Historical fiction, dual timelines, a love story? I was sold! A story that shows a budding romance as well as a the power of love to keep us pushing through, this was a lovely story to read. Even though one of the timelines has the backdrop of WWII, it was more focused on the relationships between people over the actual war. However, the war did play a part in how they interacted with each other. Readers will be drawn to the two main characters and their individual stories and love discovering the details of their story that intertwine.

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it

This one was a little interesting, with 2 storylines of couples on the "same" train, wearing the same (or similar) clothing, and how they connect. I was definitely waiting to see how the 2 stories would connect in the end.

This was a new way to look at women on the front line during WWII. I'd never heard of the war artists, but it makes sense!

I was really excited to receive an ARC for this book, a dual timeline romance set in present day and the backdrop of WWII, but sadly it was a bit of a let down for me. It was well written and had all the elements I wanted for an epic love story, but the ending affected my reading pleasure so much that my 4⭐️ read became a barely 3⭐️ read as a result of the last few sentences of the abrupt ending.

What I enjoyed:
* The romantic notion of couples meeting (and falling in love) on a sleeper train
* The dual timeline with parallel scenes
* The historical elements of the story and the WWII backdrop
* Learning more about the role war artists played in documenting conflict, along with the risk and dangers they faced daily
* Hearing more from the POV of war nurses in that time period
* The whimsical beauty of the Cornwall coast setting
What I struggled with:
* The slow pace of the first half made it difficult to stay engaged. I found myself putting the book aside more than once with the hope of coming back later to somehow be drawn in.
* When the pace finally picked up, I became invested in at least some of the characters, but then things came to a halting stop and then ending felt rushed and unfinished.
* I did enjoy the historical elements of the story, I just wasn’t captivated by either romance.
* The ending.

The Night Train to Berlin was well written, a lighter take and interesting perspective of WWII, but the ending just left me unsatisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author Melanie Hudson for the opportunity to read and review an advance reader copy of this story in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Night Train to Berlin by Melanie Hudson is a poignant dual timeline story - the two time periods (WWII and present) joined together by a dress and a train. It is a must-read in my opinion - and I highly recommend it. Just have a tissue handy!

#netgalley #TheNightTraintoBerlin

INTERESTING TIME-SLIP NOVEL

I chose to read this novel because of the prerelease publicity and the fact that it was based on WWII Historical Fiction. Melissa Hudson penned this as a time slip which made for an interesting read. It is set starting in 1944 and the present day. I felt that she went into much more detail and invested much more time into the WWII story as compared to the present-day story. Her characters were all realistic and likable, her plot was good but I felt as though she left out much in the present-day story, her setting of the train car and the cottage at Cornwall stayed the same while everything else differed because of the war. This novel had a great premise but I just felt that the present day story ran out of steam in comparison to the detail put into the WWII section.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this novel by One More Chapter and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.

“The Night Train to Berlin” is a dual time period novel about two women one in present day and the other in 1944 who both ride a sleeper train to Cornwall and the similarities don’t stop there. A dress, a clock and 3:15 take both ladies on a journey for love and second chances.
“The Night Train to Berlin” had two really good stories but the connections really end after the train, dress and clock. The story of Eliza and the war were not only vivid with details but educational. I was unaware of war artist. Ellie’s story is moving and sad. I found myself cheering her on at the end. I enjoyed both stories but found it tiring and frustrating switching between the two. Thank you to Harper360, Melanie Hudson, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I guess I was drawn to this book by its title. Let me state first up I am rarely a fan of cross time / different times novels unless they are exceptional. That unfortunate bias on my part did not dispose me kindly to the genre this story encapsulates. In the end I didn’t relate to the characters or their situations in a sustained, on the edge of my seat way, that I’d wanted. Others obviously really enjoyed this. That’s great because we’re all different.

A Harper 360 ARC via NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book. The story was told between two timelines, one during WWII and one in the present day. There were things that tied them together like Eliza’s drawings and the clock,. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down, the war scenes were vividly told, as was the feel of the Cornwall train. I definitely recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely love stories that go back and forth in time between viewpoints. I also love books that are set in the World War II era, so this book was right up my alley. It was very moving and I find myself still thinking about this book even now that I am finished with it. This is the kind of book that stays with you!

GoodReads:
Ok. I think this book really needed some rearranging.

Rather than alternating between present day Ellie and past Eliza, it should have been entirely Eliza and Alex's story followed by Ellie and (Joe? Josh?)'s. And we should have got to find out exactly what happened to Eliza and Alex. (Because, my friends, we never do. We can only imply).

