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A review by aliu6
What a Tangled Web by Melissa Brayden
4.0
3.5 stars
Madison LeGrange likes logic and order in all things, which is what makes her such a good winemaker; she's a pro with numbers and equations. Unfortunately, she's yet to find a formula for love. An uncharacteristically spur-of-the-moment decision leads her to purchase The Biscuit, a popular breakfast spot in town. It also leads to spending more time with Clementine Monroe, The Biscuit's manager and Madison's secret admirer in high school. A hesitant friendship turns into the potential for more, but the differences between the two women sometimes seem like too much to overcome. Through the ups and downs, Madison will learn that there is nothing logical or orderly about love. But maybe she can live with that.
cw: mentions of child abuse (non-sexual), child abandonment, side character death
This started out really good and then it got kind of weird? The romance was pretty good, but I was not a fan of how some sensitive topics got handled.
The Characters: As a math person, I totally related to Madison. I was excited to read her love story after her role in the second book of the series. She's a little awkward when talking about her feelings, but for the most part, she's self-assured and charismatic. At times though, it seems that she doesn't recognize her own privilege (at least at first), especially when it comes to understanding Clementine's adolescent experience. Clementine is super sweet, but also resilient. She also has a really sad backstory (see content warnings) which has resulted in low self-confidence. I liked Madison and Clementine's interactions, and I thought they were really cute together. We get the side characters from the previous books (Joey & Becca, Gabriela & Ryan, etc.) plus a few new ones. It was nice hearing from characters that I already felt like I knew well.
The Romance: I liked the lead up to Madison and Clementine getting together. There was a lot of sexual tension paired with personal hangups. After they got together, I wasn't a big fan of the types of conflicts that came up.
The Plot: The plot actually didn't revolve solely around the romance. There was a lot of stuff happening in the background with Madison getting a hang of running the Biscuit, Loretta and Bobby's wedding, plus a surprise visit from someone from Clementine's past. [Insert rant about how the plot got super weird and kinda problematic.] This book just sent so many mixed messages, and I don't think they were good messages. Regarding pacing, the beginning was super engaging. Then there was a lull and I took a break from reading. Then things went downhill and I skimmed through the dumpster fire :/
The Writing: Brayden's writing is consistent, and this was no exception with regards to snappy dialogue and flowing narration.
All in all: I wish Brayden hadn't chosen to tackle a subject like child abuse in this book. A lot of it rubbed me the wrong way, and it felt out of place next to how sweet and soft the rest of the series was. It's still a well-written and interesting story, but the child abuse plot took me out of it and made the experience a lot less enjoyable for me.
*I received an ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Madison LeGrange likes logic and order in all things, which is what makes her such a good winemaker; she's a pro with numbers and equations. Unfortunately, she's yet to find a formula for love. An uncharacteristically spur-of-the-moment decision leads her to purchase The Biscuit, a popular breakfast spot in town. It also leads to spending more time with Clementine Monroe, The Biscuit's manager and Madison's secret admirer in high school. A hesitant friendship turns into the potential for more, but the differences between the two women sometimes seem like too much to overcome. Through the ups and downs, Madison will learn that there is nothing logical or orderly about love. But maybe she can live with that.
cw: mentions of child abuse (non-sexual), child abandonment, side character death
This started out really good and then it got kind of weird? The romance was pretty good, but I was not a fan of how some sensitive topics got handled.
The Characters: As a math person, I totally related to Madison. I was excited to read her love story after her role in the second book of the series. She's a little awkward when talking about her feelings, but for the most part, she's self-assured and charismatic. At times though, it seems that she doesn't recognize her own privilege (at least at first), especially when it comes to understanding Clementine's adolescent experience. Clementine is super sweet, but also resilient. She also has a really sad backstory (see content warnings) which has resulted in low self-confidence. I liked Madison and Clementine's interactions, and I thought they were really cute together. We get the side characters from the previous books (Joey & Becca, Gabriela & Ryan, etc.) plus a few new ones. It was nice hearing from characters that I already felt like I knew well.
The Romance: I liked the lead up to Madison and Clementine getting together. There was a lot of sexual tension paired with personal hangups. After they got together, I wasn't a big fan of the types of conflicts that came up.
Spoiler
A lot of stuff with Clementine feeling like she didn't deserve to be with someone like Madison? Yes, I get that this is something that actually happens, but writing it into Clementine's character can send implicit messaging that victims of child abuse or people who grew up in poverty should feel bad about it.The Plot: The plot actually didn't revolve solely around the romance. There was a lot of stuff happening in the background with Madison getting a hang of running the Biscuit, Loretta and Bobby's wedding, plus a surprise visit from someone from Clementine's past. [Insert rant about how the plot got super weird and kinda problematic.]
Spoiler
It was Clementine's abusive father. I honestly don't know how to feel about this storyline. I felt like Clementine let her father back in way too quickly? I get that sometimes victims of child abuse might still seek approval from their abusers/there might be other factors why Clementine did that. But when everyone else is like, "I think it's great that you've repaired your relationship with your father!" it's a lot. I don't think something like child abuse can be easily forgiven, or forgiven at all. Maybe the intention was a message of redemption, i.e. people can change. I would have preferred if Brayden had stuck to that, but instead, Clementine's dad ended up running out on her. So... people can't change?The Writing: Brayden's writing is consistent, and this was no exception with regards to snappy dialogue and flowing narration.
All in all: I wish Brayden hadn't chosen to tackle a subject like child abuse in this book. A lot of it rubbed me the wrong way, and it felt out of place next to how sweet and soft the rest of the series was. It's still a well-written and interesting story, but the child abuse plot took me out of it and made the experience a lot less enjoyable for me.
*I received an ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.