Cover Image: What a Tangled Web

What a Tangled Web

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I took my time to read this one because I didn't want the story with my new close friends to end, but I guess all good things do come to an end. And if they have to end there is almost no better way than this third and final installment in the Tangle Valley series.

We met Madison in the first book, Entangled, she was this bit of a dorky winemaker character with a great mind and loyal supporter of her friends, but someone who doesn't share her thoughts easily (or at all). In book 2, Two to Tangle, Maddie lost her way a bit, to me she went from this lovable, bit of nerdy character, to I don't even know what but a character I didn't really like. I am happy to say Madison from book 1 returns for her own story. Looking back on book 1 I thought I knew who Madison would end up with, but Melissa Brayden set something else up in book 2 and this choice seems to work out much better. Clementine works at everyone's favourite breakfast place in town, her goal is to not stand out and just live her life and maybe one day take over The Biscuit. When the current owner suddenly wants to sell Clem scrambles to get her offer in order, only to find out that Madison has already bought the place. She's mad and for the first time since high school, she can actually say more than just a couple of words to Madison, no longer in awe of her, just really mad at her, and ok still a little in awe. Them working together sets so many things in motion and starts both characters on a path of growth and development.

I really like how both characters have this sort of aha-moment when the penny drops and they just connect on a whole other level. They are both a little closed off in a way and Brayden did a great job of breaking down their walls in a way that suits the characters and the journey they are on. It was good to see the Biddies were back, but a little less intense, movie night returned, and of course the couples from the two previous books. It's great to read about how they evolved as well. I did miss a bit more of Loretta in this book, with her one-liners from the first book and her storyline in this one I was hoping for a couple more of Loretta's witty and unexpected one-liners. Mostly I was just really glad to have the old Madison back. I really enjoyed how the relationship grew and to see Joey and Gabriella again and be all happy. The book really ended the series on a high note. I am sad to see my friends go, but I am also secretly crossing my fingers for another installment. Just the three couples being all in love and doing their thing, I wouldn't mind reading it.

Solid 4.5 stars, book 1 is still my favourite, but this is a close second.

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3.5 stars. Winemaker Madison LeGrange is always trying to make the best wine she can. When she talks to her accountant, her accountant says she needs to do something with her money. When the Bacon and Biscuit is heard to go for sale, Madison takes the chance and buys her favorite breakfast place. Clementine Monroe is the manager of the Biscuit, and she loves her job. She has been saving for years to be able to buy the Biscuit and run it how it should be run. she is upset when she hears Madison took it from her before she could even make an offer on it. Sparks fly between the two of them. Clementine has had a crush on Madison since they were in high school, and is not more angry than anything. They need together to make sure Biscuit is successful.

I thought this novel was okay. I did not really enjoy this series as much as I wanted to, in all. This book was good, but it was not the best Melissa Brayden I have read. The characters had pretty good chemistry, but I felt like it ramped up fast for Madison, who didn't really seem to pay attention to Clementine before this book it seems. This book was an average book, where there was some tension and then it evolved into their relationship. This book also was the end of the series so it talked a lot about the other characters from this series. I would only recommend if you read the other books in the series.

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A wonderful finale to this trilogy! Madison's character really developed in this book. I felt like I got to know her. I also enjoyed getting to know Clementine. These 2 had good chemistry and the pacing of this story was perfect for the length.

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This last installment of Tangled Valley didn’t disappoint.

I know these stories can be read as a stand alone but they are made so much richer as a whole series.

The series itself revolves around the friendship of three women at Tangled Vineyard. This last installment was Madison’s story.

Madison is the logic of the group and at first blush the responsible put together rock of the group. You start to get a glimpse of how her head and heart interact in book two and it takes center stage in book three. I enjoyed the dynamic or how a well put together successful character could in many ways be out of depth and clueless. It was sweet and endearing and great to go on her journey.

Clementine was a great character as well. She is this fixture in the town that is well loved and by all accounts just sunshine and warmth, but she has these insecurities and baggage that weigh on her. We watch how she trips herself up with her insecurities but eventually finds her way.

When these two get together, I found myself cheering for them. They complimented each other in a way that made you want happily ever after for them. The warmth of what are the supporting cast in this installment help nudge them along. At the end of the story, I truly felt what Madison and Clementine felt,; full and enriched by not just them finding the place with each other but also the whole tangled family.

The characters were well written and layered with good chemistry. This equation is pretty much gold reading for me. The supporting cast added warmth and dimension and you really do feel like you’ve been dropped into a small Oregon wine town.

