Bryn Turnbull is a local author to me, so I was so thrilled when I received an ARC of her newest release, The Berlin Apartment!

This book had me hooked right from the beginning. I haven’t felt so fully immersed in a book in a long time! It was so well researched, and I am so grateful to be setting this book down after finishing and feeling like I genuinely learned more than I knew previously about the Berlin Wall. I feel like I never truly thought about the impact the wall had on families and their day to day lives. I left having a whole new perspective - thank you Bryn!

A young couple, Lise and Uli,

“ Berlin 1961: When Uli Neumann proposes to Lise Bauer, she has every reason to accept. He offers her love, respect, and a life beyond the strict bounds of the East German society in which she was raised — which she longs to leave more than anything. But only two short days after their engagement, Lise and Uli are torn violently apart when barbed wire is rolled across Berlin, splitting the city into two hostile halves: capitalist West Berlin, an island of western influence isolated far beyond the iron curtain; and the socialist East, a country determined to control its citizens by any means necessary.

Soon, Uli and his friends in West Berlin hatch a plan to get Lise and her unborn child out of East Germany, but as distance and suspicion bleed into their lives and as weeks turn to months, how long can true love survive in the divided city?”

Wow! I laughed, I cried, I loved this story. So much truth and so much we need to remember in well written novels like this.

I was delighted to receive an ARC of the Berlin Apartment because I found the premise so interesting. I learned about the Berlin Wall in school, and, despite reading a ton of historical fiction set during WWII, I have never read anything like this. Reading about life on both sides of the wall was fascinating. A really solid read with a unique premise. I highly recommend.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. I knew very little about the Berlin Wall when I started reading this, and did some basic Google searches to get an idea of the history before I fully delved into the story.

BT captures the heartache and loss that the Berlin Wall caused in a way that has you grieving for the characters on all sides. It really put into perspective how complicated and strained people's relationships had become, and having no choice but to just... Move on with life in the best way you can. It's devastating to see how the characters' lives unfolded over the years, suffering from the repercussions in various degrees due to an event out of their control.

While this is a love story, I want to point out that this was more than just a romance. This book covered love and loss from all aspects- friendship, family, and new bonds created simply by having one goal in common- to bring loved ones home.

This book also demonstrates the true power of forgiveness, and how forgiving someone, above all, is healing for you personally, and how it grants yourself peace to move on with your life, in whatever that may entail. I think each of the characters had to find forgiveness for one reason or another, and watching that growth through the years, within due time, proved that love will find its way again.

Thank you, Netgalley and HQ Fiction, the the arc! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to future publications from both HQ Fiction and Bryn Turnbull.

Two lovers torn apart by the construction of the Berlin wall in 1961 fight for years to finally get reunited. This was great on audio and perfect for fans of Mandy Robotham's The Berlin girl. I love learning more about how the lives of citizens in East and West Berlin were so vastly different during this time period and Canadian historical fiction writer, Bryn Turnbull does a great job with this. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

East and West Germany citizens being free to move back in forth between countries until one day you cannot. Part historical fiction and part love story. From the beginning of being able to cross the border, to the building of the wall, what people will do for the people they love and finally the wall coming down. I enjoyed this book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #Harlequin Trade Publishing, #BrynTurnbull, and #TheBerlinApartment for the advance copy for my honest review.

This was one of my favorite historical fiction novels from this year! A unique time period, including romance, loss, and historical context, I just couldn’t put it down. From the beginning to end I was hooked, heartbroken, and anxious to see what happened. An absolutely fantastic novel. Even weeks later I’m thinking back to it.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from the publisher and author through NetGalley. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

As much as I love to read historical fiction that takes place during the World Wars, I’ve found myself seeking out more stories that are set outside of those years. That’s part of what drew me to Bryn Turnbull’s latest novel, The Berlin Apartment. I really appreciated getting a fictional viewpoint of what life would have been like in Berlin as the Berlin Wall was being constructed.

