Bedlam, Bath and Beyond

by J.D. Warren

CHARMED... — Samantha knew she wasn't the first woman to feel brainwashed by her suburban utopia -- beautiful house, perfect children, attentive husband. But somehow none of it felt like hers. As it turns out, it wasn't. The kids are evil fiends, her husband's not even human, and her mother-in-law -- well, let's not even go there. — AND DANGEROUS
The only man who can possibly help her is the unearthly Cor, shape-shifting leader of a mysterious race known as the Kin. Together they'll let nothing stop them from reclaiming Sam's life -- not the missing girl who holds the key to everything, not the demon hell-boars tearing up the Las Vegas strip in search of them. And definitely not the undeniable attraction they feel for each other....

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Demons, Mystery, Suspense

295 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2007

Reviews

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually I don't care for this style much because cute and quirky turns into obnoxious and tiring, but in this case the style actually worked. It starts like a strange episode of a 1950's wife locked in a house with charming (alien-like) children and a perfect (controlling) husband, complete with friendly (spying) neighbors and an annoying (annoying!) mother-in-law. It doesn't take long for the MC to realize her fake life is as fake as it feels, and then the real fun starts.



Gifted with an inventive story that isn't copied in every other book, I was intrigued by the villains and the strange world. I still don't fully get the complexity of the creatures and their intentions, that could have been explained better toward the end, but it's enough to keep my interest and doesn't have issues with pacing. Not big brawl scenes but that would be out of place anyway.

Samantha's a fun main character while she goes around flitting under the nose of her strange mother, rehearsing funny circumstances in her psyche, and flirting with the ever-gorgeous Cor.
Not everything about Samantha is explained, I guess to leave a little mystery left about sequels. I'm suspecting something about a missing father and magical genes.

The base of the book ends up being para-romance; the author made it believable enough that it's because they connect and aren't just joined together through convenient magic. It's neither sultry nor steamy, but it's sweet.

If you want charm, fun circumstances, cute characters, a sweet and simple romance, then Bedlam, Bath & Beyond is a worthy fit.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samantha Jones lives in an ideal suburban reality. She has her twin boys and she has her husband and she has her perfectly flipped blond hair and the neighbors who tell her how wonderful her life is and isn't she lucky to have such a wonderful home and wonderful car and wonderful wonderful wonderful. So why does Samantha feel like screaming? Why does she look at her children and wonder who they are and what is wrong with her that she mearly feels disgusted and fearful of her own children? Why can't she remember details about her life?

Then one day the milkman tells her that this isn't her life - she is not supposed to be there and she needs to wake up. She is both relieved and terrified - how does she get out of a reality she doesn't belong in?

Well Sam eventually gets out of the "Snow Globe" and finds herself in Las Vegas. Oh - and her name is actually Samantha Doringer. She was only in the other reality for two weeks but time moved differently between the "snow globe" she was trapped in and Earth time - so she missed three years of her life. (Serious bummer!) The milkman is there when she escapes - and it turns out he is a member of the Kin or Peri named Corydonais (Cor for short) and he is a member of a kind of militaryesque group called The Order of the Storm Ravens. The members of the order can all transform into..... Yup! Ravens! And they can make storms happen. (So their order is named the perfect name I guess. ;)

Apparently the Kin can change into other animal forms as well - and the crew who kidnapped Sam are part of an ancient Order of Crows who believe you need to sacrifice an innocent human girl for some reason that escapes me right now. (I mean really - is there a good reason for human sacrifice? So the "why" was kind of superfluous really.)And apparently they have their sites set on a young girl named Lily as the sacrifice, so Cor and Sam work together with the Order of the Storm Ravens to stop The Order of the Crow from getting their hands on Lily - and Sam kinda has the desire to get a little payback for being kidnapped and having three years of her life taken away as well.

Since this IS a paranormal romance - it's kind of a given that Sam and Cor are gonna hook up. The of course have a few obstacles to overcome in this department - like Sam being a human and Cor being a Peri who lives a really really long life. And that's just one of many problems in their path.

This book turned into a better read than I first anticipated. I think the tone and the set up at the beginning turned me off and I had to get turned around in order to really have any kind of empathy for the characters. It did turn around for me though - enough so that I will read the next one to see what happens next with Sam & Cor and The Order of the Storm Ravens.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You can’t judge a book by its cover”
This book fits that saying perfectly. When I first picked out this book because it was recommended to me, I was honestly not looking forward to it. It just didn’t grab my attention, but in the end I gave this book a try.
When I began reading it, I will admit that it took me a chapter or so to get into it. In fact, it sat on my shelf for a week or two before I picked it up. But, boy oh boy did I get a surprise. The main character is actually a breath of fresh air. And I thought it made a nice touch to the whole book, as well as the male character. It’s pretty different from what I’ve read, and that only got me to read through it in almost a whole day. I love the idea that this book had, and the different outlook on these creatures. I will not say what kind for the fear of spoiling it. However, I did not enjoy the ending as much as I would have wanted to. It felt like I was still in the middle of the story, where it was just getting chaotic. I have so many questions, and I was left curious as to what was going to happened with the characters.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars because it was witty, funny, and cute. This book does contain a little bit of mature content. Great read though!

