Cover Image: Tangled Web

Tangled Web

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I enjoyed this! But I was a little disappointed after the last book. What I liked about Book 2 was that I felt like I was getting to know the characters more, and I felt more invested in the story because they had more personal connection to and emotional stakes in what was happening. This one felt kind of distanced and didn't really add much, in my opinion, to the characters' personal stories or development.

It was also a little disorienting to go from, "I guess I'll go on a date with this side character who has hardly been in the story," at the end of the second book to, "He's my partner now!" at the start of the third. And he was still barely in the story. It just feels weird to barely know this character who is clearly important to the main character.

The characters were still well-written in a subtle, realistic, and nuanced way though. And this one still had lots of magic and ghosts and supernatural happenings, as well as a mystery to figure out and some action.

Overall, this one didn't leave a huge impression on me, but it was still well-written, still some solid urban fantasy, and I enjoyed it and look forward to more.

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This was the first book I’ve read on this series so I’m pretty sure there were some references I didn’t get and relationships between characters I didn’t understand but I don’t mind. I really enjoyed Tangled Web and I liked all the characters. The story is fast-paced and has magic weaved into it.
I need to read the other books in the series because I want to more about Cassidy, Teag and Sorren.
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

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This action packed Urban Fantasy is full of strong characters. My rating 4.25.

Cassidy can read history by touching objects. She is part of a group of friends who protect Charleston from supernatural threats. Her gentle business partner, Teag, uses Weaver magic to create fabrics that heal and protect. His personal partner is a local police officer who is aware of the magical world but tries to operate without making the magic known to the public. Sorren is the senior business partner as a 600-year-old vampire who has years of knowledge and connections in the supernatural realm.

Charleston is experiencing an unprecedented rise in supernatural activities. Cassidy and friends are already looking into a ghostly horse hunt going on with the alarming sound of galloping horses and baying dogs. Then they are asked to investigate when several hunting horses go missing by vanishing at the local horse hunting stable. Cassidy and Teag are soon dodging zombies from the cemetery and working around citizens with a “grouch flu”. Next Cassidy suffers a firsthand attack and her friends, plus a master weaver and local witch, gather to face the dark threat.

Clues lead to an angry weaver-witch who is seeking to raise a powerful Norse warlock so she can take revenge against those who have hurt her – particularly some in the horse community. It will take all the resources Cassidy and friends can pull together, including some from Sorren’s past, in order to prevail in this magical battle.

I enjoyed the fast action of the story. This is the first story I have read in the series, so it took me a little bit to sort through the many characters. Cassidy and her friends are well developed characters. None are presented as ‘superheroes’ on their own but they make a formidable team. The plot is well written with twists and turns to pursue to uncover the source of the evil and locate the hidden villains. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy fast-paced Urban Fantasy.

Source: NetGalley 2019.

This action packed Urban Fantasy is full of strong characters. My rating 4.25.

Cassidy can read history by touching objects. She is part of a group of friends who protect Charleston from supernatural threats. Her gentle business partner, Teag, uses Weaver magic to create fabrics that heal and protect. His personal partner is a local police officer who is aware of the magical world but tries to operate without making the magic known to the public. Sorren is the senior business partner as a 600-year-old vampire who has years of knowledge and connections in the supernatural realm.

Charleston is experiencing an unprecedented rise in supernatural activities. Cassidy and friends are already looking into a ghostly horse hunt going on with the alarming sound of galloping horses and baying dogs. Then they are asked to investigate when several hunting horses go missing by vanishing at the local horse hunting stable. Cassidy and Teag are soon dodging zombies from the cemetery and working around citizens with a “grouch flu”. Next Cassidy suffers a firsthand attack and her friends, plus a master weaver and local witch, gather to face the dark threat.

Clues lead to an angry weaver-witch who is seeking to raise a powerful Norse warlock so she can take revenge against those who have hurt her – particularly some in the horse community. It will take all the resources Cassidy and friends can pull together, including some from Sorren’s past, in order to prevail in this magical battle.

I enjoyed the fast action of the story. This is the first story I have read in the series, so it took me a little bit to sort through the many characters. Cassidy and her friends are well developed characters. None are presented as ‘superheroes’ on their own but they make a formidable team. The plot is well written with twists and turns to pursue to uncover the source of the evil and locate the hidden villains. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy fast-paced Urban Fantasy.

Source: NetGalley 2019.