Here’s the book’s description:

Berlin 1961: When Uli Neumann proposes to Lise Bauer, she has every reason to accept. He offers her love, respect, and a life beyond the strict bounds of the East German society in which she was raised — which she longs to leave more than anything. But only two short days after their engagement, Lise and Uli are torn violently apart when barbed wire is rolled across Berlin, splitting the city into two hostile halves: capitalist West Berlin, an island of western influence isolated far beyond the iron curtain; and the socialist East, a country determined to control its citizens by any means necessary.

Soon, Uli and his friends in West Berlin hatch a plan to get Lise and her unborn child out of East Germany, but as distance and suspicion bleed into their lives and as weeks turn to months, how long can true love survive in the divided city?

I really didn’t know a ton about East and West Berlin and why the city was separated. I’ve seen pieces of the Wall at various museums and knew it came down in 1989 - in my lifetime though, as a two year old, I had other things on my mind. Snacks, probably. I always love approaching a time in history via fiction first, especially these days when authors do so much research to get the facts and the feel of the story as accurate as possible.

Turnbull did such a good job of getting the feeling right that I actually had to set the book aside for a few days. I just couldn’t handle reading as a couple was separated by a wall and for what? A city that couldn’t figure out how to come together after the war? It was incredibly devastating and I was not in an emotional headspace to feel all I was supposed to for Lise and Uli. I eventually came back to it - on audiobook once the book was released - and felt mentally prepared to find out if the pair would ever be reunited.

The book spans from the weekend before the city was divided in 1961 to an epilogue that took place on November 9, 1989, the night the wall came down. On the one hand, I appreciated seeing how times changed during that span and the time it took for the border to be removed. On the other hand, that’s a long time for a novel. I just couldn’t help but feel the pace was a little off and it meant the last portion of the novel felt quicker than the first portion and I don’t think that made for a good flow.

Even with that pacing issue, the end of the novel was immensely satisfying. I think part of that was due to the characters Turnbull created and how much I cared for them. The situation Lise and Uli found themselves in was so heartbreaking and was made even more so by thinking about how many real people had their lives completely ripped apart when the border was erected.

While The Berlin Apartment didn’t blow me away, I remain a fan of Bryn Turnbull and the way she can tell compelling historical stories. I look forward to her next novel - and meeting her in the fall when she comes to a library near me!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HTP Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I am left absolutely heartbroken! 😭 I had to DNF at 72% because I just could not handle anymore. I can guess that Lise and Uli probably get their HEA at the end of this but sadly it’s not enough for me to keep reading. I understand that it’s naive of me to want this story to be all romance and fairytales when it’s a historical fiction and will stick to reality. I just felt to emotional and furious about Uli starting a relationship with Ignes and Lise having to be controlled by her brother. This book had me in a chokehold up until those parts and I haven’t stopped crying. I don’t know how I will ever recover from the injustice.

I do recommend this story to others but I hope they are aware that it CAN/WILL leave you heartbroken.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I want to like this one but I struggle getting into it. It was a bit too slow. It might be a case of just not the book for me and my mood.

The Berlin Apartment is a well written romantic historical fiction about the Berlin Wall. I love historical fiction and this one didn’t disappoint. The story is about how the Berlin Wall divided a nation, divided families and a young newly engaged couple.

Lise and Uli are engaged and get separated overnight by the wall. Uli and his friends devise a plan to get Lise and other people out of East Berlin. Will they be successful? How long can true love survive as weeks turn into months? There is a bit of romance in the story but the book is more about the hardships people endured because of the wall being put up. It also shows how trusts were broken even amongst family members.

I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it especially to lovers of historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

In 1961 Berlin, Uli proposes to his girlfriend Lise. She accepts, but doesn’t take the ring, as she wants to tell her father and brother later, together. Lise lives in East Germany, but studies in West Berlin, where Uli lives. Before she can tell her father she’s engaged, the country begins putting up barbed wire, then eventually, a heavily guarded, concrete barrier, separating Uli and Lise. At first, I was really drawn to this story. I have not read any fiction set during this time period in Germany so I was really intrigued, and I do love a historical fiction/romance. But ultimately I didn’t care for the latter part of the book. I also felt some of the dialogue between the characters didn’t feel right for this time period.

