Every Step She Takes Review — Is It Worth Reading?

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

Verdict: A warm, funny and heartfelt late coming-out romance on Portugal’s Camino de Santiago, with a hilarious opening and a vivid, found-family walking tour. Most readers loved it; a sizeable minority felt the romance lacked spark next to Cochrun’s earlier books, or tired of the confident-lesbian-teaches-baby-gay setup.

Best for: Readers who love travel romances and stories about discovering yourself later in life.

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5 — a 4.03 Goodreads average across 5,798 ratings, 4.12 on StoryGraph from 3,405 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 332 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Late bloomer, fake practice dating, travel romance, found family, grief, dual POV.

Every Step She Takes is Alison Cochrun’s 2025 contemporary lesbian romance from Atria. Thirty-five-year-old Seattleite Sadie Wells is desperate to escape her routine, the family business and an unexpected gay panic. When her injured sister offers her a place on a Camino tour, Sadie drunkenly confesses everything to her seatmate, Mal, during a turbulent flight — then discovers Mal is on her tour, and the tour is for queer women.

It holds a 4.03 average across 5,798 Goodreads ratings, with 75% of them four or five stars, 4.12 on StoryGraph from 3,405 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 332 Amazon ratings.

What Is Every Step She Takes About?

Fascinated by the woman who came out to her at thirty thousand feet, Mal offers to help Sadie relive the queer adolescence she missed as they walk two hundred miles. Meanwhile, Mal is grappling with a complicated loss and an unexpected inheritance.

As the line between practice and reality blurs, both must decide whether they part at the end of the Camino.

What Works in This Book

• The opening: Readers laughed out loud at Sadie’s plane-anxiety confession.
• The Camino: Readers say the setting is vivid — the author walked it herself.
• Mal’s story: Several reviewers were surprised how invested they became in her backstory.
• The message: It’s never too late to live as yourself.

Book Synopsis

A thirty-five-year-old on the brink of coming out ends up on a queer women’s walking tour with the stranger she confessed everything to.

Every step brings her closer to herself — and to Mal.

My Review

Cochrun writes with heart and humour, and the tour group becomes a family readers were sad to leave. Sadie’s awakening is joyful rather than tortured.

Some longtime fans call it their least favourite Cochrun: the romance fell short for them, too much happens inside the characters’ heads, and the mentor setup feels familiar. One reader flags internalized fatphobia.

My honest note: A lovely read even if it isn’t Cochrun’s most romantic.

Element	In Every Step She Takes
Central relationship	Sadie Wells (35, questioning) & Mal (her tour companion)
Core tropes	Late bloomer, practice dating, travel romance
Setting	The Portuguese Camino de Santiago
Heat level	🌶️🌶️🌶️
Length	384 pages (paperback)
Point of view	Dual, first person
Content notes	Death of a parent, homophobia, grief, alcohol, panic attacks

How Spicy Is Every Step She Takes?

Open door, with StoryGraph users flagging sexual content.

StoryGraph users most often flag death of a parent, homophobia, grief and alcohol.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a joyful thirty-something coming-out story. It is on our late-bloomer lesbian romance list.

You may want to skip it if: you are tired of experienced-lesbian-mentor plots.

In short: A pilgrimage to herself.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 30% five stars, 45% four, 20% three, 3% two and under 1% one. On StoryGraph, 74% tagged it emotional and 61% adventurous.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The humour first. Second, the Camino. Third, Mal’s arc. Fourth, the message.

What readers argue about and complain about: A muted romance, above everything. Second, too much internal monologue. Third, a familiar trope.

The comparison worth making first: Kiss Her Once for Me, Cochrun’s earlier sapphic romance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Every Step She Takes set?

On a walking tour of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago — a tour, Sadie discovers, organised specifically for queer women.

How old is Sadie?

Thirty-five. The book is a late coming-of-age and coming-out story.

Is it a slow burn?

Moderately. Mal offers to help Sadie experience the queer adolescence she missed, and their “practice” gradually blurs into something real.

How spicy is it?

Open door; StoryGraph users flag sexual content.

Is Every Step She Takes on Kindle Unlimited?

Not when we checked; the Kindle edition was listed at $12.99. Readers praise the audiobook narrators.

If You Loved Every Step She Takes, Read These Next

Try Here We Go Again or Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail. Browse our late-bloomer list or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

Every Step She Takes sets out to show it’s never too late to come out and fall in love, and its heart and setting shine. What holds it back is a gentler romance than fans expect. Recommended. Check Every Step She Takes on Amazon →

The Eikna Overall Ranking

On the Eikna scale, Every Step She Takes ranks as a very good late-bloomer romance — funny, heartfelt.

The Evidence Scorecard

Overall ★★★★☆ 3.9/5

• ✓ 4.03 average across 5,798 Goodreads ratings
• ✓ 75% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
• ✓ 4.12 on StoryGraph from 3,405 reviews
• ✓ 4.4 stars across 332 Amazon ratings

Romance ★★★★☆ 3.5/5

• ✓ Natural connection
• ✓ Practice to real
• ✓ Muted for some
• ✓ Familiar setup

Characters ★★★★☆ 4/5

• ✓ Relatable Sadie
• ✓ Layered Mal
• ✓ Camino family
• ✓ Mentor trope

Writing ★★★★☆ 3.9/5

• ✓ Funny
• ✓ Vivid setting
• ✓ Very internal
• ✓ Dual POV

Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 4.1/5

• ✓ Tagged emotional by 74%
• ✓ Grief
• ✓ Joyful awakening
• ✓ Hopeful

Heat Level ★★★★☆ 3.5/5

• ✓ Open door
• ✓ Sexual content flagged
• ✓ Tender
• ✓ Adult romance

Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5

• ✓ Rarely discussed
• ✓ Satisfying
• ✓ Standalone
• ✓ Sad to leave

Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.6/5

• ✓ $12.99 Kindle price
• ✓ 384 pages
• ✓ Praised audiobook
• ✓ Not on Kindle Unlimited

Affiliate disclosure: Lesbian Romance Reads is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. If you buy through the link below we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.