Summary: There's no place like home, they say.
"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."
For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.
Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous vampire secrets?
As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.
My Thoughts: I am a Christian who enjoys the vampire mythos, especially when it involves vampires seeking redemption or attempting to live righteously while fighting their dark nature (ie: Angel, Twilight, and The Vampire Diaries). When I was given the opportunity to participate in the Faith and Fangs Tour, it seemed right up my alley. I was curious to see if a Christian author could integrate vampires into a novel without either coming away too much on the dark side or being too preachy. I was very skeptical coming into the story and found the beginning a little slow to pull me in. It wasn't long, however, before I found myself interested in the characters and the story and wondering where the author was going. I can't say that I was always surprised by the plot twists, but I was hooked and ended up enjoying the story very much.
This wasn't your typical vampire story. The focus was more on the main character's struggle to stay sober and put her life back together. The vampire seemed to be somewhat of a secondary plot that helped move the primary plot forward. And it worked. The author managed to keep it realistic (for a book containing vampires), not too dark, and not too preachy. I loved that she didn't tie everything up with a neat little bow at the end but let the reader have something to mull over and hope for after reading the last page. My biggest complaint was in the letter to the reader after the book ended, where she simplified the theme of Buffy the Vampire Slayer into a young girl's horrible high school experience. But that's being an extremely picky Joss Whedon fan. GRIN.
With all the vampire hype currently, this may make an enjoyable read for a women's book club or the like. A discussion guide is included at the back of the book, making it easy to use for this purpose. You can find Thirsty at your favorite online or local bookstore.
*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*
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