Next Stop: Love

by Miranda J. Fox, Jaime McGill (Translator)

Twenty-five-year-old Sophia Neumann has a big interview in Berlin, and if it goes well, the new job will allow her to escape her overbearing mother and make a life on her own. Unfortunately, the trip starts off on the wrong foot when she is forced to share a train compartment with an arrogant and devastatingly handsome businessman, one who both provokes and intrigues her. Once they arrive, Sophia is relieved to leave him behind―until she walks into her interview at Marcs Entertainment and discovers that he’s Luca Marcs, her potential new boss. With office politics in mind, Sophia is determined not to mix business with pleasure. Yet what began as discord soon turns to desire, and when Luca reveals his feelings for her, Sophia will have to ask Is this just a case of interoffice lust, or is Luca the real deal?

Genres: Romance, Ebooks, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance

157 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2014

About the author

My heart belongs to books and love. That's why I prefer to write love stories and erotic novels with happy endings. I love music, live in Berlin, and like quick-witted and self-confident protagonists.
Already as an adolescent, I wrote short stories and novels. In 2013, I realized my dream and published my first erotic love story "Love and Fire" under the penname Miranda J. Fox (don't worry; that's not really my name).
Since then, a large audience has been enjoying my books, and I am always thankful to live my dream and to entertain you with my nonsense. I hope this will continue ;)

When I'm not writing, I use every free minute to read.

Reviews

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Eine Zugfahrt ins Glück" ist ein Einzelband von Autorin Miranda J. Fox.

Eigentlich mag ich den Schreibstil der Autorin. Diese Geschichte war mir aber irgendwie nicht fesselnd genug. Das ist schwer zu beschreiben. Sie war ganz nett, hat mich aber leider nicht vom Hocker gerissen. Trotz der wenigen Seiten kam irgendwie Langeweile bei mir auf. Daher vergebe ich nur knappe 3 Sterne.

Hier folgen noch einige Infos zum Hörbuch:
4 Stunden und 44 Minuten / Ungekürzte Ausgabe
Sprecherin: Karen Kasche
Die Sprecherin bekommt 4,5 Sterne von mir.
Verlag: Audible Studios

[Sybil aka Lala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was short and sweet.

Sophia escapes her overbearing mother after getting her law agree and hops on a train to start a new life in Berlin. On the train she is thrown into a cabin with a rich businessman. She dislikes him sight and he is immediately entertained by her snarky attitude towards him. She gets off the train and heads to a job interview, only to find the man she’s been trading insults with, will be her new boss.



Sophia has been hurt in the past by an ambitious rich boy and because of her mother’s overbearing ways she is very guarded and doesn’t trust easily. I really liked Sophia. She was strong and spoke her mind. I enjoyed her personal struggles with her feelings and at times I found her to be quite funny. Luca was sweet and very patient with Sophia in trying to get her to see he wasn’t all she judged him to be and to finally break down and go out on a date with him.



The secondary characters were great at adding charm to the book and I enjoyed the funny interactions the MCs had with them.

I missed a resolution to the relationship with Sophia’s mother and I feel like there are still a lot of unanswered questions there.

Also, I’m not sure whether this was because of the translation or not, but I found the dialogue and descriptions felt a little stilted and unnatural and it definitely affected my rating of this book.
All in all though, I found the story charming and sweet with some Cinderella moments and a little bit of angst thrown in.

(ARC copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one average, insipid, full of cliches novel, I had to check whether I'd read it before.

The main female character was completely uninteresting. And so was her love interest, yet another rich, gorgeous, of course single guy, who ends up being her boss.

The plot is quite uneventful and drawn out.

Honestly, the only good thing I can say about this novel is that it was short. Oh wait, there's another one - I didn't notice any grammar mistakes.

I've received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Diana von Abendsternchens bunte Welt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kurzbeschreibung:

Um endlich von ihrer störrischen Mutter wegzukommen, zieht die 25 Jährige Sophia nach Berlin und möchte dort ein neues Leben anfangen. Leider stellt sich die Fahrt dorthin als absolute Katastrophe heraus, denn sie muss sich die Kabine mit einem unverschämt arroganten aber leider auch gutaussehenden Geschäftsmann teilen, der sie fortwährend provoziert. Während der Fahrt lassen die beiden ordentlich die Fetzen fliegen und als sie Berlin endlich erreicht und den Albtraum hinter sich glaubt, sieht sie den Mann bei ihrem ersten Arbeitstag wieder … als ihren neuen Chef.

