An enjoyable WW II novel following a group of people whose paths crossed on a train. A variety of settings, such as train, castles, rivers, and estates, as well as character's occupations add additional depth to the story. As with all WW II tales, we encounter concentration camps, but also the triumph of liberation.

I was so excited when I received my advanced e-copy of Midnight Train to Prague. When I started reading I enjoyed the story and was interested to see what would happen with all of the characters and find out how they would be connected. However, the further I got into the story, I was still wondering about the direction it was headed. I didn't really develop a connection to any of the characters and found that I was just reading to read the book, which I never want to do.

I did love the setting for the story because there are not many historical fiction books that take place in Prague or even Berlin. I would have liked more descriptions about the the cities leading up to and during the war. I enjoy books where the setting becomes a character and I just didn't see that in this book.

The format of the book was slightly confusing. It was clear it started out from Natalia's point of view, but then it switched to the farm I was left trying to figure out if I missed something. There was no heading that indicated a change in POV or even a clue in the previous chapter. The sporadic use of quotation marks also made it difficult to follow who was speaking, as did the lack of paragraph breaks between different narrators.

I do think this book had a lot of potential to be great, but it just missed the mark for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I'm quite disappointed by this book. By all accounts, I should love it. It's historical fiction, my favourite genre, it largely takes place in Eastern Europe, a favourite location of mine. I don't even mind the passive narration, which a lot of people have a problem with. It's the thirteen thousand characters I have to keep track of (which, granted, is a bit of an exaggeration, but still conveys that there are just too many). I'm sure the stories all intersect. I'm sure it's all cleverly laid out. But it's the author's job to reel in the reader and then keep them there, and a quarter of the way in, I just couldn't bring myself to even care remotely about anyone. If it takes that long (most likely longer) to hook your readers, you are in desperate need of a revision and are putting way too much pressure on the reader to steady on. I should love everything about this, but the parts that matter the most were so lacking. I 100% read for characters and character development, and don't even pretend to give a crap about plot. If the plot is stunning and out of this world, I can give a pass to mediocre characters (although not ideal). Unfortunately, this book has neither riveting plot nor characters, and I just don't see why I should have to dedicate my time to something that doesn't feel to give me credit as a reader. I'm sure there are people out there who couldn't care less about any of this and will love it anyway, but I'm just not one of them.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I hate to feel like reading is a chore, but this one was for me. The writing was beautiful, and I felt like the characters really had depth and I wanted to know them, actually I wanted to figure out who was who, but this book seemed disjointed to me. It felt like I was reading a book that was missing chapters. I kept stopping and going back and wondering, wait, who is this again and how are they related to this person’s story? And why are they now here?

Seriously, I have no idea how Anna and Natalia’s stories are related. I almost went back to start over, but it just got more and more confusing and I didn’t want to waste my time, which as a reader makes me sad.

The writing was beautiful though, so I won’t give up on the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was not for me. Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres, and I typically get lost and enraptured by the time periods and heartbreak of them all very easily. That was not the case here. I could not get invested with the characters. I felt like a lot of the writing could have been condensed at times, or even edited out. It came across as repetitive at times, and a little erratic. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which isn't hard when you become invested in them, but is difficult when they just don't reach you. I also don't care for passive narration, so that was another thing that turned me off.

I will keep my review to only here because I don't like putting out negative reviews, but thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Midnight Train to Prague by Carol Windley was a good story, but the way it was told was long and boring. It was almost entirely narration with little dialogue of motion. I had to force myself to read . . . not a good recommendation.

The story took place from shortly after World War I to shortly after World War II. Its main character was Natalia from little more than a child to a grown woman. She and her mother, Beatriz, were traveling through Europe when they met Miklos and Zita. Natalia had first pied them from the train as they were motoring in Miklos' sports car. They later turned up at the same hotel, from whence Zita and Beatrix took off for a more exciting vacation. Things started to get complicated from there. It turned into a saga, and as sagas often do, there we lots of complications and people met along the way. It was more of a slice of life than really having a plot. It could have been quite good if written differently. Hard to recommend to any but the most determined reader

I was invited to read a free ARC of Midnight Train to Prague by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein were solely my own. #netgalley #midnighttraintoprague

Midnight Train to Prague by Carol Windley is a solid story about life of Natalia Faber before, during and after the WWII. It starts off with Natalia as a young girl in a boarding school who sets off to Prague with her mother on a train.
During the train ride she will finally learn the truth about her father and meet a woman, Magdalena who will become extremely important part of her life.
In years to come there will be love, loss, hard ship. terror and war all intertwined in this story.

I really liked the premise of the book where we get to follow the story of a woman whole life and I especially enjoyed the time period, which I think is one of the most fascinating in our history.
The story was a bit all over the place, the first part of the book was pretty slow but the second half had a faster pace.
There were at times too many characters and it was hard to make the connection.
I liked food description and immensely enjoyed reading about it.
The part about concentration camp was heart wrenching.
All in all, it has a great idea but lacks in deliverance, While there are some strong points I can't say that I enjoyed the whole book equally.

