With thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
First time reading this Author.
I loved the concept of this book but it really wasn't executed I was totally bamboozled in the first half of the book I kept thinking it would all come together but sadly for me it did not.

At times, you don't understand the value of a book until you finish it. "Midnight Train to Prague" was one of those poignant reads. I love historical fiction, especially WWII's chapter. However this book chugged along on a journey but I couldn't discover its direction.

The second half I felt was stronger than the first and through Anna, I began to care about Natalia. Anna's innocence mixed with Natalia's fortitude paralleled lost girls in terms of family and fortune. As the story continued into Eastern Europe, that's where I began to feel connected to #MidnightTraintoPrague.

I lived in Budapest and traveled to Prague. The protagonists' journey reawakened my fond memories of Hungary. There's something special about being able to picture yourself in the story and watch the scenes come to life.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition in exchange for an honest review. Looking back, the story line came together in the final chapters. That being said, I struggled with the first section. I had trouble caring about the characters especially Beatriz's flighty nature and Natalia's aloofness. When the novel reached its climax, it quickly extinguished itself instead of lingering in falling action. I would have preferred more weighted content as that sequence warranted exploration.

To close, I was intrigued by Anna's story and that's what kept me reading. I don't know why but I found Natalia unlikable throughout the novel. I felt empathy for her but didn't feel engaged with the character. Anna's perseverance made Carol Windley's novel worth reading.

Midnight Train to Prague by Carol Windley

I don’t usually long for a book to come to an end – but in all honesty - right from the beginning I did not have a clue what was happening; nor who was who, or how it all dove-tailed. Somewhere near the middle of the book it all started to make sense and from that point it was very interesting and I did enjoy it.

That said, I apologise but it is not something I would recommend to my friends. It was all a bit too chaotic at the beginning and although it improved – just not enough to outweigh the negative.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Midnight Train to Prague.

Firstly, the cover is gorgeous, and the title and blurb are intriguing! They immediately caught my attention, and I was pulled in. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and I love stories that enable me to travel the world with my imagination. So, needless to say, I was excited to read Midnight Train to Prague.

But as much as I tried to get into the story, the writing style made the narrative feel disjointed and the dialogue sound stilted. Further, I couldn't connect with the characters or the plot.

After my several attempts at trying to read this book, I then resorted to skimming through its pages. Finally, I had to eventually stop. This book was not for me and has joined my stack of DNF titles.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with and ARC of this book!
I repeatedly mention that I usually devour WWII books quite easily as it is one (if not the only one) topic I really enjoy in historical books (fiction or not). Therefore I was really interested in this book for that exact same reason, a setting in WWII usually gains points from me as I assume I’d like it but unfortunately it wasn’t the case.
For me the writing felt flat, and it was more on the telling than showing side, which I did not appreciate, moreover the back and forth as well as the cast of characters made it confusing for me. It made it almost impossible to keep up. There was too much backstory to cover and abrupt endings that felt like it was unfinished some how.

#MidnightTraintoPrague#NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Carol Windley for providing a free copy to review.
I am a big fan of historical fiction especially WWI & WWII novels, Midnight Train to Prague discusses both wars. I wanted to love this book and I didn't particularly dislike it either. In my opinion the second half of the book was stronger and more coherent, I was a bit confused during the first half. I feel like the writer wanted to tell everything which was too much to take. As expected of such books, lots of heartache and war horror is portrayed vividly.
Overall I enjoyed the book.

I was happy to read a book of Historical Fiction based in Prague, Hungary, and even Buenos Aires during World War 2. I love this genre and am always eager to explore stories set in locations I haven't read as much about. The different locations are something I really appreciated about this book.

Midnight Train to Prague was absolutely jam-packed with characters, settings, backstories and more, and it was overwhelming and confusing at times. While I wanted so much less of many of the details and side stories, I wanted MORE of the characters that overlapped. Some of these meetings were absolutely incredible, so I'd like to see more of how the characters felt about this and wanted more time spent on this aspect of the story. There was also a lot of this happened then this and this and this. It's hard for me to describe but it didn't sit well with me unfortunately.

There IS a good story here. I loved the mother-daughter relationship of Beatriz and Natalia. It was different but I appreciated that. I was curious about Zita and Beatriz' relationship. I enjoyed the relationship of Natalia and her mother-in-law and Natalia and Miklos. I just really would have liked to learn more about their hardest times during the war, and would have enjoyed the book more if I could understand the characters' feelings more.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley — thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book!

