Naomi Neale

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



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

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

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

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

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