Tracey Bateman

I had my doubts about this storyline. As the Author's Note says at the back of the book, "Broaching the topic of daytime soap operas in any sort of positive light is a little tricky for a writer of Christian fiction." But I thought the author handled it very well. I like getting to know daytime diva Tabby Brockton. She made me laugh out loud at times.

Tabby Brockman is getting the break of a lifetime; her role on the daytime soap opera, (which supposedly killed her off), is bringing her show more back. Tabby figures this must be God's reward for her patience and good behavior. But life on "the set" is filled with all different kinds of people; some she gets along with and some out to do her harm. Oh, not to mention little children she must pretend are her kids on the set; which Tabby definitely needs help relating to. And the stage Dad (the childrens real father) is causing Tabby's heart to go pitter patter. There is so much gong on in this story, but the author kept me smiling most of the way through. Hope the next book in this series is just as good. show less

I agreed to review this book because I was intrigued to see how vampires would fit into a Christian novel. And although the vampire subplot was well done, Nina's struggle with substance abuse was just so much more gripping. Thirsty is a compelling story of how substance abuse can wreck a family, but with strength, love and the will to overcome this addiction, one can be a better person in the end. Ms. Bateman's characters are so real and full of life. You feel as if their struggle is yours, show more as if Nina can be someone you know, even a friend.

I was taken in from the first page and read the whole thing through (late into the night). I also loved the title - I thought it was so fitting. There is some violence - but it is definitely not overly done nor overpowering to the story and although it is classified as Christian Fiction, it is not preachy. Thirsty is perfect all around. It is fast-paced, has wonderful characters, suspenseful and even has a paranormal twist thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed it and I'm sure readers of the genre will too. show less

The more I read of this series, the more I got to know these ladies and the more I enjoyed my time with them. Each story is about the 3 ladies who live in NYC and share an apartment. In this story you get to know Laini, the last one to fall in love. Can you read this as a stand alone? Yes. But should you? No. Each story builds upon the previous one and I enjoyed all three stories.

Laini is about to graduate from her interior design classes, but has to land a job designing something first. show more Nick Pantalone (who you have come to know and love if you have read the other books) has a coffee shop he is adding on to and Laini gets the job. The problem is, Laini is very unsure of herself, and doesn't even like what she is doing that much. What she really loves, and is very good at, is baking (for the coffee shop and others).

The problem arises when Nick's nephew, Joe, takes over the business. Laini would swoon if she could over this guy, but he just doesn't seem interested in her except as friends. Then she meets Officer Mark Hall, who doesn't mind telling her how he feels. When Joe starts to seem a little jealous of Mark, Laini thinks there might be a chance with Joe. But there are many twists and turns to this story, and it was a lot of fun watching it all work itself out. Another book that had me laughing out loud and enjoying my stay in New York City. A series I enjoyed reading. 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