The premise and setting of this book are both quite intriguing. However, Molly is a bit too much. Some would probably call her TSTL. The scheme she had devised would have worked well in a paranormal book but since this is a historical romance, it felt ridiculous. And how in the world did she not see through those two shady brothers? Wow. As soon as that guy entered the scene, I knew he was bad news. But quite honestly I wasn’t convinced that Mr. Hunt wasn’t a bad guy either. There was an air of mystery surrounding every character she encountered which kept making me feel that something more was going to happen but nope. It was just a seriously boring historical romance. Plus the weird incestual insinuations were just odd and disturbing.

This book's beginning pulled me in immediately. However, it didn't take long for me to be bored.
At first, I connected with the character's love of Dracula--and even her innocence and naivete. But it wasn't long before I found myself not appreciating it so much anymore.

The love story was okay. It was probably the best part of this story. But it just wasn't enough to really make it a 3-star read for me.

This books had romance, fun, and emotions that may require a tissue of you are anything like me. I loved reading the challenges that were set in the way of the romance and life of the characters. Overcoming challenges imposed by others can be such an interesting trope and Julie has done a great job tieing up all the loose ends in this one.

This was a sweet romance! The story is very well-written! The only thing I did not like was that I found the belief of vampires to be unnecessary to the story! Still, I recommend this for fans of historical romance!

An Interesting historical fiction novel that was a quick read involving the Orient Express. Though not a factories I did enjoy it. I will admit it took me a chunk of the book to actually start liking the heroine. But luckly the hero and the setting kept me wanting to read more of.

This was a different book that was interesting, but not my favorite. Molly has a heart that wants the best for her brother, yet she let's her imagination take her on a dangerous journey. Percy is a young man that is drawn to Molly. He seems much more mature compared to Molly. I like how he feels protective of Molly and tries to keep her safe.
This book grabbed my attention and I couldn't wait to read what would happen next; however, I felt like I was pulled in several different directions due to the varying maturity levels of the main characters. Imagining a romance between them was difficult for me to ponder and accept.
I did like the growth of the characters through the book. The action in the story was enthralling, but needed more believability. Overall, this was a good book, but needs some work on the plot. I would recommend this to older young adults. It encouraged using your imagination, but taught that there is a difference between fiction and reality.
I received a copy of this book from Covenant Books through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story. I found it a unique setting and time in history I don't often read about. However, I found Molly's unabashed belief that vampires exist so incredibly unrealistic. Additionally, her inability to remember to call Percy by his first name. I mean, there are just only so many times a girl can mess that up. Mostly I just found her incredibly naïve, which for me made the book a little less enjoyable. But the imagery this book provided of Molly and Percy riding old trains through Europe had me riding along beside them. It made me want to book my own ticket on the Orient Express ASAP.

Thank you NetGalley and Covenant Communications for the eARC!

Romance, clean, period;
Molly's story, her devotion to her brother, her hopes to aid in his healing, health, and perhaps a miraculous cure, her determination, and desperation to find the thing she is hoping for leads her to find something totally unexpected. A novel with a bit of adventure and recklessness, bits of despair, bits of danger, but also the unexpected alliances, acquaintances, and also attraction and devotion that comes as she encounters people outside of her family circle on their rail travels and her own foray into Romania. The rail journey, the food, the situations, loved this adventure for this young woman, and the resolution of several important threads at the end of the novel. Truly an adventure of a ride, and also the bit of romance that came about unexpectedly for her in Percy, her American acquaintance who became so much more. Percy was a great character as well. Definitely not what I expected as I started this novel!
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review, my opinions are my own.

This was a charming tale. I liked the historical detail and the question of whether or not vampires were real or not. The question and eventual answer (?) really made it difficult to put the book down!

This book seemed very interesting to me at first but then I felt that I was reading a branch of "The Historian." Molly is a great character but I felt that the Dracula inputs was a little too much.

