Novelists In November book review

 Novelist In November anthology book review. A Christian short story collection set in autumn about writers and their lives through highs and lows.  

Novelists In November  

| writing through life one step at a time | 

Hello lovelies! Today I am so excited to share my FIRST book review of 2025! If this is your first time here on the blog, welcome! If you’ve been here before then you probably have seen me chat about this book! I was on the “street team” for this book (meaning: I help the author/publishing team to promote and share about their book). I got to help out with the cover reveal, book birthday celebration as well as interview one of the authors (who also happens to be one of my best friends) and have a guest post by the founder of the Wild Blue Wonder Press who published this anthology! 

• Novelists In November book birthday!

• Reviewing Shira’s story 

• When God Calls You To Be A Writer | Shira J. Rodriguez 

• Why We Need Families in Christian Fiction | Kellyn Roth 

Without further ado, let’s get into the book review! 

Rating System & Age Groups   

Something new I want to start sharing on my book reviews are age ratings (meaning: who I think the book is targeted for and is appropriate for) and how I rate my books. Here is my system along with age ratings. 

Star Rating 

★★★★★

LOVE FOREVER! Clean & will forever recommend it!

★★★★ 

Amazing but I had issues (not as clean, something didn’t click, etc) 

★★★

It’s okay. I don’t hate it. I don’t love it. (Multiple clean warnings, somethings just didn’t click, etc) 

★★

Just no. Will never recommend it (many clean warnings, could barely get through the book, etc)

★

dead to me / a completely waste of time that I will never get back

Age Rating 

• Children’s Books (0-12 years old) | perfect for read aloud time and are easier for younger readers to read themselves. 

• Example: The Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The Green Ember by S.D. Smith. 

• Middle Grade (8-12 years old) | chapter books for kids who are growing up and probably love adventures but aren’t yet ready for “teen” books. 

• Example: Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The Different World by B.W. Luby. 

• Teen (12-16 years old) | novels usually about teenagers that begin to deal with more mature content but are still “kid friendly”. If a middle grader was to pick this up it would be fine. 

• Example: Dust by Kara Swanson. The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson. 

• YA “young adult” (16-18 years old) | a young adult who is not fully ready for adult books and still reads books about teenage characters. I use this and teen pretty interchangeably the only distinction being teen for more sensitive readers and YA for those who can take on a bit more mature/tough themes. 

• Example: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Romanov by Nadine Brandes. 

• NA “new adult” (18-29 years old) | basically YA but with characters in their twenties. Can be read by a young adult audience with no problems. 

• Example: The Redwyn Chronicles by Madisyn Carlin.

• Adult (18+ more mature) | these are books that have more adult content and I probably wouldn’t recommend them to children or young teens. These could have a bit more content in them or they talk on subjects more abstract or for the adult mind to understand and sometimes debate with. 

Example: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Perelandra by C.S. Lewis. 

What Is The Book About?   

Novelists in November is a Christian short story collection featuring eleven emotional tales of authors finding their calling in Christ and pursuing hope, joy, and inspiration. This anthology contains touching stories from contemporary and historical fiction authors with a mix of romance, women's fiction, and mystery!

The Review 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Cleanness: ★ ★ ★ ★.5 

I really enjoyed reading this whole anthology! It is very cozy and relatable as a writing reading these stories of novelists. It’s a perfect story to read cozy by the fire on a cold evening or rainy day. 

A common theme throughout the stories was great sadness and loss paired alongside hope in God. I think every story had some sad elements like losing loved ones, facing death, family woes, hard relationships and even lost faith. In the end the stories bring a sense of hope in the loss and pain and sadness. A hope that comes when looking to Jesus. 

I really enjoyed reading these stories! I will definitely be reading these again next autumn! <3 

Note: I reviewed each story separately with a content guide for each. 

Melting-Pot Thanksgiving by Andrea Renee Cox 

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★.75

Age: appropriate for YA but targeting adult 

A sweet little thanksgiving story. I loved sees the different cultures coming together. It was sweet seeing this foster family and the ending was so sweet! 

I feel like I could relate to Sarah always pushing her sleeves up because they get in the way and her love for children’s stories! I love that she wanted to write stories for her foster kids. I really lied her character! 

My favorite part was the kids! They are so sweet! I’m glad they had a happy ending. 

The conflict felt like it was solved a bit rushed and not really realistically. —SPOILER: It felt cruel what Sarah’s mother did to her. Yes, it was wrapped up nicely but after YEARS of this behavior for it to be fixed in a single conversation felt…rushed. END SPOILER— But it did make a hallmark feeling happy ending so if you love that feeling then you will love this story. 