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What a Tangled Web is the third book in the Tangle Valley series and sees Madison LeGrange, winemaker extraordinaire....at you guessed it... Tangle Valley Vineyard.  Madison is diversifying her investments and has decided to buy the local bakery.  Clementine Monroe runs the local bakery. She has had a tough upbringing but now has the opportunity and ambitions to buy the bakery until her schoolgirl crush, Madison, buys it out from under her. Suddenly Madison becomes the enemy.
Melissa Brayden has delivered another wonderful romance with this one. It has all of Brayden's usual traits, witty dialogue, great characters, sizzling chemistry and she has stepped it up with the hot sex scenes. You can read this book as a stand alone but would definitely make more sense reading the previous two books in this series and they're worth reading. 5 stars

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The last book of this series was definitely my favourite. After the second book and what Madison was like in that one, I didn't think this would be but I was surprised. Clementine definitely made a big difference to endearing me to this book. I love seeing someone really make their way out of difficult circumstances, I was completely cheering Clementine on. Madison was extremely sweet and loved seeing her vulnerable.

Great end to the series, thank you again Melissa Brayden for another fun, sweet, likeable romance.

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Once again Melissa doesn't disappoint. This is the third book and focuses on Madison and the adorable Clementine. This romance had brilliant dialogue, witty banter, great character and hot chemistry between Madison and Clementine. It made me laugh and teared up a little. I definitely recommend you grab a copy. Well done, 5 stars.


I received a copy from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for my honest opinion.

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I seem to have a habit of really loving a particular main character when I read Melissa Brayden's novels, and in this case it was Clementine. She completely won my heart - she's such a hard worker who has had a tough childhood but regardless she's resilient, kind and very giving. A great main character that I completely got behind.

I met Madison, our second main, in the second book of the series where she intervened herself into the relationship between Gabby and Ryan - a bit of a shit move. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get from her in this one but I am so happy she managed to redeem herself in my eyes.

The storyline itself was quite slow in pace but I really liked that for this pairing - I think it really built up the relationship between them. A solid conclusion to another popular trilogy from Melissa Brayden.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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I’ve been looking forward to reading What a Tangled Web by Melissa Brayden for a while now. At the same time, I’m kind of sad that it is finally here. This is the third book in the ‘Tangle Valley Romance’ series, and it is also the final novel of the group.

In Entangled, the first installment, we meet Joey, Gabriella, and Madison (Maddie) as they work together to help Joey make Tangle Valley Vineyard profitable. This is Joey’s and Becca’s love story. In the second novel Two to Tangle, Gabriella meets her true love Ryan, and now with What a Tangled Web, Madison has her chance at a loving relationship with Clementine, the manager of everyone’s favorite café, the Bacon and Biscuit. Of course the road to true love is never easy, and that is certainly true in this last romantic tale.

By this third novel, the setting and most of the characters have already been completely developed, and reading this last story is like visiting some very old and dear friends. Maddie and Clem’s love story is enchanting, but not without some pain and angst along the way.

While I suppose you could read this novel as a standalone, I would strongly urge you to get all three books and read them in order since each story builds on the last until all three friends have finally found their true love. While I’m a little sad to see the end of the Tangle Valley tales, I’m looking forward to future stories by this author. After all, if you love romance, you can’t go wrong with a Melissa Brayden novel.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

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“What a Tangled Web” is the final installment in the Tangle Valley Romance series by Melissa Brayden. You can read each one as a standalone but I think they’re better if you read them in order to appreciate some of the little things from the previous books that get mentioned.

I was happy to see the happy friend trio (plus their partners) back together again for movie nights and delicious dinners. I didn’t realize I missed it in “Two to Tangle” until it was happening again. Joey, Gabriella, and Madison are such a sweet and fun group of friends that it made me wish my friends lived closer.

This was an opposites-attract romance that I enjoyed completely. Madison is so lovable and kind-hearted but has trouble verbally expressing that to those she cares about. She’s very logical and just likes things to make sense for her. Clementine is such a sweetheart and is so charming and sincere but comes from a background of feeling unseen and it makes her shy and sometimes awkward (at least around Madison.) She was abandoned by her mother and her father ended up in prison. She’s never had nice things and was always in the background. Madison was her high school crush as well as being well off and popular.

Madison was the most interesting of the friend group and I was ready for her story. She lost her way in “Two to Tangle” and it made me want to know what was going on in her head and hope to understand some her choices. I was very happy to see the Madison that I came to love in “Entangled” back to her rational self. I really enjoyed Madison and Clementine together. They had to work through some things to understand each other and that seemed honest to me. It wasn’t a perfect relationship but they worked at it and really tried to know one another so they could be together.

Brayden brought heart and humor here and I definitely recommend this to romance lovers. Just be sure to have some tissues handy.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Melissa Brayden is one of my favourite writers and this book didn't disappoint.

This is the last installment of the series but I didn't read the previous books and found this was ok as standalone but would like to hear about Joey and Gabriella's stories as well.

