Bedlam, Bath and Beyond (World of the Storm Ravens, Book 1): J.D. Warren

Samantha Jones wakes up one day, wondering if she had turned into a Stepford wife. She lives in a beautiful house in a perfect gated community, with a perfect husband who gives her everything she'd ever want (or need), including a fat diamond ring, a brand new SUV and precious twin boys.

Now, Samantha didn't just wake up out of her perfect slumber thinking this. Oh no. This started with the milkman (which is surprising there is still such a thing but there is in this world.) Over a bottle of half-percent, he whispers the oddest thing to her: “You know none of this is real, don't you?” Which makes sense, since she can't remember getting married, or even giving birth.

Somewhere deep in Samantha's mind, she knows it's true and she has the oddest feeling she's being watched...by everyone. Neighbors, her husband...her perfect twin boys who never say a word...Nikki, the babysitter with the iPod stuck to her like glue and a mouth running 90 miles an hour...and especially her mother-in-law, who keeps asking her questions she has no answers to but involves someone named Lily. With repeated visits from the milkman, Samantha comes to realize this is one big sham and how the hell does she get out of it? She finally guesses this is just like a snowglobe, and she must find the stopper keeping her in it. After one hell of a hissy fit, and a very large bonfire, she does...

...only to find herself smack in the middle of Las Vegas with a very handsome man by the name of Corydonais -- Cor, for short – being chased by a pair of wild demon Boars of the Hunt, formerly known as her perfect twin boys. Samantha is really a former insurance investigator and someone is seriously out to get her, bad enough to stick her in a “construct” for three years to find out what she knows.

Cor isn't what he seems, and definitely not a milkman by trade. He is a member of the Order of the Storm Raven – a Kin (a fairy, which they hate to be called) and sworn to keep demons and their ilk from meddling in human lives, along with seeking justice and various other duties to numerous to mention here, and with a wicked cool ability to turn into a huge, beautiful raven.

However, Sam isn't happy sitting around and doing nothing while the Kin deal out misery. She wants justice of her own for losing three years of her life, and willing to risk life and limb to get it done (and in the process, figure out her lineage since she has a few talents of her own.) Much to the chagrin of Cor, and his fellow Storm Ravens.

This is a case of not judging a book by the cover art, and especially not the title. It has nothing whatsoever to do with a certain retail chain, shopping is not de riguer or therapy, and I can't tell you how damned happy I am that I looked past the cover and took this one for a spin.

It is, in fact, a fabulous little paranormal escapade into a well-constructed new world. The author did a wonderful job building a story around Sam, Cor, and the Order, with just the right amount of humor in just the right places. The action scenes are intense, though not overwrought or gruesome. The romance between Sam and Cor is contentious, but not trite and over-the-top mushy. And Nikki? I loved her. As it turns out, she's Cor's little sister and a real attention-getter when things get a little too hairy.

Plus, the author left enough detail left hanging for the next in the Storm Ravens series, Crate and Peril. All in all, excellent work and I'm ready and waiting for the next adventure in Sam's life.
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Mass Market Paperback: 295 pages
Publisher: Love Spell (January 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0505526980
ISBN-13: 978-0505526984