Call of the Camino

Ever since I lived in Spain for a year, I’m eternally drawn to books set there. This is why Suzanne Redfearn‘s new novel, Call of the Camino, first caught my eye. Set between two timelines, it follows two different women who walk the Camino de Santiago through northern Spain. In 1997, Isabel is on the run from her small Andorran town, fearing retaliation after two teen boys her age died in an accident. She may never be able to go home again, but she might find a new sense of belonging while on the Camino. In 2024, Isabel’s orphaned daughter Reina gets a rare opportunity at the magazine where she works: She can spend one month walking the Camino de Santiago and write a story that could be the upcoming feature. For Reina, this is a chance to connect with the parents she lost too young, and perhaps a chance to find herself, too.

What I Liked:

• A daughter following in her parents’ footsteps. The first timeline focuses on Isabel in 1997. She’s running for her life, and it’s on the Camino that she meets Peter. Fast forward 27 years to their daughter, Reina. Reina lost her mom when she was two and her dad when she was eight, but she holds onto her dad’s journal documenting his 1997 Camino experience. I loved seeing Reina connect with both of her parents through their shared experience. It’s the same path with many of the same landmarks, and yet both experiences are unique, too.
• Sense of community with fellow travelers. Along the way, both Isabel and Reina meet many kind people also doing the Camino. Some are a friendly face and helping hand, no matter how fleeting the friendship may be. Others will turn out to become lifelong companions. It was beautiful to see such an eclectic group of people, all doing the Camino for their own reasons, yet building that sense of fellowship and belonging.
• Travel journalism competition. Who will get the feature piece, Reina or Matt? Both are on the Camino to write their magazine’s main article, but only one will get feature. They each have such different backgrounds and perspectives, and I enjoyed getting to go on this incredible pilgrimage experience with Reina (and with Isabel!).
• Revisiting Spain. The first time I lived in Spain was in a study abroad program in León, and my class had the opportunity to go on many local excursions. My favorite was when we went to Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of the Camino de Santiago, and I’ve wanted to walk the Camino myself ever since. It’s still a bucket list item, but I loved seeing northern Spain through both Isabel and Reina’s eyes. This book offers insights into places I’ve never been, and I liked the fresh take on the places that I have been to. This is a great read for anyone who wants to armchair travel to Spain.
• Short chapters. Call of the Camino is divided into rather short chapters, bouncing between Isabel and Reina. This actually works really well for the novel: They give the story a sense of fleeting moments, of momentum and motion, which mirrors the characters’ days of walking to their final destination.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Focus on faith. Many of the characters discuss religion and God, and indeed, I understand that the Camino de Santiago is fundamentally a religious pilgrimage. I’m an atheist myself, so I didn’t really connect with those parts. I can empathize with and respect characters’ religious views, but I personally preferred other themes within the novel.

Audiobook:

Cynthia Farrell and M.L. Sanchez both narrate Call of the Camino, portraying Reina and Isabel’s first-person chapters. Both did a great job of capturing their respective characters. While Reina’s narration has an American accent, I liked that Isabel’s narration had an accent that sounded Spanish. She’s from the Andorra-Spain border and speaks several languages, so this suited her well.

Final Thoughts

Call of the Camino is a beautiful story of self-discovery, community, and family against the picturesque backdrop of northern Spain. This is a book I’ll read again when—yes, when!—I finally walk the Camino de Santiago myself. This is my first time reading Suzanne Redfearn, and I already have another book by her that I’m excited to dive into.

Special thanks to Lake Union Publishing, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Call of the Camino here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn
Audiobook Narrator	Cynthia Farrell and M.L. Sanchez
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Fiction
Setting	Spain; Andorra; Portugal
Number of Pages	295
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	October 1, 2025
Publisher	Lake Union Publishing

Official Summary

From the bestselling author of In an Instant comes a deeply moving novel following the transformative journeys of two women walking entwined paths on a legendary route across Europe a generation apart.

Reina Watkins lost her father when she was eight. Seventeen years later, she still carries that grief. When her budding journalism career takes an unexpected turn, it leads her to the ancient five-hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. Now she finds herself embarking on the same pilgrimage that her father made at her age, unaware of how profoundly it will change her.

Back in 1997, Isabelle Vidal is a teenager on the run. Fleeing from her boarding school, she heads straight for the Way of Saint James. She’s heard the Camino will provide. And so it does, in the form of a handsome young American and the promise of a new life. But it could all fall apart if her troubles catch up with her.

One woman is coming to grips with her past; the other is grasping for her future. But as each treads the same hallowed trail, it will knot their destinies together in a most miraculous way.