Really enjoyed the romance between Maddison and Clementine. Some of the sex scenes were very hot which is always a plus. Wine and all homemade breakfast what is not to love.

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You can never go wrong with Melissa Brayden. The woman just has unfathomable talent to write characters you fell in love with, and Madison and Clementine are no exception. You feel their pain, their warmth, they have faces in your mind while reading about them. I love how she's able to create characters that get face and mimics; they become alive, they become your friends you care about, you root for them Goddammit! I applaud you for that, Melissa Brayden!

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Brayden is my go-to for feel good romance, and although I adored this book, and Clementine stole my heart, it was missing that something that made me give the first two books in the series 5 stars.

With that said, this is by no means a bad book. Quite the contrary. The setting is brilliant. The winemaking process informative and intriguing.

I did tear up at one time, so that, too, was a win.

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𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.

The charm of Tangle Valley is back! By this, I’m referring to the chemistry of the original friend trio and their witty banter that took an unfortunate hiatus in 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘛𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 to make way for a messy love triangle. Well, the friendship is back to status quo so I can continue to rave about it as I did in my review for 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝗢𝗵, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿!

I was in the minority (or likely the only one in the world) who thought Madison and Gabriella would make a good couple but since that’s water under the bridge, I was looking forward to Madison’s story with Clementine instead and that ended up being really great, romance-wise. Not as good as 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 but definitely a whole lot better than 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘛𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦.

Funny how we’ve known both MCs for a while especially Madison, but I didn’t know much about them until now. Like how I haven’t realised how much difficulty Madison had expressing her inner feelings. It’s a personality flaw that I have as well so I understand completely how this works. It was kind of interesting to see Brayden pair her up with a character like Clem who was very much reliant on explicit words of encouragement and endearment to move forward and I love how they both just try to change for each other towards the end. I was curious about Clem in the previous book because of her long time crush on Madison that was clear to everyone but Madison. I think she piqued my interest a little further with an interesting backstory that created her personality though I do wonder if there could have been a better conclusion with her family.

This is a really popular series among lesfic readers and I can totally see why. Brayden is an amazing writer and this is a strong finale to the series.

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Brayden has the formula for series, and this one is a great conclusion to the Tangle Valley trilogy.
It is better if you read the two previous books, at least the first one, but you can go straight to this one if you are not able to read the other two...
I like how Brayden built her characters here and we are able to get to know both Madison and Clementine. Madison had a great development here and Clem also has space and her story, her past and how to overcome that is a nice touch to the narrative.

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For disclosure, this was the first book in this series I've read. And it was pretty great! I didn't feel like I was missing on any key details, and the other characters just made me wonder on what were their stories like. So this book acomplishes not only being a good standalone romance, but is also intriguing enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.
I liked the dynamics between the two main characters and I think the dialogues are great, big fan of the banter.

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4.25 stars. A lovely finale to a lovely series. As is typical for a Brayden novel, I smiled and chuckled several times while reading. While my overall rating for this book is the same as for the previous books in the series, Madison and Clementine just might be my favorite Tangle Valley pairing.

Madison is easily my favorite of the main Tangle Valley trio: she’s nerdy, kind, loyal, matter-of-fact, confident, and flawed: all things that contribute to a character crush for me. I loved getting to know Clementine too; I related to her confidence struggles and delighted in her successes. And god, the crush-to-lovers storyline! Be still my heart. I was a total Clementine in high school – a loner crushing on cool, confident people like Madison – so her HEA made me happy in a personal way. This book has convinced me that I need more crush-to-lovers stories in my life!

Now I’ll discuss some story elements. I greatly disliked the Biddies in Two to Tangle, but I found myself actually liking them in this one. I especially liked the relationship between Clementine and the nicest Biddy, who assumes a grandmotherly role. Throughout the story, there’s also has a bit of sadness and angst that’s unrelated to the romance, which I thought was well-done. This book does have that ubiquitous romance novel conflict, which so often annoys me, but in this book, it didn’t annoy me at all. I understand why the mains act the way they do, and the way they find each other again just warmed me from head to toe.

While this book had potential to be a perfect romance novel for me, it fell short in a few areas. Firstly, Madison’s process of buying the Biscuit felt rushed. I also think that this book could have benefitted from being a little longer, as there are quite a few large time jumps. Lastly, I found that nearly all the characters talk in a similar (witty, almost cutesy) way. As I said before, I laughed a lot, so it was well done, but at several points, I thought characters started to blend together as their voices became virtually indistinguishable.