Content: minor injuries but nothing bad. One of the foster kids has a mom in prison and it’s said their neighbor was dangerous and you could get shot. Otherwise this was a completely clean read! 

As She Talked by Bethany Willcock 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: YA 

“Nothing I see when I’m alone is real.”

I love this story! The mystery! You wonder if Autumn is just forgetting things or if something more serious is occurring. It has the feeling of an unreliable narrator. You’re constantly guessing what will happen next! This is SO GOOD! 

I really like the setting of this story! I love how history is woven in. Stories from WW2 era and the 1940s are some of my favorites! 

I like that Autumn is a writer (as all of these stories are about writers) and how she needs to “see” her characters to write them. I like that she paints her characters. It’s unique and really fun! I like how wherever she goes she is thinking up stories. This is very relatable! 

Noah is my favorite!!! I love him and his little girls! He is such a sweet dad and I love how he is grounding for Autumn. 

The title callback! I love it when authors can weave in the book title into their story! That was so fun! 

Content: talk about ghosts, there is a thief stealing things, Autumn thinks her characters are coming to life so she thinks she is going mad, a drowning, the story is set after WW2 and Noah has a leg injury that’s talked about, Noah’s wife died in the blitz. Nothing descriptive or really bad. I thought this was a very well written story with really no bad content.  

Reasons to Be Thankful by Hannah E. Gridley 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★

Age: adult (clean) 

This story felt more somber with a lot more real world problems and issues. The story follows a married couple in hiding (basically witness protection) as *spoiler* the FBI husband and his wife were both attacked and were almost killed by a colleague of the husband. They are in hiding you get to follow them for a short amount of time. 

It was a really sad story. There was good moments of joy and happiness but mainly this weight and sadness that covered the story. I wish this was longer so we could have a fuller story and happy ending with justice being served and a broken family healed though as this was only a short story that was not to be. Still a solid story but I’m a sucker for happy endings so that is why the story is rated a bit lower. 

This is definitely more adult in my opinion just with the subject matter. I think New Adult to Adult is most likely the target audience. If you love reading mystery, crime fiction, Irene Hannon, Dene Henderson kinds of stories then this is perfect for you! 

Content: a man is shot in the back, a woman is run over by a car with significant injuries, a child is kept from his parents, a married couple talk about trying to conceive, some kissing 

Act in the Living Present by Katja H. Labonté 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: YA 

This is such a beautiful story!!! I absolutely love Katja’s writing style. This is such a beautiful and moving story tinged with grief. 

I love how much faith played a part of this story. The message and themes were beautifully written. 

Rupert was my favorite! *heart eyes* I love his character and seeing what a good and loving brother he is. I love how he is always there for his sister and how much he looks after her! <3

My only complaint is I wish it was longer, lol. I love the characters and would totally love reading more about them and their story. Honestly, that’s not a complaint, I just really love this story! I want to read more from Katja! 

Content: There is deaths in this story but I felt like it was written really well with hope being present in the grief. Myriam reads a romance book that her brother worries about because it could have content that can harm her heart. I loved the conversation the characters had about this. I wish this was talked about more. And Rupert is just the best! This is such a clean story! There is no content that I object to which is awesome! 

My Heart Still Sings by Faith D. Cox 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: YA 

I love this story!!! It felt like a full length novel though it was only a few pages long. The characters felt so real. 

The story is inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time! I love how after the accident Kaylee focused back on God. There was so much faith woven into the story! It was so inspiring! 

Content: a character gets in an accident that makes them disabled. A character wishes she was dead and faces depression. 

Tollemache House by Kellyn Roth 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Age: NA (new adult) 

This is such a cute story! I love the setting and aesthetic! The cozy, November, old manor, rainy day, English countryside feel was *chefs kiss*. 

I really want to read more from Kellyn! And inside the author’s note Kellyn mentioned she will be publishing future stories in this story’s universe! I cannot wait! 

Content: a newly wed couple kiss and the girl when away from home thinks about how she misses sleeping next to her husband (really sweet and nothing inappropriate). A woman nurses her son and has a brief conversation about that (again, a sweet moment but I thought I’d still share it here). 

Finding Beauty in Suffering by Katie Zeliger 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★.5

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: YA

This was a really fun story! I loved the setting in the castle where the writing retreat is set. I wish this could have been a full length novel because I would love to see more of the castle, retreat and if anything happens with Mr. Beautiful. 

This was a very emotional story. The main character is dealing with the recent loss of her father and is struggling with her faith. If you are someone who has gone through loss this could be triggering or emotional to read about. 

Otherwise, I thought this was a really well written story! I love the healing that came in this story! I would love to read more from Katie! 

Content: Dealing with loss after a parent dies from cancer. Depression. Struggling with faith. 

