Bedlam, Bath & Beyond

Something is wrong. Samantha feels as if she is having a breakdown when her milkman keeps whispering she needs to wake up. Why can't she remember any details about her life, particularly her past? Has she become a Stepford wife? Samantha is about to enter a world in which shape shifting is real and an entire race unknown to humans exist. The race is on to find a missing girl but Samantha is distracted by Cor, the leader of the Kin. The World of the Storm Ravens is a dangerous one.... Don't pay attention to the cover of BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND. This is not a light, chick lit book but is instead a top notch paranormal romance. The complex world building is superb as J.D. Warren hooks the reader from the very first page. What a creative introduction to the story! I won't reveal spoilers but it's impossible not to appreciate the cleverness of the opening scenario. Samantha is a feisty heroine and just the sort of woman to get herself out of the ridiculous situation she finds herself in. I love J.D. Warren's wit as he infuses just the right touch of humor into the storyline. The Boars of the Hunt compared to their original appearance to Samantha? Nothing short of genius! BEDLAM, BATH AND BEYOND is a quirky but richly developed tale. The mythology behind the Kin is fascinating and I cannot wait to read more of this phenomenal new series. Highly recommended! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I, like many of the other reviewers of this book, were thrown by the cover. It makes the old adage that "you can't judge a book by its cover" especially true in this case. I was expecting a lite, silly, chick-lit type story for an easy summer read, but what I got was completely different. J.D. Warren creates a rather intricate story more along the lines of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. From the very first chapter, I could tell this story was very unique. I was pulled right in and couldn't put the book down. Warren creates a strong, likable heroine as well as other characters that come along to take part in this unusual story. What also fooled me, and part of this I blame on the cover, was that I assumed the author was a female. J.D. Warren is a man who does a fine and convincing job of portraying the mind and emotions of a young, independent woman. I hope that doesn't sound too sexist, but I know I could not write a lead character of the opposite sex as well and as convincingly as he does. It's a great book overall, and I highly recommend it, just don't expect anything having to do with retail therapy at a national home furnishings super store chain.

What a terrific ride this was! J.D. Warren has created a new world in our every day lives and has made it hysterical and heartwarming. One of the best reads this year.

The title and the cover illustration might lead one to expect some sort of shopping theme, chick lit with lots of shoes and interior decor, perhaps. The front cover blurb mentions the supernatural characters, but it also mentions "retail therapy." Well, there's no particular shopping going on here, no retail therapy, none of the shopping carts, lingerie, or chocolate from the cover - really, the little bird is the only part of the cover that's accurate. OK, I take that back - there is one brief conversation about chocolate bars, near the beginning of the book, between Samantha and the babysitter. But there's no chocolate-as-therapy or chocolate buying or binging going on. And that's a GOOD thing - because the actual story is much more interesting than shopping-and-light-romance. It's a full-bodied supernatural fantasy world, with a very good crime/mystery plot in it. The world at the beginning of the book, which seems "normal" (for Stepford Wives values of normal) is actually the fantasy, in the book's universe; the real world, which Samantha manages to escape to about 50 pages in, is full of characters from Hell (*not*, it should be pointed out, precisely demons), Peri (go look it up), and were-birds. We have some humor in here, and some fun pop-culture references (a white BMW replaces a traditional white horse; Samantha wins were-raven friends by bringing along a big bag of cinnamon-raisin bagels with pumpkin cream cheese). The story takes place partly in Las Vegas, where it seems quite reasonable to set a fantasy - so many things in Las Vegas are fantastic or outrageous already. The rest is in Venice, CA - depicted as Peri Central and allowing for a few fairy/Peri jokes. Stalker canary. Sparrow hooligans. At the end of the book, there's a preview of the next book in the series, to be called "Crate and Peril," and from the 12-page excerpt we're give, it appears to have as little to do with its title as this volume does. Someone must have contracted for a series with store name takeoffs, and then shoehorned these books into those titles because they came along at the right time. In short: if you're expecting retail therapy and lots of sex, this is the wrong book. If you are looking for a good new supernatural series with types of supernatural characters that we haven't already had done to death, then this is the right book.

J.D. Warren starts off her novel, Bedlam, Bath and Beyond like a firecracker. You know you are in for loads of laughs and that promise is kept from the first page to the last. Samanta lives the life of an ideal housewife, but can't seem to recall how she got into the life she is living. Once she is free and furious -- nothing will stop her from confronting the villians who entraped her. Bedlam, Bath and Beyond is hilarious chic-lit with a twist, and the wonderful dialog and characters will leave you wanting much more from this teriffic author! This is definitely a book to buy!