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Strange Bedfellows
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Expected 22 Sep 26A dark and steamy debut novel about a girl—who is sometimes a cat—and the witch she loves, as secrets from her past threaten to unravel the delicate balance of her present, from screenwriter Amanda Mortlock.
Cleo is a willfully aloof college student with an impossible secret. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, at a Halloween party, their connection is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore. Their romance takes a mystical turn when Wes discovers what Cleo’s been hiding: sometimes she takes the form of his pet cat.
Enter Bailey and Ollie—their magical counterparts—who reveal a deeper tie between Cleo and Wes: he’s a witch, and she’s his animal familiar. As past secrets collide with their entangled present, Cleo faces her greatest fear—losing Wes. With long-gone threats returning and danger looming, Cleo must confront her role in their dark and violent shared history and decide if she’s willing to fight for their future.
Cleo is a willfully aloof college student with an impossible secret. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, at a Halloween party, their connection is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore. Their romance takes a mystical turn when Wes discovers what Cleo’s been hiding: sometimes she takes the form of his pet cat.
Enter Bailey and Ollie—their magical counterparts—who reveal a deeper tie between Cleo and Wes: he’s a witch, and she’s his animal familiar. As past secrets collide with their entangled present, Cleo faces her greatest fear—losing Wes. With long-gone threats returning and danger looming, Cleo must confront her role in their dark and violent shared history and decide if she’s willing to fight for their future.
448 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 22, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
July 2, 2026
✨✨Not quite what I expected and a lot of fun!✨✨
Strange Bedfellows had me giggling and kicking my feet right off the bat! It started off a bit more of a cutesy read than I had expected. Cutesy isn’t my favorite, but add in witches, a girl that can turn into a cat, and a broody love interest and I’m all for it!
It definitely got deeper, a bit darker, and more intense as it went along though. I got caught up in my feels on Cleo’s behalf too!! I also really enjoyed the world and magical system in this book. I definitely am hoping for another book in this world and with these characters.
I will say I didn’t love the animal povs. I’m usually not a fan of animal POVs, especially when it’s a lot. That’s just something that usually as a whole I don’t particularly care for. I can see how it was useful in this story, and I know a lot of people love that kind of thing, it’s just not my favorite. Also, the ending kinda dragged on and on a bit for me.
Overall I really enjoyed this read though! It wasn’t a perfect one for me, but it was a fun one and I’d definitely read a book 2!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released September 22, 2026 .
Strange Bedfellows had me giggling and kicking my feet right off the bat! It started off a bit more of a cutesy read than I had expected. Cutesy isn’t my favorite, but add in witches, a girl that can turn into a cat, and a broody love interest and I’m all for it!
It definitely got deeper, a bit darker, and more intense as it went along though. I got caught up in my feels on Cleo’s behalf too!! I also really enjoyed the world and magical system in this book. I definitely am hoping for another book in this world and with these characters.
I will say I didn’t love the animal povs. I’m usually not a fan of animal POVs, especially when it’s a lot. That’s just something that usually as a whole I don’t particularly care for. I can see how it was useful in this story, and I know a lot of people love that kind of thing, it’s just not my favorite. Also, the ending kinda dragged on and on a bit for me.
Overall I really enjoyed this read though! It wasn’t a perfect one for me, but it was a fun one and I’d definitely read a book 2!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released September 22, 2026 .
Want to Read
May 7, 2026ARC received! Thank you, Atria!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 STARS
This book has some of the best things, it’s got witches, and magic, and mysteries and a cat!
Who doesn’t want a book with a cat.
Just a fun time in a book, I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s spicy, but don’t get me wrong, this is not a romance. So do not go in thinking that it is. But still I highly recommend reading it!
Already can’t wait for this to release so I can get my physical copy.
(arc review) - releasing 9/22/26
This book has some of the best things, it’s got witches, and magic, and mysteries and a cat!
Who doesn’t want a book with a cat.
Just a fun time in a book, I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s spicy, but don’t get me wrong, this is not a romance. So do not go in thinking that it is. But still I highly recommend reading it!
Already can’t wait for this to release so I can get my physical copy.
(arc review) - releasing 9/22/26
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In Strange Bedfellows, we follow Cleo and Wes who meet with familiar/witch combo from England, Ollie and Bailey, when they are searching for their parents. This book was set up to be something I would enjoy! I obviously love cats and if I'm reading a fantasy-adjacent book, it's most likely to be something witchy. However, this book seemed to lean more toward romantisy, and I didn't enjoy that aspect of the book. We read a lot of steamy scenes between the main characters, some of which seemed to occur unexpectedly while other steamy scenes seemed completely unnecessary.
This book had a LOT of plot points and it was confusing at times. The writing was not dense or descriptive in the way The Goldfinch is descriptive, it just had so many plot points that ultimately didn't add much value to the overall story. Honestly, the last 40 pages could have been cut from this story and the story re-worked a little bit. Strange Bedfellows felt like it was a rejected script, re-worked to be a novel, and for me that didn't come across well.
I found some important pieces of the plot difficult to follow because of the randomness with which they were interjected into the story. For example, we read about Cleo and Ollie's dreams which are important to the spells that these witches cast. I also wasn't a fan of some of the language used in the book, which ultimately caused me to lower my rating. The use of the word "psychotic" and the phrase "spirit animal" don't sit right with me within the context they were used. Lastly, I found the use of paganism magic to be not well explained and also hard to follow. Ollie and Cleo would throw out spells using runes, and it seemed like I (the reader) was expected to know how impactful that spell would be based on the rune used.
I ultimately would only recommend this book to people with extensive knowledge of paganism (e.g., Beltane, winter solstice) and/or people who read romantisy.
An arc was provided via Netgalley and Atria in exchange for an honest review.
This book had a LOT of plot points and it was confusing at times. The writing was not dense or descriptive in the way The Goldfinch is descriptive, it just had so many plot points that ultimately didn't add much value to the overall story. Honestly, the last 40 pages could have been cut from this story and the story re-worked a little bit. Strange Bedfellows felt like it was a rejected script, re-worked to be a novel, and for me that didn't come across well.
I found some important pieces of the plot difficult to follow because of the randomness with which they were interjected into the story. For example, we read about Cleo and Ollie's dreams which are important to the spells that these witches cast. I also wasn't a fan of some of the language used in the book, which ultimately caused me to lower my rating. The use of the word "psychotic" and the phrase "spirit animal" don't sit right with me within the context they were used. Lastly, I found the use of paganism magic to be not well explained and also hard to follow. Ollie and Cleo would throw out spells using runes, and it seemed like I (the reader) was expected to know how impactful that spell would be based on the rune used.
I ultimately would only recommend this book to people with extensive knowledge of paganism (e.g., Beltane, winter solstice) and/or people who read romantisy.
An arc was provided via Netgalley and Atria in exchange for an honest review.
May 19, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5)
Strange Bedfellows was, well… strange—in a way that both worked for me and didn’t. The story centers on witches and their animal familiars who can also take human form, which made for a really unique and intriguing premise.
There was a lot I genuinely enjoyed—from the atmospheric writing to the way the familiars were split between their animal and human selves. I usually shy away from multiple POVs, but it was handled really well here. Getting both Cleo/Cat and Ollie/Olliedog’s perspectives added depth, and I loved seeing how their personalities shifted between forms. The short, fast-paced chapters kept me hooked and reading way past when I planned to stop.
The characters felt very human—deeply flawed, messy, and layered—which made them interesting to unravel. That said… I didn’t always like them. Wes and Cleo were incredibly toxic at times, constantly pushing and punishing each other through a series of challenges. Their dynamic was both understandable and incredibly frustrating, especially with some of the choices made along the way. And I still haven’t forgiven Wes for doing exactly what Cleo feared would happen with Bailey—that ending definitely left me a little annoyed.
Bailey was another miss for me. For someone meant to come across as kind and sweet, that didn’t fully land. On the other hand, Ollie was easily my favorite—loyal, honest, and not afraid to call out the BS. I also loved the Cat and Olliedog POVs, which offered such a unique lens into everything happening.
The spice surprised me, but it fit well with the themes of magic, fate, and messy young relationships.
If you enjoy witchy stories with magic, shifting dynamics, and deeply flawed characters, this is definitely worth checking out.
Tropes: witches x animal companions, magic & fate, flawed characters, shifters, spice
Strange Bedfellows was, well… strange—in a way that both worked for me and didn’t. The story centers on witches and their animal familiars who can also take human form, which made for a really unique and intriguing premise.
There was a lot I genuinely enjoyed—from the atmospheric writing to the way the familiars were split between their animal and human selves. I usually shy away from multiple POVs, but it was handled really well here. Getting both Cleo/Cat and Ollie/Olliedog’s perspectives added depth, and I loved seeing how their personalities shifted between forms. The short, fast-paced chapters kept me hooked and reading way past when I planned to stop.
The characters felt very human—deeply flawed, messy, and layered—which made them interesting to unravel. That said… I didn’t always like them. Wes and Cleo were incredibly toxic at times, constantly pushing and punishing each other through a series of challenges. Their dynamic was both understandable and incredibly frustrating, especially with some of the choices made along the way. And I still haven’t forgiven Wes for doing exactly what Cleo feared would happen with Bailey—that ending definitely left me a little annoyed.
Bailey was another miss for me. For someone meant to come across as kind and sweet, that didn’t fully land. On the other hand, Ollie was easily my favorite—loyal, honest, and not afraid to call out the BS. I also loved the Cat and Olliedog POVs, which offered such a unique lens into everything happening.
The spice surprised me, but it fit well with the themes of magic, fate, and messy young relationships.
If you enjoy witchy stories with magic, shifting dynamics, and deeply flawed characters, this is definitely worth checking out.
Tropes: witches x animal companions, magic & fate, flawed characters, shifters, spice
Read
June 17, 2026I went in blind and for that I am grateful. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't THAT.
I am very impressed by the way that this author develops her characters. They are entirely different from each other, very much human, and all are flawed. I genuinely did not like a single character.
We follow Cleo, a shifter who has no idea where she came from or her past, as a series of events puts her in the spiral of finding out all about her past. She meets Wes, the sexy brooding musician, and they develop a deeply co-dependent, narcissistic, toxic all-consuming love. They like to play "games" with one another, seeing how far they can push the other before they break. Then, they become abusive. Then they have sex and everything is better.
Enter Bailey and Ollie, another witch and her familiar. Wes and Cleo get to uncover what they are. As relationships evolve and are tested, we watch Cleo completely self-implode and the fallout of that.
Wes sucks. Cleo sucks. Ollie sucks. Bailey really sucks. I felt terrible for Cleo at the end of the book. She's had this fantastic character growth and for what?
Anyway, a good read with a unique writing style that makes you really feel the humanity behind all the characters.
I agree with other reads why said this toxicity reminded them of The Favorites, although I will say I liked this SIGNIFICANTLY better. A good comp title to help people understand what they are getting into.
I am very impressed by the way that this author develops her characters. They are entirely different from each other, very much human, and all are flawed. I genuinely did not like a single character.
We follow Cleo, a shifter who has no idea where she came from or her past, as a series of events puts her in the spiral of finding out all about her past. She meets Wes, the sexy brooding musician, and they develop a deeply co-dependent, narcissistic, toxic all-consuming love. They like to play "games" with one another, seeing how far they can push the other before they break. Then, they become abusive. Then they have sex and everything is better.
Enter Bailey and Ollie, another witch and her familiar. Wes and Cleo get to uncover what they are. As relationships evolve and are tested, we watch Cleo completely self-implode and the fallout of that.
