These Tangled Vines by Julianne MacLean is a novel that examines the impact of a family’s disintegration due to a devastating betrayal. The book features a well-developed and compelling plot, nuanced and authentic characters, a refined and graceful writing style, and a vivid and immersive setting. The book also explores themes such as family, identity, secrets, love, sacrifice, courage, and redemption, and communicates messages such as the significance of honesty, the agency of choice, and the definition of home. The book is a gratifying and pleasurable read, and I would endorse it to anyone who appreciates historical fiction, romance, and family drama.

Definitely not my favorite book of hers. Just didn't have the depth of previous books. I love Italy but even the setting didn't draw me in.

Julianne MacLean, everything you write is a masterpiece. This book is centered around Anton Clark, Lillian Bell and Freddy Bell. Lillian and Freddy are married and traveled to Tuscany for Freddy to write his book. While they are there meet Anton Clark (wealthy owner of Maurizio Wines, a winery). The story begins with Fionna Bell, daughter of Lillian and Freddy who travels to Tuscany after receiving a call from Anton's lawyer about his passing and reading of his will. Without telling too much Fionna is on an adventure of a lifetime to discover the true meaning of her existence. When she arrives in Tuscany she discovees she has siblings she didn't know existed and her life was not what it seemed. This book captured me and had me going to the very end. I was truly surprised as everything unfolded between her parents and her siblings. Her father Freddy Bell was the most surprising who literally didn't stop until he got what he wanted. This book is for anyone who appreciates romance. It's a must read that you willl absolutely love!

I love all of Julianne MacLean’s novels! This one was set in Tuscany and made me want to travel to Italy asap! A very emotional story between a family and their secrets.

What a delightful story, filled with family drama and secrets, and lots of wine and pasta in the Tuscan countryside! I was so surprised how much I enjoyed this story, I didn’t want it to end. Certainly there have been many stories about someone who receives a surprise inheritance but this story had so much soul, it really stands out from the rest. Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available now

This #netgalleyarc and #kindlefirstreads book is full of characters that are hard to like. I enjoyed the chapters focused on the romantic relationship but the fallout from the affair was hard to believe. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️ book for someone heading to #tuscany to read on the plane. 📚📚📚 #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #kindlereads #bookstagram

Can I just say that I cried through the last 2 chapters and the epilogue?? I received an ARC for this book, and wasn't sure about it in the beginning, until we got to Tuscany and a beautiful winery. This is a book about love, a mother's love, a daughter's love and about the endurance of love. At the age of 18 Fiona discovers she is not the biological daughter of the man she thought was her father. She keeps it a secret from him for 12 years after her mother dies. These are not spoilers but the beginning of the book, when Fiona finds out she us in the will of her biological father. The rest of the book is a mystery of sorts as Fiona meets her half brother and sister, and searches for the true relationship her mother had with her father The beauty of Tuscany shines through and I was lucky enough to visit there in 2019. The story has a very satisfying ending.

Thank goodness for books so I can travel to the vineyards of Tuscany without leaving the comforts of my home (or without having to spend thousands on a vacation regardless of how desperately needed it is.)

These Tangled Vines is a family drama filled with secrets in an absolutely gorgeous setting. It has a past present format that I always enjoy and the story unraveled fairly well.

Was it missing a little something even though I'm not quite sure what that something is? In my opinion, yes. Regardless, the setting and talk of food and wine made it an enjoyable read even though I won't remember much of it in the weeks to come.

“... What good could come from grappling forever with “could have beens”? Every life was full of “could have beens.” The best we could do was make the most of what was and what had been.”
Thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience of "These Tangled Vines" .. I mean, who doesn't want to travel to Italian countryside dripping in enchanting grapevines and get embroiled in decades-old family secrets?
Loved the characters- they are fully fleshed-out, imperfect, flawed people brought together in a time highlighted by grief, regret, and loss. Regret is the central theme of this novel -- regrets of lost love, of lost relationship, of lost time, but it's also a story of love and resilience and courage as well.
I really enjoyed this book and the cover is absolutely lovely and I enjoyed some arm chair travel time to Tuscany. Overall, I rated this book 3.5 stars out of 5 and I absolutely recommend it!

A beautifully written story about family, love, secrets and sacrifices. The descriptions were so vivid that I felt like I was in Italy with the characters. Will read more by this talented author. 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts about the book.

These Tangled Vines will wrap you in the warmth of Tuscany. The family drama that unfolds there is, at its root, about selfishness and secrets. The well-developed characters will leave you both loving and hating them. Some human behaviors are really well executed throughout the story. The book will keep you turning the pages because the story is really good. I was a little disappointed that the ending- I guess I wanted a little more drama there.

This duel timeline novel weaves seamlessly as it explores family secrets, tragedies and love. Fiona’s discovery and exploration of Tuscany definitely inspires wanderlust. I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an eARC from Net Galley. I enjoyed this book. It has beautiful descriptions of Tuscany and the winery where the story takes place. Fiona finds out that her biological father has died and left her an inheritance. She had never met him and only found out the father that raised her was not her biological father on her mother's death bed. She travels to Italy to try and find more about the story of her conception. The novel has both Fiona's story in the present intertwined with the story of her biological parent's relationship.
There are messages of the consequences of secrets we keep and also how our childhood stories impact how we relate to situations as adults.
I thought it was a really enjoyable story.