The Berlin Apartment
By: Bryn Turnbull
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•Historical Fiction
•Berlin
•Cold War

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The Berlin Apartment was kindly provided as an ARC by NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

I was so excited to read this book! I love books about Berlin during the Cold War, and this one was no exception. Turnbull does such an amazing job of making you feel what these people went through, and how hard it was to live in a divided city.

It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once I became more immersed in the story, it flew by! I really could feel every conflicting emotion these characters felt.

I really enjoyed this book, and I think any historical fiction lover would enjoy it too!

I had the opportunity to get a copy of The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull. First, can we all just take a minute and admire that gorgeous cover??

The story is about Lise and Uli who are planning a happy life, starting with their engagement. Lise lives in East Berlin with her father and brother, but studies medicine in West Berlin where Uli lives. Lise goes home after the romantic evening when Uli proposes dreaming of what's to come, including a dinner later in the week with her family and Uli, announcing their happy news.

But, just days later, the Berlin Wall goes up, dividing the East and West. Uli and Lise are separated with no way to get to one another. What follows is a heartbreaking, breathless account of their story.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's been a long time since I have wanted to keep getting back to what I was reading and I couldn't wait to get back to Lise, Uli and the rest to find out what was going to happen. I also want to add that what happened was NOT what I thought was going to happen at all. Ms. Turnbull is a new to me author, and this may be my first read by her but it won't be my last! Thank you to the publisher for the copy.

This story begins in Berlin of 1961 when Uli proposes to Lise just before the East was separated from West leaving the couple on separate sides of the Wall. The story is told in third person following the couple, family and friends during this difficult time and is interspersed with letters which may or may not have been received. Lise met Uli while attending University in West Berlin to become a doctor. She had special dispensation to attend the university but when the wall goes up, she is stuck in East Berlin and her hopes of becoming a doctor are dashed.

Uli and his close friends who also have loved ones in East Berlin start to strategize how they can sneak them out safely. They are aided in this endeavor by Lise’s best friend, Inge, a Swedish citizen who can move between the two areas legally, though she must be careful not to draw the interest of the authorities. Meanwhile, Lise is trying to adjust to her new situation. Her brother, Paul, who is not supportive of her relationship with Uli, is a staunch defender of East Berlin and their choices to protect their citizens from the temptations of the West.

This is my first book by this author, and I really enjoyed it. I found the characters to be root worthy and interesting. I was quietly captivated with the plans to sneak Lise out of East Berlin and the various strategies and reroutes the group had to take to execute their plans. I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, which was expertly narrated by Mary Jane Wells. I was somewhat frustrated by some of the decisions the couple made along the way and especially with the relationship between siblings Lise and Paul but it made for an engrossing story. Many rants were made during the course of this book so it definitely brought out my emotions.

Recommended to historical fiction lovers interested in the history of living behind the Berlin Wall.

Thank you to Netgalley and MIRA Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and was curious to read The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull. It’s the story of one young couple separated by the wall and the events that follow. A heartbreaking tale shares their desperate attempts to be together and the sacrifices along the way. You’ll want to grab a latte and curl up with this fall must read.

I love historical fiction steeped in history, and Turnbull shared the story of a young couple separated overnight by the wall and the lengths they went to hoping to be reunited.

Turnbull did an outstanding job of bringing the reader along on this journey. We could feel the emotions on both sides of the wall. Using the perspectives of this couple allowed the author to show not only their turmoil and attempts to build a life despite their separation, but also the impact their own families had on them.

Desperate choices were made. Some heroic, some for the sake of another as the tension grew. Lise Bauer travels from the East to the West for her education, which is how she meets and falls in love with Uli Neumann, who keeps an apartment in West Berlin. The two become engaged and plan to tell their family soon, but on August 13, 1961, the East German Antifascist Protection Border is erected and Lis finds herself trapped on the East side. The author does a fantastic job of describing those first few days and the desperate attempts by East Berliners to escape West.