Wes sucks. Cleo sucks. Ollie sucks. Bailey really sucks. I felt terrible for Cleo at the end of the book. She's had this fantastic character growth and for what?
Anyway, a good read with a unique writing style that makes you really feel the humanity behind all the characters.
I agree with other reads why said this toxicity reminded them of The Favorites, although I will say I liked this SIGNIFICANTLY better. A good comp title to help people understand what they are getting into.
June 16, 2026
Welcome to my latest obsession. This is THE book to read this fall.
It’s got witchcraft, familiars, a demon, a love square, a New England college setting, secrets, and betrayals. It feels fresh and exciting. It’s definitely a bit weird.
This is contemporary paranormal fiction/fantasy, so don’t go expecting a happily-ever-after romantasy. There’s a toxic relationship at the center, and it’s heart-wrenching (think of the romance in The Favorites by Layne Fargo). The story offers poignant takes on codependency.
Some characters’ actions will frustrate you at certain points, and yet all of them are likable in their own way, though complex and flawed. Cleo is a goth girl, a complicated grumpy heroine who’s self-sacrificing and has a vulnerable heart underneath her sarcastic, mean, tough girl demeanor. Wes is the artsy, emo rocker boy who seems like an ideal book boyfriend, but he has his own issues. Ollie is a golden retriever of a man, and Bailey is the sweet, innocent foil to Cleo, though they’re not perfect either.
The ending is somewhat closed but also leaves potential for future mysteries, and I, for one, would love to see more from this world and these characters. I want more for Cleo.
It’s got witchcraft, familiars, a demon, a love square, a New England college setting, secrets, and betrayals. It feels fresh and exciting. It’s definitely a bit weird.
This is contemporary paranormal fiction/fantasy, so don’t go expecting a happily-ever-after romantasy. There’s a toxic relationship at the center, and it’s heart-wrenching (think of the romance in The Favorites by Layne Fargo). The story offers poignant takes on codependency.
Some characters’ actions will frustrate you at certain points, and yet all of them are likable in their own way, though complex and flawed. Cleo is a goth girl, a complicated grumpy heroine who’s self-sacrificing and has a vulnerable heart underneath her sarcastic, mean, tough girl demeanor. Wes is the artsy, emo rocker boy who seems like an ideal book boyfriend, but he has his own issues. Ollie is a golden retriever of a man, and Bailey is the sweet, innocent foil to Cleo, though they’re not perfect either.
The ending is somewhat closed but also leaves potential for future mysteries, and I, for one, would love to see more from this world and these characters. I want more for Cleo.
August 1, 2026
• BOOK REVIEW •
New ARC!
Release date : 26th September 2026!
Date : 1st August 2026
Book : Strange Bedfellows
Author : Amanda Mortlock
Genre : Paranormal Romance / Dark Urban Fantasy / Horror Elements
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
First of all, thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the invitation to read this ARC. It was definitely a different kind of read especially when I was trying to figure out the genre itself. I didn’t read the blurb beforehand so I definitely went into this with no idea what it was about however the cover of the book definitely caught my attention.
This is the story of Cleo who’s a veterinarian and she’s keeping a huge secret (no spoilers btw) but she’s a shape shifter who turns into a cat mostly. She then meets a musician who later on discovers her secret. But this musician also has a secret and somehow they are connected in a way.
I wouldn’t say this is a cozy read only because as I mentioned up there, it was difficult to find a genre for it as it had alot of elements. It has witchy vibes, horror elements, romance and some emotional content I’d say. If you love these tropes then you’d probably enjoy this book!
#strangebedfellows #bookstagram #bookrecs #bookreviewer •dark urban fantasy•paranormal romance•witchy•
New ARC!
Release date : 26th September 2026!
Date : 1st August 2026
Book : Strange Bedfellows
Author : Amanda Mortlock
Genre : Paranormal Romance / Dark Urban Fantasy / Horror Elements
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
First of all, thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the invitation to read this ARC. It was definitely a different kind of read especially when I was trying to figure out the genre itself. I didn’t read the blurb beforehand so I definitely went into this with no idea what it was about however the cover of the book definitely caught my attention.
This is the story of Cleo who’s a veterinarian and she’s keeping a huge secret (no spoilers btw) but she’s a shape shifter who turns into a cat mostly. She then meets a musician who later on discovers her secret. But this musician also has a secret and somehow they are connected in a way.
I wouldn’t say this is a cozy read only because as I mentioned up there, it was difficult to find a genre for it as it had alot of elements. It has witchy vibes, horror elements, romance and some emotional content I’d say. If you love these tropes then you’d probably enjoy this book!
#strangebedfellows #bookstagram #bookrecs #bookreviewer •dark urban fantasy•paranormal romance•witchy•
May 11, 2026
If there are animal familiars, I’m in. Cat and Cleo are a package deal, unbeknownst to everyone around them, but she randomly wakes up in Wes’ bed before frantically fleeing. They immediately jump into an intense and sometimes toxic relationship that turns out to have a perfect explanation, but a complicated one. I was very hesitant originally but this story was a rollercoaster. I was team Cleo from start to finish, even when she wasn’t at her best. As I was about halfway through, I immediately went to see if it was a standalone or a series. I haven’t become this emotionally invested in a story in awhile, let alone cried for a character like I did for Cat/Cleo. I honestly feel like the ending left me hopeful for more, but mostly satisfied if there isn’t. I was secretly hoping for Ollie and Cleo, I’m not sure I can forgive Wes, even if I get it. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Amanda Mortlock and the publisher for the invitation to this e-ARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2026
Thank you Atria and Netgalley for the ARC of strange bedfellows!
The book focuses on Wes and Cleo, university students. Cleo has a secret-she is sometimes a cat. Specifically, Wes’ cat. Turns out Wes is a witch and Cleo is his familiar. Sounds like a super cute romantasy set up right? Not so much.
I really enjoyed this one! I particularly liked that this story strayed from the expected. For a book about witches and familiars, the characters are very real, to the point that I was feeling genuinely annoyed with their life choices. This story is equally toxic as it is magical. There was a good balance of humor, mystery, spice, character growth, and heart. The magic system was also very unique, and I loved the use of ruins and music throughout the story. The animal pov’s never failed to make me laugh. If you are looking for something unique yet nostalgic at the same time (like a twist on your favorite 90’s/2000s CW show) give this one a go!
The book focuses on Wes and Cleo, university students. Cleo has a secret-she is sometimes a cat. Specifically, Wes’ cat. Turns out Wes is a witch and Cleo is his familiar. Sounds like a super cute romantasy set up right? Not so much.
I really enjoyed this one! I particularly liked that this story strayed from the expected. For a book about witches and familiars, the characters are very real, to the point that I was feeling genuinely annoyed with their life choices. This story is equally toxic as it is magical. There was a good balance of humor, mystery, spice, character growth, and heart. The magic system was also very unique, and I loved the use of ruins and music throughout the story. The animal pov’s never failed to make me laugh. If you are looking for something unique yet nostalgic at the same time (like a twist on your favorite 90’s/2000s CW show) give this one a go!
June 21, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC.
Strange Bedfellows was an interesting read about Cleo aka Cat who is a witch’s familiar that turns into a cat. When new comers come into town and become part of her coven, untold truths from Cleo’s past will be revealed.
I really liked the start of this book (could not put it down through Part 1 I loved it so much), but struggled through the middle and end. The way the book initially read, it felt like this was going to be a romance. It was in fact not a romance. Cleo felt a bit toxic to me and I didn’t love the Bailey/Ollie storyline or conflict point.
If you’re looking for a paranormal, mystery novel with some spice, I think you’d enjoy this book.
Strange Bedfellows was an interesting read about Cleo aka Cat who is a witch’s familiar that turns into a cat. When new comers come into town and become part of her coven, untold truths from Cleo’s past will be revealed.
I really liked the start of this book (could not put it down through Part 1 I loved it so much), but struggled through the middle and end. The way the book initially read, it felt like this was going to be a romance. It was in fact not a romance. Cleo felt a bit toxic to me and I didn’t love the Bailey/Ollie storyline or conflict point.
If you’re looking for a paranormal, mystery novel with some spice, I think you’d enjoy this book.
August 23, 2026
What a *strange* little read! This book was not at all what I was expecting, but it sure was a ride.
The main character, who is sometimes a cat, takes the reader on a twisty journey through past and present. There is witchcraft, tension, and a whole lot of chaos. Strange Bedfellows is a great book to ease into spooky season with!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!
The main character, who is sometimes a cat, takes the reader on a twisty journey through past and present. There is witchcraft, tension, and a whole lot of chaos. Strange Bedfellows is a great book to ease into spooky season with!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Errors:
Page 93: "bite his lip, ha n d enough to draw blood."
Page 166: "...shaves the crisp outer layer of flesh onto a fresh pit t a."
Page 385: The rune symbol for "berkana" is missing beside the italicized word.
I won a physical ARC of this book May 16th from Goodreads, but have had a lot on my TBR (and in my life) to get through. At least I finished it with two months to spare before release!
Some delightful words I was happy to encounter while reading were: fulsome (5), shambolic (8), and assiduously (126)
I did a better job than I usually do about not posting spoilers or, if I do, keeping it masterfully vague. I'm proud of me. :D
Y'all should know by now how much I love debut works. Lucky if you do, too, because this one reads with potential for a second installment for a completed duology. What drew my interest to this book was not only the idea of shifting witch familiars (and using "witch" correctly as the gender-neutral term that it is), but Amanda Mortlock's resume. Also, I was curious how "dark and steamy" would manifest itself in the work; I don't typically lean towards contemporary "dark romance" because from what I've seen evidenced, toxic/troublesome/red flag behaviors typically are endorsed rather than evaluated and challenged. The narratives are also one-note, belying exploitative cash-grabbing by the author, the publisher, or both, intended for audiences that view the abusive manifestation of their trauma simply as "flaws", paired with a caustic confidence that "take it or leave it" mentalities burden the rest of the world's patience with narcissism.
When I described it to my husband, this is how it went:
I've only recently delved into contemporary witch lit fiction, but have noticed one of the main approaches to it focuses on the pageantry of spellwork and tarot; Mortlock acknowledges the first (like on 219) while incorporating futhark runes instead of the second. And it's one of the ways Mortlock conveys foreshadowing and intention in the narrative, all the way down to the bedrock: the work's formatting. Hagalaz from pages 112-113 show up as page break runes on page 146. Isa explained on page 209 shows up as a foreshadowed rune on page 189. Kenaz on page 107/381 becomes page breaks on pages 396-397. Runework even makes its way into copulation, utilized on page 240 and 300 as sexual stimulant. Even the rune Jera, which is used earlier on 240 is in a positive way, later it is used as rank delineation between Bailey and Cleo. There's also lots of combative uses for the runes, specifically on pages 112-133, 347, 358, 379, and 381 with defensive uses on page 124 and 398.
But before I noticed the symbolic and literal interpretations of the runes throughout the work, Mortlock previews their intentions through the Nots: the facsimile creatures/pests Cat and Olliedog encounter through the work that are metaphors for intrusive thoughts they both combat in different ways. Like before, when I mentioned the entire work is a giant allegory for mental illness, different plot elements embody them. While the familiars are the physical manifestation of the witch's power reservoir, they do not exist in emotional stasis, but quite the opposite, drawing the "enemy fire" from the emotional payloads bore between them and outside sources the work unveils to reveal The Big Bad Antagonist... The one that isn't all of Cleo's psychosomatic trauma, that is.
