Rick E. Norris's Blog

Pride and Prejudice meets Downton Abby.

Vying for a Groom by Sophie Leigh Fox is a pleasant story of the challenges and emotions of English gentry and aristocracy. I recommend this book if you are a fan of slow-paced, 19th century period English literature.

Alarmed after receiving news of her adoptive parents’ perilous missionary assignment in India, Cassandra Lawton leaves her position as a paid companion to seek solace with her only extended family in Surrey.

At Heighbury Manor, the dutiful Cassandra reconnects with her childhood friend, now a ruggedly handsome groom. Their class difference forces them to conceal a budding romance. As she struggles to navigate her new feelings, Cassandra’s hopes are challenged when an unexpected rival appears, Sir Raleigh Burgess.

After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Royal Navy Captain Sir Raleigh Burgess returns home ready to settle down and marry Lady Genevieve Waterford, who forces him to conceal their engagement.


Whilst visiting Heighbury Manor, Raleigh forms an immediate connection with Cassandra. Raleigh’s frustration multiplies when his betrothed appears and stirs up Heighbury Manor with a shocking revelation.

I love some of the language used by the author reflecting the dialogue or thoughts of the book’s period, like the word “dalliance” which originated around the 14th century: “James explained how he’d inadvertently snubbed Willa at a ball the very night he had discovered the lady’s dalliance with D’Arby.”

The author also displays wit with some conversations, for example: “Raleigh grinned. “Your face betrays you, Miss Lawton. Yours is an open canvas.” [She retorts] “I wasn’t aware that you were a patron of the arts, Sir Raleigh.”

I find the story to be slow-paced but deliberate, allowing the reader to sink into the characters’ emotions, absorbing their cultural challenges that muffle their true intentions.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Fast moving and thorough

Scavenger by Bradley Caffee is a fun read if you are into Christian post-apocalyptic (and dystopian) novels. In other words, “The Omega Man meets Left Behind.” It’s also a good Teen & Young Adult dystopian read.
In a world decimated by a lethal virus, Jimmy Hunter is a scavenger. Using his skills as a drone pilot, each day he searches his nearly vacant city for tradable goods to help him and his two friends, Elena and Wyatt, survive. With criminals and violent militia roaming the streets, each trip away from the hideout is fraught with peril.

When his drone veers off-course, Jimmy discovers information about underground bunkers where civilization and resources are being preserved--kept secret by a group known as the Keepers. But knowledge is dangerous in his world, especially with the leader of the Brotherhood, Mr. Quinn, out to claim any resources as his own and lock down his iron grip on the city.
I like the structure and movement of the story. Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Jimmy Hunter, gathers hope from an inscription his father gave him citing Jesus’ words from Gospel of John 15:13. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We really don’t understand the full impact of this Scripture on Jimmy until later, during the story’s climax.
Jimmy describes his tragic existence in this line: “Ninety percent of the world’s population died, and I was left behind to survive. That’s what happened. Choosing to live among people who can keep me safe with the girl I want to be with doesn’t sound so crazy when you consider everything we’ve been through.”
The deceiving antagonist has a frame of mind that justifies his actions. It is summed up with this one sentence, “What I seek here is justice. A fair distribution of resources. To take back what was taken from us and share it with the rest of the population.”
However, his actions state otherwise. As the Bible states, we learn what’s in someone’s heart by their “fruits.” (Matthew 7)
The author does a great job of changing the tempo without sacrificing entertainment, inserting action-adventure with the tender hearts of young adults. I don’t recall a lull in the plot where I either felt lost or bored.
I highly recommend this reading. I received a review copy courtesy of the Mountain Brook Ink Publishers through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Christian Suspense and Romance Novel

The Final Word
By Laura Thomas


Romance and suspense duel it out during this romantic thriller.

Sophie Brooks is a struggling novelist trying to make ends meet while working in a French Pastry shop in Paris. Suppressing the horror of a past relationship, she meets Miles, a successful opera singer. Their chance encounter ignites Sophie’s hope. But then she witnesses a disturbing sight while walking home.

Moving to the heart of the English countryside to escape the experience, Sophie reunites with Miles in a fairytale romance, which turns into a noxious nightmare as the darkness of Sophie’s past—and her volatile ex—catch up with her. Both Sophie and Miles must fight for their lives in this twisting, turning plot.