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was mixture of sci-fi/fantasy set in suburbia which involves a mysterious shape shifting race (Ravens) from another realm called the Kin who want to take over our realm. Samantha lost three years of her life trapped in a construct (A false life with a false family) before escaping with the help ot the leader of the Kin named Cor. It took a couple of chapters to get moving but when it did it was good.

[Usagi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning was a little slow-going, with the construct and all. But then the book took off, with likeable characters you found yourself rooting for, some fun comedic moments, and a great evil to vanquish. I'd definitely read the next book in this series.

[Dolores · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok if you like birds or have birds as pets, the last few chapters you might find very disturbing

[Eliza Janiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. I'm 10+ chapters in and my interest just keeps coming undone. Too many unnecessary references, the writing style is just not for me.

[Krisnow18 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this and will read additional books in the series.

Samantha is feeling - stifled - by her life. Handsome husband, beautiful twin boys, wonderful house - it just isn't feeling right to her. Then the milk man begins telling her to wake up. She finally realizes there is something odd happening. She discovers her husband isn't human (and let's not even discuss her mother-in-law), the twins are evil fiends, and the beautiful house and neighborhood aren't real - it is all a "construct" to keep her inside while they interrogate her, trying to find information on a missing child. She breaks free, finds she is missing 3 years of her life. When she finds out what the child is wanted for she decides to track down the child herself, with the help of her new ally - the milk man - who is really part of a race called the Kin.

But how does she understand the language of the Kin? What is her real background? To be continued..........

[Ellyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a serendipitous find on an endcap at Borders. I was drawn by the title and cover art, although I found the story itself didn't have much to do with the outward appearance. Samantha is a typical suburban desperate housewife, but lately she feels that her life and family are a little too perfect and unfamiliar. With the help of a mysterious stranger she realizes that she has been kidnapped and trapped in a fabricated reality by a fairy (here called the Kin or Peri) who is trying to get information from her regarding an insurance case she worked on.

This first book in a new series is very enjoyable with a great heroine and narrator. Though it is not a typical combination of paranormal adventure/romance and humor, it was interesting enough for me to look forward to the next entry.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I still don't know why I wasted four nights on this book when I have thousands of others calling my name. At least it was a fairly quick read. I must admit, paranormal is not my favourite genre but I can usually tolerate it. I try and I try and I try again but my brain just doesn't want to believe most of the supernatural beings. And these ones? Well, fairies who transform into birds was weirdish. But when she goes into the other world and finds herself as a canary...that was it for me. But I slogged through and made it to the end. And vowed to never read another book in this series. I didn't even touch the chapter at the end of this book that was the beginning of the next. And I usually enjoy those sneak peeks.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not exactly a "lighthearted, fun read" as TR BOOKreviews puts it. An the book is marketed under Paranormal Romance. More like fantasy/mystery. Though there is some "romance" in it, most of my Mystery books have more in them that this book does. Still it was a good read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series--Crate & Peril. If this had been written by a gal I'd say that her domestic goddess was showing (note the title of this book and the next), but this is written by a guy so not sure where the titles or the book jacket quotes are coming from--certainly not from anything in the book.

[Cindi Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a different idea for a paranormal romance. Shapeshifter faeries that aren't werewolves or other big land animals. The Kin once they get their calling usually change into some sort of bird but not always. Of course, they have longer lives. The construct was a neat idea also.
This was an alright read. Not great but not bad. I hope in future books the plot is more substantial.I have a feeling that Cor & Sam's love life will be one of those that are on and off again.

[Kieraanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I liked that her suburban life was all fake and that her real personality was so different then the one forced upon her in the construct. I liked Cor, though I felt like the relationship between them seemed a little forced to me. She just met him and then I think it was literally the next day they're wildly in love with each other? Really? I liked the idea of the Kin and the ravens were cool. Definitely have to be on the lookout for the next book.

[Brycen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out great. It was fast moving. It was easy to read. The end however seems almost anticlimactic to me. It was not the same quality as the rest of the book. I did enjoy reading the book. I think I would purchase and read sequels in the future. It was definately well worth reading.

[Tribefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book off of BookMooch totally for the title and the cover art, not realizing it was Paranormal. Thank goodness I did! I thought this was an absolutely wonderful read and I can't wait to read more!

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun book, the kind that would have been easy to swallow in an overnight gulp if I didn't have a toddler at the time. I can't say I loved it so much that I would want to read it over and over again, but I'd happily read further books in the series or potentially others by Warren.

[Glori · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fast and light read, not a keeper, but it is entertaining. I may read the second book in the series.

[Cassandra]

At first the story kind of threw me off. But after the first few chapters it caught my interest. It did get a bit dull at the very end but it was still a good story. Will try and read the next one.