Novel Nerd Blog - Book Reviews by Smitha

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW Cosy, charming, and full of festive feels! Sue Roberts delivers a heartwarming second-chance romance set in a snow-dusted village you’ll never want to leave. Ruby and Nathan’s slow-burn love story is filled with gingerbread, nostalgia, and just the right amount of holiday magic. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Heidi Swain. Sue Roberts delivers another heartwarming festive treat with Home for This Christmas, a charming second-chance romance that wraps you up like your favourite woollen blanket and doesn’t let go until the final snowflake falls. The story follows Ruby, a talented London chef who reluctantly returns to her quaint hometown to judge a charity gingerbread competition – only to find herself face-to-face with Nathan, her brooding childhood sweetheart. What starts as an awkward reunion soon turns into something far more compelling as shared memories, snowy mishaps, and gingerbread-fuelled encounters rekindle old sparks. Roberts beautifully captu...

  MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW Detective Mark Turpin of Thames police is called to a crime scene late on a Friday afternoon where he finds a man dead, his face bubble wrapped in a plastic sheet. The victim is suspected to be Trent Jardel who was found at his office desk killed. However, the investigation quickly escalates. Tracing the victim's last movements leads Mark to a rented property by Jared in the Oxfordshire countryside with his constable collegue Mr West. Inside the property, he discovers a far more horrific scene: another body, butchered and left to decompose. There they get to find a third mystery victim too. This discovery immediately throws the case into high gear, signaling a killer far more dangerous than initially suspected.  This cold case "The Hollow Man" seems to be classic of its kind leaving the reader with a suspenseful mind. The two murders are done differently which leaves the case complex and at the edge of your seat. The killer has left not much ...

 MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW Widow Vanessa Mayfield, still grieving for her late husband, embarks on a sincere hunt for her family's heritage ring, which was misplaced shortly after his terrible death. During her Columbus, GA, community's holiday preparations, she forms an unexpected connection with charming antiques merchant Ben Miller and realizes that love may return when least expected. Ben learns evidence regarding the ring's D-Day origins and realizes the lost wealth may already be in his father's possession, prompting him to prevent its sale. What follows is a touching test of devotion, faith, and if real love can weather the storm before Christmas. Karen Kingsbury tells a wonderful, emotional Christmas story filled with grace and genuine emotion. If you enjoy Christian romance stories about second chances, family treasures, and emotional redemption, this book is ideal for the holidays. It moves at a steady pace, with characters full of faith and emotion. A littl...

  MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW Set in Nazi Germany in 1941, The Secret Locket tells the heart-wrenching story of Noemi, a Jewish girl, and Pascal, her childhood friend and first love. Growing up together in the Bavarian countryside, their bond is deep and unshakable—until war tears them apart. As Pascal is pressured into joining the Hitler Youth, Noemi’s life is put in danger when her parents are taken to Dachau. Desperate to save her, Pascal helps Noemi escape, giving her his mother’s silver locket as a symbol of their love and a promise to find her again. As Noemi flees for her life, she faces danger, heartbreak, and the constant fear of discovery, but never loses hope that she might one day reunite with Pascal. Spanning years of war, separation, and survival, The Secret Locket is a moving tale of forbidden love, courage, and the enduring hope that even in the darkest times, love can survive. What follows is a journey of survival for Noemi as she escapes into a world of uncertaint...

  MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW Steve N. Lee’s The Ruins in Which We Bleed is a gruesome, profoundly moving novel that plunges readers into the heart of the Holocaust through the eyes of a brave 13-year-old girl, Helena. Imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, Helena endures unimaginable horrors—disease, starvation, brutality—yet her fierce love for her family becomes a celebration of hope in a world shrouded in war struggle. Through intense research Lee brilliantly captures a forgotten struggle, the innocence of childhood crushed by war, balancing heartbreaking tragedy with astonishing courage and resilience. Helena is not just a fictional character—she is a mirror of the countless real children who bore witness to evil and still managed to show understanding. The prose is vivid and fast paced, with scenes that linger long after the final page. Ghetto fighters were members of underground resistance groups within Jewish ghettos during World War II who fought against Nazi oppression and depo...

 MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW The July Fourth Murders: War Is Murder is a 2025 anthology that includes four historical mystery novellas by James Gaskin, Penny Richards, Janis Patterson, and Sandy Steen.  The stories follow everyday individuals, such as a midwife in 1775 Lexington, a captain in WWI Paris, a factory worker during WWII, and a band in Vietnam, whose lives are upended by murder. The anthology combines historical mood with suspense, portraying the human side of combat throughout multiple centuries. I felt that while the novellas are rich in period detail and emotional depth, their small length limits plot intricacy and character development. Overall, it's an engaging book for aficionados of historical mysteries, offering diverse glimpses into American wartime lives linked by a patriotic theme. BOOK DESCRIPTION The July Fourth Murders: War is Murder by James Gaskin (Author), Penny Richards (Author), Janis Patterson (Author), & 1 more  Format: Kindle Edition I...