The author navigates the story with ease, closing most chapters with cliffhangers that compel the reader to turn pages. I found The Final Word to be a quick and enjoyable read.

I commend Ms. Thomas for tackling the difficult topic of domestic abuse, its impact on the victims and victims’ families. It’s difficult to interweave a story setting while entertaining a reader without lessening the seriousness of this topic.

The author paints excellent pictures of the internal thoughts and struggles of the characters. “Sophie looked out over the expanse of water before them. The sea was gunmetal gray, the exact color of Miles’s eyes. If she was going to be able to get through this, she would have to focus on the sea rather than the pain—or pity—in this man’s face.”

From a Christian perspective, Ms. Thomas shows the struggles of a person who is jaded on Christianity through an abusive relationship with a former so-called Christian. Some people paint Christians as abusive, judgmental, and hypocritical due to a bad experience with a single Christian. The author builds the reader’s understanding of the character’s resentment as she attempts to put that experience behind her.

I highly recommend this story to readers who like romance, suspense, with a little action-adventure.

I received a review copy courtesy of Mountain Brook Ink through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

The Queen’s Cook

The Queen’s Cook by Tessa Afshar is a fun and fast read.

In the heart of ancient Persia, the empire's Jewish citizens face an ominous edict that threatens their very existence. Roxannah, the Persian daughter of an impoverished Persian lord, is devastated by the news but feels helpless to come to the aid of her Jewish friends. Desperate to support her family, Roxannah approaches the royal physician, Adin--the man whose kind eyes haunt her--who helps her to find employment in Queen Esther's kitchens.

In the opulent palace of Susa, Roxannah tries to survive the spiteful ploys of the other cooks as she ascends through the ranks. Her loyalty earns her the trust and friendship of Queen Esther, who is navigating dangerous politics with wisdom and grace. When Roxannah and Adin uncover a sinister plot against Amestris, the king's most powerful wife and Esther's archenemy, they find themselves tasked with the impossible job of discovering the culprit. As secrets unravel and alliances are tested, the fate of Esther's reign hangs in the balance.

The author’s impressive writing style intersperses biblical history, fiction, and a romantic relationship. What makes the story more interesting is that it touches on the class struggle between Persian royalty and their peasantry in the 5th Century BC, interjecting it with Jewish antisemitism.

As an added bonus for those who like to cook, you can find a few middle eastern cooking recipes within the text. (I will try a couple of them myself.)

Tessa Afshar effectively developed her characters, as in “She studied the Scriptures, not like a scribe for the knowledge, but with a sweet devotion that guided her life.”

Also, the story creates periods of relatable high tension like: “Without her work, she could not support her mother. They would not be able to keep their home. Without her work, they would be destitute…”

My favorite line is “Guilt could be so sticky!”

A religious theme runs through the book, not only in the story, but Scripture cited at the beginning of each chapter. These insertions juxtaposed the main character’s struggle to believe in God. The author wrote this great line that continues to ring true even today: “The religious rules of my childhood did nothing to help me. God seemed more like an empty hoax than a source of our salvation.”

Since this story took place in Persia during the late 5th century BC, the author was careful to not cite Scripture that had not been written yet like that of the New Testament.

The good thing about biblical historical fiction is that it brings the biblical characters to life, developing their motivations and inner thoughts. The danger in doing that is the possibility that the story contradicts the Bible. The author seemed careful not to do that.

I received a review copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Take "time" to read this one!

Specters in the Glass House by Jamie Jo Wright is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s a Gothic Romance with Christian influences in dual timeframes. The story first focuses on Marian Arnold in 1921. The brewing baron's heiress seeks solace in the glass butterfly house on her family's Wisconsin estate as Prohibition and the deaths of her parents cast a long shadow over her shrinking world. When Marian's sanctuary is invaded by nightmarish visions of murder, she struggles to distinguish the line between hallucinations of things to come and malevolent forces at play in the present. With dead butterflies as the killer's ominous signature, murders unfold at a steady pace. Marian, fearful she might be next, enlists the help of her childhood friend Felix, a war veteran with his own haunted past.

