Monday, June 29, 2015

Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Tangled Webs by Lee Bros

Hello there guys!!

Continuing with my trying to get back into the rhythm of blogging after my hiatus, today I have a review of an ARC, trying to get back into my nearly 80% ratio that I had in NetGalley before May and when all the apartment and moving thing started!

So here we are, another Mark This Book Monday and another ARC review. Unfortunately this one was read after an amazing contemporary and it failed to get my attention or pull me from the book hangover from the previous book.


Tangled Webs (Tangled Webs, #1)Tangled Webs by Lee Bross

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This could be a case of bad timing, more of a it's not you, it's me kinda thing. I usually adore historical fiction but in this case I was not as captivated as I usually am.

There wasn't anything wrong with the world building or any historical innacuracies, but there was a certain vagueness to everything as far as the background and the setting. It was London, but other than some references to the foggy weather here and there... my impression is that we don't know nothing of the atmosphere, nothing much but a blurry background. The only setting that felt more real was when we went to the docks and Grae's ship. Only then I felt like it was a real place more than a setting in a play.

I wasn't very keen on the plot progression either mostly because some of the twists were really out of nowhere and very much on the "why now?". Instead of shocking me, they kinda disappointed me, to be entirely honest. And I wasn't keen at all on how Arista seemed to be so clueless when it came to plotting and saving herself when she has spent so many years being a courier and proveyor of secrets.

The romance felt a lil too much too fast, and although I understand that the 18th century was a different time and that things could certainly go fast... From attraction at a dance to declarations of love and more... it just felt all too sped up! Their connection was sweet and their relationship was full of support and positive interactions, Grae being able to let her be who she is. But the way they get there, so fast!

One of my favourite parts of the book was the friendship between Arista and Becky, and how they supported each other and how Arista worried about her friend and wanted to make sure what's right and to ensure he friend would be safe and protected.

I also liked how Arista felt protective about the family she finds herself living with, and how it made her want to find a way out of the web of lies she had been living in.

Arista/Lady A wasn't exactly what I was expecting from the book's summary. She had a very tough life and she wanted out and wanted more. She didn't want to continue with that life, but given how she behaved and acted throughout the book, it feels like she wasn't as good or as savvy at her job as you could have expected.

It was a fast read because it was easy to read but it wasn't captivating and by the end I was a lil annoyed at how things were progressing and the twists that happened. In the end, I cannot give this book more than 2.5 to 3 stars.





View all my reviews

30 comments:

  1. I just finished Court of Fives and I felt very much the same way about that one Pili! Like maybe it was more me than the book, because I really struggled with some aspects of it. I was hoping this one would blow you away because the cover is absolutely stunning and I wanted the cover and story to match, but I feel like I would have a lot of the same issues with the romance. And given how the romance is always my favorite part, I think that would be frustrating for me:) Fantastic review though!

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    1. Thank you Jenny! I know that Maja enjoyed this one more than I did, so maybe it's a "me" case and you'll like it a bit more than I did...

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  2. I'm excited to read this one, but slightly nervous because this book has been getting some mixed reviews recently.

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  3. Aww, sad you didn’t like this one. I’ve only seen negative or mixed reviews for this book, so I’m a little hesitant to get into it. I’ll have to see for myself though! Great review :)

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    1. I do hope you'll check it out and enjoy it more than I did!

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  4. Gorgeous review Pili :) But aw, I'm so sorry you were disappointed by this one :( That is never any fun. I have read many bad reviews for this one :\ I won't ever try it, lol. But I'm glad you didn't hate it; that some things were good :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it sweet girl. <3

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  5. That's a shame about the vague setting. With books like this, I want to feel like I'm THERE. Foggy London? Yeah, we already knew that. This is on my TBR, and hopefully I'll have better luck.

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    1. Exactly! We need to feel like how is Eighteenth century London feels, right?

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  6. I've been looking forward to this book because that cover is gorgeous!! But I'm really sad that it wasn't the best read. I've been seeing similar thoughts around the community. :(
    I would struggle with the pacing of the plot and the romance too. Insta love should never be in books.
    Thanks for the thoughtful review, Pili!

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  7. I could have sworn I commented ahhhh. Too bad. I loved this one! I'm sorry you didn't completely enjoy it but I'm glad you didn't hate it :D

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it more than I did Alyssa!

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  8. I read this the other day and I wasn't too impressed with it. Arista/Lady A wasn't what I expected either and the insta-love ruined the whole thing >.<

    Asma @ IceyBooks

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  9. I have seen this book around, but never decided to read it. I guess I was not missing anything much. :)

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    1. Not really Linda, you can safely skip this one I think!

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  10. From what I've seen about this book, you either hate this or you feel lukewarm to it, which is what you and Rashika felt. Honestly, at this point, I have no desire to read it at all especially if the background and setting and atmosphere is next to non-existent. Just a few descriptions won't cut it at all! And Rashika mentioned the lackluster heroine in her review of this book (which is out today so check it out! Haha, shameless plugging) and I don't want to read someone who is supposedly bad-ass but doesn't show it.

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. Yeah, the setting & atmosphere where barely there and I feel they're very important in a historical book, right?
      I agree with lots of Rashika's points in her review, btw! ;)

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  11. I read Tangled Webs and was sorely disappointed as well. The historical references were sparse, and I hated the romance. They instantly liked each other just by ONE conversation/one gaze. It was sooo uneventful too. Nice review!

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    1. Yeah, the romance really bothered me too, Rachel!

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  12. This book is super hit or miss with people! I loved Arista so much that I did tend to overlook her rookie mistakes but now that you pointed them out I know they were there. I can't help it im still a sucker for all this. Great review though love!
    <3 Britt

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    1. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it loads though, Britt! I really wanted to!

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  13. I'm so sad about this book. I wanted it to be amazing but it so was not. Really seems like most people didn't love it :-( I think if the reader can connect with Arista and get behind the relationship it works much better for them.

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    1. Agreed! I love historical fiction, so I was really looking forward to this one!

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  14. I am not sure how I feel about this one. It does sound like a pretty good book, but it seems like there was a lot of vagueness. When it comes to my historical fiction it really is about setting and atmosphere as well, and knowing this one was lacking that somewhat is a huge turn off for me. I might have to skip over this...

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    1. Yeah, the atmosphere and setting were really lacking for me in this one!

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  15. I agree about the romance! It went too fast and there wasn't much to make that pace convincing. And YES. Lady A was a bit disappointing for me. I thought she would've been better at her job. It sounded cool, but it didn't end up cool. :(

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    1. Yeah, sounded cooler than it was! Thank you Kaitlin!

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¡Muchas gracias por vuestros comentarios, leerlos me alegra el día!/ Thanks a lot for all your comments, reading them brightens my day!!