BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND

Author: J.D. Warren ISBN: 0505526980 1/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER

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

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND by J.D. Warren pulled me in right on the very first page. Initially I thought it was going to be another one of those Stepford Wife-ish stories. While parallels can be drawn between Samantha's "perfect" suburban world and Stepford, that's where the similarities end. Samantha's world has been created for her and she is being held captive. Only an outsider, under the guise of a milkman, can clue her in to what's going on around her. He can let her know that she's in a snowglobe world—it's up to Samantha to figure a way out.

This story is engaging and entertaining, with pieces that border on the incredible. While I have thought that some children I've met have acted more like animals than manners dictated, I've never imagined them to be wild boars only disguised as humans. When Samantha's "children" run wild on the Las Vegas strip, I very nearly fell from my chair laughing. There are so many other instances of highly imaginative storytelling in BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND that I can't possibly hit on them all here. It's definitely a case of "Read the book. You won't be sorry."

Cor, the being who is sent to help Samantha find her way back to the real world, is a supernatural being who is not only sexy but smart. There are a lot of secondary characters in this book who have similar characteristics—they're more than extras and are interesting enough to hold the reader's attention. I especially liked Cor's sister, feeling their bond despite their other-worldliness. And Samantha's mother is a character who could easily have her own book, she's so wonderfully dimensional!

BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND by J. D. Warren is like nothing else I've ever read. It is sharp, fast storytelling at its best. I enjoyed it, and I think anyone who likes offbeat paranormal romances will enjoy it, too.

Kay James