Whereas there are some common themes for the Nots as pests (moth, skunk, rat), there's one in particular that seemed specifically interesting: the beetle. Of all the books I could reference from a metaphysical library, only "Animal Magick: The Art of Recognizing and Working With Familiars" by D.J. Conway proffered something more than scarab or dung beetle paired to Egyptian significance.
In the same ways the Nots are pests, and are later identified as "imps", they are metaphors for otherwise smothered insecurities to break the surface of our logical consciousness to breathe doubt where it will best fester. They're cognitive dissonance cloaked as reason, strawmen in a dry season. Rats, the bearers of pestilence and plague, moths that erode your clothes and shimmy around light sources to try orienting themselves for navigation, and skunks the are the same size and bear the same temperament as cats, a mockery of Cat when confronting Cleo in the alleyway. All these things are metaphorical mockeries to what becomes Cleo's mental degradation. Especially as the plot speeds up the pace, at the same time the anxiety that pulses through spellwork done on page 164 builds. We start to see where ethics clash with morals, human nature juxtaposing the assumedly-soulless familiars (page 369 posits this without being forthright) on 195.
And while Cleo was written in such a way I initially fell in love with her, what she became was a mirror into my own past, unrepentantly damaged emotionally and detonating already fragile yet volatile relationships that needed their own maturation. Though she is "indisputably ginger" as described on page 8, and a fellow fire sign (ironically that a cat is a Leo on page 31), she mentally begins to tailspin in Part Two. She's wildly selfish and conceited on page 166, to the point even Wes is clocking her on her bulls*it by page 171. Mocking Ollie's lifestyle choices on 183, and inferring "weakness" is intentional when everything unlike her on 184 is considered malignant got exhausting FAST. Her fear of maturity in others spazzes out on page 191 to the point of idiocy on 194 as Cleo internally chastises others for merely being different than her. On 195, when Cleo's demagoguery about magic and morality, the foreshadowing of sex as a corrupting force pays dividends by page 231. By page 319, intimate and sexual contact brings out the worst parts in those who participate in a sexual relationship with Cleo. Its manipulation only manipulates the malleable, those without a distinct sense of self, rather than those fixed in their own identity, despite the elasticity of recognized agency...
Which brings me to my favorite character, Ollie. Unlike Bailey, Mortlock brings a very distinct voice to his characterization. Mortlock uses Brit slang like trackies/boot (106), favourite (107), double-glazing (109), 'stick it out' (130), knackered (155), Christmas crackers (291), 'ta' (284), and Boxing Day (297). She reinforces the concept that the work intentionally revolves around the familiars. The witches are backseated, because the source of their power places Cleo and Ollie at a deliberate forefront. Of the dramatis personae, they are the most undefined expression of their witches' valuated power whose dreams are the root of a mystery they seek to solve through divination. Self-awareness bubbles off the page as Cleo and Ollie argue on 229, attempting to define agency metered by value of relation. Even as pages 192-193 read in a very Flowers For Algernon manner, the way Olliedog and Cat's chapters read relate something both nuanced and fundamental: Cleo and Ollie and both very intelligent in very different ways, and Ollie's pragmatism is understated yet also alluring.
Which is where I think the work starts to lose me with all the sex. Ollie and Cleo's dynamic is interesting from 174 to 181. We only get to see a non-romantic interaction from her on page 91, so seeing Cleo discard a carnal reluctance later on, despite their quite fractious introduction, reveals a more positive outlook by Ollie than a relatable one by Cleo. I've never used sex in manipulative ways and personally don't understand it, so the distance this creates for Cleo's likeability, in turn makes Ollie's unrequited feelings more sympathetic and accessible from a character standpoint. Nonetheless, his self-security, especially when recognizing and acknowledging the imps for what they are to Wes on page 250 says more of Wes than it does Ollie. Uncomplicated doesn't discredit nuance; pragmatism shouldn't overrule morals.
I forget where, but Ollie admits that exercising by running and being conscientious about his diet as a vegetarian improves his ability to better self-regulate internal dialogue. Endorphins and serotonin receptor function correspond to improved mental health. His relationship with the "Imps" is much different than Cleo's. Where Cleo starves herself (literally and figuratively) of positive reinforcement, she flays the rest of her prefrontal cortex through wanton excess. While Ollie seeks preventive measures, it leads Cleo to seek self-redemptive extremes in Part Four. The metaphor of Disassociative Identity Disorder posed through the concept of a familiar that established itself on page 66 and 73, supernovas for Cleo while Ollie's pragmatism maintains the duality to a functional boil.
As much as I enjoyed the work, there are ways the writing congealed its own pacing. While I don't need Hannah Whitten levels of pantomime paired to each line of dialogue a character says, seeing 14-18 lines of volleyed discourse got easily confused. The dialogue was so densely packed that at least a handful of times I had to re-read a half-page or more to re-establish who said what. Sometimes the speaker's identity precluded the dialogue, sometimes it followed. There seemed to be no fixed method to maintain what at times read like madness.
Also, the rarity of female orange cats seemed under-explored, for as much symbolism was imbued in the Nots. Less than one in five orange cats are female, a genetic switch-flip that requires a very specific allele convergence between the cat parents. So not only was Cat an outlier in her own regard, her morphing into a five-year-old child was certainly an extra surprise for Auntie. It seems the symbolism of her fur color was more intentional as a foreshadow of former fate than for any other possible correlation.
My last complaint has to do with ... the cover. And usually I critique a book for withholding trigger warnings or an Acknowledgements section more vociferously, but I assume either of those things may be reserved solely for the final print.
But, no, the cover bothers me... A lot. The cat on the front has dark stripes, despite Cat's description on page 105 and 109. The Microsoft Paint-edited stiletto nails on the cover, when her human nails are described as unpainted, seeks to attract a specifically brazen audience. The dripping wax is overtly sexual and tongue-in-cheek to just how ostentatiously "steamy" the book is intended and not so much a gripe as it is an observation. But in its boldness, my eyes are drawn to the unnaturally angular nails absent of depth or dimension, reminding me again this cover was likely created with Canva.
It's also a first for me, too, to see a letter from the Assistant Editor as a prologue, but Scott-Riley's intensity is easily sanctioned. This work is very interesting, and thankfully NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM INTENDED FOR MINORS . I double-checked after the first chapter to make sure it was classified Adult Fiction. I also appreciated tobacco, one of four sacred indigenous medicines, being used as a cleansing herb on page 115. It speaks to how most of the things we identify culturally bear greater significance than they're afforded. To Cleo, her aunt's weed-bound backyard on page 159 was identified as a witch's garden. Just because we don't know why something is, doesn't detract from the meaning it may bear and define for itself.
Life is gender neutral, as should the contemporary definition of 'witch' be as well.
Page 93: "bite his lip, ha n d enough to draw blood."
Page 166: "...shaves the crisp outer layer of flesh onto a fresh pit t a."
Page 385: The rune symbol for "berkana" is missing beside the italicized word.
I won a physical ARC of this book May 16th from Goodreads, but have had a lot on my TBR (and in my life) to get through. At least I finished it with two months to spare before release!
Some delightful words I was happy to encounter while reading were: fulsome (5), shambolic (8), and assiduously (126)
I did a better job than I usually do about not posting spoilers or, if I do, keeping it masterfully vague. I'm proud of me. :D
Y'all should know by now how much I love debut works. Lucky if you do, too, because this one reads with potential for a second installment for a completed duology. What drew my interest to this book was not only the idea of shifting witch familiars (and using "witch" correctly as the gender-neutral term that it is), but Amanda Mortlock's resume. Also, I was curious how "dark and steamy" would manifest itself in the work; I don't typically lean towards contemporary "dark romance" because from what I've seen evidenced, toxic/troublesome/red flag behaviors typically are endorsed rather than evaluated and challenged. The narratives are also one-note, belying exploitative cash-grabbing by the author, the publisher, or both, intended for audiences that view the abusive manifestation of their trauma simply as "flaws", paired with a caustic confidence that "take it or leave it" mentalities burden the rest of the world's patience with narcissism.
When I described it to my husband, this is how it went:
Think of Fruits Basket, where Tohru was actually a cat shifter familiar, rescued by an old cat lady who finds out her secret and adopts her. After the auntie dies, Tohru stays semi-homeless and rents out her inherited home to a fratboy band led by Shigure (Wes) and they help unfurl the "Curse" that has stricken them all ... But with mental illness and lots of sex. Like, a lot a lot of sex.But also, not at all like that?
I've only recently delved into contemporary witch lit fiction, but have noticed one of the main approaches to it focuses on the pageantry of spellwork and tarot; Mortlock acknowledges the first (like on 219) while incorporating futhark runes instead of the second. And it's one of the ways Mortlock conveys foreshadowing and intention in the narrative, all the way down to the bedrock: the work's formatting. Hagalaz from pages 112-113 show up as page break runes on page 146. Isa explained on page 209 shows up as a foreshadowed rune on page 189. Kenaz on page 107/381 becomes page breaks on pages 396-397. Runework even makes its way into copulation, utilized on page 240 and 300 as sexual stimulant. Even the rune Jera, which is used earlier on 240 is in a positive way, later it is used as rank delineation between Bailey and Cleo. There's also lots of combative uses for the runes, specifically on pages 112-133, 347, 358, 379, and 381 with defensive uses on page 124 and 398.
But before I noticed the symbolic and literal interpretations of the runes throughout the work, Mortlock previews their intentions through the Nots: the facsimile creatures/pests Cat and Olliedog encounter through the work that are metaphors for intrusive thoughts they both combat in different ways. Like before, when I mentioned the entire work is a giant allegory for mental illness, different plot elements embody them. While the familiars are the physical manifestation of the witch's power reservoir, they do not exist in emotional stasis, but quite the opposite, drawing the "enemy fire" from the emotional payloads bore between them and outside sources the work unveils to reveal The Big Bad Antagonist... The one that isn't all of Cleo's psychosomatic trauma, that is.
Whereas there are some common themes for the Nots as pests (moth, skunk, rat), there's one in particular that seemed specifically interesting: the beetle. Of all the books I could reference from a metaphysical library, only "Animal Magick: The Art of Recognizing and Working With Familiars" by D.J. Conway proffered something more than scarab or dung beetle paired to Egyptian significance.
"During the Middle Ages, the alchemists drew the scarab beetle in diagrams of the double spiral, which they said led to the center of the universe"Without elaborating further and spoiling plot progression, the overlapping of two characters' "circle of influence" are caged within another character's manipulative cycle. Two circles, belayed by a larger power/circle, bound by ardor, that foreshadows itself on page 118. It even represents how Cleo is presented to the reader, as two parts (cat and humanoid) of the same whole (page 23).
Magickal Attributes: Vitality, new life. Learning to pace yourself through the seasonal changes of the year. Learning about past lives. Seeking spiritual enlightenment." (pages 231-232 of Animal Magick)
In the same ways the Nots are pests, and are later identified as "imps", they are metaphors for otherwise smothered insecurities to break the surface of our logical consciousness to breathe doubt where it will best fester. They're cognitive dissonance cloaked as reason, strawmen in a dry season. Rats, the bearers of pestilence and plague, moths that erode your clothes and shimmy around light sources to try orienting themselves for navigation, and skunks the are the same size and bear the same temperament as cats, a mockery of Cat when confronting Cleo in the alleyway. All these things are metaphorical mockeries to what becomes Cleo's mental degradation. Especially as the plot speeds up the pace, at the same time the anxiety that pulses through spellwork done on page 164 builds. We start to see where ethics clash with morals, human nature juxtaposing the assumedly-soulless familiars (page 369 posits this without being forthright) on 195.
