Title: Midnight in Berlin
Author: JL Merrow
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (2nd Edition)
Length: 200 Pages
Category: Paranormal/Fantasy
At a Glance: An entertaining and unpredictable take on the werewolf trope. Slightly gritty with a bit of humor and a hint of romance, it kept my attention to the last page.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: One bad decision can change your life forever.
It’s midnight in Berlin, and drifter Leon is hitchhiking home in the rain, covered in feathers after a wild festival in the city park. He can’t believe his luck when he’s picked up by a hot guy in a Porsche. That is, until he learns his driver is a creature from his worst nightmares—and plans to turn him into one too. He runs, but he can’t escape the werewolf’s bite.
Christoph made one mistake, but he’s paying for it plenty. He took Leon for a rogue werewolf on his way home from a hunt, and by the time he realizes the truth, it’s too late to do anything but make Leon a monster to save his life. That doesn’t save Christoph from the pack leader’s harsh punishment.
As Leon struggles to cope with his horrifying new reality—and his mixed feelings for the man who bit him—he’s desperate to discover not only what’s happened to Christoph, but the secrets their pack leader is hiding from them all.
Secrets the pack will kill to protect.
Review: I love JL Merrow’s writing, but I’ll admit to being unsure of what to expect when I picked up Midnight in Berlin. As always, the writing is rich and the scenery set a perfect stage for what was to come. While not perfect, I still found myself reading page after page and following the action to its surprising conclusion.
Leon’s nomadic life has him in Berlin, at a festival of sorts, drunk and covered in feathers. In an effort to get back to his lodgings, hitchhiking seemed like the best idea. Unfortunately, Christoph picks Leon up and mistakes Leon’s feather-covered body for a rogue werewolf with no control. This sets a chain of events in motion, with lots of action as they two uncover a web of secrets.
While the story develops quickly and there was a hectic nature as everything unfolded for Leon and Christoph, it didn’t feel rushed; at least not from a plot perspective. The romance… I’ll get to that in a moment. But back to the plot and the action, because that is where the story really stood out for me. The direction it all was heading was not easily discernable, and I really loved this because it meant I was reading something new to me. It excites me when I can’t figure out what will happen. It helped that the majority of the usual werewolf/paranormal tropes were absent, leaving me unsure and enthusiastic to see where I would be led. The ending certainly was unforeseen, yet I found it satisfying in its unexpectedness.
Leon was a great choice in narration. He was prickly, angry (understandably so), confused, scared and motivated. He was consistent in that he didn’t have to be consistent. Leon thoughts and moods, especially with regards to Christoph, were all over the place. It. Worked. It was understandable, seeing as Leon had been thrust into this dangerous and unknown situation. Leon’s sense of humor peeked through with precision timing, keeping things from delving too deeply into the gritty and serious side. Despite the story taking place over days, Leon is forced to grow substantially as a character, making decisions he had been avoiding up until that point. Being torn about Christoph was reasonable, and I empathized. Christoph’s mistake cost Leon so very much, but as Leon learns more about Christoph’s situation, there is more understanding and maturity in his interactions with the man that forever changed him and dropped him in the middle of the chaos.
While I did have my eyes glued to the words from beginning to end, the story wasn’t without a few niggles. While the plot’s unpredictability was something that stood out in a positive way, as were Leon’s thoughts, the unpredictability and inconsistencies of some of the other characters had the opposite effect. There were a few times I found myself scratching my head and thinking, “Why would they do that?” or “What about…?” While not huge plot holes, some of the motivations and actions didn’t quite mesh up with how their characters personalities had been developed.
Now, for the romance. Don’t expect a lot of page time dedicated to Leon and Christoph’s burgeoning relationship. While they do eventually become a couple, of sorts, and they are together for most of the journey, the frenzied plot and rush to uncover the secrets of the pack left the two MCs with little time to really get to know one another. While it didn’t bother me at all, there are some who may be let down that the romance part of the story isn’t all that romantic-y, playing second fiddle to the rest of the story. Leon and Christoph spend the first few pages attracted to each other in a sort of insta-lust way, but then Christoph’s mistake lands them both in hot water. Leon awakes angry, confused and trapped in a house of horrors. He blames Christoph. Through the adventure, eventually Leon admits his attraction to the man who brought him into the supernatural world, but he continues to struggle against admitting it to himself because there is still anger and blame. When the two finally give in to their emotions and simmering chemistry, it was in the midst of action; there was little time to do much physically. At the conclusion it was more that the relationship was forming, a foundation had been poured, but the two aren’t what I would consider solid and didn’t leave me completely secure in their future.
While not my favorite from this author, it was an entertaining and unpredictable take on the werewolf trope. Slightly gritty with a bit of humor and a hint of romance, it kept my attention to the last page.
You can pre-order Midnight in Berlin here:
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