Autor:

Mein Herz gehört den Büchern und der Liebe. Deshalb schreibe ich vorzugsweise Liebesromane und erotische Geschichten mit Happy End. Ich liebe Musik, wohne in Berlin und mag schlagfertige und selbstbewusste Protagonisten. Schon in meinen Jugendjahren schrieb ich Kurzgeschichten und Romane, im Jahr 2013 verwirklichte ich meinen Traum und veröffentlichte meinen ersten erotischen Liebesroman "Love and Fire" unter dem Pseudonym Miranda J. Fox (Keine Sorge, ich heiße nicht wirklich so). Außerdem schreibe ich Thriller und Fantasy Romane, unter weiteren Pseudonymen.

Meine Meinung:

Sophia, 25 Jahre alt, ist aus den Fittichen ihrer Mutter geflohen um endlich das zu machen was sie möchte. Viel zu lange machte sie nur das was ihre Mutter wollte und legte nach dem Abitur ein Jurastudium hin. Als dann auch ihre Mutter noch ein Arbeitsplatz in einer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei besorgte, war es für Sophia genug. Heimlich schickte sie bereits ihre Habseligkeiten per Post an ihren neuen Wohnort. Vorm ersten Arbeitstag stieg sie selbst dann in den Zug Richtung Berlin. Ihrer Mutter hatte sie nichts von ihrem Auszug erzählt. Trotz Platzreservierung war ihr Sitzplatz vergeben und so wurde sie wohl oder übel in die Abteil eines jungen Mannes gesetzt. Ein Business-Typ der auf ihr arrogant und unausstehlich wirkt, genauso ein Typ Mann um den sie einen großen Bogen machte seit der Sache mit ihrem Ex-Freund.

Es entsteht ein witziger und bissiger Schlagabtausch zwischen den beiden. Sophia ist nicht auf den Mund gefallen und kontert ihrem Gegenüber gut.

In Berlin angekommen hat sie wenig später ihr Vorstellungsgespräch. Bei diesem Termin trifft sie der Schlag denn vor ihr sitzt Luca, der Businessmann aus dem Zugabteil.

Da es sich bei Eine Zugfahrt ins Glück um eine Liebesgeschichte handelt ist relativ früh klar wie es ausgehen wird. Dennoch habe ich die Story sehr gerne gelesen und hab die Seiten nur so verschlungen. Der Schreibstil hat mir gefallen und ließ sich auch sehr angenehm lesen. Die Charaktere waren gut ausgearbeitet. War Luca anfangs ganz der unausstehliche Typ, so öffnete er sich im Laufe der Zeit und es war zu sehen wie er wirklich war. Auch Sophia durchzog nach dem Auszug von zu Hause einen Wandeln und fand so zu ihr altes ich zurück.

Eine Zugfahrt ins Glück habe ich die durch die Love Letter Convention bekommen und war dort durch die kurze Lesung auf das Buch neugierig geworden. Bisher war mir die Autorin unbekannt. Ich denke das es nicht das letzte Buch gewesen ein wird das ich von ihr gelesen habe.

Wer ein witziges Buch mit einer Liebesgeschichte für kurzweilige Stunden sucht dem kann ich Eine Zugfahrt ins Glück empfehlen.

Ich vergebe 5 Sterne

[Sara J. (kefuwa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okaaaay. I think I should stop reading outside my preferred genre. I have no context to compare it to. Seriously. Why am I getting romance titles? I have no idea. My idea of a good romance is what happens in (off the top of my head) Robin Hobb or Lois McMaster Bujold books. Hoho.