And while Cleo was written in such a way I initially fell in love with her, what she became was a mirror into my own past, unrepentantly damaged emotionally and detonating already fragile yet volatile relationships that needed their own maturation. Though she is "indisputably ginger" as described on page 8, and a fellow fire sign (ironically that a cat is a Leo on page 31), she mentally begins to tailspin in Part Two. She's wildly selfish and conceited on page 166, to the point even Wes is clocking her on her bulls*it by page 171. Mocking Ollie's lifestyle choices on 183, and inferring "weakness" is intentional when everything unlike her on 184 is considered malignant got exhausting FAST. Her fear of maturity in others spazzes out on page 191 to the point of idiocy on 194 as Cleo internally chastises others for merely being different than her. On 195, when Cleo's demagoguery about magic and morality, the foreshadowing of sex as a corrupting force pays dividends by page 231. By page 319, intimate and sexual contact brings out the worst parts in those who participate in a sexual relationship with Cleo. Its manipulation only manipulates the malleable, those without a distinct sense of self, rather than those fixed in their own identity, despite the elasticity of recognized agency...
Which brings me to my favorite character, Ollie. Unlike Bailey, Mortlock brings a very distinct voice to his characterization. Mortlock uses Brit slang like trackies/boot (106), favourite (107), double-glazing (109), 'stick it out' (130), knackered (155), Christmas crackers (291), 'ta' (284), and Boxing Day (297). She reinforces the concept that the work intentionally revolves around the familiars. The witches are backseated, because the source of their power places Cleo and Ollie at a deliberate forefront. Of the dramatis personae, they are the most undefined expression of their witches' valuated power whose dreams are the root of a mystery they seek to solve through divination. Self-awareness bubbles off the page as Cleo and Ollie argue on 229, attempting to define agency metered by value of relation. Even as pages 192-193 read in a very Flowers For Algernon manner, the way Olliedog and Cat's chapters read relate something both nuanced and fundamental: Cleo and Ollie and both very intelligent in very different ways, and Ollie's pragmatism is understated yet also alluring.
Which is where I think the work starts to lose me with all the sex. Ollie and Cleo's dynamic is interesting from 174 to 181. We only get to see a non-romantic interaction from her on page 91, so seeing Cleo discard a carnal reluctance later on, despite their quite fractious introduction, reveals a more positive outlook by Ollie than a relatable one by Cleo. I've never used sex in manipulative ways and personally don't understand it, so the distance this creates for Cleo's likeability, in turn makes Ollie's unrequited feelings more sympathetic and accessible from a character standpoint. Nonetheless, his self-security, especially when recognizing and acknowledging the imps for what they are to Wes on page 250 says more of Wes than it does Ollie. Uncomplicated doesn't discredit nuance; pragmatism shouldn't overrule morals.
I forget where, but Ollie admits that exercising by running and being conscientious about his diet as a vegetarian improves his ability to better self-regulate internal dialogue. Endorphins and serotonin receptor function correspond to improved mental health. His relationship with the "Imps" is much different than Cleo's. Where Cleo starves herself (literally and figuratively) of positive reinforcement, she flays the rest of her prefrontal cortex through wanton excess. While Ollie seeks preventive measures, it leads Cleo to seek self-redemptive extremes in Part Four. The metaphor of Disassociative Identity Disorder posed through the concept of a familiar that established itself on page 66 and 73, supernovas for Cleo while Ollie's pragmatism maintains the duality to a functional boil.
As much as I enjoyed the work, there are ways the writing congealed its own pacing. While I don't need Hannah Whitten levels of pantomime paired to each line of dialogue a character says, seeing 14-18 lines of volleyed discourse got easily confused. The dialogue was so densely packed that at least a handful of times I had to re-read a half-page or more to re-establish who said what. Sometimes the speaker's identity precluded the dialogue, sometimes it followed. There seemed to be no fixed method to maintain what at times read like madness.
Also, the rarity of female orange cats seemed under-explored, for as much symbolism was imbued in the Nots. Less than one in five orange cats are female, a genetic switch-flip that requires a very specific allele convergence between the cat parents. So not only was Cat an outlier in her own regard, her morphing into a five-year-old child was certainly an extra surprise for Auntie. It seems the symbolism of her fur color was more intentional as a foreshadow of former fate than for any other possible correlation.
My last complaint has to do with ... the cover. And usually I critique a book for withholding trigger warnings or an Acknowledgements section more vociferously, but I assume either of those things may be reserved solely for the final print.
But, no, the cover bothers me... A lot. The cat on the front has dark stripes, despite Cat's description on page 105 and 109. The Microsoft Paint-edited stiletto nails on the cover, when her human nails are described as unpainted, seeks to attract a specifically brazen audience. The dripping wax is overtly sexual and tongue-in-cheek to just how ostentatiously "steamy" the book is intended and not so much a gripe as it is an observation. But in its boldness, my eyes are drawn to the unnaturally angular nails absent of depth or dimension, reminding me again this cover was likely created with Canva.
It's also a first for me, too, to see a letter from the Assistant Editor as a prologue, but Scott-Riley's intensity is easily sanctioned. This work is very interesting, and thankfully NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM INTENDED FOR MINORS . I double-checked after the first chapter to make sure it was classified Adult Fiction. I also appreciated tobacco, one of four sacred indigenous medicines, being used as a cleansing herb on page 115. It speaks to how most of the things we identify culturally bear greater significance than they're afforded. To Cleo, her aunt's weed-bound backyard on page 159 was identified as a witch's garden. Just because we don't know why something is, doesn't detract from the meaning it may bear and define for itself.
Life is gender neutral, as should the contemporary definition of 'witch' be as well.
July 3, 2026
What. in the heck. did I read?
I needed desperately to know how this ended, or else I would have put it down. So good on Mortlock for piquing my interest enough that I was super curious and blasted through this in a day. That being said, this was not at all for me.
I loved the parts with olliedog's perspective, those were so well-written, and same with Cat. I also loved how you could feel the feline qualities in Cleo and canine qualities in Ollie.
The spice... it was weird at times. Not moving things forward. The end of the romance line? really didn't like it. Yes the characters are toxic, but some of that is the point between MMC and FMC, so no knocks on that.
The book overall just gave me the ick, and it did that because it took so long to weave stories together, and it was trying to do too much while shoe-horning in spicy parts.
It could have been cool, but I the biggest disservice this book did to itself was moving from 2-4 main characters, despite how much I did love Ollie. It became too much, too confusing, and bloated.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I needed desperately to know how this ended, or else I would have put it down. So good on Mortlock for piquing my interest enough that I was super curious and blasted through this in a day. That being said, this was not at all for me.
I loved the parts with olliedog's perspective, those were so well-written, and same with Cat. I also loved how you could feel the feline qualities in Cleo and canine qualities in Ollie.
The spice... it was weird at times. Not moving things forward. The end of the romance line? really didn't like it. Yes the characters are toxic, but some of that is the point between MMC and FMC, so no knocks on that.
The book overall just gave me the ick, and it did that because it took so long to weave stories together, and it was trying to do too much while shoe-horning in spicy parts.
It could have been cool, but I the biggest disservice this book did to itself was moving from 2-4 main characters, despite how much I did love Ollie. It became too much, too confusing, and bloated.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“Strange Bedfellows” by Amanda Mortlock is one of those books where I finished it and immediately thought, ‘Well...that was definitely unlike anything I've read before.’ Witches? Animal familiars that can turn into humans? A girl who's also a cat? A demon? A New England college setting? Somehow it throws all of that together into one very weird, very entertaining story.
The premise hooked me right away. Cleo is a college student with a pretty major secret; sometimes, she's a cat. After meeting broody musician Wes at a Halloween party, she discovers that their connection goes much deeper than simple attraction. Enter Ollie (who is sometimes a dog) and Bailey, who reveal that Cleo and Wes are actually a familiar-and-witch pair with a shared past full of missing memories, dangerous magic, and secrets that refuse to stay buried.
What kept me turning the pages wasn't actually the romance; it was the mystery. I desperately wanted to know what happened in Cleo's past, why parts of her memory were missing, and how everything connected. Every answer just raised more questions, and the suspense kept me hooked even when I occasionally felt like I was trying to catch up with the magic system.
The familiars were easily my favorite part of the book. Getting POVs from both Cleo/Cat and Ollie/Olliedog was such a fun, unique touch, and I loved seeing how their personalities shifted depending on whether they were in human or animal form. Ollie completely stole the show for me. He's loyal, honest, and basically the only person willing to call everyone else out on their nonsense.
The characters, in general, are a mess. And I mean that in the best possible way. They're flawed, complicated, frustrating, and sometimes make absolutely terrible decisions, but that also made them feel surprisingly real. Cleo and Wes have a deeply codependent, often toxic relationship that had me wanting to shake both of them more than once. Their romance definitely won't work for everyone, especially since there are several steamy scenes throughout the book, but it fits the chaotic emotional energy the story is going for.
The biggest hurdle for me was the worldbuilding. The magic system, runes, and pagan-inspired lore are really interesting, but the book doesn't always stop to explain everything. There were definitely moments where I felt like I'd been dropped into the deep end and expected to already know how everything worked. By the end, most of it came together, but I wouldn't have minded a little more guidance along the way. The story also juggles a lot of different plot threads, and occasionally it felt like it wandered before pulling everything back together.
Overall, “Strange Bedfellows” is weird, witchy, suspenseful, and refreshingly original. If you're looking for a paranormal fantasy with magical familiars, flawed characters, messy relationships, dark secrets, and a healthy dose of mystery alongside the romance, this is definitely worth checking out.
“Strange Bedfellows” by Amanda Mortlock is one of those books where I finished it and immediately thought, ‘Well...that was definitely unlike anything I've read before.’ Witches? Animal familiars that can turn into humans? A girl who's also a cat? A demon? A New England college setting? Somehow it throws all of that together into one very weird, very entertaining story.
The premise hooked me right away. Cleo is a college student with a pretty major secret; sometimes, she's a cat. After meeting broody musician Wes at a Halloween party, she discovers that their connection goes much deeper than simple attraction. Enter Ollie (who is sometimes a dog) and Bailey, who reveal that Cleo and Wes are actually a familiar-and-witch pair with a shared past full of missing memories, dangerous magic, and secrets that refuse to stay buried.
What kept me turning the pages wasn't actually the romance; it was the mystery. I desperately wanted to know what happened in Cleo's past, why parts of her memory were missing, and how everything connected. Every answer just raised more questions, and the suspense kept me hooked even when I occasionally felt like I was trying to catch up with the magic system.
The familiars were easily my favorite part of the book. Getting POVs from both Cleo/Cat and Ollie/Olliedog was such a fun, unique touch, and I loved seeing how their personalities shifted depending on whether they were in human or animal form. Ollie completely stole the show for me. He's loyal, honest, and basically the only person willing to call everyone else out on their nonsense.
The characters, in general, are a mess. And I mean that in the best possible way. They're flawed, complicated, frustrating, and sometimes make absolutely terrible decisions, but that also made them feel surprisingly real. Cleo and Wes have a deeply codependent, often toxic relationship that had me wanting to shake both of them more than once. Their romance definitely won't work for everyone, especially since there are several steamy scenes throughout the book, but it fits the chaotic emotional energy the story is going for.