One thing that really made me scratch my head is that it's heavily implied Ellie is Eliza reincarnated but at one point it's also mentioned that Eliza passed a few years ago? If Ellie is in her 20s then that is simply not how reincarnation would work.

I also get it that the title is kind of a metaphor, because while Eliza and Alex meet on a train to Cornwall they ultimately say "lets meet up in Berlin later." But like. If you say in the title "Night Train to Berlin," then that implies, to me, that there will be a train to Berlin at some point. Even if the train doesn't make it to Berlin.

Ok, this other point just also is a spoiler so.
[It is simply impossible to believe that the Germans would have missed a whole CLOCK in Alex's coat when they were bundling him off to Buchenwald. And even more inconceivable that it would have survived Buchenwald and ended up in London for Josh/Joe/whatever his name is to find. Belongings were confiscated. Source. And I was just infuriated that we were left hanging not knowing exactly what happened to Eliza and Alex. (hide spoiler)]

So like...I didn't totally hate it. But I was severely disappointed by the ending and the organization of the book.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Instagram:
A WWII romance where a dashing fighter ace and a war artist meet on a train? Yes please! Although I must mention the train they meet on is to Cornwall.....not Berlin. There’s a second modern day storyline set on a 1940s themed party train.....also to Cornwall. Berlin is a metaphor? Or future promise? Or something.... Anyway there are trains ✅, romance✅, clocks✅, and WWII✅.

Shout out to my spouse @eik0ph for landing me the train for the photo. And to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Blog:
This book tells two love stories by alternating between the two different timelines – present day and 1944. It strongly hints that present day Ellie and Joe are reincarnations of 1944 Eliza and Alex.

I liked both storylines for the majority of the book, although the 1944 appealed more to me. It had more action and covered a larger period of time. The present day storyline is basically just the day of the night party train and the day immediately after. Because so much more was happening in 1944 with such greater risk to Eliza and Alex, I found myself wanting to skip over the present day to go to the past. Plus, the present day takes on greater meaning the more you get to know Eliza and Alex. For this reason, I think it would have been better to have completely told Eliza and Alex’s story and then end the book with an epilogue short version of Ellie and Joe’s.

There are also two things that I think it’s important to know before picking up the book. First, there is no train to Berlin. The train to Berlin in the title is a metaphor. Eliza and Alex meet on a night train to Cornwall and then later promise to see each other in Berlin alongside the liberating forces. (Eliza as a nurse and war artist, Alex as a war correspondent). But of course the liberators didn’t take trains. There are two trains in this book. One is the train to Cornwall ridden at two different time periods. The other is a train in Europe but its destination is not Berlin.

Second, we do not actually get closure on Eliza and Alex’s story. We never find out exactly what happened to them – either as a couple or how and when they died. There’s a passing mention that Ellie’s grandmother (great-grandmother?) who was friends with Eliza inherited the Cornwall property from her a few years ago. It could be implied that she passed a few years ago or it could be understood to mean something different. The other confusing thing about this is if Ellie is Eliza reincarnated, Eliza passing a few years ago when Ellie is in her 20s at the moment doesn’t make sense for a reincarnation. So there’s a lot of loose ends with regards to Eliza and Alex that are frustrating.

I’m not a complete stickler for total historic accuracy in historic fiction and even less so with a historic romance, but I will mention there was one plot point in particular that was so unlikely given what we know about WWII that it did make me grumpy. I can’t discuss in detail without plot spoiling. Perhaps you would feel more able to give it a pass than me. It comes toward the very end of the book.

So, overall, while I enjoyed the experience of the read right up until the end, I did feel like it could have been a better story with some rearrangement and a less metaphorical title.

The Night Train To Berlin by Melanie Hudson was a captivating novel. I have not read any other books by this author but, discovered I do have one of her books in my library. It is just a matter of time before I read more from Ms. Hudson. This book was enough to wet my whistle and I look forward to more of her writings.

I love Historical Fiction and this one was in my Wheelhouse. I like the mood of the book. This author picked up on the songs of the time period, the travel by train and all men and women wanted to do their part in war effort of WWII. There was more pulling together and sacrifice back then. Gas, food and many other things were rationed. Sliced bread was banned by our government for a time because we needed steel for the war. They soon found out that banning sliced bread didn’t help the steel supply all that much. You’ve heard of the saying “Just like sliced bread”? That is where it came from!

