Heard around my house

My oldest daughter, "Don't trust someone else's taste buds." Said when talking about eating bugs. I said that when we (my hubby, me, and child #4 was a baby) were in Uganda they sold cooked grasshoppers on the side of the street. I didn't try one but the missionary we were with said they were ok except the ones being sold that day didn't look very good at all! We each have different preferences and prefer different foods but sometimes it is good to stretch those taste buds! :)

Book Review

I read Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It is hard to sum up this book in a short review. It was very good, very challenging in my Christian walk. It makes you think about what you are doing as a Christian, who could you be reaching out to and what could you be doing for someone else to make a difference in their life. Denver was a homeless black man that everyone was afraid of but he had a soul that desired God and a head pretty full of the Bible after attending church as a young man. Ron thought he was a Christian until confronted with someone who really believed and he slowly turned his life over to God. But the true catalyst to bring these two men together was Ron's wife Debbie (as Denver calls her Miss Debbie or Deborah as Ron calls her). Both men would never be the same!

Please read this book or give it to someone you love, you will be challenged to reach out, do something for someone else, and challenge your faith and theirs!

Book Review

I read Tandem by Tracy Batemen. I didn't realize this was the second book in a series or that there was a subplot about vampires. My fault, I didn't look clearly at the cover or read any other reviews about the book. I just read the back cover blurb,
"As obsession and loss become dark partners, how far must the people of Abbey Hills go to survive?

Six months ago, brutal murders shook the small Ozark town—murders that stopped after a house fire reportedly claimed the killer’s life. Lauryn McBride's family auction house has taken responsibility for the estate sale of one of the victims—the enigmatic Markus Chisom. Submerging herself in Chisom’s beautiful but strange world, Lauryn welcomes the reprieve from watching Alzheimer’s steal her father from her, piece by piece. She soon realizes that centuries-old secrets tie Abbey Hills to the Chisom estate and a mysterious evil will do anything to make sure those secrets stay hidden. Even the man who grew up loving her may not be able to protect Lauryn from the danger.

When Amede Dastillon receives an unexpected package from Abbey Hills, she hopes it might be the key in tracking down her beloved sister, long estranged from her family. Visiting Abbey Hills seems the logical next step in her search, but Amede is unusually affected by the town, and when mutilated carcasses begin turning up again in the small community, the local law enforcement isn’t sure if they are confronting a familiar evil or a new terror.

Two women brought together by questions that seem to have no answers. Can they overcome the loss and darkness threatening to devour them—or will their own demons condemn them to an emotional wasteland?"

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I haven't read any other vampire books nor seen any recent movies. I did see some in my teen years but that has been about 20 years ago. So I had no preconceived notions going into this book. I'm not really a vampire fan but enjoyed the other story lines in the book and the overall writing. The book laid out an interesting idea of humans living peacefully alongside vampires. I felt the Christianity was a little weak and surprised a missionary/almost pastor would pick a love interest of someone who isn't clearly a Christian. The book was suspenseful and wasn't overly gory. I enjoyed the changing points of view, each chapter usually has a flashback, a current situation from a character we haven't seen yet, and then goes on with the main part. These changing points of view usually bother me in books but I actually enjoyed them.

I've been wanting to read a book by Tracey Bateman and I enjoyed her writing and a book set in Missouri (where I grew up) but I should've looked more into the book before choosing this one.

More information about the book can be found here (click the link), the original sneak peek with pdf of the first two chapters is available here.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. No compensation was received, and this review and thoughts are my own.