This book follows Molly in her desire to help find a cure for her sickly twin brother, Matthew. Molly’s favorite book is Bram Stoker’s Dracula and she holds the belief that it is based on the truth that vampires do exist in the wilds of Transylvania. So when her family is traveling on the Orient Express to the Black Sea to try a new treatment for Matthew, Molly devises a plan to leave the train at Budapest and follow the journey of Mr. Harker in Dracula.

This is historical fiction, not historical fantasy. Vampires do not really exist. But Molly is hopeful that they do so that she can save Matthew. She blames herself for his illness as she has always been the healthy twin and he has always been the sickly twin.

Molly meets a man in Paris named Percy Hunt who also happens to be on the Orient Express. He is an American and Molly finds him intriguing. He also finds her interesting, especially her aversion to the color white. Percy learns of Molly’s plan to leave the train in Budapest and refuses to let her travel alone. He accompanies her and makes so much effort to help her cope with her phobia of the color white.

So Molly and Percy head off into the wilds of Eastern Europe following the path of a fictional character in a fictional book in the hopes that Molly will be able to find the means to save her brother’s life. Along the way they meet some other characters and get into some interesting situations. The real question is: Will Molly be able to find a way to help her brother or does she need to prepare herself for his death?

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to have pieces of Dracula in it and even though I have never read it, I felt like I still enjoyed hearing about the novel. This book really made me want to know what was going to happen next and I couldn't put it down. I am excited to read the rest of this series.

One of the criteria I used to judge a book is how much of the book I can recall a week or two later... From my 5 stars, I was memorable. I didn't get my review written when I wanted too, but I had no problem recalling the details of this novel.
Julie Daines created characters with depth and feeling that made this gothic style novel come to life. The plot was refreshing and original. I echo all the sentiments of those other reviews I have read.
Great book.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

My Rating: Four Stars
"I don't think we fully comprehend what our purposes are, but we can be sure we all have one. And each is different. Even though we do not know, is it not true that we are stronger together?"

Europe, 1900. Molly Cooper is on holiday with her family in Europe, but this isn't an ordinary holiday. Her twin brother, sickly from birth, is faltering in health. Molly is accompanying her brother and their parents as they travel to the Black Sea via the Orient Express to seek treatment for her brother's physical condition. Molly has become near-obsessed with the book Dracula and her obsession has given birth to a secret plan that will not only cure her brother of his physical ailments, but will also require her to leave the Orient Express and the companionship of her family in the secret of night, to travel through the mountains of Transylvania--alone.

At a glance: I liked this book! It had something for everyone--adventure, suspense, danger, romance, and devotion to family. I appreciated the depth of the main character, loved the setting, was pleasantly surprised by how nicely Bram Stoker's Dracula integrated into the book, enjoyed the super-appropriate, yet tender romance, and loved the deep themes explored in this book. Read on for a breakdown!

Molly is both very relatable and complex. She has deep devotion to her family, specifically her twin brother, and she has very real personal limitations in the forms of phobia and self-doubt. Her expectations for herself are high and she seems to act from a place of desperation throughout (arguably) the entire book. Because she has a phobia, people around her often question her sanity and she rebuffs their questioning looks or body language with her own mental reassurances. As a reader, I felt like her rebuffs should reassure me that she is mentally stable, however, I also found myself questioning her sanity at times too. Again, I think those moments where her actions didn't seem to connect to reality were results of her state of desperation.

Historical fiction set in 1900 in the backwoods of southeastern Europe was a refreshing change. The time period and area make for a fascinating setting since this was a time of unprecedented technological and social changes. Characters board Orient Express, attend the 1900 Paris Exhibition, and meet people from all parts of Europe and America. The international nature of the book added to the feeling of adventure.

Julie Daines quotes Bram Stoker's Dracula throughout It Started in Budapest. I thought that the heavy involvement of Dracula in the plot would have brought a macabre or morbid feeling, but it did just the opposite. I have not read Stoker's Dracula myself so I was pleasantly surprised that the quotes throughout It Started in Budapest brought a profound and thoughtful tone to the book, and even helped shed light and comfort during times of turmoil.

