Silver Nutmeg received positive reviews, with many commenters praising Lofts' ability to make the character's adventures and emotions relatable to modern readers. A reviewer for the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix commended the "brazenly romantic" work: "Fundamental issues of the time, between empire and empire, black and white, men and men and men and women, are presented not only as issues of that time, but as issues of all times."[5] The Sydney Daily Telegraph offered a particularly effusive review:
"The time may be the mid-eighteenth century; the place may be the Dutch East Indies; the scent of nutmeg, tropical vegetation and rank native bodies my give it an outlandish flavor, but-- the characters are as real and tangible as any you'd meet in the most honest and well-done realistic novel of today, the personal drama just as intense. And, on top of these things the story is told with a fine sense of restraint and a notable instinct for suspense and final tragedy."[6]
F.W. Russell Smith called the novel "somewhat melodramatic in its plot" but "skillfully and convincingly told."[7] Amos Melton called it "a rattling good tale" and Lofts' best novel to dat.[8] Writing for the Norfolk Ledger-Star, Clarence Walton called it "a stirring tale and one with a firm historical background."[9] Claire Keefer of the Ottawa Journal wrote that Silver Nutmeg is "rich in romantic and dramatic interest" and that it "possesses all the enchantment suggested by the lovely title."[10] Ruth Campbell, reviewer for The Tennessean , wrote that Silver Nutmeg "holds all the excitement that can be crammed into a novel" and posted that it would reward re-readings and "would make a perfectly swell movie."[11]
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