Tracey Bateman

In this book, Corrie loses her husband, Jarrod – a soldier – to a suicide bomber in Iraq. He dies a hero, but she is angry that he threw his life away so impulsively and left her behind to grieve. She stays with her wealthy mother – in Texas – for as long as she can stand it until she feels drawn to Jarrod's childhood home in Missouri. Jarrod was supposed to return home soon, and Corrie and he planned to live there and raise a family. Jarrod left the house to Corrie and this causes a show more stir among some of his family members.
Jarrod's cousin Eli is doing the remodeling. There is a history between Jarrod and Eli that nobody is aware of which feeds Eli's long time jealousy. Eli is a religious man. He preaches at the small town church and runs a camp for kids who have deployed parents. He feels an attraction to Corrie but doesn't want to push too quickly. He knows she isn't over the loss of her husband yet, and he has to work out his own issues of envying Jarrod.
Corrie moves into the house and slowly builds a bond with Eli. They become friends. She is overcome with grief, and feels the loss of Jarrod all over again. She believes she can sense his presence, and that her husband returned to the house when he died. Eli disagrees. He feels the house has been haunted for many years because parts of his family dabble in witchcraft and invited these things into the home. Corrie has to sort out her beliefs and what this supernatural presence really is. She has a budding affection for Eli. He supports and encourages her to move forward, to regain her talent as an artist, and to be a member of her new community. She feels guilty about it, and she has to work through all her doubts and misgivings to figure out if she can have a relationship with Eli.

I thought this was a very entertaining, well written story. I liked the characters. The range and depth of feelings Corrie went through were powerful. It is understandable that she would want to believe her husband was still there, that she wanted to hold on to him some how. I enjoyed Lola's part. She blows into town and sets her sights on the handyman – and Lola usually get what she wants – but he is no pushover. The presence in the house was spooky. If you believe in that sort of thing – which I do – it will hit a nerve. I happen to agree with Eli. Don't invite those things into your home. The way the story came together at the end with Eli in the barn will show you just what happens when you become friendly with an unholy entity.

I did receive this book for free in exchange for an honest review. If you are not averse to paying the kindle edition price, I would recommend reading it. show less

Tandem is the second offering from Tracy Bateman in a series exploring vampires in Abbey Hills, MO. This is a well written story, with engaging characters and can easily stand independent of the first installment, Thirst. Integral to the story is the theme of tandems, of one following behind another. This is explored through Amede following Eden, Eden following Markus, Laruyn following her father, Billy following his faith, Juliette following her family's obligation. Complementary to the show more concept of tandems is the idea of being defined by that which you follow. In order to redefine themselves, each 'follower' in the tandem must be released from that which they follow: Markus must die to free Eden, Eden must die to free Amede, Lauren's father must die to free her, Billy must release his faith, and Juliette must be released from her family's oath. Bateman has skillfully woven multiple story lines and character voices to create a coherent, cohesive story that explores the past, present events, and a tantalizing future.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." show less

I will be the first to admit that I grew up loving vampire stories. I always felt sorry for them because, raised as a Christian I always wondered, what happened if you were a Christian and were bitten and became a vampire. Evidently Tracey Bateman had these same kind of thoughts. One thing I really loved about this book is that it showed both kinds of vampires. It showed those who were evil and those who truly wanted not to be what they were.

I loved the way Amede decided to follow in her show more father’s footsteps believing there was the possibility of redemption. I also loved the way she helped Lauryn McBride realize the changes she needed to make in her own life so that she would not have the regrets that Amede had lived with. I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t feel preached to. The reason this is so important is that I have a student who has been reading adult books for quite a while. She will devour anything about vampires.

I know that she will be just as surprised at the ending as I was. It took a major twist that has made me think about this book all day long. Will I recommend this book? You’d better believe it. It was very good. Since this was the first book I’d read by this author I figure I’d better check out some of her others. I had read about “Thirsty” quite some time ago. I was afraid I wouldn’t like it. However, I now have it on my to be read list. If you aren’t sure whether this is a book for you then click on the link below and read the first chapter. I guarantee you will like this book. show less

Well this is a favorite for me this year. I didn't want to do anything but read this book. The love story was tender and the mystery of the house was downright creepy. The thing I liked about this story were the spiritual elements because there was truth in what the characters said. You can't dabble with spirits. There are no such things as good spirits, but only demons cloaked in whatever you want them to be so they can get close. That gave me the shivers. Anyway, there were a lot of good show more nuggets in spiritual thread of the book.

I also appreciated the theme of grief and loss and all of the points the author brought out in the process of showing it. I loved how you were in the heroine's head and coping as if you were the person grieving. There were a number of times when I got teary myself. Like when she visited her deceased husband's parents, and when she painted the surprise at the camp. The emotion expressed in the story was deep and believable.

Of course, my favorite character was the hero, though the heroine was very likable as well. The hero cared about others to the point where he'd set his own needs aside at times. I loved how he sometimes felt selfish himself because of his feelings for the heroine. I also loved how honest he was in his thoughts regarding his attraction to her. But the best part about him was that he loved deeply and that he was so tenderhearted. The fact that he was handsome, yet imperfect, was the icing on the cake.

The bottom line is that I loved this book and I think it's Tracey's best contemporary novel to date. I was enthralled with the plot and the characters. This book had all the tension of a Dekker novel, but with a deeply romantic and emotional thread that only a woman can write in a way that women understand best. Fantastic story! It's making my best fiction list for 2012. show less