The romance in this book was both sweet and squeaky-clean. The only questionable part was that, by the standards of the time period, it would have been scandalous for her to spend so much alone time with a man she was not related to. However, their personal conduct is entirely clean and honorable, and the book would not be the same without the romance.

Themes explored in this book include the reality of personal limitations, acceptance of personal limitations, questioning the fairness of differing life circumstances, interdependence of human relationships, and making the most of life despite hardship.

Content Guide:

Sex--Mild, brief kissing.
Language--None
Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Use--One man keeps a pipe in his mouth but does not have any tobacco in it, yet he somehow mysteriously puffs smoke in a woman's face several times. Coffee is consumed.
Violence & Crime--Arson is committed, a murder is attempted.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.com. All opinions are entirely my own.

I was so excited to read the first book in the new Orient Express series! It Started in Budapest is a fun adventure that has some surprising twists and turns.

Molly Cooper loves her twin brother and would do anything to help cure him. When she comes across an "artifact" that might have "healing" powers, she sets out on an adventure to find it. But when her quest turns dangerous, she must turn to the mysterious Mr. Hunt. But could he have other motives for helping her?

I really loved the premise of this book and the chills that came along with Molly's search for a vampire. Molly is a sweet, naive girl who carries a lot of guilt. She wants to help her brother and believes she has found a way to do it. I think readers will find Molly relatable and her anxiety for a family member believable. She does end up being a damsel in distress quite frequently, but Mr. Hunt is protective and kind. He was definitely a patient and worthy hero and I really did want him to get his happily-ever-after. I wish we were able to see a bit more about his backstory, but this was really Molly's adventure, so it was understandable that we didn't. The author really shines in her setting descriptions, notably the Orient Express, as well as the countryside when our hero and heroine travel to Transylvania. This was a cute afternoon read and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

This book has mystery, intrigue, and romance. Add in a brave and beautiful young heroine; a handsome young hero; the adventure of traveling on a train; and you have all the things that make for an entertaining book! This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The story line of this book was quite straight forward, however, for me, I like a book with more plot complexity. For the most part I enjoyed the characters in the book. I liked how the relationship between Molly and Percy was chaste and sweet. The searching for Dracula part was a wee bit too discombobulated for me. I have really enjoyed other books by this author, but, this one isn't one of my favorites.

This book has a fun story, with a character who believes in Dracula. Seeing her use that belief to try to save her brother was an interesting ride.

First off, I just have to say how much I loved the setting in this book since it reminded me of my first trip to Europe last summer. It felt like I was back on my foreign adventure with everything new and unfamiliar, yet grounded in reality. We quickly get to know Molly and her family circumstances, which comes with an extreme dose of guilt for her brother's infirmities and an irrational phobia of the color white. I was surprised by her naive yet desperate belief that she can encounter a vampire if she follows the travels of Bram Stoker's character Jonathan Harker as told in Dracula. I haven't read the book (although I want to now!) and after learning that it's written as a series of letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, and ships' log entries, I can understand why Molly may have put faith in the realistic presentation of the paranormal story.

I loved her rocky friendship with Percy, her self-appointed protector, who follows her as she gets in one predicament after another. The revealing of both Molly and Percy's deeper layers amidst their journey kept me interested in seeing how they could manage a happily ever after. There are powerful themes of death, grief, loneliness, duty, and loyalty. I was in tears as Molly learned some difficult but beautiful lessons about the fragility of life, the strength we can find in ourselves and those around us, and the inner peace that we can find in our faith. There is a lovely balance of adventure, excitement, and danger with quieter moments of connection and introspection.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

This book was different than I expected- in a good way! Set on the Orient Express, we follow Molly on her quest to save her twin brother, Matthew. She travels to Transylvania to search for a treatment for her brother, helped along the way by Percy Hunt- a man she met on the train. The gothic elements made the plot more intense, and I loved the many Dracula references. I loved the themes of self love in this book. Life throws us so many obstacles we can't control, but we can find healing and acceptance if we look in the right places. A fun, quick read!