Anyhow, this was another quick, short read (yeah I kinda miss my doorstopper sff books atm). It wasn't good but I can't say it was bad exactly. Can you say rom-com movie!typical? Yes, I think you can. If you are looking for a light contemporary romance. With a light somewhat uninspiring but not wholly insipid main character meets dashing male lead who instantly rubs her the wrong way but eventually... well, yeah... how do you think these novels end? XD

[LadyTechie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next Stop: Love was a good read. I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Next Stop had a wonderful beginning. It was full of barbs and bites between Sophia and Luca on the train ride into Berlin. It created a wonderful start to this book. The give and take between them was funny at times. After they arrived in Berline the reader meets Lisa, Sophia's great friend. She was entertaining and a complex character though we do not know much about where she comes from and who she is, we get a good feel for the type of person she is based upon their conversations. Sophia seems to be a person that draws people to her and also due to her relationship with her mother she is unaware of her own qualities. She becomes friends with Aileen, a co-worker and seems to blend in well at her new job, and to her surprise, with her new boss, the man from the train. Sophia has a lot of work to do to overcome her relationship with her mother which was so negative she had to make a break from it like a thief in the night. Luca is also a wonderfully drawn character that has issues with his father that appear to be a bit like those of Sophia and her mother. Unfortunately for everyone, Luca's father is still actively involved in Marc's entertainment, the company they own and the one that now employs Sophia.

The story was full of fun nights out with the girls, great interactions between the people that work for Marcs Entertainment and tying up of loose ends, even if they were only in the mind of the people involved. The only issue I had with Next Stop: Love was that it took place in Berlin and there was nothing in the story that gave me the feeling that the characters were in Berlin. Nothing that described the setting. It would have been great to get more of that feel from the book, especially with the author being from Berlin. But, the story hit its mark with being a modern romance with a bit of action, it was translated well and I will definitely look for more from this author. Review can also be seen at LadyTechie's Book Musings http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspo....

[Shantal (VERIFED BOOK LOVER) · Rating 3 out of 5]

**ARC COPY PROVIDED BY NETGALLY*

This is a standalone novel and it features the couple Sophia and Luca.

Brief Synopsis
Twenty-five-year-old Sophia Neumann has a big interview in Berlin, and if it goes well, the new job will allow her to escape her overbearing mother and make a life on her own. Unfortunately, the trip starts off on the wrong foot when she is forced to share a train compartment with an arrogant and devastatingly handsome businessman, one who both provokes and intrigues her. Once they arrive, Sophia is relieved to leave him behind—until she walks into her interview at Marcs Entertainment and discovers that he’s Luca Marcs, her potential new boss.

My Thoughts
I must say I liked the heroine, she showed the qualities of a strong woman that was just a little misguided. The hero was also really likeable because he tried to win the heroine over slowly instead of being the typical alpha male that is written about so regularly these days. It was quite a refreshing with the characters; just the fact it was loathing at first sight was quite cute and had me very interested in it. I must say I loved the setting and the little tidbits of information I received from this book was done quite well. It did wane for me in the middle honestly , there was not enough fire during the last pages compared to the initial start. The relationship just got so boring, even the misunderstanding was not particularly entertaining. In actually it was kinda little predictable I wish the author had turned it around it some way that could have caught my eye. The epilogue was disappointing and I wanted something vastly more romantic but alas I guess sometimes different is good.

All in all not a bad read .
3 stars

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh, I do love a good solid classic love story and that is exactly what you get with Next Stop: Love.

Sophia and Luca meet ona train headed for Berlin. They are forced to share a cabin on the overcrowded train. It is hot and they are both irritable. That’s putting it mildly. They are both incredibly narky and get off on the wrong foot as they make the lengthy journey. Luca thinks that Sophia is stubborn and snarky and Sophia thinks Luca is arrogant and snobbish. It is a classic case of judging a book by its cover.

You could say that this is a really simple story and that it has no worth. You would be wrong. Yes, it is a very easy read and thee storyline is quite common but it is by no means worthless. It is a skill to be able to write great chick-lit escapist novellas. Next Stop: Love had me from the get go. I root for Luca and Sophia. They seemed so real and tangible.

I really enjoyed Next Stop: Love and I really hope that it is the start of a series rather than a standalone story.

Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox is available from 15th September 2015.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Next Stop: Love wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. Seeing the title and cover, I really thought it would be some sort of travel romance but it ended up being an office romance. The only thing related to travelling was how the main character and her love interest met on the train.

