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Tangled Webs Lee Bross Books

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Tangled Webs Lee Bross Books

I loved this book! The storyline is fun, and I love the historical fiction theme. I read it within one weekend because I couldn't put it down! It is predominantly about the main girl Arista and her struggles and it is a page turner! I wish there was more!


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Tangled Webs Lee Bross Books Reviews

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Tangled Webs by Lee Bross
Book One of the Tangled Webs series
Publisher Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date June 23, 2015
Rating 4 stars
Source ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads)

London, 1725. Everybody has a secret. Lady A will keep yours—for a price. This sumptuous, scandalous YA novel is wickedly addictive.

Lady A is the most notorious blackmailer in the city. With just a mask and a gown to disguise her, she sweeps into lavish balls and exclusive events collecting the most valuable currency in 1725 London—secrets.

But leading a double life isn't easy. By day Lady A is just a sixteen-year-old girl named Arista who lives in fear of her abusive master, Bones, and passes herself off as a boy to move safely through the squalor of London's slums. When Bones attempts to dispose of his pawn forever, Arista is rescued by the last person she expects Jonathan Wild, the infamous Thief Taker General who moves seamlessly between the city's criminal underworld and its most elite upper circles. Arista partners with Wild on her own terms in the hopes of saving enough money to buy passage out of London.

Everything changes when she meets Graeden Sinclair, the son of a wealthy merchant. Grae has traveled the world, has seen the exotic lands Arista has longed to escape to her whole life, and he loves Arista for who she is—not for what she can do for him. Being with Grae gives something Arista something precious that she swore off long ago hope. He has promised to help Arista escape the life of crime that has claimed her since she was a child. But can you ever truly escape the past?

What I Liked

When I first saw the name "Arista", I was just the slightest bit turned off. I don't like the name (though it's not TOO bad), but also, I didn't like Lady Arista from Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red trilogy very much (she's a snobby grandmother, so I don't think we're supposed to like her). But Arista from Tangled Webs turned out to be quite a fun and likable character. I enjoyed reading her story, and I sympathized and felt bad for her often. This story was a breath of fresh air, after all those three-star reads I've gone through recently!

The setting is London, 1725. Arista is secretly Lady A, a young woman who everyone knows works for Bones, a dangerous man known for his blackmailing. The highest payer will have their secrets kept by Bones. But fail to pay, and your secrets are out. Lady A ensures that secrets are found out and payments are made. This is not a comfortable life, and Arista wants to leave forever and go to India. When a night on the job goes wrong, Arista finds herself in the clutches of a new thief and blackmailer, deceptively no better than Bones. Arista has things to lose - her friend Becky, her budding relationship with Graeden Sinclair and his family... Arista is caught in a web of deceit, and there is no easy way out.

I love historical fiction! This book is heavily historical, and I enjoyed it. There were some anachronisms in terms of the speech, I believe, but I tried not to let it bother me too much (they weren't common and they were *almost* passable as common across all time periods). I didn't spot too many other anachronisms, which was nice. The historical aspect of this book was lovely! Of course, Arista's existence as Lady A is odd, but this is where we use our imagination.

I like Arista very much. She is hardened and brave, sly and clever. She isn't as devious and malicious as her Lady A reputation might imply. She wants to be free of it all, to go to India and never come back. Arista never wanted to work for Bones, or Wild. She had no choice in either matter, and it was losing her freedom all over again when she "joined" Wild. It's hard not to feel sorry for Arista, given her difficult past, present, and future. But I like how strong she is, how cool and collected yet sad and emotional-filled she is. She isn't a conscience-less thief!

By chance and terrible timing, Arista and her lady's maid/friend Becky are abandoned by Bones, and are snatched up by Wild (sort of). Arista makes a deal with Wild, to keep doing what she's doing, but for him. Arista agrees so that she and Becky will have shelter and food. Arista met Grae at a ball while doing a job, and she can't get him out of her head. Fate throws them together, and now Arista sees Grae often.

I liked Grae, though you'll see a few complaints below. I found him to be a tad one-dimensional (like I said, more below). He's a strong and kind male protagonist with a very important role to play in the story. He's the son of a merchant owning a fleet of ships, and Grae is the captain of one. Grae is several years older than Arista, and he is a lovely young man. He's definitely a swoon-worthy love interest - and the one and only love interest.

The synopsis will have you thinking that there might be some sort of love triangle, possibly with Grae and Wild being the love interests. UNTRUE. Throughout the entire book, the only love interest is Grae. Wild is another employer, another man putting Arista in a gilded cage. There is no romance there whatsoever. There is no romance anywhere except between Arista and Grae.

