through the mess and hold you through the panic is a rare and wonderful thing.

Personally, I relate to both Mal and Sadie.
Like Sadie, I figured out my sexuality later in life and I didn't "figure this shit out in college like every other self respecting millennial". The realization and recontexualizing of younger memories was all too familiar. I too have fallen into the life rut of doing what is needed or expected and trying not to let anyone down.
Like Mal, I used changing locations, jobs, lovers, to escape the feelings of not being enough. I fell in love on trains and in coffee shops, and out of love by dinner. I couldn't let myself sit still or just be. I was running from feeling.

Beyond the entirely relatable characters, this book was hilarious. With the setting of hiking the 200 mile costal Camino, there are hiker antics, queer antics, and hilarious quips. I loved seeing other people 'embrace the suck' and find more strength within themselves than they knew was there. The full paragraph of Sadie's destroyed feet was all too relatable (hiking boots on pavement blow).

Alison Cochrun is quickly becoming one of my auto-read authors.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

As a fan of Alison Cochrun’s works, I was excited to read her fourth novel, “Every Step She Takes”. Like her previous novels, it is witty, heartfelt, and emotional. She has a remarkable ability to create introspective characters who reflect our world and illuminate underrepresented themes such as asexuality, fat positivity, and mental health.

The story is told from two perspectives: Sadie and Mal, who embark on a walking pilgrimage through Portugal and Spain. Although these strangers have different reasons for their journey, they hope to find clarity and a sense of self through this adventure.

What unfolds is a mix of the opposites-attract and fake-dating tropes, but it delves deeper than that. While the book is very humorous and romantic—it is also very vulnerable. Cochrun explores identity and the barriers that society, as well as we ourselves, impose.

I loved it and highly recommend this book and intend to purchase the audiobook version once it becomes available, as I own her other works. They serve as sincere, comfort reads for those still discovering themselves, free from judgment. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

New Alison Cochrun! I don't know how I got so lucky to be chosen for an e-ARC of this but I downloaded and read it immediately. (Like, less than 12 hours.) This is one of those books that hooks you right from the dedication. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. This story had me googling the route, looking up the sights and living vicariously as our leads take part in the Camino de Santiago which I'd never heard of before this book but sounds so cool (and exhausting.) There's a TON of (very needed) character growth in here and the writing is so descriptive you can practically smell the pasteis.

I'm only going to leave one quote here. "How boring would life be if we didn't have anything left to discover about ourselves?"

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book!