The biggest hurdle for me was the worldbuilding. The magic system, runes, and pagan-inspired lore are really interesting, but the book doesn't always stop to explain everything. There were definitely moments where I felt like I'd been dropped into the deep end and expected to already know how everything worked. By the end, most of it came together, but I wouldn't have minded a little more guidance along the way. The story also juggles a lot of different plot threads, and occasionally it felt like it wandered before pulling everything back together.
Overall, “Strange Bedfellows” is weird, witchy, suspenseful, and refreshingly original. If you're looking for a paranormal fantasy with magical familiars, flawed characters, messy relationships, dark secrets, and a healthy dose of mystery alongside the romance, this is definitely worth checking out.
June 24, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me the ARC of Strange Bedfellow, Amanda Morlock’s debut novel in exchange for a review.
Strange Bedfellows follows Cleo the person and Cat the cat, who are the same soul in different bodies, Cleo can switch between. She owns and lives in her aunt’s old house, the lady who found her as a kitten and took her in to raise before realizing she was also adopting a human. The house is filled with college boys in a band, Cat’s favorite being Wes, who is her witch and her soulmate. Together, they make a very toxic pair. Magically, however, they are perfect for one another. They meet Bailey and Ollie, who are like them. Bailey and Wes share a tragic past.
This was book was described as, “Layered with Celtic traditions, runes, and music-driven magic, the spellwork is built on rhythm, emotion, and shared intention—creating something immersive, sensual, and entirely distinctive. As the story unfolds, what begins as an intoxicating connection sharpens into something more complicated. Our protagonist, Cleo, remains magnetic throughout but increasingly difficult to justify. It’s the kind of character journey that invites conversation, debate, and a lingering emotional aftertaste.
For readers craving something atmospheric, wickedly fun, and a bit dangerous.” With, “attachment theory & co-dependency; voice, identity, and self-sufficiency; the tension between love, control & power“
For me personally it did not live up to the hype, I rated it 3 stars and the third star was earned during the last 25ish percent of the book. Up until that point I was struggling to get through it. Not much happens. The characters are meant to be deeply flawed but I found them unlikable and uninteresting, I did not care what their outcome was. It is possible to write characters who are morally gray and unlikable but that you are still rooting for, these characters were not that. The characters and their actions and speech felt inauthentic and not like actual people at all. The one expectation is Gilly, Cleo’s best friend and coworker at a vet hospital. Gilly was my girl! She was the only character that wasn’t flat, and she was largely absent from the middle of the book.
The multiple POV’s did help move the plot along but often it didn’t feel like we got any pertinent information to the plot. Going back to the past through different eyes was interesting, but by time it got to that point I wasn’t invested. A lot of the dialogue was hard to follow who was speaking and sometimes even who was even a part of the conversation or in the room.
This needed more magic, more spooky, get more into the runes and the past. This is not a spooky “must read” for me. This fell very flat and very far from what I was going into it hoping for. The last 25% of the book is what saves this and if the rest of the book had been written like that I may have enjoyed it more. Not a bad read, not a great one either.
Strange Bedfellows follows Cleo the person and Cat the cat, who are the same soul in different bodies, Cleo can switch between. She owns and lives in her aunt’s old house, the lady who found her as a kitten and took her in to raise before realizing she was also adopting a human. The house is filled with college boys in a band, Cat’s favorite being Wes, who is her witch and her soulmate. Together, they make a very toxic pair. Magically, however, they are perfect for one another. They meet Bailey and Ollie, who are like them. Bailey and Wes share a tragic past.
This was book was described as, “Layered with Celtic traditions, runes, and music-driven magic, the spellwork is built on rhythm, emotion, and shared intention—creating something immersive, sensual, and entirely distinctive. As the story unfolds, what begins as an intoxicating connection sharpens into something more complicated. Our protagonist, Cleo, remains magnetic throughout but increasingly difficult to justify. It’s the kind of character journey that invites conversation, debate, and a lingering emotional aftertaste.
For readers craving something atmospheric, wickedly fun, and a bit dangerous.” With, “attachment theory & co-dependency; voice, identity, and self-sufficiency; the tension between love, control & power“
For me personally it did not live up to the hype, I rated it 3 stars and the third star was earned during the last 25ish percent of the book. Up until that point I was struggling to get through it. Not much happens. The characters are meant to be deeply flawed but I found them unlikable and uninteresting, I did not care what their outcome was. It is possible to write characters who are morally gray and unlikable but that you are still rooting for, these characters were not that. The characters and their actions and speech felt inauthentic and not like actual people at all. The one expectation is Gilly, Cleo’s best friend and coworker at a vet hospital. Gilly was my girl! She was the only character that wasn’t flat, and she was largely absent from the middle of the book.
The multiple POV’s did help move the plot along but often it didn’t feel like we got any pertinent information to the plot. Going back to the past through different eyes was interesting, but by time it got to that point I wasn’t invested. A lot of the dialogue was hard to follow who was speaking and sometimes even who was even a part of the conversation or in the room.
This needed more magic, more spooky, get more into the runes and the past. This is not a spooky “must read” for me. This fell very flat and very far from what I was going into it hoping for. The last 25% of the book is what saves this and if the rest of the book had been written like that I may have enjoyed it more. Not a bad read, not a great one either.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This... really wasn't for me.
Sometimes I need to pay more attention to the summary because I get a book to read, because I have this feeling that my biggest problem with this book was that it's the wrong genre.
So I'm rating it 2.5 and rounding it up.
Cleo can turn into a cat called Cat. Though they're not different people, their bodies make them work differently depending on what she'd turned into, and it's as if they live in different worlds. Until one night they collapse. She meets the guy who's been keeping Cat, and the attraction is mutual and strong. So strong, they end up vulnerable to a pair of a witch and her familiar, a dog who can also turn into a human man. But also vulnerable to each other and the secrets they keep.
This book had around three moments, first it's a (creepy) romance between a guy and his cat... Sorry, I still can't unsee this. She'd been his cat for over a year, and now he's in love with her? I know they meet as humans too without him knowing Cleo is Cat, but it's uncomfortable to read. And then we enter the supernatural part when the duo shows up and the romance becomes a love triangle (or quartet), or really some Warner teenager series. And while neither of these arcs get any resolution, suddenly we had a demon, and past lives, and pacts—we actually get battles in the book.
I'm not just rounding up it up 3 stars because I was wrong getting a book from a genre I don't like (whatever the genre really is), but because this actually has layers. It's not just some weird monster romance or dark romance. I'm not even sure if it is a romance, considering that gets lost a bit already into the second act. It's a book that will surprise you for better or for worse, and I loved the intention, the idea behind, even all that crazy backstory.
What I really didn't like is how convoluted it came to be. Mixing genres is okay and can be a big win for a book, but you need more control of your storytelling, which I think lacked here. I was confused about what the point of the story was until I was nearer the end, so it's back to is this a steamy and dark romance, is this some adventure to find out about the past and about how to use superpowers/spells, or is this a soft horror story? Maybe it's even coming of age? I wasn't sure what my focus should have been, so each time I started creating expectations they'd turn up to be not important after all. I didn't like the feeling, making it hard to connect with the plot. Looking back, I'd read it as if this were a coming of age horror story.
It's an easy book to read but be ready for some crazy stuff.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Sometimes I need to pay more attention to the summary because I get a book to read, because I have this feeling that my biggest problem with this book was that it's the wrong genre.
So I'm rating it 2.5 and rounding it up.
Cleo can turn into a cat called Cat. Though they're not different people, their bodies make them work differently depending on what she'd turned into, and it's as if they live in different worlds. Until one night they collapse. She meets the guy who's been keeping Cat, and the attraction is mutual and strong. So strong, they end up vulnerable to a pair of a witch and her familiar, a dog who can also turn into a human man. But also vulnerable to each other and the secrets they keep.
This book had around three moments, first it's a (creepy) romance between a guy and his cat... Sorry, I still can't unsee this. She'd been his cat for over a year, and now he's in love with her? I know they meet as humans too without him knowing Cleo is Cat, but it's uncomfortable to read. And then we enter the supernatural part when the duo shows up and the romance becomes a love triangle (or quartet), or really some Warner teenager series. And while neither of these arcs get any resolution, suddenly we had a demon, and past lives, and pacts—we actually get battles in the book.
I'm not just rounding up it up 3 stars because I was wrong getting a book from a genre I don't like (whatever the genre really is), but because this actually has layers. It's not just some weird monster romance or dark romance. I'm not even sure if it is a romance, considering that gets lost a bit already into the second act. It's a book that will surprise you for better or for worse, and I loved the intention, the idea behind, even all that crazy backstory.
What I really didn't like is how convoluted it came to be. Mixing genres is okay and can be a big win for a book, but you need more control of your storytelling, which I think lacked here. I was confused about what the point of the story was until I was nearer the end, so it's back to is this a steamy and dark romance, is this some adventure to find out about the past and about how to use superpowers/spells, or is this a soft horror story? Maybe it's even coming of age? I wasn't sure what my focus should have been, so each time I started creating expectations they'd turn up to be not important after all. I didn't like the feeling, making it hard to connect with the plot. Looking back, I'd read it as if this were a coming of age horror story.
It's an easy book to read but be ready for some crazy stuff.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Strange Bedfellows was unlike anything I've read before, and that's saying something. I usually spend my reading time chasing murderers, serial killers, and psychological twists, so a story about familiars, witches, magical bonds, and a woman who is also a cat was well outside my comfort zone. I approached it with an open mind, and surprisingly, it worked!
Cleo is both herself and Cat, her feline counterpart, and the relationship between the two creates a fascinating mystery from the very beginning. When she finds her witch, Wes, under unusual circumstances, she becomes entangled in a world of magic, missing memories, hidden truths, and dangers that stretch back into the past. As Cleo struggles to understand who she is and what has been forgotten, the story builds a steady sense of urgency that kept me turning pages.
What I enjoyed most was the suspense. Beneath the fantasy and romance elements is a genuine mystery. I needed to know what had happened, why memories were missing, and how the past was influencing the present. That mystery kept me invested even when I was navigating unfamiliar fantasy concepts.
The characters were engaging, especially Cleo. Sometimes I didn't like her very much, but watching her piece together her identity and place in this magical world gave the story its emotional core. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the familiars and witches, particularly the unique relationships that developed throughout the story.
My biggest challenge was the worldbuilding. As someone who doesn't read much fantasy, I occasionally felt as though I had been dropped into the deep end without a life jacket. Terms, magical concepts, and lore were sometimes introduced with little explanation, leaving me feeling like I was trying to follow a gourmet recipe with only basic cooking skills. Fantasy readers will likely have no trouble with this, but I occasionally wished for a bit more guidance.
The romance wasn't always my favorite aspect of the story and had me rolling my eyes more than once, but it never overshadowed the stronger elements. The mystery, suspense, and originality kept me engaged from beginning to end.
If you enjoy fantasy romance with unusual magical systems, mysterious pasts, magical familiars, witches, and a healthy dose of suspense, I would absolutely recommend Strange Bedfellows. While it pushed me outside my usual reading preferences, it also reminded me how enjoyable it can be to explore something completely different.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Cleo is both herself and Cat, her feline counterpart, and the relationship between the two creates a fascinating mystery from the very beginning. When she finds her witch, Wes, under unusual circumstances, she becomes entangled in a world of magic, missing memories, hidden truths, and dangers that stretch back into the past. As Cleo struggles to understand who she is and what has been forgotten, the story builds a steady sense of urgency that kept me turning pages.
