Emily Grayson

Night Train to Lisbon by Emily Grayson is a tale of spies and love set in the summer of 1936. Carson Weatherell, the sheltered daughter of wealthy American parents is invited on a European trip by her English Aunt Jane and Uncle Lawrence, a British intelligence officer. On the night train from Paris to Lisbon, Carson meets a young British physicist, Alec and the two proceed to fall in love while enjoying the summer in Portugal. Everything seems perfect, until Carson’s uncle informs her show more that British Intelligence is positive that Alex is a Nazi sympathizer and is passing secrets to the Germans.

While I found the story idea interesting, the actual result needed improvement. The book was quite short and I believe it could have used some extra length to give both the characters and the story greater depth and substance. Also a plot twist was added to the end of the story that was quite unneeded.

Night Train to Lisbon was a lightweight story that was a disappointing read and one that I can’t recommend to anyone. show less

For the past fifty years, on May 27th, Martin and Claire have been meeting at the gazebo in the square of their small town. This year Martin has walked into the local newspaper office carrying a briefcase. He asks the editor if she would like an interesting story for her paper. As Martin begins to tell his story she realizes that it is not the newsworthy type of thing she is looking for and politely ushers him out. However, the story does not leave her alone and she heads to the town square show more to observe this annual meeting first hand. This year no one shows. She steps into the structure and discovers the briefcase lying under the gazebo bench. In that briefcase is the story of Martin and Claire along with a few other surprises.

Is it a little cliché? Yes. Has the story been done before? Yes. Are some of the decisions Claire and Martin make unbelievable? Maybe yes, maybe no. But, I loved this little book that packed a bit of a punch. I turned the last page of this book as I was sitting in airport terminal waiting for a flight and found I had to get up to go to ladies room to wipe the tears away. show less

review This should have been just my thing. England. World War II. London during the Blitz. Thwarted love. Awesome, right? Except that the "love" story is settled in 30-40 pages. The entirety of World War II takes place in 150 pages. And the characters whisper such treacly, cliched, ridiculous nothings to each other. Nothing about this book was real, and that is a shame.

In the beginning, I felt there were just too many cliches. A teenage girl, confused about whether she is really in love with her boyfriend, hears the story of how here widowed grandmother fell in love when she was the grand-daughters age. And this is only the first chapter. The book takes place in 1938, in England during World War II. An Oxford University student falls in love, and like many a romance it is filled with both adoration and heartbreak. This isn't the type of book I normally show more read, and I still felt like I've head it all before.

The ending is very touching though and I'm glad I finished it. Ultimately I enjoyed this little novel, most of the time. show less