I enjoyed the two time periods. One was during the war and the other one is modern day. The main character during the war years was Eliza and she was a war artist that would paint her views of the war in the front lines. She was also a Red Cross nurse. The modern character was Ellie and she has a congenital heart problem that kept her from living the life of a normal young adult. There is a love story in each time period. I fell into rooting for the characters and hoping they would find each other and live happily ever after. I enjoyed these characters and the men that enter their lives. They had very different obsticles to overcome in both timelines.

If you like Historical Fiction and don’t like World War books, you might like this book. It is not a heavy war story. The modern timeline helps that a lot. I encourage you to give this book a shot.

The Night Train to Berlin is a dual timeline story that had me hooked from the first chapters. In this story we meet Alex and Eliza and also Ellie and Joe.

Alex and Eliza meet on the overnight train to Cornwall. They are strangers who are put at the same table in the dining car due to lack of room. What happens is a night neither will forget. A conversation, some dreams, and the realization that they should never be together because Eliza is married.

Ellie and Joe encounter each other at Paddington Station while waiting for a night train to Cornwall. Much like Alex and Eliza, seating is scarce in the dining car and they are put at the same table. As they talk, Ellie shares the journal she is reading. In this journal is the story of Alex and Eliza.

As the novel alternates, we learn Alex and Eliza’s story. A story that takes them to Cornwall, and then to Normandy and the countryside of France during WWII. Alex is a writer and Eliza is a nurse and artist. What neither expected is to fall in love with the other and to cross paths at different points during the war. As the war goes on, Alex and Eliza hang on to a promise that made to each other in Cornwall, to meet in Berlin. It is this hope that will see them through some of the darkest days of their lives.

Ellie and Joe, through learning this story learn more about what it is to hope and in their own way, hang onto their own form of hope for the future.

I am a huge fan of dual timeline historical fiction. I love seeing how the two time periods connect and what the relationship is between the characters in each part. This book does not disappoint in that respect and Ms. Hudson weaves a wonderful story of love and hope in a time where there was very little hope to be found. I loved both sets of characters and was not ready for this story to end. Hope is a powerful thing and we can all use a reminder of the magic of hope in trying circumstances.

Thank you to Harper360, Melanie Hudson, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for.a review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

A very rare 5 star review from me!

I loved this book. It captured me from the very beginning and didn't let up. I had to work but instead just wanted to keep reading. The author paints with words, similar to the way one of the main characters, Eliza, paints with brushes and charcoals. I felt like I was right there at the shore with Alex and Eliza having a picnic, or on the nursing ward tending to wounded soldiers.

Eliza is a nurse/combat artist, capturing scenes from battles and hospitals for later publication in newspapers. Alex is someone she met on a train, heading to her home in the north of England. They fall in love during that train ride and the ensuing time in Penberth, only to be separated by their war efforts again and again. Alex's sister Nora is a newspaper editor and plays a key role in the story, as does Eliza's best friend Nancy.

In an alternate timeline, Ellie Nightengale is on that same train, heading north to a cottage deeded to her by her great grandmother, Nancy. She also gifted Ellie with Eliza's journals. During her train ride Ellie meets Joe, and much like the relationship between Eliza and Alex, Ellie and Joe have strong feelings for each other.

I don't write spoilers, so I'm not going to say any more about the storyline or what happens to the characters. There is love, pain, heartache, strength and resiliency, and a book that you won't forget anytime soon.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

The Night Train to Berlin has a very interesting premise. Dual timelines set on the Night Train to Cornwall. The first time period is 1944. Alex, a former pilot who survived the Battle of Britain with a scarred face meets Lady Eliza, an artist, in the dinner car when they are seated across from each other. The second time period is present day. Ellie, a violinist, is the great granddaughter of Eliza’s very good war-time friend Nancy meets Joe who owns a novelties shop on the night train. I thought the premise of the train, the beach in Cornwall, two love matches on the train was interesting.

I liked the idea of Eliza being stationed in France as a nurse and a sketch artist of the war from her perspective an interesting twist. Besides sketching scenes of what she saw. Eliza has another purpose given to her by Nora, Alex’s sister. Alex is in Europe as a journalist assigned to General Patton. The author gives he reader the feelings of what war is really like on a personal level.

My problem with the book is that the end comes quickly and does not resolve Alex and Eliza’s story. Too much time was spent on scenes from the various times Alex and Eliza see each other for a few seconds and on the train with Ellie and Joe. I think a more concrete effort on the Epilogue would have been helpful. For me, it was as foggy as the steam coming from the train on the beautiful cover of the book. My thanks to Harper Collins UK -One More Chapter and NetGalley. The opinions in this review are my own.