What I enjoyed most was the suspense. Beneath the fantasy and romance elements is a genuine mystery. I needed to know what had happened, why memories were missing, and how the past was influencing the present. That mystery kept me invested even when I was navigating unfamiliar fantasy concepts.
The characters were engaging, especially Cleo. Sometimes I didn't like her very much, but watching her piece together her identity and place in this magical world gave the story its emotional core. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the familiars and witches, particularly the unique relationships that developed throughout the story.
My biggest challenge was the worldbuilding. As someone who doesn't read much fantasy, I occasionally felt as though I had been dropped into the deep end without a life jacket. Terms, magical concepts, and lore were sometimes introduced with little explanation, leaving me feeling like I was trying to follow a gourmet recipe with only basic cooking skills. Fantasy readers will likely have no trouble with this, but I occasionally wished for a bit more guidance.
The romance wasn't always my favorite aspect of the story and had me rolling my eyes more than once, but it never overshadowed the stronger elements. The mystery, suspense, and originality kept me engaged from beginning to end.
If you enjoy fantasy romance with unusual magical systems, mysterious pasts, magical familiars, witches, and a healthy dose of suspense, I would absolutely recommend Strange Bedfellows. While it pushed me outside my usual reading preferences, it also reminded me how enjoyable it can be to explore something completely different.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Strange Bedfellows is centered around Cleo, a girl who is sometimes a cat, and her chaotic college life. It’s a dramatic, character-driven paranormal story featuring unlikable characters and their complicated relationships. The story opens when Cleo enters a steamy romantic relationship with Wes, an angsty musician and one of her tenants. But it gets much messier when Bailey and Ollie, a witch and her familiar, appear. They inform Cleo and Wes that they are also a witch/familiar pair and propose founding a coven. There’s fledgling magic, catty relationships, tragic backstories, shifting loyalties, and a mysteriously suspenseful atmosphere. It’s an okay book, especially for a debut author, but something about it didn’t work for me.
This is speculation on my part, but I don’t think that the story of Strange Bedfellows was intended to be a book. It reads much more like a repurposed tv series. The pacing felt weird while I was reading, but it makes a lot more sense to me if I think of it as scenes in a tv show. I can identify the smaller story arcs that make up individual episodes in a larger series; I can picture in my mind which scenes need to be empathized with dramatic music; I can tell when dialogue is being used to develop characters or when the passage of time is indicated by a quick montage. Television can rely on music and visual cues to create a compelling atmosphere, something that I can imagine working well for this story, but without those added details this book fell a little flat.
Additionally, the use of first-person perspective for human characters hampered my enjoyment of this story. I think that readers are supposed to sympathize with all four main characters even when they make mistakes. But that is a lot harder to do when the story is narrated by flawed characters who are trying to justify their actions to themselves. Again, I think that this would have worked better in a tv show.
I don’t have another book to comp this to, but I think that people who enjoy angsty paranormal teen tv dramas like The Order or The Secret Circle may also enjoy Strange Bedfellows.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss+ for providing me with an eARC.
This is speculation on my part, but I don’t think that the story of Strange Bedfellows was intended to be a book. It reads much more like a repurposed tv series. The pacing felt weird while I was reading, but it makes a lot more sense to me if I think of it as scenes in a tv show. I can identify the smaller story arcs that make up individual episodes in a larger series; I can picture in my mind which scenes need to be empathized with dramatic music; I can tell when dialogue is being used to develop characters or when the passage of time is indicated by a quick montage. Television can rely on music and visual cues to create a compelling atmosphere, something that I can imagine working well for this story, but without those added details this book fell a little flat.
Additionally, the use of first-person perspective for human characters hampered my enjoyment of this story. I think that readers are supposed to sympathize with all four main characters even when they make mistakes. But that is a lot harder to do when the story is narrated by flawed characters who are trying to justify their actions to themselves. Again, I think that this would have worked better in a tv show.
I don’t have another book to comp this to, but I think that people who enjoy angsty paranormal teen tv dramas like The Order or The Secret Circle may also enjoy Strange Bedfellows.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss+ for providing me with an eARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
One word comes to mine with this book: TOXIC. Everyone in this book is toxic. Also Bailey I hate you so much. Like look at me all bright sunshine but I’ll steal your man and still be kind. Nah. Don’t like you. Don’t like this book
Positives? I dunno.
Negatives: the toxic relationships are so bad. First we have Wes and Cleo their relationship is red flag central. It’s all passion and fire. They are so bad together but good.
Then we bring in Ollie and Bailey. We see Cleo use Ollie and not care. We see Bailey acting like this sweet and innocent girl that just happens to fall for someone else’s boyfriend. Oh and Cleo? Super destructive personality.
You notice how all I’m talking about is the toxic relationships? That’s because 70% of this almost 500 page book is about relationship toxicity and drama. The familiar part is barely there. When it happens is about how toxic Wes is to Cleo with her magic or how they all push for a spell that some don’t want to do.
I hate the ending. It was like the big bad came out of nowhere and Ope that’s over. Now let’s get back to more relationship drama. I don’t like the way the relationships ended either. Again I hate Bailey. She’s legit the worst. The only good person in this book is Gilly.
The whole story is this: Cleo is a cat and a girl. She can basically filter her magic into a witch who is Wes. Ollie (a dog familiar) and Bailey a witch find them and want to become a coven. Dramatic relationship crap happens, spells get done, betrayals, more relationship drama, big bad, more relationship stuff. The end.
Also I’m hoping this is fixed in editing but the dialogue is really hard to understand. The familiar narrative is in italics but when it’s the familiars narrative and people are talking it does nothing to distinguish between who is speaking. It gets confusing quickly. The odd bold font too, I understand this is meant to show that it’s a THOUGHT (and spoiler I guess not their own? But it’s weird.) So I really think the publisher should take a look at the editing and fix how to determine who’s speaking.
I normally don’t give books 2.5 stars but I legit hate read this.
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the arc.
Positives? I dunno.
Negatives: the toxic relationships are so bad. First we have Wes and Cleo their relationship is red flag central. It’s all passion and fire. They are so bad together but good.
Then we bring in Ollie and Bailey. We see Cleo use Ollie and not care. We see Bailey acting like this sweet and innocent girl that just happens to fall for someone else’s boyfriend. Oh and Cleo? Super destructive personality.
You notice how all I’m talking about is the toxic relationships? That’s because 70% of this almost 500 page book is about relationship toxicity and drama. The familiar part is barely there. When it happens is about how toxic Wes is to Cleo with her magic or how they all push for a spell that some don’t want to do.
I hate the ending. It was like the big bad came out of nowhere and Ope that’s over. Now let’s get back to more relationship drama. I don’t like the way the relationships ended either. Again I hate Bailey. She’s legit the worst. The only good person in this book is Gilly.
The whole story is this: Cleo is a cat and a girl. She can basically filter her magic into a witch who is Wes. Ollie (a dog familiar) and Bailey a witch find them and want to become a coven. Dramatic relationship crap happens, spells get done, betrayals, more relationship drama, big bad, more relationship stuff. The end.
Also I’m hoping this is fixed in editing but the dialogue is really hard to understand. The familiar narrative is in italics but when it’s the familiars narrative and people are talking it does nothing to distinguish between who is speaking. It gets confusing quickly. The odd bold font too, I understand this is meant to show that it’s a THOUGHT (and spoiler I guess not their own? But it’s weird.) So I really think the publisher should take a look at the editing and fix how to determine who’s speaking.
I normally don’t give books 2.5 stars but I legit hate read this.
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the arc.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ | 3.25 stars
If you’re looking for something a little strange, dark, and delightfully unhinged to add to your Summer-ween TBR, Strange Bedfellows by Amanda Mortlock is definitely one to pick up. This genre-bending debut blends romance, witchcraft, toxic obsession, and a touch of magical realism into one very wild story.
At the center of the book is Cleo, a college student with a pretty impossible secret....sometimes, she’s a cat. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, their instant connection quickly becomes something much more complicated. As the secrets surrounding Cleo and Wes begin to unravel, the story dives headfirst into obsession, control, possessiveness, and the toxic desire to possess someone you while you call it love.
This book is toxic with a hint of magical realism, and honestly, that combination makes for such an intense reading experience. There’s something deeply unsettling about the relationships and the way love, possession, and control become so intertwined. It’s messy, obsessive, and completely unhinged.....but in a what the heck am I reading and why am I having such a good time? kind of way.
And I have to mention the cat aspect because… I will never look at my cat the same way again. 😂 I genuinely finished this book questioning who my cat really is. Like, ma’am, are you sure you’re just a cat?! 😂
While this wasn’t a five-star read for me, I really enjoyed how strange and unpredictable it was. It’s definitely one of those books that will have you pausing to process what you just read and then immediately wanting to know what happens next.
If you’re in the mood for a dark, steamy, mystical, obsessive read that completely embraces its weirdness, Strange Bedfellows is worth adding to your Summer-ween TBR. Just maybe keep an eye on your cat while you’re reading. 👀🐈⬛
****Thank you NetGalley & Atria for this ARC in exchange for my honest review****
If you’re looking for something a little strange, dark, and delightfully unhinged to add to your Summer-ween TBR, Strange Bedfellows by Amanda Mortlock is definitely one to pick up. This genre-bending debut blends romance, witchcraft, toxic obsession, and a touch of magical realism into one very wild story.
At the center of the book is Cleo, a college student with a pretty impossible secret....sometimes, she’s a cat. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, their instant connection quickly becomes something much more complicated. As the secrets surrounding Cleo and Wes begin to unravel, the story dives headfirst into obsession, control, possessiveness, and the toxic desire to possess someone you while you call it love.
This book is toxic with a hint of magical realism, and honestly, that combination makes for such an intense reading experience. There’s something deeply unsettling about the relationships and the way love, possession, and control become so intertwined. It’s messy, obsessive, and completely unhinged.....but in a what the heck am I reading and why am I having such a good time? kind of way.
And I have to mention the cat aspect because… I will never look at my cat the same way again. 😂 I genuinely finished this book questioning who my cat really is. Like, ma’am, are you sure you’re just a cat?! 😂
While this wasn’t a five-star read for me, I really enjoyed how strange and unpredictable it was. It’s definitely one of those books that will have you pausing to process what you just read and then immediately wanting to know what happens next.
If you’re in the mood for a dark, steamy, mystical, obsessive read that completely embraces its weirdness, Strange Bedfellows is worth adding to your Summer-ween TBR. Just maybe keep an eye on your cat while you’re reading. 👀🐈⬛
****Thank you NetGalley & Atria for this ARC in exchange for my honest review****
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC of Strange Bedfellows!
Wes and Cleo are university students, except Cleo has a rather unusual secret: sometimes she turns into a cat. More specifically, Wes’s cat. Because Wes is a witch, and Cleo is his familiar. It sounds like the setup for a cute, cozy romantasy, but this book takes that idea in a much stranger, messier, and more entertaining direction.
I really enjoyed this one, especially because it refuses to follow the obvious path. Despite the witches, familiars, magic, and romance, the characters feel surprisingly real. They make questionable decisions, hurt each other, miscommunicate, and generally behave like actual messy young adults. There were several moments when I was genuinely frustrated with them, which honestly made me enjoy the story even more.
The book manages to balance magic, mystery, humor, spice, emotional chaos, and genuine heart without any one element completely taking over. I especially loved the unusual magic system and the way ruins and music are woven into the story. There’s also something wonderfully nostalgic about the whole atmosphere. It reminded me of a supernatural twist on one of those slightly chaotic late-90s/early-2000s CW shows where everyone is attractive, emotionally complicated, and probably hiding at least three secrets.