And I really, really liked the romance in this book. Grae and Arista meet before he meets "Arista" - he met her at a masquerade ball while she was disguised, so he didn't know she was Arista or Lady A. Things heat up between them immediately upon seeing each other - lust at first sight. I LOVED this. And then he meets her as Arista, and he's shocked and angry, but the chemistry is still very much alive. And sizzling. Seriously, for a historical fiction novel, the romance was pretty alive! I liked this a lot.

The story is exciting, thrilling, sad, and engaging. I thought it got a little predictable towards the end, but that might have just been me. Nevertheless, I liked the ending. I kind of hoped this book would be a standalone, but I see on Goodreads that it is listed as a series. Companion series? I kind of hope it's not a continuation series! This book ended perfectly, and I'd almost hate to see a sequel "ruin" it!

What I Did Not Like

I mentioned above - I found Grae to be a smidgen one-dimensional. He just didn't seem real to me. I'm not sure why, but he seemed a bit flat. Almost too perfect? I liked him a lot, don't get me wrong. But I feel like I didn't get enough time to get to know him - maybe that's it?

That's another thing - time moves quickly in this book. You know that whole "one months later" or "she did this for the next three weeks" kind of thing? The author employs this tactic, which is fine, but it messes with the progression of Grae and Arista's relationship. I feel like Grae and Arista didn't get enough up-close-and-personal time (and I'm not even talking about in a romantic way - though that would have been nice too). Their relationship is well-developed (we know this because of the time lapse), but we as readers don't SEE this development, really. So it wasn't insta-love at all! More like omission of development. If that makes sense.

I liked Grae a lot and I really liked the romance. So don't get me wrong. But both could have been stretched out for readers! This book was short, so another thirty to forty pages of exposition between Grae and Arista would have not only shown the development of their relationship, but also taught us more about Grae!

Would I Recommend It

Despite a few misgivings, I really enjoyed this book! It's definitely worth the read, so I would recommend it. Kickbutt heroine, sweet and steamy romance, hot male protagonist, swift action - what's not to love? And it acts well as a standalone (though I see Goodreads says it's part of a series), so theoretically, you could stop after this book and love it!

Rating

4 stars. I'm glad I liked this book! It was great, I've already reread some parts. I'm torn on how I feel about it being part of a series, but I will definitely read the sequel, no matter my feelings on this book and the series. This one ended so wonderfully, there shouldn't be a sequel! But I'll read it anyway.
I had high hopes for Tangled Webs seeing how it was based in the eighteenth century which is a time period I love to read about and it had to do with a bad-ass female heroine, well that is where I felt a little let down. Lady A was not as bad-ass as I expected her to be. She is described to be the most notorious blackmailer, but I didn't get that from her character. She was the middleman in a bigger scheme of things and she actually doesn't like the life she was living and wants out.

What I did like about Arista was that she was a good and loyal friend. I loved how she treated Becky which made her likeable since I wasn't so thrilled with her Lady A persona. Another character I liked was Arista's partner in crime Nic the friendship between them was interesting I just wish Nic was better developed.

There was romance, but I was not feeling it. It had the insta-love feel to it and to a point I tried to let it go based on the fact that it was written in the eighteenth-century time period and things did move along rather quickly when it came to relationships back in those days, but I didn't really care for Grae either, he was not interesting and felt underdeveloped. I don't see what Arista could have possibly seen in him.

Overall Tangled Webs even with all its flaws was a fast read, but I don't see myself picking up the next book in the series.
Forced to work for Bones at the age of 5, an evil thief who forced children to steal for him, Arista and her best friend Nic grew up on the seedy streets of 1700’s London picking pockets and struggling to stay alive. Twelve years later, Arista has become Lady A – blackmailer of London high society. She and Nic roam masked balls trading secrets for money, which they hand over to Bones.

Trying to escape Bones’ evil clutches Arista decides to work for Wild, a more powerful thief, with promises that she will be able to live out her dream of moving to India and living a normal life with her best friend Becky. When she meets Grae, the handsome son of a ship merchant, she feels as if her dreams for normalcy are finally coming true. However, Wild has no intention of ever letting her go. Will love be enough to help Arista escape the plans Wild has for her, or will she be forced to forever be a thief?

Some of the exploits of the real life Jonathan Wild are explored, and the early life led by Nic and Arista is very similar to that of Fagin’s boys in Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.” If you want a quick, light read, a sort-of love triangle, and a boy/girl romance that develops within 2 minutes, then “Tangled webs” is the book for you.

Recommended for ages 14 and older.
I loved this book! The storyline is fun, and I love the historical fiction theme. I read it within one weekend because I couldn't put it down! It is predominantly about the main girl Arista and her struggles and it is a page turner! I wish there was more!