Two books in this one!
Thirsty by Tracey Bateman
About the Book:
There's no place like home, they say.
"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."
For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.
Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?
As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.
My Review:
I really liked this book. Not only was it a vampire story (which I'm really starting to love those) but it was an adult vampire story with a great story line! It kept my attention and I got really pulled into the story. Nina, the main character, is an alcoholic who's all but lost her family. I've never really known an alcoholic, but I'm sure that the struggles Nina faced are all too common. I really liked Nina, she'd made some mistakes in her life but she was really working on turning things around. Trying to regain trust in relationships that her drinking had all but shattered, and realizing that just because she was sober didn't mean everyone just forgave her. While it is a vampire story it's so much more than that.
The writing was great. For those of you familiar with my reviews you know descriptions and I don't always get along... This had the perfect balance of description, enough to show you what was going on but not so much that it covered the story up. Great Job! Also the writing was realistic, the reactions and dialogs were actually plausible, and it didn't feel fake. If I had to give any criticism it would be that it was easy to figure out what was going to happen. Granted I didn't know the means by which the ending would come, but I had a pretty good grasp. Although there was one major thing that I didn't expect and since I don't want to give it away I'll just leave it at that!
Find out more about Thirsty by visiting Waterbrook's Website.
Now to the second book.
Touched by a Vampire by Beth Felker Jones
About the Book:
EXAMINING TWILIGHT THROUGH A BIBLICAL LENS
People around the world are asking the same question, enraptured with Edward and Bella’s forbidden romance in the Twilight Saga, a four-book serial phenomenon written by Stephenie Meyer. The bestsellers tell the story of a regular girl’s relationship with a vampire who has chosen to follow his “good” side. But the Saga isn’t just another fantasy–it’s teaching girls about love, sex, and purpose. With 48 million copies in print and a succession of upcoming blockbuster films, now is the time to ask the important question: Can vampires teach us about God’s plan for love?
Touched by a Vampire is the first book to investigate the themes of the Twilight Saga from a Biblical perspective. Some Christian readers have praised moral principles illustrated in the story, such as premarital sexual abstinence, which align with Meyer’s Mormon beliefs. But ultimately, Beth Felker Jones examines whether the story’s redemptive qualities outshine its darkness.
Cautionary, thoughtful, and challenging, Touched by a Vampire is written for Twilight fans, parents, teachers, and pop culture enthusiasts. It includes an overview of the series for those unfamiliar with the storyline and a discussion guide for small groups.
My Review:
Admitingly I didn't read all of this one. I have only read the first of the Twilight series, and while I knew this was about the entire series I started to feel like it was really giving away too much of the rest of the stories. Of what I have read I did like it, the themes in Twilight are looked at with Christian beliefs. After I finish the series I will definatley pick this one up and finish it. There is one passage from the introduction that I want to share because it was written perfectly:
"I love the way a story can carry us into another world, a world of imagination and mystery. When a story captures our hearts, we dive into it. We sink deep into the waters of the world the author has created for us and learn its geography. We fear what the characters fear and love what the character love. Most of all I love what happens when we come out of the story world. We come up from under the water of imagination and take a deep breath of the air of our own world. But it isn't the same world it was before we dove into the story. The story world changes our world. It helps us imagine possibilities we couldn't possibly have seen before. It suggests new dreams to guide us, new fears to horrify us, and new hopes to inspire us."
I know that was a long one, but it just really resonated with me and I couldn't help but share it.
To find out more about Touched by a Vampire please visit the Waterbrook Mulnomah website.