And the animal POVs? Absolutely hilarious. They added such a fun layer to the story and had me laughing more than once.
What really worked for me was how the story could be both magical and deeply messy at the same time. It’s not exactly a wholesome familiar-and-witch fantasy, and I appreciated that it was willing to explore the uglier, more complicated sides of its relationships.
If you’re looking for a romantasy that feels familiar but completely unexpected, with a little nostalgia, plenty of chaos, and characters you’ll want to shake while still rooting for them, definitely give this one a try!
Wes and Cleo are university students, except Cleo has a rather unusual secret: sometimes she turns into a cat. More specifically, Wes’s cat. Because Wes is a witch, and Cleo is his familiar. It sounds like the setup for a cute, cozy romantasy, but this book takes that idea in a much stranger, messier, and more entertaining direction.
I really enjoyed this one, especially because it refuses to follow the obvious path. Despite the witches, familiars, magic, and romance, the characters feel surprisingly real. They make questionable decisions, hurt each other, miscommunicate, and generally behave like actual messy young adults. There were several moments when I was genuinely frustrated with them, which honestly made me enjoy the story even more.
The book manages to balance magic, mystery, humor, spice, emotional chaos, and genuine heart without any one element completely taking over. I especially loved the unusual magic system and the way ruins and music are woven into the story. There’s also something wonderfully nostalgic about the whole atmosphere. It reminded me of a supernatural twist on one of those slightly chaotic late-90s/early-2000s CW shows where everyone is attractive, emotionally complicated, and probably hiding at least three secrets.
And the animal POVs? Absolutely hilarious. They added such a fun layer to the story and had me laughing more than once.
What really worked for me was how the story could be both magical and deeply messy at the same time. It’s not exactly a wholesome familiar-and-witch fantasy, and I appreciated that it was willing to explore the uglier, more complicated sides of its relationships.
If you’re looking for a romantasy that feels familiar but completely unexpected, with a little nostalgia, plenty of chaos, and characters you’ll want to shake while still rooting for them, definitely give this one a try!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a confusing read for me, and I found myself struggling to fully connect with it.
Cleo is a veterinarian keeping a huge secret: she's a shapeshifter who primarily turns into a cat. And not just any cat... she's the cat of Wes, a witch who has plenty of his own problems going on. 😂 I really liked the magical elements of this world, and the magic system felt unique. I also loved the use of music and ruins throughout the story. And the animal POV moments never failed to make me laugh! They were such a fun, quirky addition that definitely made the story more enjoyable. 🐱
Where I struggled was with the characters and world-building. I had a hard time supporting Cleo with some decisions, and I found much of the supporting cast difficult to connect with as well. I don't need to like every character in a book, but when characters are unlikeable, I want it to feel intentional and make sense within the plot and their relationships. For me, that just didn't quite come together here.
And honestly, I could never quite nail down what genre this book was trying to be, which left me constantly guessing where the plot was headed, sometimes in a good way and sometimes... not so much. 😂 It wasn't cozy, but it also wasn't supernatural horror or suspense. There was a relationship with Wes, but it was just as toxic and difficult to root for as some other reviewers have mentioned. At times, I wondered if this was supposed to be romantasy or paranormal romance, but neither of those labels felt quite right either.
And honestly? I usually love a weird story, and this one definitely fits the bill. 😂 I can appreciate how different and unique it was, even if it didn't completely work for me. I hope it finds its audience, because I think there will absolutely be readers who connect with its strange, magical, quirky vibe more than I did. 🤷♀️
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Amanda Mortlock, and the publisher for the invitation to read this eARC!
Cleo is a veterinarian keeping a huge secret: she's a shapeshifter who primarily turns into a cat. And not just any cat... she's the cat of Wes, a witch who has plenty of his own problems going on. 😂 I really liked the magical elements of this world, and the magic system felt unique. I also loved the use of music and ruins throughout the story. And the animal POV moments never failed to make me laugh! They were such a fun, quirky addition that definitely made the story more enjoyable. 🐱
Where I struggled was with the characters and world-building. I had a hard time supporting Cleo with some decisions, and I found much of the supporting cast difficult to connect with as well. I don't need to like every character in a book, but when characters are unlikeable, I want it to feel intentional and make sense within the plot and their relationships. For me, that just didn't quite come together here.
And honestly, I could never quite nail down what genre this book was trying to be, which left me constantly guessing where the plot was headed, sometimes in a good way and sometimes... not so much. 😂 It wasn't cozy, but it also wasn't supernatural horror or suspense. There was a relationship with Wes, but it was just as toxic and difficult to root for as some other reviewers have mentioned. At times, I wondered if this was supposed to be romantasy or paranormal romance, but neither of those labels felt quite right either.
And honestly? I usually love a weird story, and this one definitely fits the bill. 😂 I can appreciate how different and unique it was, even if it didn't completely work for me. I hope it finds its audience, because I think there will absolutely be readers who connect with its strange, magical, quirky vibe more than I did. 🤷♀️
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Amanda Mortlock, and the publisher for the invitation to read this eARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I wanted to love this book, I truly did. It has a lot of great elements — magic, romance, cats. Ultimately it was just too convoluted and not well put together for me. I struggled with it.
Cat is a cat who lives in a house and sometimes a shed behind the house. The house is inhabited by roommates who are also students at the college nearby. The house is technically Cat’s house, but also not Cat’s house.
Wes is Cat’s soulmate. At least that’s what Wes says about Cat. What Wes doesn’t know is that Cat is also a human named Cleo. She can shift between being a Cat and being a human. What Cat doesn’t know is why this is or what her life was prior to this house. A woman found her when she was a kitten and raised her, as both a human and a cat. The woman left Cat the house.
When a spell inadvertently brings a witch and her familiar into Cat and Wes’s lives, it turns everything upside down and tears Cat and Wes apart. Bailey and Ollie knew there had to be others like them, but had no idea how to find them. The spell on Halloween allowed Bailey and Ollie to find Cat/Cleo and Wes, to form a coven. Bailey wants to know things about her past. She’s going to drag all of them into her wishes, no matter what it costs them.
There were definitely elements of this book that were great. Some things were not so great. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I didn’t like about it. Parts of the book do drag on. Parts are not well explained. Some of the elements are so preposterous. Many of the spells and rune usage could have been explained better for the reader. I think the makings of a really good novel are here, however, it does need some work to be better.
I know some loved this book. As I said, I really loved parts of it. This book is on the spicy side, and while I won’t say it’s a can’t miss, I believe that it will find its audience.
Cat is a cat who lives in a house and sometimes a shed behind the house. The house is inhabited by roommates who are also students at the college nearby. The house is technically Cat’s house, but also not Cat’s house.
Wes is Cat’s soulmate. At least that’s what Wes says about Cat. What Wes doesn’t know is that Cat is also a human named Cleo. She can shift between being a Cat and being a human. What Cat doesn’t know is why this is or what her life was prior to this house. A woman found her when she was a kitten and raised her, as both a human and a cat. The woman left Cat the house.
When a spell inadvertently brings a witch and her familiar into Cat and Wes’s lives, it turns everything upside down and tears Cat and Wes apart. Bailey and Ollie knew there had to be others like them, but had no idea how to find them. The spell on Halloween allowed Bailey and Ollie to find Cat/Cleo and Wes, to form a coven. Bailey wants to know things about her past. She’s going to drag all of them into her wishes, no matter what it costs them.
There were definitely elements of this book that were great. Some things were not so great. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I didn’t like about it. Parts of the book do drag on. Parts are not well explained. Some of the elements are so preposterous. Many of the spells and rune usage could have been explained better for the reader. I think the makings of a really good novel are here, however, it does need some work to be better.
I know some loved this book. As I said, I really loved parts of it. This book is on the spicy side, and while I won’t say it’s a can’t miss, I believe that it will find its audience.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
3 stars. This review will contain mild spoilers.
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When I was sent this book, I really wanted to like it, and ended up mostly....frustrated with it. First off, tagging this romance is incorrect. I would not consider that ending HEA or HFN in any way.
Overall, Cleo is one of the most unlikeable characters I've ever read. I take no issues with flawed characters, but I'm generally not here for toxic ones unless I go in expecting it, and that was not remotely apparent from the blurb. The relationship between Wes and Cleo feels borderline abusive at times, is extremely toxic, and comes to a head with completely unnecessary infidelity by Cleo, and you are in her head while she's manipulating Ollie into it.
Bailey and Ollie are more likeable than Cleo and Wes, but neither has a lot of depth as a character. Numerous areas of dialogue throughout the book were hard to follow because there is rarely any real indication about who is actually speaking, especially in the Cat/olliedog POV chapters. The "relationship" between Ollie and Cleo felt forced and I quickly started skimming any time it was clear they were about to hook up again for no reason whatsoever.
I did enjoy the actual plot of the story, but I can't bring myself to rate this any higher than 3 stars with how just...awful and flat the characters are. I had a lot of hope at the beginning, it hooked me pretty quickly and I was really enjoying it until the continual sabotage and manipulation between Cleo and Wes ramped up so far after Bailey and Ollie enter the picture. Cleo just became more frustrating, and while she receives a redemption arc at the end, it didn't make her any more likeable to me unfortunately.
3 stars. This review will contain mild spoilers.
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When I was sent this book, I really wanted to like it, and ended up mostly....frustrated with it. First off, tagging this romance is incorrect. I would not consider that ending HEA or HFN in any way.
Overall, Cleo is one of the most unlikeable characters I've ever read. I take no issues with flawed characters, but I'm generally not here for toxic ones unless I go in expecting it, and that was not remotely apparent from the blurb. The relationship between Wes and Cleo feels borderline abusive at times, is extremely toxic, and comes to a head with completely unnecessary infidelity by Cleo, and you are in her head while she's manipulating Ollie into it.
Bailey and Ollie are more likeable than Cleo and Wes, but neither has a lot of depth as a character. Numerous areas of dialogue throughout the book were hard to follow because there is rarely any real indication about who is actually speaking, especially in the Cat/olliedog POV chapters. The "relationship" between Ollie and Cleo felt forced and I quickly started skimming any time it was clear they were about to hook up again for no reason whatsoever.
I did enjoy the actual plot of the story, but I can't bring myself to rate this any higher than 3 stars with how just...awful and flat the characters are. I had a lot of hope at the beginning, it hooked me pretty quickly and I was really enjoying it until the continual sabotage and manipulation between Cleo and Wes ramped up so far after Bailey and Ollie enter the picture. Cleo just became more frustrating, and while she receives a redemption arc at the end, it didn't make her any more likeable to me unfortunately.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book will be available in September 2026, and is a must read to add to your spooky TBR.
To begin, I honestly did not like any of the characters in this book. That doesn't mean it was a bad book, and I'm truly glad I didn't like them. It made them seem real and relatable with their problems. Cleo is a college student who is also sometimes a cat. On Halloween, she meets Wes, who is the human who takes care of her when she is Cat, which she didn't realize was the same person. One thing leads to another, and Wes and Cleo start a whirlwind romance. Neither really know how to be in a mature relationship, and they are always pushing each other.
After a few weeks, they meet Bailey and Ollie. Ollie is like Cleo, and sometimes is a dog. Through them, Cleo and Wes learn who they really are. They are witch and familiar, not just a girl who sometimes is Cat. Wes and Bailey have similar backstories, with their parents dying when they were young, and Ollie thinks Cleo/Cat knows more than she is willing to let out also. The secrets and looming threats finally catch up to them, and Cleo has no choice but to face what happened many years prior.