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Trifles and Follies hit all of favorite book genre to read qualifications. It's rare for me to pick a book up cold with no recommendations from other readers and love it. This series is a rare find for me...emphasis on love it! Our trio finds themselves in a jam again, decisions being made for them is not their favorite thing. Reading way too long, I'll certainly regret this tomorrow, but the story keeps you guessing right up to the end.

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Cassidy Kincaide and friends from Trifles & Folly are back. Something is wrong in Charleston. Instead of Southern charm and friendliness we have bad tempered and angry. This time it is a multi character problem as tensions rise and danger arrives. The problem this time was as bad but the lead up and finish seemed to be more low key. While there was danger it built slowly and all of the characters played their part. I found it less tension filled while still being a great story.

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I had not heard of this series when I saw this book on netgalley, and I was excited to check it out. The basic premise is that Cassidy Kincaide and her business partners live in Charleston where they and their friends keep ghosts and other supernatural creatures at bay. Although this was book #3 in the series, I never felt lost - it was fine as a stand alone. (I'll look up and read the first two though.)

The story was spooky - ghosts and other beings are appearing around the city, and objects as well as horses and hounds are disappearing.

I liked the group of friends and how they all depended on each other. They had all sorts of different magic. I liked the mystery too.

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Thank you NetGalley and SOL Publishing for this arc.

I have not read any of this author's previous books, And she's written a lot, they all appear to be rated in the 3.5 to 4.25 star category range. The mash up of paranormal, magical fantasy and mythological sounds fascinating, right? And it's set in the ante-bellum city of Charleston, SC except it happens in modern day. It should have been a great read for me.

It wasn't. I found this to be such a grind. The story kept getting lost in Cassidy's pedantic yak, yak, yak... and her name-dropping complete with the genealogy of all those dropped names. her shopping lists and the reasons she needed the items on her list. And the pizza parties.

There were a couple of good fights that resulted in some nasty smells. But most of the answers just seemed to appear from the Vampire and the Necromancer's off-screen travels (to some arcane library in a parallel universe?). They'd just drop in whenever the story needed some clarification.

None of the rest of the characters seemed to have any real substance either... They mostly seemed to be there to orbit around Cassidy's world.

1.5 stars

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5*. A brilliant intro to Morgan Brice w/a Gail Z Martin. Off to find more!

I discovered Morgan Brice via a NetGalley freebie and that sent me checking out her back catalogue and nosing at what else she'd done. It appears that she writes her more full-on mystery/PNR tales under this name, and she's equally 5* here.

This tale is too detailed and with too much stuff that dovetails perfectly to be able to attempt a detailed review, but it's one of the best I've read in the genre. I actually liked knowing that a couple of the main characters were loved-up with their other halves, but I didn't feel the need to read about their romance and love lives and I'm glad the author didn't go there. There wasn't a single sex scene to detract from all the action and everything happening in the tale.

I thought I knew a bit about Voodoo and Norse mythology, but this takes lesser known facts and weaves - pun not intended - them into a great tale that didn't pause in its pace. And, I loved seeing Cassidy's late dog, Bo, who in ghost form was her fellow warrior and protector. That gave me a warm feeling.

I'm off to find out more from this author, because under both her names, she's been a 5* read so far.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Sol Publishing, for my reading pleasure.

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Love the Deadly Curiosities Series and the short stories in e-book format related to important characters and give background to the story plot.
In this third installment, the focus is on Teag's weaving power and the great potential and threat that it represents.
While estrange events occur, and mayhem is unleashed in the supernatural world, the team work together to untangle the clues and discover what is behind it and stop it.
Pack with action and lots of characters.

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5 +++ stars This was one of the best paranormal stories that I have read so far this month. I thought the idea of touching an object and reading the history was ingenious. I loved the character development and the interaction between the characters, good or bad. this was a fun and easy to read book that was very enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this.

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Gail Z. Martin weaved an amazing tale with TANGLED WEB, the third book in the Deadly Curiosities series. Cassidy Kincaide and Teag Logan investigate several occurrences, including Zombie risings, the “grouch flu," and the Wild Hunt. This story takes place in contemporary Charleston, South Carolina.

Gail Z. Martin does an admiral job with her character development. I like how the characters’ supernatural powers play a role in the story, especially Teag’s weaver magic.

I always appreciate when stories include mythology. Therefore, I enjoyed the Norse Seior and Wild Hunt aspect of the book. I thought it was clever how the Nicholson family and Fox Hunt played a role in the story.

My family and I recently vacationed in Charleston. It was fun hearing about places that we saw in this story. It made many scenes easy for me to visualize.