The other timeframe takes place in the present day at the same mysterious house. Researcher Remy Shaw becomes entangled with an elderly biographer's quest to uncover the truth behind Marian Arnold's mysterious life and the unsolved murders linked to an infamous serial killer. Joined by Marian's great-great-grandson, Remy seeks to expose the evil that lurks beneath broken butterfly wings; the same sign that appeared during the murders occurring a hundred years earlier.


This must have been a challenging book to write, with two protagonists living 100 years apart. Ms. Wright does an admirable job of integrating the two related stories. In the past I have been annoyed by authors who title each scene or chapter with the subject and the location. I’ve felt that authors should be able to alert the reader of the orientation in their writing. But Specters in the Glass House is an exception to my pet peeve. The story jumps between 1921 and the present many times while developing two protagonists. It was necessary for the author to alert the reader as to which protagonist was speaking. Without these titles, the reader could have easily gotten lost. Ms. Wright was able to pull this off without interrupting the book’s rhythm and flow.


Ms. Wright’s prose is excellent throughout the story. For example, “The motorcar rumbled and jolted across the country road with the tenacity of a horse that was almost dead but determined to make it one last time around the racetrack.” (I felt like that in one of my workouts.)

Ms. Wright also interjected the character’s internal battles when struggling to believe in a loving God. This scene is a good example: “Remy had clung to those promises as a child. As an adult, she didn’t want to be convinced they were merely a fairy tale. But sometimes it seemed that way. That God wasn’t protecting, and maybe He didn’t even exist. And yet, in spite of all the arguments for or against, Remy couldn’t shake it. Couldn’t shake Him. She knew in her soul God existed. It was just difficult to understand Him.”

I highly recommend this book to those who like a good story in the genres of romance, gothic, and mystery.

I received a review copy courtesy of Baker Publishing Group through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Book Review--Cold Vengeance

A mystery thriller!

The latest book by Nancy Mehl, Cold Vengeance, was a fun and fast read. The author did a great job of “building a case” for a story that entertains those interested in different Christian subgenres: Action/adventure, mystery, thriller, and romance.

The story starts when a renowned crime podcaster vanishes without a trace. The podcaster’s boyfriend hires former FBI behavioral analysts turned private investigators River Ryland and Tony St. Clair to track her down. As the private eyes wade through the evidence, she left behind, they unearth a startling connection: the podcaster seems to have discovered the identity of a previously unknown killer who will stop at nothing to carry out a deadly plan.

As the pair delve deeper, they become targets of a relentless enemy determined to silence them. With their lives--and hearts--on the line, they confront an extraordinary evil.
This is a “mystery-thriller” because it starts as a mystery and then deep inside the story it evolves into a thriller. The author later resurrects the mystery component by changing directions.

The story has a Christian orientation as the two main characters rely on God as their strength when under stressful conditions. Scripture is weaved throughout the book, displaying the characters’ motivation. One scene uses a flashback to tell of the repentance of a person who had betrayed his family.

The two main characters’ romantic relationship is initially under the radar but reveals itself as the story continues, satisfying romance readers.

The author addresses a topic that most others shy away from—Alzheimer’s disease. A subplot threads its way through the story as one of the main characters deals with their emotional journey of a parent suffering from this disease. The reader feels the trauma of that realization. This helps educate the world about the painful struggle many feel when their loved ones suffer from this disease.

This book is an entertaining reading for Nancy Mehl’s fans and fans-to-be.

I received a review copy courtesy of Baker Publishing Group through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Book Review--Set in Stone

Set in Stone by Kimberley Woodhouse

Since I was a kid, I had an interest in Paleontology; I loved visiting the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. This is why the Set in Stone setting and storyline intrigued me. Even if you don’t “dig” Paleontology, I think you will like it too.

Ms. Woodhouse does a wonderful job of weaving the theme of science into the relationships she develops. The story starts off by introducing Martha Jankowski, who has been digging in the dirt with her paleontologist father ever since she was very young, much to the dismay of her rich, socialite mother.

Now, as a young adult, she dreams of becoming a paleontologist herself and is determined to make her parents proud by uncovering the next big discovery.
When Martha discovers what she thinks to be a fully intact dinosaur skeleton--one that could win her an acclaimed exhibit--she learns that another team is competing against her, possibly stealing her chance of recognition for this momentous discovery.