The office romance part was exciting at the beginning. I completely devoured the first half of the book (hence the two stars) but I definitely became more and more annoyed as I went on reading. Office romance books should be all about the slow burn, the yearning and the sexual tension and this book had none of that. Especially due to it being a short one (and thank god it was a quick and easy read.) The awfully clichéd romance went way too fast because of that and the conflict at the end of the book was absolutely ridiculous.

I also think that the writing and dialogues didn’t flow nicely, either because of the translation or because it was already like that in German. Noting that some pieces of dialogue were really questionable and problematic.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun light read, which lacks actual depth. The chemistry between Sophia and Luca was immense, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Only four stars for me because the book did not contain any more pages, exploring Sophia and Luca’s story.

FYI- the preview that can be read here on Goodreads is NOT an excerpt of this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Goodreads First Reads Book **

This was short and sweet romance. At approximately 150 pages, it was a very short, quick read. I would have liked a little more development in the relationship to fill the book out a bit more but it was still enjoyable as is.

[Hbiba · Rating 1 out of 5]

No offence, this book was simply silly. The characters lacked depth and the storyline was rushed and underdeveloped.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ein Zwei-Tages-Buch - leicht, nett, flüssig und vor allem süß!

[Sofia Lozano · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an easy read, a good story, but a bit cheesy. Some characters lack depth because it's a short novel.
Still, it was very compeling and you could feel the chemistry through the pages

[🌙sima · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is just like all those wattpad books but still loved it since i’m a wattpad girly and started reading ff‘s in like 2017/18. love love love. but just to clear my mind wasn’t it obvious that the man in the train was her boss? like who would he been if he wasn’t her boss?

[Krystyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book proves that first impressions aren't always accurate.

Sophia, a recent independent 20-something woman, boards a train and ends up in a 1st class car with what appears to be a rich, stuck up jerk. Little does she know, that rich, stuck up jerk is actually a compassionate man who has a heart of gold. Once the god awful train ride is over, Sophia couldn't be happier to escape the devastatingly handsome man who both pissed her off and made her want to learn more. Little does Sophia know, that the very man she couldn't wait to get away from is her potential new boss at the largest event planning company in Berlin. How will Sophia be able to keep her distance from the man who could hurt her the worst when working right next to him everyday?

Luca couldn't believe his day could have gotten any worse. First he is called back from vacation early for a conference with his father, the owner of Marcs Entertainment, then he ends up having to share his 1st class compartment on the train with some woman just because there was an error with tickets. He really shouldn't take his frustration out on the poor girl but he just can't help it, everything she is doing is irritating him beyond belief. But suddenly, something changes and he sees her as a breath of fresh air and tries to engage with her in every way he can. When she turns him down for coffee before they can even exchange names, he thinks he has lost his chance. Little does he know, that she is one of the many interviewees for his personal assistant and he cant help but jump at the opportunity to offer her the job as fast as possible. He does everything he can to show Sophia that he is not the rude jerk that she met on the train.

After many failed attempts at flirting and a few close calls at a work event, Luca finally succeeds at getting Sophia to agree to a date. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems. With a mother who is trying to regain control of her daughter, an ex-boyfriend who cant take a hint, and a father who feels a personal assistant couldn't possibly be good enough for his son, Luca and Sophia have to work harder than ever to overcome everything in order to finally be happy with each other.

I loved that this was a short, sweet read. I felt as though the ending may have been a little anti-climactic. I knew that the ending would end in a happy way but it seemed to just stop suddenly and left me questioning what happened next. I think maybe another chapter or two would have help to end the book in a more conclusive way instead of the sudden ending that it currently has. Although this book was very predictable, it was still the perfect book to read when looking for something short and sweet.

[Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cover
Das Cover passt wie die Faust aufs Auge zu dem Titel des Buches. Im Hintergrund die Skyline von Berlin und die Gleise fahren direkt auf den Fernsehturm zu, genau so stellt man sich das Cover vor, wenn man den Titel des Buches hört und auch weiß, wo die Geschichte spielt. Es wirkt so, als würde man wirklich direkt auf sein Glück zu fahren.