While this book has quite a few steamy twists in it, they are easily skimmed if that's not your thing. The rest of the story and the way the magic system works is fun and unique. I really enjoyed how the author used Runes as part of the magic system as well. There were a few times I felt that the story shifted away from the original plot, but by the end it all made sense.
Absolutely a fun read, and a solid 4/5 star book. Make sure you put a reminder down for this one!
To begin, I honestly did not like any of the characters in this book. That doesn't mean it was a bad book, and I'm truly glad I didn't like them. It made them seem real and relatable with their problems. Cleo is a college student who is also sometimes a cat. On Halloween, she meets Wes, who is the human who takes care of her when she is Cat, which she didn't realize was the same person. One thing leads to another, and Wes and Cleo start a whirlwind romance. Neither really know how to be in a mature relationship, and they are always pushing each other.
After a few weeks, they meet Bailey and Ollie. Ollie is like Cleo, and sometimes is a dog. Through them, Cleo and Wes learn who they really are. They are witch and familiar, not just a girl who sometimes is Cat. Wes and Bailey have similar backstories, with their parents dying when they were young, and Ollie thinks Cleo/Cat knows more than she is willing to let out also. The secrets and looming threats finally catch up to them, and Cleo has no choice but to face what happened many years prior.
While this book has quite a few steamy twists in it, they are easily skimmed if that's not your thing. The rest of the story and the way the magic system works is fun and unique. I really enjoyed how the author used Runes as part of the magic system as well. There were a few times I felt that the story shifted away from the original plot, but by the end it all made sense.
Absolutely a fun read, and a solid 4/5 star book. Make sure you put a reminder down for this one!
April 30, 2026
That first chapter with Cat was so good—I caught myself laughing a lot right from the start, which immediately hooked me.
From there, though, I was honestly pretty lost about the connection between “Mine” and the cat. But at the same time, I adored the cat, so I didn’t even mind being confused.
The concept itself is really interesting, and it kept me invested because I just wanted to see what was going to happen next. I’m especially curious about the Nots—there’s clearly more going on there.
I do like the relationship, but I won’t lie, I spent a lot of this book feeling bloody lost—and still desperate to read more.
Character-wise… I did not like Bailey or Ollie for most of the book. And Wes? Total butt munch.
What surprised me most is that I saw some of the developments coming, and I was convinced I wouldn’t like them—but the writing is so good that I ended up getting completely bamboozled into enjoying it anyway.
By part 3, I genuinely felt like Oliver was the only one I actually liked. He’s the only one who didn’t feel super manipulative. Like… why is Bailey acting like it’s her decision for Cleo to be in the house when it’s literally Cleo’s house??
This book is addicting and kind of haunting. I would put it down to do something else and then immediately pick it back up—I was fully enthralled the entire time.
By the end, I still don’t like Bailey, but I do understand Ollie and Wes a lot more. I can see why things had to play out the way they did for the twist and everything to land.
The ending… I didn’t like it, but only because I wanted more. It also didn’t end the way I expected, but honestly, it ended better than I anticipated. It just left me wanting more of the story.
Overall, this was a solid four-star read for me—confusing, addictive, and really well written.
I received this as an ARC from Atri
From there, though, I was honestly pretty lost about the connection between “Mine” and the cat. But at the same time, I adored the cat, so I didn’t even mind being confused.
The concept itself is really interesting, and it kept me invested because I just wanted to see what was going to happen next. I’m especially curious about the Nots—there’s clearly more going on there.
I do like the relationship, but I won’t lie, I spent a lot of this book feeling bloody lost—and still desperate to read more.
Character-wise… I did not like Bailey or Ollie for most of the book. And Wes? Total butt munch.
What surprised me most is that I saw some of the developments coming, and I was convinced I wouldn’t like them—but the writing is so good that I ended up getting completely bamboozled into enjoying it anyway.
By part 3, I genuinely felt like Oliver was the only one I actually liked. He’s the only one who didn’t feel super manipulative. Like… why is Bailey acting like it’s her decision for Cleo to be in the house when it’s literally Cleo’s house??
This book is addicting and kind of haunting. I would put it down to do something else and then immediately pick it back up—I was fully enthralled the entire time.
By the end, I still don’t like Bailey, but I do understand Ollie and Wes a lot more. I can see why things had to play out the way they did for the twist and everything to land.
The ending… I didn’t like it, but only because I wanted more. It also didn’t end the way I expected, but honestly, it ended better than I anticipated. It just left me wanting more of the story.
Overall, this was a solid four-star read for me—confusing, addictive, and really well written.
I received this as an ARC from Atri
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was emotionally devastating and I loved it. I knew it was going to wreck me around 50% but I just couldn't put it down. It started out cute and fun with a cat shifter and slowly devolved into a Sartre-esque train wreck. I loved it but I was absolutely not emotionally prepared for this book based on the synopsis. This may be listed as a romance but it is more like a paranormal take on toxic relationships. The main takeaway I got from this book is than no matter how much you love someone, it isn't enough, no matter how much you force it. It sounds depressing, but it made the book so much more beautiful.
I was lulled into a false sense of security with Cat and Cleo. How fun! A cat shifter who gets up to shenanigans. A human with a distinctly cat personality. Then Bailey and Ollie are introduced. There are now four people who, on their own, seem like great people but, together, bring out the worst in each other. Cleo self sabotages, Wes takes more than he gives, Ollie is an enabler, and Bailey is altruistic to a fault. As they try to solve they mystery of what happened to Wes' and Bailey's parents, memories come forward and the twist was not at all what I expected. Everyone slowly morphs into the worst versions of themselves as the imps prey on their insecurities and doubts, until it comes to a head for the final conflict. Shout out to my girl Gilly, a true ride-or-die friend and really the brightest part of this book.
I might be a masochist because I really want to read the next book to see what happens. I honestly can't tell if it can get worse or if it will only get better, but I'm ready for Amanda Mortlock to hurt me again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free eARC.
I was lulled into a false sense of security with Cat and Cleo. How fun! A cat shifter who gets up to shenanigans. A human with a distinctly cat personality. Then Bailey and Ollie are introduced. There are now four people who, on their own, seem like great people but, together, bring out the worst in each other. Cleo self sabotages, Wes takes more than he gives, Ollie is an enabler, and Bailey is altruistic to a fault. As they try to solve they mystery of what happened to Wes' and Bailey's parents, memories come forward and the twist was not at all what I expected. Everyone slowly morphs into the worst versions of themselves as the imps prey on their insecurities and doubts, until it comes to a head for the final conflict. Shout out to my girl Gilly, a true ride-or-die friend and really the brightest part of this book.
I might be a masochist because I really want to read the next book to see what happens. I honestly can't tell if it can get worse or if it will only get better, but I'm ready for Amanda Mortlock to hurt me again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free eARC.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I don't really know how to classify this novel because I have never read anything quite like it. Is it Romantasy? Perhaps. Witchcraft? Maybe. Erotic literature? Oh, yes. But however I characterize it, it is almost 4 1/2 stars.
Cleo is a young veterinary student. She lives in an old house she inherited, but sleeps in its shed while she rents out rooms to students at the nearby college. But Cleo is also Cat, a marmalade kitten who sometimes shape-changes into Cleo and vice-versa. And Cleo/Cat is also deeply in love with Wes, a handsome songwriter/musician who rents a room from her. Interested yet? Wes is a witch and Cat is his familiar. They fall in love and have some steamy sex.
Enter Ollie, a dog and also shape shifter into Ollie, a young man, familiar to Bailey, also a witch, both from England. Phew! There's more! There's Gilly, Cleo's friend and a host of memories among the two witches and their familiars having to do with a fire. Do you know what runes are? I thought I did but these are not predictive throws but rather spells for or against certain events. Oh, and don't let me forget the not-animals and critters like skunks, birds, moths that are demons or servants of devils. Still interested? You should be because the book is gripping and readable and interesting. It's not my usual choice, but I really liked this book. I can see how Amanda Mortlock is a successful screen writer and can see this novel as a film.
Thank you to Atria /Emily Bestler books for offering me this early read. And to Net Galley as well. These are my own and honest opinions.
Cleo is a young veterinary student. She lives in an old house she inherited, but sleeps in its shed while she rents out rooms to students at the nearby college. But Cleo is also Cat, a marmalade kitten who sometimes shape-changes into Cleo and vice-versa. And Cleo/Cat is also deeply in love with Wes, a handsome songwriter/musician who rents a room from her. Interested yet? Wes is a witch and Cat is his familiar. They fall in love and have some steamy sex.
Enter Ollie, a dog and also shape shifter into Ollie, a young man, familiar to Bailey, also a witch, both from England. Phew! There's more! There's Gilly, Cleo's friend and a host of memories among the two witches and their familiars having to do with a fire. Do you know what runes are? I thought I did but these are not predictive throws but rather spells for or against certain events. Oh, and don't let me forget the not-animals and critters like skunks, birds, moths that are demons or servants of devils. Still interested? You should be because the book is gripping and readable and interesting. It's not my usual choice, but I really liked this book. I can see how Amanda Mortlock is a successful screen writer and can see this novel as a film.
Thank you to Atria /Emily Bestler books for offering me this early read. And to Net Galley as well. These are my own and honest opinions.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In grade school, one of my favorite books was Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl. I was fascinated by the idea of experiencing the world through both a human and animal lens, and by the intimate psychological connection between people and the creatures they become. Amanda Mortlock’s Strange Bedfellows captured that same sense of wonder while taking it somewhere much darker, stranger, and ultimately more profound.
What begins as an unusual paranormal romance quickly unfolds into something richer: an exploration of identity, guilt, memory, magic, and the complicated bond between a witch and their familiar. The relationship between Cleo and Wes is compelling on its own, but the novel’s real strength lies in how deeply it examines the concept of deus et anima—the intertwined nature of two souls whose lives and destinies cannot be neatly separated.
Mortlock doesn’t treat the familiar bond as a whimsical fantasy device. Instead, she digs into the psychological implications of sharing a consciousness, a history, and a burden. The result is a story that feels both intimate and mythic, tender and unsettling. Secrets, past violence, and long-buried fears haunt every page, creating a constant sense of tension beneath the romance.
For readers who love stories about animal transformation, magical bonds, and the messy places where love, loyalty, and identity intersect, Strange Bedfellows delivers. It was everything I hoped it would be when I picked it up—and far more thoughtful and emotionally resonant than I expected.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
What begins as an unusual paranormal romance quickly unfolds into something richer: an exploration of identity, guilt, memory, magic, and the complicated bond between a witch and their familiar. The relationship between Cleo and Wes is compelling on its own, but the novel’s real strength lies in how deeply it examines the concept of deus et anima—the intertwined nature of two souls whose lives and destinies cannot be neatly separated.
Mortlock doesn’t treat the familiar bond as a whimsical fantasy device. Instead, she digs into the psychological implications of sharing a consciousness, a history, and a burden. The result is a story that feels both intimate and mythic, tender and unsettling. Secrets, past violence, and long-buried fears haunt every page, creating a constant sense of tension beneath the romance.
For readers who love stories about animal transformation, magical bonds, and the messy places where love, loyalty, and identity intersect, Strange Bedfellows delivers. It was everything I hoped it would be when I picked it up—and far more thoughtful and emotionally resonant than I expected.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
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