If you looking for an easy read that takes you away from rainy England then this is a good choice. Who wouldn’t want to travel to a Tuscan vineyard during these Covid-restricted times? It reminded me of books by Santa Montefiore which are also often set in lovely places.
I enjoyed Fiona's story and the story is well structured and I expect it will sell well. The only parts that didn’t feel as well developed were the sections told from Fiona’s siblings POV. I don’t feel they were necessary and would have been better filled with Fiona’s experiences of running the vineyard which would have been much more interesting.
An ideal beach read, or for lounging about in your garden pretending to be on holiday!

These Tangled Vines is an amazing book of relationships and secrets. Fiona is very close to the father that raised her however her life has been filled with taking care of him since her mother died when she was 18 years old. Her father was in an accident before she was born that left him paralyzed. On her Mother's deathbed, she revealed to Fiona that the person that she has always thought was her father was not her biological father. Her Mother said that her father was not aware of this. Fiona has never shared this information with her Father.

Fiona is contacted by an attorney that tells her that she needs to come to Tuscany to hear the will of her biological father. She does not expect much from him and is actually shocked to hear that he has left her anything. Even though she never goes anywhere, she decides to head to Italy. She finds that her father owns a large vineyard and winery. In Tuscany, she meets her half siblings that have also come to Tuscany for the reading of the will. They are very spoiled individuals that have been raised in United States as their American mother divorced their father when they were young, Fiona falls in love with Tuscany and her Fathers property.

This is a great book that I highly recommend.

I was new to this author and wow I really was surprised by how much I loved the writing. I felt like I was experiencing Italy along with Lillian and Fiona. I am a sucker for a tragic love story and Anton and Lillian did not disappoint in this area. All the secrets and sacrifices that were made to keep to character from hurt and loss created even more tension in the story. I was thoroughly pleased by Fiona character and how pragmatic and loyal she was portrayed with her non biological father and biological father she had never met. I will be looking forward to reading another story by Julianne MacLean.

It appears that MacLean is making a name for herself in the HF genre. Yet another story that I really enjoyed. I've learned this year that no book is perfect and we all see different things, and that is the beauty of it. Some of the story may be predictable and some of it might seem unrealistic, but somehow it worked.

For the time I was reading this book, it was the right one. It gave me what I wanted. It was well-written, descriptive, immersing and detailed, with characters I felt hit the mark. It is about love, family, secrets, forgiveness and second chances. The two timelines came together perfectly and I always looked forward to diving back into each one as they switched back and forth.

Honestly, I don't want to ruin it, because I know this book is going to be well loved. HF fans, be sure to pick this up. Other readers, you should pick this up too.

I love books set in Italy. Add in a vineyard and I am in 100%. I loved this tragic story. Fiona has no clue what she is getting into, except that she wants to get to know the family she never knew she had.

What wonderful storytelling. This novel is one of tragic secrets, past loves, current predicaments, and long lost family. There were parts where I was laughing and then parts I was crying .My biggest problem, Fiona's dad. I think I was pretty angry with him almost the entire book. Then towards the end, I am supposed to just be okay with how everything played out. The author wanted to tie that up in a nice little bow and that is not how I was feeling at the end. It felt almost forced.

All in all, I really did enjoy ( except for dad) and will recommend this to anyone who loves family dramas.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

It's not often that I will sit up to finish reading a book but this one is exceptional. A story of love, secrets, sacrifice, and courage set in beautiful Tuscany. My heart was broken and then put back together!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it will definitely not be my last. I loved this book, it was everything I was hoping it would be. I felt like I was transported to the vineyards of Tuscany, could almost smell the heat on the grapes.

When Fiona gets a call early in the morning from Italy, she realizes it could only be because of one person, a man she’s never met, her birth father, Anton Clarke. She is advised that he has passed away and she has been named as one of his beneficiaries, she has requested to go to a small village in Tuscany for the reading of the will. Nervous, she prepares to do, but cannot tell her father where she’s going as she made a promise to her mother on her death bed, to never tell her father that she knew about her birth father. With trepidation she meets her half siblings, Evan and Sloane, at the reading and is shocked to discover that not only was Anton extremely wealthy, but he left the winery and most his estate to her. Her newly found family is horrified and instantly demands to know why; accusing her or her mother of coercing Anton. Fiona cannot answer their questions as she has no knowledge of what transpired between her mother and Anton.

Fiona learns that her mother, Lillian, and father, Freddie, went to Tuscany in 1986 so her father could finish the novel he was writing. and while there Lillian worked at the winery. Through the dual timeline story we learn of Lillian and Anton’s stories, and the present story of Fiona as she tries to find the answers and either secure or lose her position of heir. What revelations will she find and how will it change her present and future?

A story of loss and sacrifice, a story of betrayal and truth, but ultimately a story of true and undying love. Loved this book.