Midnight Train to Prague is WWII historical fiction, obviously set on a train to Prague in Czechoslovakia. The book follows Natalia and Anna on their journey with this train. Normally I would give a more thorough response in relation to the plot of the book, but I cannot find more than this on the pages. The line of the plot was so thin that I could barely see it; this book definitely read more like a very long-winded and non-detailed ramble about the historical events of WWII. I was very excited to pick this up as I don't know much about this part of WWII, but I was very disappointed with what I found.

I found the prose to be very disjointed and confusing, with a lot of rambling and unnecessary detail coupled with a lot of info-dumping. There were so many characters that I found so hard to keep up with, and I just generally had no clue what was going on at any given point. As such, I gave this book a 1-star rating.

Rambling and disconnected. There were too many characters in the story with a very thin story line. It should have been kept a bit more simplified instead of including every person it seems the characters met! This book fell way short.

At first I wondered when this book would get to the point, or any point at all. It seemed random and unfocused though I did like the characters. When it jumped to a new family in a totally different place, it was random and confusing. That being said I did enjoy the book. But it was overwhelming sad and depressing.

I was really excited for this book. While I think the story line could have been great the narration was a huge turn off for me. The passive narration through the whole book and the abundance of characters made it really difficult to get involved with the story. It sounded like more like a textbook than a novel.

Exploring history through Natalia's eyes is heartbreaking and emotional - from the time she's a child in the 20's in Berlin to spending WWII in Prague.

The relationships, friendships, and romances she has along the way... and how WWII changes each relationship and devastates a group of people. Taking the train from Berlin to Prague seems like a typical adventure, but it is life changing.

If you're a historical fiction fan like I am, you'll find yourself immersed in a far away time and facing life as Natalia and her friends did. This gripping read will suck you in and leave you emotional at times.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

From Peace, through War, and Back Again
The study of history is one of my true loves in life. It doesn’t matter if the focus is social, political, economic, or military…I’ll take it all! Naturally then, I always jump at the chance to review historical fiction books, particularly those set in war-time. On this particular occasion, as I took on Midnight Train to Prague, I was even more intrigued than usual since the story is set mostly in Eastern Europe (Hungary, and Czechoslovakia specifically), which is a departure from the WWII based novels I usually choose, focusing on American, British, or French characters. The main character, Natalia, is a wealthy German girl who finds herself married to a Hungarian count, and through the lens of her experiences, Carol Windley does indeed offer up a story that documents a side of Nazi brutality, and the barbaritySee the source image of the conquering Russian Army, that is not usually covered in WWII novels (more on that in a minute).

Before I get to the real substance of my review, I want to offer up my main critique: the writing style takes some getting used to! There are many long descriptions (not necessarily bad, but easy to get bogged down in), and because the dialogue is very matter-of-fact, sometimes characters’ musings seem to run together. This bothered me for about the first 30% of the book, but from there it was smooth sailing, as I became more invested in the characters, and as the story started to pick up the pace.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me tell you why I think this book is a worthy investment of time for lovers of historical fiction. Carole Windley doesn’t shy away from describing Nazi atrocities, and I See the source imagethink that is important, even in works of fiction. Any time you read about WWII, there should be a certain level of discomfort; it’s not all about grand Allied victories! In this case, not only does the book discuss the Nuremburg laws and how European Jews were affected by them, but it touches on the treatment of Hungary’s Sinti people, on the “Germanization” of Czech girls with “Aryan traits”, on the rape and savagery practiced in Berlin and other German-controlled areas by the conquering Russian Army, and even on how diabolical American and British bombings were in employing incendiary weapons. Finally, one of the most chilling moments of the books takes place when an SS officer describes mass killing tactics used by the Einsatzgruppen battalions to an adolescent girl, while she is on vacation with her family.

But its not all about the grim realities associated with living in war-time Europe. The book begins with a sweet, if understated love story, bringing together Natalia and the count. This love endures through uncertainty and separation caused by the war, that at times is nothing short of tragic. It shows the kindness and solidarity that people find in having a common enemy like the Nazis, and reminds us of the good work down by the Allied nations after the war was over, to help those who had been victims of the concentration camp system. And for my “Happily Ever After” crowd, there’s quite a bit of satisfaction to be had, if you hang on through the grim moments! All in all, this is a good, quick read.

3.5

The preview of the book sounded great. I love historical novels and I am interesting in this time period. Therefor am sad to say that this book didn’t live up to its expectations.

The story was all over the place. It went abruptly from one scene to another, so I got lost quite a few times and I felt no connection to the main characters at all. I didn’t care about their story.

