Tangles and Treason

Vampire Knitting Club #0.5

by Nancy Warren

Nancy Warren presents a prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club series.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal, Mystery, Vampires, Magic

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 novels.

She’s known for writing funny, sexy and suspenseful tales. She’s an avid hiker, animal lover, wine drinker and chocolate fiend. Favorite moments in her career include being featured on the front page of the New York Times, being the answer to a crossword puzzle clue in Canada’s National Post newspaper and being a finalist three times in the Rita awards. She has won the Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine.

Get a free short story when you sign up for Nancy's newsletter at www.NancyWarrenAuthor.com or join Nancy in her private Facebook group to talk about books, knitting, pets & life.
www.facebook.com/groups/NancyWarrenKn...

Reviews

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries. I do have one very petty complaint: she dates her story as 1568 and mentions people watching Shakespeare plays. The problem is that in 1568 Shakespeare was only four years old!

[Micky Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tantalizing pre-quel to fill in a bit of Rafe's background story that teases us and delights us while we await the next book to come out in the series! Make no mistake, this story is well worth the time to read as it has quite a bit of mystery and intrigue to feed our literary murderous appetites! Interspersed with a bit of historical aspects to give you a taste of a historical paranormal story that helps build the character and personality of the Rafe we have come to know and love in the Vampire Knitting Club series. I really hope we get a few more of these pre-quel's for other characters in the series as it could be quite interesting to learn more about the featured vampires and witches.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was scrolling on facebook when I came upon an add for audible. In the add I noticed a series of books that caught my attention: Vampire Knitting Club. I laughed at the title and shared it with friends, but also said: Now this is a series I really want to read. So I went to scribd and looked for the series. There it was, waiting for me to listen to and now I have started.
I started with a prequel in order to get a sense of what the series is going to be about and in all honestly I am here and I am ready for the ride. Give me vampires and warm woolen sweaters baby.
This intro into the world feels perfect and got me really curious about the whole series. I am looking forward to this adventure.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I looked at this series a few years ago because it got good reviews from friends. I signed up for a newsletter and got this. I finally read it.

The most positive thing I can say about it: it was for free and short. If the author wanted to use this to entice people into picking up the series, she didn‘t do herself a favour. A lot of telling, very little showing. Intentional plotholes. The lamest vampire turning ever. If she hadn‘t spelled it out, we would have been clueless. Boring and lazy storytelling.

And why is he wearing a modern leather jacket with a flaming sword on the cover? 🙄

PS: I just checked, I own the first book of the series, The Vampire Knitting Club. I paid 99 cents for it 2021. I think I am going to be tough and delete it from my ebook stack…

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella prequel to a series I want to read. It tells the backstory of the main character and how he becomes a vampire. I'm looking forward to reading the first book.

[Annie]

How disappointed I was to learn that this book contained neither leather jackets nor flame swords

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tangles and Treason is the prequel novella for the Vampire Knitting Club series. This was a fun story where we were able to see how Rafe became a vampire and where his story really started. I think this is more beneficial to read after starting the series because at that point, you are invested in the series and the characters. The narration was really good and it was a quick listen at only 1 hour 15 minutes. I’m glad I listened to this.

[Aly is so frigging bored · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wanted to know more about Rafe, and this is literally his origin story :D It was really fun to read about how he was turned into a vampire and how he escaped being killed because of it. I hope Nancy will think about doing some more stories from his long life.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely quick easy read, Rafe is one of my favourite characters, so great to learn more about him!

[Dominique Daoust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little prequel that immediately made me add the first Vampire Knitting Club book to my TBR!

[Vampfiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Now we know where Rafe came from.

[Silverluna · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

[K Whatsherface · Rating 4 out of 5]

So that's how he became a vampire. Also explains why he's so into her. Though I wonder if that will come up in the actual series

[N*L*G · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Treasures and Treason is a fantastic short prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club series! I loved getting a deeper look into Rafe's - one of the main characters’ backstory, and it really added richness to the overall world. A perfect blend of intrigue, charm, and character development—highly recommend for fans of the series!”

[Allison Jones-Lo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume answered a lot of questions about Rafe's background and his old fashioned attitude. It has also brought more questions to mind. Now to keep reading and see how his background plays into his future.........and Lucy's!

[Dolorianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story prequel. It's the origin story of how Rafe (from the Vampire Knitting Club series) became a vampire. It's told at a quick pace, but I didn't feel anything was missing. And it explains a little of why Rafe was a little confused when he meets Lucy in the first book.

This is a free story the author offers when signing up for her newsletter. Well worth it!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

I know it's just a short story but, honestly, I wanted more.