Meine Meinung
Das Buch fängt in meinen Augen verdammt unrealistisch an. Wir sitzen in einem Zug der Deutschen Bahn. Oder besser gesagt, noch steht die Hauptfigur, denn ihr Platz wurde doppelt vergeben. Der Zugbegleiter bietet ihr an, für sie nachzusehen, ob es noch einen freien Sitzplatz gibt. Hier fängt der Wahnsinn schon an, denn so etwas würde niemals passieren. Erstens können die Zugbegleiter gar nicht kontrollieren, ob es noch freie Plätze gibt und zweitens interessiert es die meisten auch gar nicht (hier sei gesagt, es gibt auch sehr, sehr nette Zugbegleiter, aber die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel). Die Deutsche Bahn achtet nicht darauf, wie viele Sitzplätze ihr Zug hat und wie viele Tickets sie dafür verkaufen.
Vielleicht hänge ich mich daran etwas zu sehr auf, aber das hat mich von Anfang an ziemlich gestört. Ich bin selbst eine Viel-Fahrerin, was die Deutsche Bahn angeht und hab so auch schon eine Menge an Erfahrung gesammelt.

Naja, als ich über diese Tatsache hinweggekommen war und weiter lesen konnte, musste ich feststellen, dass es keineswegs besser wurde. Während ich so über dieses Buch nachdenke, kommt es mir etwas "Amerikanisiert" vor. Die ganze Geschichte hätte wahrscheinlich besser in eine amerikanische Großstadt gepasst, als nach Deutschland.

Auch die Geschichte zwischen Luca und Sophie (der Hauptfigur) selbst hat mich nicht wirklich begeistert. Es war von Anfang an klar, wie das ganze Enden würde. Recht schnell waren wir dann auch so weit und zack! Das Buch war zu Ende. Vielleicht hatte die Geschichte einfach Pech und ich habe schon zu vieler Bücher dieser Art gelesen, aber ich konnte mich einfach überhaupt nicht dafür begeistern. Es hat mich bis zu einem gewissen Grad sogar ziemlich gelangweilt und ich habe die Seiten einfach nur noch überflogen aber beim besten Willen nicht mehr gelesen.

Wenn man auf vorhersehbare Liebesgeschichten steht, könnte einem dieses Buch wirklich gefallen. Schlecht geschrieben ist es nämlich gar nicht. Die Autorin schreibt sehr flüssig und auch angenehm. Obwohl ich mich eigentlich zu der Zielgruppe des Buches zähle, hat es mich einfach nicht überzeugt.

Wertung (2/5)

www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.com

[Dimple Malhotra · Rating 3 out of 5]

*ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
You can find the review on my blog here:

This book is a easy read, fun and light. I eventually read it in one sitting. :D

Okay, so this book is your typical romance book. It kicks off with the hate that eventually ventures into love. Typical, right? Although the hate was just irritation on Sophia and Luca's (The main characters) first meet which was more or less part of other worries but it still started out as hate, so yeah...

They are forced to travel together because of some messed up double-booking of Sophia's seat and conveniently we had our hero to be the one who had a complete compartment to himself. They obviously have some banters in the start and then eventually start getting attracted to each other. Sophia can't wait to get rid of Marc because of her past experiences and Marc's behavior in the start although he was nothing but friendly towards the end of the journey.

Here comes the co-incidence. When she walks in for the interview she finds out that her potential boss, son of the owner of Marc's Entertainment is the same person she met on the train and wanted to get rid of- Luca Marc. Luca hires her. (Obviously!) ;)

Then starts Sophia's struggle of realizing her feelings for Luca and going against her prior decision of keeping her professional and personal life apart. Her past experience with her ex-boyfriend makes it difficult for her to open up to Luca. But finally, after her friend, Lisa's persuasion and her own will of putting her past behind, she decides to date Marc.They bond over their problems and how they have been always tied down by their parents wishes and expectations. Luca's devastating handsome looks and Sophia's smart mouth don't help either. :P

Here enters office politics. The girl, Mary, who has hots for our hero starts spreading rumors and Luca's father tries to break them up but they eventually clear the air and get together.