I love World War II Historical Fiction but this book was disappointing to me. I did not care for the passive narration of the story, the too numerous characters and numerous places. The story seemed to jump from one time line and place to another one which was very confusing. The characters seemed very superficial and I really could not pick a favorite. I think the author did do a very good job researching this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Midnight Train to Prague by Carol Windley is an excellent historical fiction that follows Natalia Faber from childhood, 1920s Berlin, and through WWII in Prague.

We see Natalia’s interesting and eccentric mother, Beatriz, and her upbringing to the point where Beatriz and Natalia travel on a train from Berlin to Prague. This seemingly benign trip becomes monumental, pivotal, and full of surprises. Little does she know how much this trip will change the rest of her life. She meets Miklos Andorjan and also a woman named Magdalena Schaefer. Through this trip Natalia finds out the father she thought had perished many years before, is in fact not dead. (I won’t divulge more as I want the readers to still have some surprises.)
The book eventually covers the atrocities of WWII and we find Natalia struggling with her other half sent off to war and a friend, Anna, sent off to a concentration camp. We can see the events of WWII through the eyes of Natalia and Anna.
This book definitely brought forth many emotions and at times really was hard to read. To see how so many people were permanently effected by war was important, but challenging, to read. This is a book about love, loss, friendships, sacrifice, the concept of people entering, affecting, and leaving our lives.

This was a great book and I did enjoy the ending.
I definitely enjoyed it.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Grove Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Midnight Train to Prague covers an extensive period of time, therefore the timeline jumps around quite a bit and can be hard for readers to follow. This wasn't a favorite book of mine, it was just okay, and I hope it improves with editing as I received an ARC from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The sentence structure and flow of the book is very simplistic, and that is a pet peeve of mine. I hate the feeling that the author is writing down to the reader. Although the book is meant to evoke strong emotions from the reader, I just didn't feel it as there was no depth to the characters. There is a lot of information about different countries of Eastern Europe and that kind of saves the book. The author did do research about these countries and about the war itself.

On a train to Prague strangers meet. More strangers meet while in Czechoslovakia at a health resort in the mountains. Their lives intersect later on in ways they never imaged during WWII after the Germans invade Czechoslovakia. This story takes readers from Berlin, to Buenos Aires, to Hungary, to Prague and Seattle as it highlights the devastation caused by the Nazis during WWII.

There are a lot of different characters in the book, initially making it hard to follow the novel during the first half of the book. It moves slowly and jumps around between the characters without a lot of rhyme or reason. I feel that the story is one worth telling as it's the first in many of this WWII genre that I've read that does take place in both Czechoslovakia and Hungary. I feel like there could have been more than one story out of this novel instead of cramming all of these people into one story and would honestly love to read more about someone who fled Europe to South American as two characters in this novel did rather just in passing as was done here.

If you are a hard core fan of WWII fiction, this one could be worth a read. If not, it's a much harder read than others of this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for the chance to review this ARC.

Frankly, I'm halfway through the book and couldn't tell you what it's about. It reads almost like someone's long winded, languorous diary. The characters are many, the plot points unknowable, and there's nothing about the protagonist, Natalia, that feels even remotely likable. She holidays in Paris, in the mountains, at spas, and is so unaware of her priveledge and life of ease it makes her cool and unreachable.
The most interesting part, her romance with the Count, is also the briefest. They kiss. They shouldn't. He's too old for her. Poof! They are married. They have a son. He keeps on writing. She keeps on living at a castle and globetrotting. That sounds like it should be interesting. It's not.
I only have a handful of books on my DNF shelf. This now joins the Did Not Finish.

Midnight Train to Prague is Carol Windley's ode to the people of Hungary, in particular, and to the people of Germany, who carried out Hitler's orders.

I loved all the characters that Windley created, and there are a lot in this book, so be prepared. As well, there is a lot of detail about the history of the Czeckoslovakia.

Carol Windley ingeniously intertwines the players in her story. In the first chapters of the book, Nathalia, as a child, from her seat on the train, first sees Milõs (and Zita), through the window, driving in his Bugatti, all of them heading to Prague. From those opening moments the book follows them through the war, through Europe and South America.

If you are looking for a WW2, historical fiction novel, with an emphasis on Hungary, then this oneis for you. I really enjoyed reading it and I am always proud to read books by Canadian authors. #5stars for Carol Windley's #midnighttraintoprague. Thank you #netgalley for an early edition, in return for my honest review.