Historical Romance Book Review: The Collector of Burned Books

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About the Book

Title: The Collector of Burned Books 

Author: Roseanna M. White 

Genre: Historical Romance 

Publisher: Tyndale Fiction 

Release Date: July 15, 2025  

Click here to purchase a copy of this novel. 

Publisher's Book Description

“In this gripping World War II historical about the power of words, two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy. 

 

Paris, 1940. Ever since the Nazi Party began burning books, German writers exiled for their opinions or heritage have been taking up residence in Paris. There they opened a library meant to celebrate the freedom of ideas and gathered every book on the banned list . . . and even incognito versions of the forbidden books that were smuggled back into Germany. 

 

For the last six years, Corinne Bastien has been reading those books and making that library a second home. But when the German army takes possession of Paris, she loses access to the library and all the secrets she’d hidden there. Secrets the Allies will need if they have any hope of liberating the city she calls home. 

 

Christian Bauer may be German, but he never wanted anything to do with the Nazi Party―he is a professor, one who’s done his best to protect his family as well as the books that were a threat to Nazi ideals. But when Goebbels sends him to Paris to handle the “relocation” of France’s libraries, he’s forced into an army uniform and given a rank he doesn’t want. In Paris, he tries to protect whoever and whatever he can from the madness of the Party and preserve the ideas that Germans will need again when that madness is over, and maybe find a lost piece of his heart.” 

 

My Review

The Collector of Burned Books, by Roseanna M. White, is an intensely gripping story of conviction, survival, courage, and love. From beginning to end, Ms. White’s exceptional writing talent is fully evident. Her careful research and thoughtful insight blend together seamlessly with elements of history, suspense, danger, faith, and romance to create a genuinely moving novel that is truly entertaining and intriguing. With captivating characters, relevant themes, and a riveting plot, this historical fiction novel is as touching as it is fascinating.  

 

The story unfolds in 1940 in occupied France during WWII. The characters grapple with the new realities of their everyday lives against contrasting backdrops of greed and selflessness, force and resistance, gluttony and privation, control and powerlessness, and falsehoods and truth. With curfews, blackout curtains, fear, rationing, and arrests as just a few of their constant concerns, the characters make difficult choices and face dire threats as they struggle for hope and freedom for the marginalized, threatened, and oppressed. While they do what they can to thwart the evil in their midst, they persevere with gritty determination. The opportunities, the motivations, the choices, and the trials that the characters endure are complicated, nuanced, and raw. Furthermore, by emphasizing themes such as intellectualism, censorship, morality, worthiness, liberty, redemption, and love, this novel abounds with meaning and significance. 

 

The Collector of Burned Books is an emotional-stirring, thought-provoking, and unforgettable novel. Its compelling characters, war-time setting, enduring themes, and engaging plot are deeply inspiring. When fiction can make us, the readers, explore our own hearts, our own motivations, our own insecurities, and our own fears, it is an incredibly marvelous thing. When fiction can nurture positive change, then written words become something profound and meaningful. This book is an example of that type of impactful fiction. I was wholly invested in this well-written story from the stunning beginning to the dramatic conclusion. I recommend it most sincerely. 

 

*I was given a copy of this novel from the publisher/author. A review was not required. The review I have written is voluntary and contains opinions that are entirely my own. 

 

About the Author: Roseanna M. White

“Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.” --Biography from Roseanna M. White’s website. 

Click here to visit Roseanna M. White's website. 

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