In short, this is a quintessential Brayden novel: sweet and full of heart and laughs. I’m now anxiously awaiting her next!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Wonderful, heartwarming conclusion to the Tangle Valley series. I am so happy to be back in the Tangle Valley Vineyard. This book can be read on its own but is much better read in order. As her friends have coupled up it is time for Madison's story. She is smart, empirical and makes decisions based on logic. Successful in her field she decides to diversify her income and wants be part of the community. She purchases the Bacon and Biscuit her favorite cafe. Clementine who runs the cafe, went to school with Madison. But her life couldn't have been more different. A mother who ran off, a father who went to prison, leaves her scared about trusting her place in the community. She has been saving to purchase the cafe only to find her dreams taken away.

I love this book. It is full of lovely people (for the most part) who want the best for others. Madison and Clementine both have to grow if they are going to make their relationship last. Madison needs to trust and share her feelings. Clementine needs to find her self worth and see herself as others do. Clementine is my favorite character in the whole series with her depth, insecurities and background. I love how Brayden weaves the story over time so it feels organic and not something that happens in weeks. I appreciate the biddies are redeemed and included positively in the story too.

Brayden is one of my favorite authors. I know the characters are going to be rich and she is going to tug at my heart strings before leaving me happy. There are also silly one-liners with friends and lots of wonderful food descriptions. The final epilogue especially left me joyful.

I intentionally waited to read this on Valentines Day and it was a perfect way to spend a snowy afternoon. I can't wait to see where Melissa Brayden takes me next. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.

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What a Tangled Web is the conclusion for the Tangle Valley trilogy from Melissa Brayden.

When I start reading a Melissa Brayden book, I know I will find loveable main characters with great banter, a very romantic love story and very interesting secondary characters, and this time that is exactly what we get. In this final installment, we get the story of Tangle Valley’s winemaker Madison LeGrange and Clementine Monroe who runs the Bacon and Biscuit café. For me, Madison had been the most interesting character in the series, and I was looking forward to reading her story from the first book. I’m very happy with the story Brayden gave us and I personally think it was worth the wait.

As for the Tangle Valley series, I really enjoyed how it made us feel like we were in the town of Whisper Falls. We got to know some of its residents like the Biddies and Kevin, and places like I Only Have Fries for You, the Bacon and Biscuit and the Nifty Nickel gift shop. It was as if Whisper Falls were a character itself. Each book felt like it was a familiar setting and I really loved that.

It is sad that we will not get more stories in this town, I will miss it, but this was a wonderful conclusion to a very sweet series.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series if you want to read a sweet story.

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This was a good ending to the series. The first book is still my clear favorite but this was a nice step-up from book 2, which I struggled with. Book 2 was still a good read but it was my lowest rated Brayden book ever so it had issues for me. I felt like this book had that magic Brayden spark back that book 2 was missing and I think fans of the series will be happy with this ending.

One of the main issues I had with book 2 is that Madison’s body had been taken over by an alien and acted so unlike who her character used to be. I’m so happy to say that Madison was back to normal Madison in this book. It was such a relief. Madison was the most interesting character, out of the three friends, that I had been eagerly awaiting her story. I have to be honest that Brayden almost ruined her character for me in book 2, but this was the bounce back Madison needed. And in the end Madison really was the star of this book. Her love interest was okay, but Madison stole the show for me.

Another issue I had, in book 2, was the group of old “Biddies”. They were so annoying and just drove me nuts. I was hoping that Brayden would forget about them in this installment. While they were still a part of this story, this book mostly centered on just one Biddie instead of the whole group of them. Dealing with just one Biddie, most of the time, was much easier than dealing with the whole group. I’m quite happy that Brayden improved on this problem.

When it came to the romance I enjoy it. I liked that this book did not have that insta-love feeling at all. If anything, Brayden really took her time to get to that level which made the relationship better for me. I don’t like when the “I love yous” pop out way too early and they didn’t here. While you could see the big conflict moment coming a million of miles away, I didn’t mind it so much here. I’m not a fan of always having an 80% moment. I wish romance authors would change up the types of conflict and when it happens, more often, but if we have to have an 80% moment, I want it to mean something. I want it to rip my heart out and stomp on it. While there was no stomping here, I went through five tissues just in the last 20% of the book. What Madison was going through choked me up and made me feel, which is what I want from a good book.

For readers new to this series, you can start with this book if you really want. The story is self-contained enough that you would be okay. However, to get the most enjoyment out of the series, I would recommend reading it in order or at least reading book 1, Entangled, first since it is the origin story about how this group of friends came together to work on a vineyard.

It’s funny but I always love the first book in a Brayden series, have some bumps in the middle books, but then am always happy with the finale book. It never falls to work out that way and I’m glad that Brayden is good at closing out her series. This is an easy book for me to recommend and I think fans of this series will enjoy this finale book. I’m going to miss certain character like Madison and Joey, but I’m excited to see where Brayden will take us all next.

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