At first glance, a story about  vampires, alcoholism and God seems bizarre.  It’s definitely unexpected from a Christian novelist.  Tracey Bateman’s Thirsty combines these themes in a beautifully executed novel.  Nina Parker, newly sober and attempting to rebuild her life, returns to her tiny hometown in the Missouri Ozarks.  Her teenage daughter, Megan, reluctantly accompanies her during Spring Break.  Nina holds out little hope for at least some semblance of reconciliation.   As Megan spends time getting acquainted with the grandparents she has never known, Nina begins to form a friendship with a mysterious neighbor.  All the while, she is unaware that her return has stirred the centuries-old desires of a dark force.   As memories of her past begin to haunt her, sobriety and survival become an overwhelming battle.  Is she doomed to remain powerless against the evil?  Thirsty, a story that combines fantasy and truth, remains convincing without becoming clichéd.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book which was frightening at times and heart-wrenching throughout. 

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If you would like to win a FREE copy, leave a comment below.  Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 11/20/09 and 11/30/09.

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

If you’ve been hiding out for the past couple of years you may not know that vampires have taken over.  Wander through any bookstore, glance at a magazine cover, look through the television listings and you’ll find the legendary bloodsuckers are all around us.  Today’s most celebrated vampires are found in Stephenie Meyer’s extraordinarily popular Twilight series.  In Touched by a Vampire, Beth Felker Jones examines Twilight’s themes under a Biblical microscope.  Her assessments and accompanying discussion questions would make an excellent group study for fans of Bella and Edward.  I was a little put off that Touched by a Vampire is subtitled “Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga”, which seems to imply a veiled agenda.  I have seen nor heard no such evidence regarding Ms. Meyer’s purpose for writing the novels.  Her stories have fascinated, frightened and entertained audiences of all ages, myself included.  I do understand the need to exercise caution and apply wisdom toward everything we choose to read or view.  Whether you are a fan of the series or not, Touched by a Vampire is excellent food for thought that I highly recommend for a discussion group.

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If you would like to WIN a copy, please leave a comment below.  Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 11/17/09 and 11/27/09.

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

Often when faced with a crisis, I get in my car and drive.  No particular destination in mind, just wheels to the pavement and time alone to think.  Years ago during one such excursion, as I passed perfectly manicured homes, it occurred to me that no one truly knows what goes on behind those decorative doors.  In Susan Meissner’s White Picket Fences, the Janvier family lives what appears to be a perfect life.  When mom Amanda takes in the 16 year old daughter of her wandering brother, their seemingly ideal world begins to fall apart.  Her husband, Neil, is not quite as enthusiastic about trying to provide their niece, Tally, with a stable home.  Their children, Chase and Delcey are unsurprisingly absorbed in their own lives and give little thought to their cousin’s stay.   Things change, however, when Chase and Tally work together on a school assignment involving Holocaust survivors.  They begin to develop a closer bond as their project progresses and family secrets rise to the surface.  White Picket Fences is a dramatic, engaging story that looks beyond the façade and finds the heart of a family.  

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If you’d like to win a FREE copy of White Picket Fences, please leave a comment below.  Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 11/13/09 and 11/23/09.

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

As a card-carrying member of the G.R.I.T.S. club, I am proud to be a Girl Raised In The South.  Piper Wick, however, feels no such pride.  The heroine of Tamara Leigh’s latest novel, Leaving Carolina, left the South twelve years ago and never looked back.  Now an accomplished PR consultant with a prominent boyfriend, Piper is living out her dreams in Los Angeles.  The past she’s worked to diligently to forget is suddenly front and center when an eccentric uncle decides to change his will and expose family secrets that Piper would rather keep hidden.  Reluctantly she returns to her North Carolina hometown in hopes of setting things straight.  She isn’t prepared for the changes back home, including an encounter with her uncle’s handsome gardener, Axel Smith.

Leaving Carolina is a light-hearted romantic story filled with Biblical truth.  Fans of Jan Karon and Jane Kirkpatrick will enjoy Ms. Leigh’s descriptive writing style.  As Piper Wick quickly learns, you can take a girl out of the South but taking the South out of the girl may not be possible.

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I did NOT receive a copy of this book to give away, however I WILL be happy to donate my copy to one lucky reader.  Just leave a comment below for your chance to win.  Winner will be drawn at random from all comments left between 11/06/09 and 11/16/09.  Thanks for reading and good luck!

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

Welcome readers!  I’ve got another book to give away!  Please leave a comment below for your chance to WIN a copy of Shadow Government.*

Security cameras, surveillance of private financial transactions, radio frequency spy chips hidden in consumer products, eavesdropping on e-mail correspondence and phone calls, and Internet tracking. No one is protected, and privacy is a thing of the past.  An ultra-secret global elite, functioning as a very real shadow government, controls technology, finance, international law, world trade, political power, and vast military capabilities. These unnamed, unrivaled leaders answer to no earthly authority, and they won’t stop until they control the world.

In Shadow Government, prophecy expert Grant Jeffrey removes the screen that, up to now, has hidden the work of these diabolical agents. Jeffrey reveals the biblical description of Satan’s global conquest and identifies the tools of technology that the Antichrist will use to rule the world. Readers will have their eyes opened to the real power that is working behind the scenes to destroy America and merge it into the coming global government. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth.

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*Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 11/04/09 and 11/14/09.

Please note:  I have not personally read this book.  The information above was provided by the publisher. 

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