Martha meets up with Paleontology student Jacob Duncan who has risen out of poverty to fulfill his dream of digging for dinosaur bones. In a race against time, he and his team are bent on unearthing a complete skeleton to claim a museum exhibit with their names on it. But when Jacob meets their charming competitor Martha and uncovers foul play within his team, love and danger grow hand in hand until a menacing ruse threatens to destroy it all.
This unique story centers around a woman of the 19th century, a period where women scientists were usually not respected. The author does a great job of showing the struggles of a woman in this field, balancing ambition with period social norms.

Ms. Woodhouse also helps the reader to feel the moods of characters with great sentences like: Martha’s thoughts tumbled over each other; He walked away, but Lily Rose’s outrage followed him on the wind; and Martha drank the terms of endearment into her heart like they were water to a parched throat.

If you are looking for a strong Christian-based novel, this story will entertain you. Biblical Scripture and teaching are sprinkled throughout the scenes, sometimes welcomed with interest, other times rejected with anger.
The best attribute about this novel is that the author leads readers down paths, only to pull the rug out from under them with shocking turns.

If you like science, romance, intrigue, and mystery, this book will not leave you disappointed.

I received a review copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Book Review: Into the Forest, by Jennifer Willcock is a fun and fast read.

The story is about Prince Teowulf, the reluctant and rebellious Crown Prince of the Wolf Kingdom, and Jenna “Rider” Hood, daughter of a sect of people called the Forest People, who face discrimination. The story circles around these two young adults as the Kingdom is inflicted with a disease that only Jenna’s father, a doctor, can cure with natural medicines. Though this may seem like a simple plot, it is complicated by King Duko who hates Jenna’s father and the Forest People.

This very well-written book exposes in interesting detail the friction between the privileged Wolf Class, the discriminated Forest People, and leaders of other kingdoms.

Though Little Red Riding Hood is a fantasy, this is not. The book’s story is centered in a modern-time monarchy, making it a romance/action-adventure/thriller novel.

I enjoy the writer’s style. Like some books, I didn’t trudge through this hoping the end would come soon. Instead, Ms. Willcock paced the story very well, alternating between the two main characters’ points of views.

Another tribute to the author is that this story covers several social issues: class struggle, the caste system, homeopathic vs modern medicine, sexism, monarchy/aristocracy, and unfair trade practices.

Ms. Willcock does an excellent job describing action: “Rider pumped her legs harder, eager to be home where the world sat correctly on its axis.” Other parts of the book paint wonderful pictures of characters’ feelings: “The tendons in Rider’s neck tightened like a marionette.”

If I were to mention one criticism of the story it is the overuse of clichés. Such phrases like “brushing me off;” “back before you know it;” “my word is my bond;” “What am I, chopped liver?” take a little away from the story’s originality. As mentioned in the former examples, my reading experience is enhanced when the author creates unique wording in scenes.

I recommend this fun and intriguing book to anyone who likes romance and action-adventure.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author through Interviews & Reviews for an unbiased and objective review.

Book Review--The Indifferent Stars Above

Growing up in California, we learned about the Donner Party catastrophe of 1846 in school. Of course, there were lots of jokes between school boys, but we never realized the true horror of the event.

The Indifferent Stars Above fills in all of the gaps from the point of view of a survivor. In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, like so many, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. This pass is located just outside of the current city of Truckee, near Lake Tahoe.

One thing that makes this book so unique is the vivid description of pioneer life, all aspects of it. This kind of life was for only the very hardy. However, as the unforgiving mountains tapped the travelers in giant snow drifts, pioneer ruggedness was tested to its limit.

In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes, and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.

The interesting thing is a short time after listening this scary story on audible, we drove up to family in Lake Tahoe, driving through the same Donner Pass. We almost got stranded there during the same time of year, because we misjudged our new electric car's distance while driving up 7,000 feet of elevation in the snow. Luckily we found a charging station in a small town.

This is a great book to read, but you have to have the stomach for it.

Book Review--Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

What a wonderful idea for a book.

The story starts with life after Tova Sullivan's husband's death. She began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

The most unique part of this novel is that Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. A large portion of the story is written from Marcellus' point of view. He knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

The snarky, superior complex octopus gives the story the comedy relief it deserves. It helps a lot to hear it on an audiobook where the actor throws in sarcasm.

This is a great book to listen to while driving in the car on a trip.