Welcome to the next stop on the blog tour for Adventures Abroad, a new adult contemporary romance series by Jen McConnel from BloomsburySpark. Yesterday I reviewed What Happens in London on Tuesday, What Happens in Paris yesterday, and today I’m reviewing What Happens in Berlin. Be sure to see below for information on the books, buy links, and details on Jen’s giveaway.
What Happens in Berlin (Adventures Abroad #3) by Jen McConnel
Synopsis
Interrupting a summer of fun, Joelle takes a detour to Berlin for her older brother’s wedding.
Spending time with her family is enough to make anyone go a little crazy.
She’s ready to lose it…until she meets Vi, a girl ready to turn her world upside down.
Follow her journey in the third installment of the New Adult series, Adventures Abroad!
——————————————————–
My Review
Joelle leaves her friends behind and heads to Berlin for her brother’s sudden wedding to Petra. While there, she battles with her mother, meets charming Johan, but falls for free-spirited Vi, who I just adored. I do love that she has some serious self-discovery going on, but I think she still has a ways to go.
This was my least-favorite book in the series, and I wasn’t sure why at first. But now that I’ve had a few days to mull it over, I think it’s because I don’t much care for Joelle. She was fine as a supporting character in the first two books, but now in this one, I don’t know. She did grow on me though, and I liked her so much better after she hooked up with Vi. I hated the way she judged Petra immediately, assuming she’d trapped Charlie into marriage.
Plot
The plot was as good as the other two books in the series, and there was some fun and different stuff going on and I’m not just talking about the girl-meets-girl romance. The wedding is the center of this story more so than the locale, although Berlin definitely plays into the plot. The family drama with her mom is also a nice twist to shake up the plot a bit.
Characters
Although I don’t necessary like Joelle, I can’t deny she’s an interesting character. She has depth, and let’s face it, we don’t like everyone we meet in real life either. The other characters, Charlie, Petra, Johan, her mom, and Vi felt more developed to me than some of the supporting characters in the other two books and I think that’s because Joelle studies people. She takes it all in and reflects back on what she observes in her narrative.
World Building
Being three-quarters German, going to Germany is definitely on my bucketlist along with heading to Ireland for the other one-quarter. I loved reading about Berlin and the descriptions presented on the pages match up with what I’ve heard from my family members who’ve traveled there.
Ending
I liked the ending of this installment quite a lot. Like I said, I saw some growth in Joelle and I’m interested to see where her story goes.
Top Five Things I enjoyed about What Happens in Berlin:
1. Charlie. Yeah, he’s a bit of a jellyfish when it comes to his parents, but he’s a good brother, even if he does smoke (yuck).
2. Petra. She’s terminally adorable and I think Joelle will benefit from having a sister-in-law like her.
3. Johan. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t my favorite character, and he definitely has issues, but I loved his name. Because up until two generations ago, there were Johann Tragesers going back for more than a dozen generations and I always said if I had a son, I’d name him Johann. Which is crazy considering my kids’ last name are all Hernandez. Still, I have a soft spot for the name.
4. Vi. Love her. Purple streaks and all!
5. Spin the Bottle. I haven’t played that game since I was a tween, and I love that it factored into the story.
Bottom Line
While not my favorite in the series, What Happens in Berlin is a good story, a fast read, with interesting characters.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
——————————————————–
About the Book
Title: What Happens in Berlin
Series: Adventures Abroad #3
Author: Jen McConnel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Release Date: June 15, 2015
Pages: 100
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Bloomsbury Spark
——————————————————–
Author Jen McConnel
About the Author
A Michigander by birth, Jen McConnel now makes her home in the beautiful state of North Carolina. She writes NA, including the recently released Adventures Abroad series (Bloomsbury Spark), the award winning YA novel Beautiful Curse, and various other works.
When she isn’t writing, she can be found on her yoga mat or wandering off on another adventure.
Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.
Where to Find Jen McConnel
Goodreads | Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
——————————————————–
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks