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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Relationships between people and with God (with vampires thrown in), October 8, 2010
Lauryn McBride lives in a small Ozark town in Missouri where she cares for her father who is suffering from rapidly progressing Alzheimers. She also runs the family auction business including appraising. Several brutal murders have taken place in the previous months with both people and animals found drained of their blood.
Amede Dastillon is a centuries-old vampire living in New Orleans and searching for her sister, Eden. When Lauryn notifies her of old letters found in a house she is readying for auction and which seem to be connected to her family, Amede hurries there hoping that she will find clues to her sister's location.
This is a book about relationships between people and with God. It is about good and evil. It also carries a different perspective on the creation of vampires.
I found the writing in this book to be somewhat distracting. It bounces, in the same chapter and sometimes on the same page, from one person's story to another and from one time frame to another. Once you get use to it, it is bearable, but at times it took a moment to figure out things had switched and who was speaking and in what era. All spoke from a first person standpoint.
While Lauryn could be a bit irritating at times, and the religious aspects pop up at times when you wanted to get on with the story, I found Amede to be a character I couldn't help but like. In spite of a few distracting elements, I enjoyed this book.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Interested in Vampire fiction?, February 19, 2011
This review is from: Tandem: A Novel (Paperback)
I am not a priori against Christian fantasy or series that delve into demons, monsters, magic, and so forth. I grew up reading C.S. Lewis, enjoyed Harry Potter, and I absolutely believe that an author can deal with biblical themes and magical characters. That said, really? Christian vampire fiction? The whole thing feels a bit to trendy for me, like someone thought, "Hey, vampires are so popular right now, we should write about some of them getting saved." Enter Tracey Batemen and the novel Tandem (which is actually the second in a series about a local that seems to have more than it's fair share of paranormal activity- and yes, it hat tips "Buffy" when this is brought up.
I did not read the first book in the series, but catching up with the characters was easy enough. Batemen's plot and character development were fine, if a bit transparent, however for this type of fiction that isn't unexpected. The story follows Lauryn, an auctioneer who is wrestling with growing up without a mom, the impending death of her father due to Alzheimer's, her struggle to care for him and develop a life of her own, the sudden return of her high school crush, and a mystery surrounding the estate she is currently cataloging- that of a man who was killed after a bizarre series of animal sacrifices and murders in their town (covered in the first book). The town is thrown into turmoil when animals, and then people, begin to die again. The big plot twist is, of course, that vampires have been doing the killing. I would hate to give it all away, but suffice to say there are both vampire characters that have some remorse for their proclivities and feast only on animals and those that do not. And yes, a vampire gets saved at the end. Whether or not you like this book will probably depend on how interesting you find vampire novels, and whether or not you are looking for one that is generally "clean," although not by any means spiritually deep.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, February 18, 2011
This review is from: Tandem: A Novel (Paperback)
I am a fan of both paranormal fiction and Christian fiction but I'll be the first to admit I was a little worried about how vampires and a Christian theme would mesh. It turns out I didn't have a lot to worry about, author Tracey Bateman combined both wonderfully. That said this is a rather dark novel so it may not suit everyone. There's murder, voodoo, and curses involved so it's not for the faint of heart. I feel like I've been saying that a lot about Christian fiction that I've been reading. It may be just a coincidence that I've been gravitating toward tales with a more serious side or is this a sign of a new trend in faith-based fiction?
Either way Tandem is a good book, however I must say that I didn't find it as dynamic or mysterious as Thirsty. Maybe it's because I kind of knew what to expect from the vampires. I'm not sure what it was but the end of the story did not set well with me. I can't say much without giving it away but with the revelations that are brought to light in the last few chapters the last few chapters were resolved way too easily. If this book had a few more chapters I probably would have liked it as much as Thristy.
Tracey Bateman is still one of my favorite authors. I love her style and her ability to write a sweet romance like her Heartsong Presents historicals and totally surprise me with a book like Thirsty. I'm really looking forward to reading her latest book from Summerside Press (written under pen name Tracey Cross), Love Finds You in Dodge City, Kansas.
*I received my review copy from the publisher, I was not obligated to provide a positive review, just an honest one.*
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