A interesting read for lovers of historical fiction who want a different perspective and maybe want to feel a bit more connected by facts and setting vs. emotion and deep storytelling.

I struggled with the main voice of the book being passive. It made me feel a bit "outside looking in" where I wanted to really feel for and connect with the characters more. The abundance of characters and lengthy timeline also didn't work out quite well in this read. I loved the history and setting of Eastern Europe, but I couldn't quite connect with where the story was leading.

While I liked the premise of the book, I found it to be a bit confusing. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and the narrative seemed to skip around quite a bit.

I was really excited for this book, but it quickly became clear that it just wasn't for me. I really disliked the passive way it was written - too little actual dialogue or action, too much telling about the dialogue and action. This book definitely doesn't live up to 'Show it, don't tell it'. And there were just too many characters and they were all so superficial and hard to connect to. And too many places and times. It was just a rambling mess to me.

Thank You Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of this book!

To be honest, I was looking forward to read this book. Anything related to WWII and Holocaust history fascinates me and most books I have read on them are amazing and have rated five stars. Unfortunately, this book didn't meet my expectations. Too many characters for me to keep up with that I get confused with the characters. The story is divided into three parts--Part 1 is when Natalia is a teenager and the world has just finished with WWI and Russia had two revolutions and became a communist country. On the way to Prague from Berlin, Natalia meets Miklos with whom she falls in love and get married. Part 2 is when the world goes to war again with Hitler and Nazis invading Prague and other European countries and Russia. Part 2 was intriguing read and is about a girl named Anna who wanted to save the Jews. Part 3 is the life after the war.

It was interesting to learn so much things about the history and I like how the story shifts from Europe to Argentina to America, learning about different cultures. Would have enjoyed the book if not too many characters are involved. The plotline also was sometimes confusing to me.

Overall, it was an OK book--worth three stars.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy of Midnight Train to Prague.

I love WWII historical fiction and this had an interesting and different plot but that wasn't enough to save this book. Unfortunately from the beginning I knew this was going to be a struggle, There were too many characters and it was confusing and hard to follow. I had to DNF at about 30%.

Midnight Train to Prague by Carol Windley
Publication Date: November 3, 2020
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Description from NetGalley...
“In 1927, as Natalia Faber travels from Berlin to Prague with her mother, their train is delayed in Saxon, Switzerland. In the brief time the train is idle, Natalia learns the truth about her father—who she believed died during her infancy—and meets a remarkable woman named Dr. Magdalena Schaeffer, whose family will become a significant part of her future. Shaken by these events, Natalia arrives at a spa on the shore of Lake Hevíz in Hungary. Here, she meets Count Miklós Andorján, a journalist and adventurer. The following year, they will marry.

Years later, Germany has invaded Russia. When Miklós fails to return from the eastern front, Natalia goes to Prague to wait for him. With a pack of tarot cards, she sets up shop as a fortune teller, and she meets Anna Schaeffer, the daughter of the woman she met decades earlier on that stalled train. The Nazis accuse Natalia of spying, and she is sent to a concentration camp. Though they are separated, her friendship with Anna grows as they fight to survive and to be reunited with their families.”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @groveatlantic #atlanticmonthlypress for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
Historical fiction is my favourite genre. The title appealed to me and the description sounded spot on. Unfortunately, if I was not stubborn, I would have DNF this book. There were three parts to the book. I lost interest near the end of Part 1. There was nothing happening in the story, it was confusing and had a lot of characters. Part 2 added more characters and the story just seemed so convoluted and scattered. Part three would have been heartwarming, but I skimmed about three-quarters of this book and it no longer mattered what happened to the characters by the time I got there. I feel bad writing this, because it seems that the author did a lot of research. And there were interesting facts. The facts needed to be told in a more relatable way that readers could connect with the characters.

This book is all over the place with too many characters. I didn’t even make it 50% and I just can’t continue.

Any books that were written from the WWII era, I find myself drawn to the characters’ lives. How any of them were able to survive with so much deception and tragedy around them has always been intriguing. Their will power to stay afloat even when there appeared to be no chance of survival. Carol Windley ‘s intellectual knowledge of the background and emotion of these people was compelling until the end. Good job for this story that needed to be told as well as many others. Thanks #NetGalley for my copy to this amazing journey of love.

Moving, well done, and would read more by this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Carol windley for the opportunity to review this book.

I decided to DNF this one as I didn't much care for the disjointed style, pacing, or number of characters. It was very distracting and just not for me. Historical fiction is my genre of choice, but this isn't one I would recommend to anyone, unfortunately.

I usually love WWII novels, but unfortunately this one felt like it rambled and was way too all over the place for me. It made it very hard for me to follow or get into the story. Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for the ARC.

Let just say that the title of this book bought me. I just love Prague. My brother lives there, and my grandfather is from Prague, so it is like second home.
I just wanted to love this book so much. But I didn't.
It just wasn't for me. I read it. But I hate when I feel sorry for reading a book.
Only 2 stars...

I tried to get into this book but found the storyline pretty confusing with lots of different characters. I tried a few times to get into and just couldn't and ended up not finishing it.