This story goes back and forth telling the stories of Eliza and Alex, and Ellie and Joe. Eliza and Alex’s story is set in 1944, and Ellie and Joe’s is present day. Eliza is a society lady who’s ready to leave her husband and move on with her life as a renown artist, and as a nurse auxiliary in the war. Alex and his sister Nora are reporters and Jews. Their lives become intertwined, and they’re always running from one danger to the next. Ellie plays the violin and is a sick woman hoping to live longer than many think she will. She meets Joe on a train, reliving an infamous night in the midst of 1944, and as they talk it seems as though they have in the one thing that boroughs Eliza and Alex together many years ago.

This was such a delightful read! But I feel as though the author left it up to the reader to think up the ending vs providing the reader with the “truth” of what really ended up happening to Alex, Nora, and Eliza..I didn’t care much for Ellie or Joe, and Rihana wasn’t annoying but I find it hard to believe that a stewardess would become so acquainted with someone in just a night.

I feel that Eliza’s and Alex’s love story wasn’t finished… Were Ellie and Joe supposed to be the reincarnated versions? If so, their love story didn’t seem to promise that their love story would last either.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It’s not a 5 stars because like I said I feel that the main characters stories were left up in the air.

This book broke my heart and put it back together. Two timelines and finding love on the night train made it feel like history playing out twice.

I loved that art really showed the passion of the characters in this book, Eliza through her drawings and Ellie through her music. Only if we could be frozen in time to really enjoy those special moments.

The imagery in this book is done very well from the beaches, to the front lines, to Paris and the train of course. I left this book wanting more.

This is a fantastic WWII and present day story that really brought out the passion and love through the wonderful characters. If we could all meet at the beach at 3:15 at some point in our lives!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of The Night Train to Berlin by Melanie Hudson. As a fan of WW2 historical fiction and dual timeline plots, this was the book for me. Ellie, present day, and Eliza, 1944, are connected by the night train from London to Cornwall as well as the cottage in Penberth. Their experiences on each train just make you want to take a train ride, maybe even an overnight train. Ellie and Eliza demonstrate different kinds of strength in the face of adversity and the characters of Nancy and Nora during the war showed the resilience of the women during that time period. Even if you are getting a little weary of WW2 stories, this one has enough of the present day storyline as well as the relationships of the women during the war to make it definitely worth reading.

There are two couples who meet on the night train from London to the Cornwall coast, where sparks fly! I want to take a trip on this train! Most of this dual-timeline story concerns Alex and Eliza and their wartime adventures.

An extremely well-researched book with unforgettable characters.

The first plotline is historical fiction and is the best part of the book. Melanie Hudson has created strong, compelling characters and placed them in realistic and absorbing situations fraught with emotional conflict and physical danger. We care mightily about what happens/will happen to Eliza and Alex and whether they and their relationship can survive and thrive. I thought the choice to make Eliza a renowned, brilliant artist and to assign her to “paint the war” very original and interesting.

The second plotline does not have much strength like the first. The characters are not as strong or likable. For me, they lack much of the charm that makes Eliza and Alex so compelling. Halfway through the book, I seriously wondered whether the second plotline was even necessary. Turns out that it is, but readers have to reach the end of the novel to understand why.

I wasn’t crazy for the ending. While it’s romantic, I thought it left too many questions open and unanswered. Yes, it’s great to leave some things to the reader’s imagination. But here, the author leaves questions unanswered that are central to the book—indeed, some of the very questions that kept me turning the pages.

I also thought the title somewhat misleading. When I requested the ARC, I was under the impression I’d be reading a novel involving an actual night train to Berlin, say, traveling from France or Switzerland or Poland and possibly involving espionage. Turns out there’s no such train. There are two night trains to Cornwall, and there’s the invasion of France to capture Berlin, which, I suppose, can be thought of as a train. At any rate, the story I ended up reading was entirely different from the story the title led me to expect.

All in all, I found this to be a good novel and worth a read for historical fiction fans.

I loved this dual time novel, and I don't think I've read one set during present day and the end of WWII so that was a nice change.

Book received for free through NetGalley

This was a sweet, sad, adorable, and heart wrenching book that switched perspectives between World War Two and present day. I easily fell in love with the characters and wish I could follow along for longer to learn more.