The writing is simple and has its fair share of fun elements. Hear me out when I say- "TYPICAL LOVE STORY!" They meet- hate each other- get attracted- coincidence- fall in love- date- someone tries to break them up- they fall apart only to get back together- The end!

Why would I pick it up?

This book is the type of book you need to de-stress with, light and easy going or to read on road trips or train rides or on lunch breaks. :D :D When you need a break from the reality but aren't really up for the heavy, mind-racking stuff, this is the book for you! :D ;)

[LJT · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the book blurb from Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox, I just had to request it. The story is set in Berlin and the summary sounded exciting and different. If you are looking for a light, romantic read with well-developed characters, then this book is for you.

At the the age of twenty-five, well-educated Sophia Neumann is finally getting out from under her mother's intense scrutiny and control. She has a big interview scheduled with Marcs Entertainment, and if she gets the position, she will be making good money and enjoying life on her own terms. On the train ride to Berlin, she shares a compartment with a good-looking, well-to-do young businessman, Luca Marcs. They don't hit it off at all, but there is a glimmer of chemistry between them. Sophia's interview ends up being with Luca and his controlling father. Sophia gets the job as Luca's assistant and little by little the sparks between them evolve and become more.

This is a fun book and I liked Sophia and Luca a lot. Their banter, especially at the beginning of the story, was quite entertaining. Sophia's mother and Luca's father are two conniving and controlling personalities, which brings some seriousness to the storyline. Overall this is a solid book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Njkinny (Njkinny's Blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox is the first book by the author that I have read and this was a quick, sweet romance.

I was intrigued by the blurb and the cover and decided to give it a try.

The plot is pretty straightforward and I could relate with Sophia who dreams of living her life and this new job in Berlin is her chance to get away from her overbearing mother and live free.

I enjoyed following her as she butted heads with the hero who also later came out to be her new boss and enjoyed the overall banter.

The settings and descriptions are good but I think their effect got a little dampened with the translation which made it sound stilted and dull at times.

While the characterization and development of relationships is good, I felt a bit dissatisfied because no resolution happens with Sophia and her mother and I really wanted to see how they made peace with each other.

All in all, Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox is a light, breezy romance that can be finished in one sitting and will appeal to all die-hard romance lovers. 3.5 out of 5 to it.

I received the book from the publishers via Netgalley and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophia has a big interview in Berlin so she takes the train and ends up stuck in the same compartment with a man named Luca. They do not get along with each other at all and repeatedly provoke each other for the entire trip. Sophia thinks she never will have to see him again, only to walk into her interview and she him sitting there with his father, who is the owner of the company. Much to her surprise he gives her the job, and they form a friendship. Both of them are attracted to one another but she tries really hard not to let it go beyond professional.

I really loved the way this one started out. It was a lot of fun watching them try to get under each other's skin while stuck in the train compartment together. It was a different kind of story than I'm used to, being a hate to love kind of thing, but I loved it. I thought it lost a bit of steam towards the middle and end though.

[Rachel Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one is around 2.5-3 stars for me. It very much follows the formula for a cheesy romance novel, and that's just not my thing. There is a major case of insta-love here, and it's not realistic at all. It just didn't feel plausible within the confines of the story even. The book is a quick read because It's pretty short, and it just feels like a lot is missing that could have made it more believable. The characters are meh...didn't really like or dislike them. They were not particularly well-developed and read like stock characters. This was translated from German, but other than mentions of German cities, it read like it could have been anywhere in America. I was disappointed that a feel for where it took place was missing even. All that said, it wasn't terrible...just not that great either.

[Dorothea Müller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um endlich von ihrer störrischen Mutter wegzukommen, zieht die 25 Jährige Sophia nach Berlin und möchte dort ein neues Leben anfangen. Leider stellt sich die Fahrt dorthin als absolute Katastrophe heraus, denn sie muss sich die Kabine mit einem unverschämt arroganten aber leider auch gutaussehenden Geschäftsmann teilen, der sie fortwährend provoziert. Während der Fahrt lassen die beiden ordentlich die Fetzen fliegen und als sie Berlin endlich erreicht und den Albtraum hinter sich glaubt, sieht sie den Mann bei ihrem ersten Arbeitstag wieder … als ihren neuen Chef.