Gail Z. Martin does a great job with her plot. There are some good life lessons in the novel. The story is skillfully executed. She combines numerous details for a thrilling outcome. I recommend this book to people that enjoy supernatural mysteries and urban fantasies. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

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Enjoyable cozy type of mystery. Good for a rainy day escape with comfortable characters who like and support each other.

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I have mixed feelings about Tangled Web.  The plot is complex, with quite a few interesting twists.  I was intrigued by Charleston as a hub of spiritual activity, and I did like how Gail Z Martin blended types of myth and magic.  What threw me off, was how every time Cassidy met one of the central characters she went into an exposition about them and their activities. While it was valuable information, it felt awkward at times, and interfered with the flow of the story.  Also, I think that too much was discovered only at the very end. There were numerous clues that Cassidy and the others overlooked. Despite this, Gail Z Martin does an excellent job of building suspense throughout. On the whole, it is a fascinating urban fantasy, even if the writing is a bit awkward at times.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Tangled Web from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

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I have to say that while Tangled Web was an excellent book it was not quiet up to the standards of the last "Deadly Curiosities" novel. Since that was a true 5 Star reading experience giving this a 4 Star rating means that I still loved it.

While this book revolves almost 100% around Cassity and Teag with a few needful appearances by Sorren the interpersonal relationship seemed to slow things down a bit and made this book not quite as addictive as the previous one but still the ending was worth the wait.

So if you want a good adventure with no sex and a mystery to solve, this is your book and it was a great reading.

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Cassidy is the proprietor of an unique shop in Charleston called Trifles and Folly that sells curios and antiques. What most of her shoppers do not know is she possess a rare ability to read the history of certain objects that have a personal connection with the deceased. Her partner is a gentle but brave man named Teag. He is a magical weaver which allows him to weave protective spells into his art. Along with a 600 year old vampire business partner, again far from common knowledge and their shop thrives. Unfortunately Charleston appears to be a hub of supernatural activity and some of it is pure evil. The trio along with some sassy witches take on the bad spirits that could not only harm their beloved city but reek havoc on the world. Lately most people are in a grouchy mood and the vibes of the city are strained. Clothing that has been planted around Charleston is discovered to be the problem. Cassidy herself has a close call when an enchanted scarf is sent to her. A strong magical weaver is casting dark spells into these weavings. Throw in ghostly hunters that made a deal with a horrible entity along with their horses and dogs and things in their beloved city are going horribly wrong. Can Cassidy and her friends find the strength to battle the evil and bitter powers from this scorned warped weaver and her supernatural killers? One way to find out, Read this enchanting and page turning treat yourself. Thoroughly enjoyed the writers description and style, I highly recommend this book.

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I enjoyed this book. It's got all sorts of supernatural elements to it along with some investigative work. I like that it drews help from all the different kind of magical practices and blends them together. The plot blended the Wild Hunt in nicely with the families and missing of the fox hunters/horse racing group. #TangledWeb #NetGalley

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I enjoyed the read but didn't love it. It felt repetitive of the other books in the series and I can't say I was ever really wrapped up in the story. I am not very invested in the characters. You see little of Soren, who is usually the most interesting to me. If you've read the preceding books, you won't see much new here.

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When I read the synopsis for Tangled Web, I thought that this book is exactly my kind of read. Although, I have been disappointed in the past by a book not living up to the synopsis...THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH Tangled Web.

So, you are probably wondering what really reeled me into the plot of Tangled Web. I found Tangled Web packed full of a cast of great characters. There was a very intriguing mystery. And, of course I love a really good urban fantasies with a mash up of a paranormal aspect, mystery, romance and suspense...I was all in.

I received this copy of TANGLED WEB from SOL Publishing. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My Rating: 4 Star
Written by: Gail Z. Martin
Series: Deadly Curiosities
Sequence in Series: Book 3
Paperback: 242 pages
Publisher: SOL Publishing
Publication Date: May 13, 2018
ISBN-10: 9781939704719
ISBN-13: 978-1939704719
Genre: Supernatural | Mystery | Thriller | Urban Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Web-De...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tang...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tang...


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A great romp through the supernatural world with likeable characters, a pacy plot and plenty of magic. Cassidy and Teag are trying to find out why the ghosts are restless and making themselves more visible than usual. Add to that a ghostly hunt and some missing memorabilia and they have a race against time to find out who is behind the nefarious plot.

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While the concept of reading items by touching them is old hat, Gail manages to freshen it up again in this intriguing and beguiling new series! I'm hooked and you will be too!

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