Blog Tour: Thirsty

Christian and Vampire fiction don't necessarily go together in my mind, but Tracey Bateman does a good job of marrying the two. I think it's important to note right off that she goes with the more "medical" rendition of vampirism (a biological thirst for blood) though there are some supernatural-ish elements to her vampires as well (long life, for example. I'm not clear, actually, if she was going for immortal - but in the end, it really didn't matter to the novel.) Ultimately though, the story is more about recovering alcoholic Nina Parker and her return to her hometown to try and rebuild the life she destroyed with drink than about the vampire next door. (Still, there are some clever similarities between sober-and-struggling Nina and the "sober" and definitely struggling vampire.) At the end of the day, Nina seeks redemption and a fresh start and while looking for those, God, as she puts it, finally shows up.

I had a tough time getting into the book - but once it got going, I generally enjoyed it. I did find parts of it hard to read because it switched first person voice with no warning. There are flashbacks from Nina in italic at the start of each chapter and I think those are supposed to be her telling her story at her last rehab AA meeting (which is where the book begins) but it's not clear. Beyond that though, you hear in first person from her ex husband, Hunt, as well as Nina in the present and since it's all "I", it's really tough for the first several sentences after the change to figure out who's talking. If you can get past that the story is pretty good (if also a bit predictable).

You can find out more here.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.