Search

Nerd Girl Loves Books

Book recommendations and short reviews just for you!

Author

Nerd Girl Loves Books

Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies by Jenny Elder Moke

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Release date Jan. 20, 2026

This is a cute, cozy mystery with a sprinkle of romance. It has most of the same characters in the author’s previous book She Doesn’t Have a Clue but is it’s own standalone mystery. This book centers on ambitious Juliette Winters who is determined to save her struggling publishing company single-handedly by publishing a tell-all memoir from ruthless business magnate Warren Ellingham. Trouble is, he keeps putting off her request for pages from his book, and she’s losing patience.

Continue reading “Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies by Jenny Elder Moke”

Season of Death (A Barker & Llewelyn #16) by Will Thomas

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed this Victorian era historical fiction mystery series and love how the author continues to keep stories fresh and interesting even after 15 books. The book features two private enquiry agents, Barker and Llewelyn, and is set mostly in the East End of London. It comprises mainly working class and immigrants and has a lot of poverty and crime.

Continue reading “Season of Death (A Barker & Llewelyn #16) by Will Thomas”

Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel

Rating: 4 out of 5.

3. 5 stars rounded up. Release date 1-13-2026

This is a cute, contemporary romance that takes place on set of a Bachelor-type dating show. Georgia Rose applied and was accepted to be on the reality dating show to write an exposé on the producers, who she suspects of doing horrible things for ratings. What she didn’t expect was to run into her unforgettable one-night stand from the year before, country singer Rhett Auburn, who was the Bachelor in the show the previous year. He’s the season’s new host, and if the producers find out she knows him, all her plans are out the window.

Continue reading “Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel”

Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a very cute Regency romcom book Austenesque book telling the tale of Emmeline and Simon. Emmeline is a gothic author that prints in secret under a different name. Simon is the one that got away without any explanation. He returns to find a crumbling estate on the verge of bankruptcy and young siblings that need caring for. Simon’s siblings are strong-willed and opinionated and add much depth and humor to the story. His youngest sister Sofia and her pet frog Blast in particular are a hoot.

Continue reading “Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham”

Pick Me by Victoria Schade

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a cute contemporary rom com that has pickleball as a major component. You heard me, pickleball. Brooke is a ghost writer for a series of cowboy romances that is suffering from major writer’s block since a bad breakup. While tagging along with her best friend to a pickleball game, Brooke sees Kai, a hot man that instantly gives her inspiration. She devises a plan to get close to him, which includes taking lessons from frumpy pickleball coach Owen.

Continue reading “Pick Me by Victoria Schade”

A Little Christmas Matchmaking (The Paradise Book 2) by Carolyn Brown

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a very cute Christmas romance that’s book two in The Paradise book series but can be read as a stand alone. Tripp owns a leather shop in small town Spanish Fork, Texas and needs to hire help. Former leather shop owner Hank recently lost his wife and is looking for PT work. He moves to town, bringing his granddaughter Willa Rose with him. He helps her set up an antique store in the small town. Tripp comes from a big, loving family, complete with matchmaker Great Aunt Bernie. She’s decided that it’s high time Tripp finds love and is determined to find him a match. Preferably with Willa Rose. Both of them resist Bernie’s shenanigans, but can’t deny their attraction to each other.

Continue reading “A Little Christmas Matchmaking (The Paradise Book 2) by Carolyn Brown”

The Odds of You by Kate Dramis

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sage leaves her data analyst job to become an author. She writes a bestseller, but now has writer’s block as she writes her next book. On her way to Comic Con, she runs into a hot, but irritating passenger named Theo. He’s a breakout actor on the verge of fame. As they are leaving the plane, the paparazzi snap photos and mistake her as his girlfriend. They connect during the Con, but the pressure his fans put on her squashes anything actually happening between them. In an effort to cure her writer’s block, Sage goes to a location in Scotland that Theo told her about was special to him and his family. What she didn’t expect was to see Theo again.

Continue reading “The Odds of You by Kate Dramis”

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood

Rating: 4 out of 5.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a YA Fantasy/Romance vampire book and it’s great to get back to the genre. This book is a new twist, combining the Civil War and supernatural beings. I listened to the audio of the book and the narrators did a fantastic job portraying the numerous characters and instilling the danger they went through and the anger, desperation, grief, and determination of then during the story. Jerusalem is a black woman that spent years on a plantation as a slave with her family under the rule of a cruel and vicious vampire. After gaining her freedom she joins the military fighting the Confederate Army. She discovers she’s a Saint, people with enormous strength and incredible reflexes, and is paired with an ancient vampire, Alexei, and other Saint allies. The Saints often have special weapons that help them harness their power and Jerusalem’s is an ancient spear.

Continue reading “The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood”

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

Rating: 3 out of 5.

3.5 stars

The book is set at a century-old hotel in Alabama that’s survived every hurricane. The other notable thing that’s happened at the hotel is a local girl accused of murdering a politician’s son in 1984. Geneva grew up in the hotel and is the current owner. It’s about to go under, but she is contacted by a writer that wants to rent a room for a long term stay while he writes a book about the infamous murder.

Continue reading “The Storm by Rachel Hawkins”

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