The couple faced impossible decisions, including betrayal, and I felt for both of them. Despite how I felt; their stories & actions felt genuine. This well paced, well-researched story held me captive until the last page. The ending was uplifting, and I closed the book with hope.

I love Turnbull’s writing and was excited to read her latest about a couple torn apart by the building of the Berlin Wall. Overnight, Uli and Lise are sentenced to a lifetime without each other, separated by just a few impenetrable city blocks.

Their story was heartbreaking, and with desperation setting in as the wall went up, Turnbull’s writing brought to life the harsh conditions and the palpable fear that was present in the lives of every East German. I learned so many amazing historical details in the novel and especially loved the glimpses of family life during this time. Being a mother myself, Lise’s choices are understandable - you will do anything to protect your child.

I highly recommend this book! It’s an emotional and gripping tale of true love and devotion spanning the decades and a (cold) war. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This novel is like reading an eyewitness account of the people living in East and West Berlin when the dividing wall was built and the repercussions in their lives. It is a well-crafted and mesmerizing story of two young people caught on their respective sides when all they want to do is be together. Uli loves Lise desperately and his decision to create a way to get her to the west without getting her arrested or killed was interesting, believable and gut-wrenching. The division of the novel into parts added to my understanding the story better, as the time line changed with the parts and the story was set further in the future, with more changes in the daily lives of the main characters. Uli, Lise and their friends Jurgen, Wolf and Inge became like real people to me, suffering from the will of the government and with no recourse but to find a way to rebel clandestinely. Reading the story of how they were forced to live separately, trying to find happiness in a different life than they had planned spoke to their resilience, which seemed to be a major theme of the story. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and was fully invested in their finding their happy ending, whatever that would be. The fact that the happy ending did not immediately appear kept me engaged and invested in what was a twisted and compelling story. I think my favorite part of the story was Lise’s honest assessment of her life with her brother Paul, a man who sold out to the state and then devoted himself to discovering a way to make her happy in the east, even though she had to live without Uli. The emotion of that scene jumped off the page and made my heart pound as I read quickly to see how Paul would react. What a breathtakingly complex story that was written in a powerful way, getting way under my skin and right into my heart. This is historical fiction at its best, with plenty of action and a deep, immersive plot that captivated me from beginning to end.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

“The Berlin Apartment” by Bryn Turnbull is an emotional and historically rich story set against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall's construction in 1961. The premise is gripping: young lovers, Lise Bauer and Uli Neumann, find themselves cruelly separated by the sudden division of their city, forcing them to navigate life on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain.

Turnbull does a good job of immersing readers in the tense atmosphere of Cold War Berlin. The historical details are well-researched, and the depiction of life in both East and West Berlin is engaging. Uli and his friends' struggle to reunite with Lise through dangerous and covert means had me turning the pages, eager to see if their love could survive the monumental challenges ahead.

However, while the plot had plenty of action and conflict, I found the characters lacking in depth. Lise, in particular, felt somewhat underdeveloped, and I often wanted to know more about her thoughts and emotions during such a tumultuous time. Her best friend, Inge, was a standout character, and I wished she had more of a presence throughout the story. Similarly, Uli’s character seemed to fade into the background after the first part of the book, only to reappear with confusing motivations in the final sections.

For readers who enjoy romance with a historical backdrop, this book will likely hit the mark. The romance is heartfelt, and the depiction of love struggling to endure in the face of political and physical barriers is powerful. However, if you’re looking for deep character exploration and a more nuanced portrayal of historical events, you may find “The Berlin Apartment” a bit predictable.

Overall, I enjoyed the book for its fast pace, historical setting, and emotional stakes, but it left me wanting more depth from the characters.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Berlin Apartment

Another fabulous historical fiction story by Bryn Turnbull! I found it very interesting to read about what life was like on the East and West sides of the Berlin Wall. It must have been very difficult for the families that were separated overnight. It was an insightful read, very well researched and kept me absorbed in her story.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for a complimentary e-ARC for my honest review.