The Lost History Of Lavender Lockbourne by Shira J. Rodriguez

 

Rating: ★★★★★

Cleanness: ★★★★★

Age: YA 

“Have you ever gone to the beach? Well, imagine that the waves are bigger and made of ebbs and flows of grass instead of water, and that is the closest thing to describing the hills and dales on the English countryside. Even the smell of  the air there  was  wonderful. I think I felt alive for the first  time. Happy. The  sort  of  happiness  that  your  lungs  can  touch and  swell  with and  the  scent  of  wildflowers  and  earth and rain and cloud permeating everything like  a  holy incense.”

This story!!! *cries* 

I have absolutely fallen in love with this story! The characters are incredible! The setting is beautiful and mysterious! With author Lavender and her golden retriever (think fun, loyal, ready for adventure) cousin Rita you travel from New York in the 1980s to the moors of Yorkshire England in pursuit of the mystery of where Lavender came from. 

I love that this book has mystery, adoption (you know a book is going to be my favorite when there is adoption), travel, England, yummy food, an old manor house and the best relationships! 

Lavender and Rita’s relationship is so sweet! I love how they are basically sisters and how they will really do anything for each other (even traveling across the globe to uncover a mystery). There were moments with the two of them that I just started crying from how real and sweet their relationship is! 

Ralph and Helen!!! *cries* They are my FAVORITE ever! This couple! They have my heart! I would totally just read a whole book from their perspective because I just love them so much! 

Shira’s writing is so beautiful. Her descriptions are so rich and vivid. You feel like you are there with the characters, seeing, feeling, smelling and experiencing everything they are. Her writing reminds me of the great classics. A writer born for a time gone past. You feel like you are stepping back in time to the 1980s. I love it when writers can write about historic times without it sounding modern or like they are from today writing about the past. It feels like they are from that time, or rather they are the character living there in the story. 

The ending!!! It was like the best plot twist (don’t worry it wasn’t a crazy cliffhanger, really it wasn’t a plot twist, but I still gasped)! 

I highly recommend reading! If you love incredible family bonds, swoon worthy romance that is completely clean and wholesome, England, Wuthering Heights, scones *wink*, exploring old British homes, mysteries, adoption, and letters, then you will LOVE this book! 

Content: a girl is diagnosed with terminal cancer and has only months to live. Nose bleeds. A girl passes out. You find out about a woman who died after childbirth. 

Pages of Grace by Heather Flynn 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: YA 

This was such a good story! I really loved the characters and the setting. I thought Heather did an amazing job of creating a sweet best friends to lovers story is just a few pages that feels real and oh so sweet! 

I love the theme of following after God’s purpose for your life! 

So good! Highly recommend reading! 

Content: a girl gets pranked but that’s it. Lol! 

The Sound Of Healing by Avrie Swan 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★  

Age: YA 

The ending!!!! 

This was such a good story! I have always been fascinated by WW2. I loved getting to read this story set during that time with having the theme of facing your fears and finding healing through telling stories. 

The ending was beautiful and I love how everything was connecting! I wish there was more so we could see what happened to the characters! Always a good sign when reading a book! 

Content: a character went through WW2 and being imprisoned and starved. She has ptsd and nightmares. Things trigger her memories back to that place like cigarettes. A child is beat. Some frightening and intense scenes. 

Between Moor and Mountain by Kelsey Bryant 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Content: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Age: Adult audience but clean for all ages 

This was such a good story! Recently I’ve been researching and studying all things Scottish. The country, the language, the culture, the history. It was so fun reading this short story set in this beautiful country I’ve been learning about! 

I think this was beautifully written and now I wish the story of the monarch in the glen was a real story! I would absolutely love to read it, lol! 

Content: a woman was in an emotionally abusive relationship that was really hard on her. Otherwise it is all clean! 

Thank You For Reading   

I hope you enjoyed reading my review of Novelists In November! I really loved getting to read this collection of autumnal short stories and be a part of the lovely team with the Wild Blue Wonder Press street team! While I was given the opportunity to read this book as an ARC I ended up getting the book and reading it not as an ARC reader (meaning: “advanced reader copy” aka getting to read a book before it is published (usually free) from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review) because of my vision issues. If it was an ARC then I need to have a statement stating that because of legal reasons. I didn’t have to share about this but I thought it could be cool to start sharing bookish behind the scenes content AND share definitions and meanings.

Question: do you like me including clarifying definitions/explanations for bookish words? 

I loved getting my physical copy of this book and now display it proudly on my bookshelf knowing my best friend has a published story in it as well as knowing all the authors wrote these stories with a kingdom minded perspective! 

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all having a wonderful rest of your day! I’ll see you in the next one!

Love, Moriyah