Humorvolle Geschichte mit einer schlagfertigen Frau. Bei der Geschichte konnte ich fast wieder daran Glauben das es doch so was wie Liebe auf den ersten Blick gibt. Sehr schön geschrieben, vor allem haben mir die Schlagabtausch zwischen Sophia und Luca gefallen.

[Elle Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl on her way to a new city to escape crazy mother; train oversells and with luck they're able to place her in a first class compartment. Enter cute, well he was already in there; at first he's kind of a jerk and by the end he's super sweet.

Well, Sophia Neumann just met Luca Marcs and since he was a bit of a jerk they did not hit it off. By the end of their train ride however, Luca has changed his tune, but you know what they say "first impressions count". Sophia kindly and hastily declines; as she dashes off to her interviews, guess who she sees there?

From then on it's an up and down roller-coaster that has you flipping through the pages. I would have loved this book even more if we had gotten a real confrontation between Sophia and her mother; but not to worry, we still get a whole lot of other action to keep us happily reading.

Rating 4 out of 5
Read@Book

[Jenee Rager · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute little book. Generally I don't go all in for romances, but this one read quickly and kept a smile on my face the whole time.

Sophia is escaping her overbearing mother to live in Berlin, when she meets Luca on the train. Her first impression is that he is a jerk, a hot jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. After exchanging barbs most of the train ride, she doesn't expect to ever see him again. So when she walks into a job interview a few hours later she is super surprised to find out he's the owner of the company. A lot of stereotypical flirting takes place, as Sophia tries to deny her attraction to her boss, and of course like any romance book you have to have someone trying to keep them apart. But even if it was cheesy and somewhat stereotypical I totally enjoyed every minutes.

* I won this book from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, light, sweet read.

First of all, I love the fact that this story is set in Berlin. Most part of the YA books I read are always in LA, NY, London or somewhere that doesn't even exist. It's nice to read about other real places, giving us new things to imagine.

[Spoilers]: I love how they meet in such a random circumstance. The first chapters are hilarious. I laughed out loud when she ran into him again and recognized "Mr. Rolex". Any woman would freak out in that situation, especially after having such a bad time during the trip, but I think she handled it very well. I don't want to give many spoilers, but let's just say that the thing at the zoo was very cute. And his father is an asshole.

*Many thanks to Amazon Publishing for providing an ARC.*

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

**ARC received from Netgalley for review**


I think the this story's premise sounds great, but the prose and dialogue lack any sort of flow and come across as stilted and almost like bullet points. The story has been adapted from German and I suspect that the original version, Eine Zugfahrt ins Glück, captured the authors voice and style which hasn't translated well into English.
I don't want to find fault and nitpick as it isn't the original and not how the author intended, I shall leave my review as that and give 3 stars as the plot was good, just lacked delivery.

[Stefani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short. s
Sweet at times, but overall a mediocre book. I appreciated the setting that is Germany and the little glimpses of life there. Everything happened quickly. I wish the romance took a bit longer to develop though. I wanted to get to know the characters more. I predicted the twist from miles away but that's ok because I was looking for a quick and easy to follow book. This delivered on both fronts. However, I can't rate it above 2 stars as there are too many similar books out there and other than the relatively different setting, nothing else makes this book stand out.
Compliments for the translator for a job well done!

[C Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty short book. I finished it in about two hours. Since this was translated, I forgive the odd writing. The story itself was just ok. I think I might’ve liked it more if it were a regular length book with more story. Sophia and Luca had some interesting banter, but she was quick to judge Luca when they first met on the train and most of the time his comments were borderline harassment. Instalove was on full display - they claimed to love each other after only knowing each other a few weeks and 2 dates. It was just an ok book. It was a quick romance story with a little bit of drama. An easy evening read.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review Posted on HarlequinJunkie.com

Sophia Neumann has decided it’s time to start living her life the way she wants, instead of continuing to follow the expectations dictated by her overbearing mother. An interview with an entertainment company is the perfect opportunity to start afresh. Yet, she has to survive the train ride to Berlin first, after a ticketing error forces her to share a train compartment with sexy businessman, Luca Marcs. Read More