These Tangled Vines
Ratings10
Average rating3.8
A sweeping and captivating tale of one woman’s journey to the lush vineyards of Tuscany—and into the mysteries of a tragic family secret.
If Fiona has learned anything in life, it’s how to keep a secret—even from the father who raised her. She is the only person who knows about her late mother’s affair in Tuscany thirty years earlier, and she intends to keep it that way…until a lawyer calls with shocking her biological father has died and left her an incredible inheritance—along with two half siblings.
Fiona travels to Italy, where the family is shocked to learn of her existence and desperate to contest her share of the will. While the mystery of her mother’s affair is slowly unraveled, Fiona must navigate through tricky family relationships and tense sibling rivalries. Fiona both fears and embraces her new destiny as she searches for the truth about the fateful summer her mother spent in Italy and the father she never knew.
Spilling over with the sumptuous flavors and romance of Tuscany, These Tangled Vines takes readers on a breathtaking journey of love, secrets, sacrifice, courage—and most importantly, the true meaning of family.
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What A Tangled Web We Weave. This was a strong story of finding yourself, even if that happens a bit later than some would like and creates a bit of a mess. And it was a strong story of ever lasting love, treachery, and forgiveness. All set (mostly) in the idyllic Tuscan countryside. The pacing was solid, the dual timeline worked well - even if a sense of foreboding hung over one of the timelines its entire duration. (We learn early in the book - Chapter 1, IIRC - how that timeline ultimately turns out, so getting there is wonderful, yet also like watching a replay of a momentous event... that you know turns out in disaster.) Overall, the writing here really speaks to the strength of Maclean's storytelling abilities and shows them to be quite strong indeed. Very much recommended.
I almost gave it 3 stars because the book kept my attention enough to want to finish it, but as other reviews pointed out there were moments that clearly showed that the author hadn't done enough research. Whitecaps on the beach in Tallahassee?? Someone who never travels has a passport and can jump on an international flight with one day's notice?
But my biggest issue is the plot hole that you could drive a truck through...
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Spoilers below!
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How could Lillian ever think Freddie believed he was Fiona's biological father? First, in chapter 7 we learn that Lillian is on the pill. I don't recall ever reading that she stopped taking it, but I guess we must assume that she did at some point during the summer in Tuscany. But regardless, Freddie went to Paris for at least a month (Anton mentions that the winery “will be crawling with tourists in July” and it's August when Freddie returns) and his first night back the book says very clearly that they didn't sleep together. Unless his accident affected his perception of time and/or his understanding of human gestation (!), he would absolutely know that he wasn't the father. So the entire premise of the book is far fetched, to put it mildly!