I wanted more of Rafe before he was a vampire, but he didn't seem that much different in this than he does several hundred years later. (Also, that cover art is a crime, because he needs to be wearing doublet and hose or some shit. LOL)

I wanted to learn more about Constance. I wanted to see more of Rafe actually being a spy and having a mystery to solve.

But we're brought into the middle of an on-going story, where Rafe already has the whodunit and then it's about him being turned and going off with Constance to America. That's it. (We also learn nothing of the woman who turned him, other than meeting her, her turning him, and then briefly talking to him.)

And, yeah, it's only 52 pages... but, like, give us more or give us nothing, you know? This didn't add anything, except it's a little squicky that Rafe was drawn to Lucy because of her similarity to Constance, but we already knew that from the regular series, so that's not new, either.

I need a full-length Rafe book, not this little tease of a story!

[Deena · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing I can say about this is that it was free. It's also an excellent thing that the main series seems to be set in the present day, because I can't remember a more ham-handed attempt at historical fiction than this is. Highly unlikely to read any more of the series, even for free with a pound of tea.

[Shawn-Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but has some continuity issues at the end. His first wife is supposed to be buried in Oxford, at the church the bookstore owner got married at. Since Salem was founded in 1626 Constance must have been really old when she got there.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly tiresome.

[Tracy Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wraps up over 500 years of an intriguing life in a couple of paragraphs. Could have been her best book. Instead it’s the worst of the series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable origin story of Rafe.

Would love to see more origin stories for the rest of the Vampires
Especially Sylvia

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

The Vampire Knitting Club series by Nancy Warren is another series that has been collecting dust on my TBR for a while now- but I have finally got my act together (well, somewhat lol) and gotten around to reading it. And I am soooo glad I did, as it turned out to be such an unexpectedly fun read.
One of the reasons I love being on Goodreads is seeing all the book reviews and recommendations that everyone does, and then hunting down the ones that catch my eye. This series would probably never have come to my attention if it hadn’t been for my Goodreads friend, Eliza- so thank you Eliza for your recommendation (in the form of your glowing reviews) which gave me the urge to dive in, even though I didn’t get to them right away- it was such a great series to binge. But one book has now turned into a bit of an addiction lol.
This is quite a long series, so I am going to save myself some time by doing one review for the entire series. So here we go…..
The Vampire Knitting Club is a wonderful paranormal cozy mystery series, with vampires, witches, adventure, action, crime & investigation, witty humour, family, friendship, a small-town setting, dramatic developments, magic, suspense, intrigue, fun, a dash of romance, knitting/knitting group, murder/murder mysteries, whodunnit vibes, danger, secrets, a cat familiar, tangled webs, the supernatural, and a slew of wonderfully quirky characters.
To condense things for the sake of this review, Lucy Swift ‘inherits’ her grandmother’s knitting shop when her grandmother dies…. only grandma is not dead, but is definitely undead. That’s not all she discovers…. so let the adventures begin…
“ …. I run a knitting shop and I can’t knit. I’m a beginning witch who can’t always control her cat, never mind her magic….. Oh, and for some reason, I keep getting involved in murder investigations. Good thing I have my vampire knitters to help sniff out clues.
I really recommend this book/series – especially for those who love a great paranormal cozy mystery.

The series contains…
-Tangles and Treason (Prequel)
-The Vampire Knitting Club (Book #1)
-Stitches and Witches (Book #2)
-Crotchet and Cauldrons (Book #3)
-Stockings and Spells (Book #4)
-Purls and Potions (Book #5)
-Fair Isle and Fortunes (Book #6)
-Lace and Lies (Book #7)
-Bobbles and Broomsticks (Book #8)
-Cats Paws and Curses (Book #8.5)
-Popcorn and Poltergeists (Book #9)
-Garters and Gargoyles (Book #10)
-Diamonds and Daggers (Book #11)
-Herringbones and Hexes (Book #12)
-Ribbing and Runes (Book #13)
-Mosaics and Magic (Book #14)

Can’t wait to explore some of Ms. Warren’s other series now.
Happy Reading…

Thank you, Nancy Warren!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampire Knitting Club Series Prequel. A free download for Nancy Warren’s newsletter subscribers available only on her website NancyWarren.net
In Elizabethan Oxford, Sir Rafe Crosyer is on a secret mission for the queen. He also wants to secure Constance's hand in marriage, not only for love but for her safety, for there are rumours afloat that Constance is a witch. But when he is attacked and left for dead, not only is his love in terrible danger, but also his queen. Unless he takes an unthinkable step...

Heather's Notes
This is a short story about Rafe, and how he was turned. It was not bad, but not really great either. It was ok. I also don't car for the cover as this was set in Regency era, so he would not have had a leather coat, and probably not a mustache and goatee. Also there is not flaming sword in the story. However, none of that is the authors fault and did not affect my rating.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long before the events in book 1, Rafe was a secret agent of the queen, working diligently to save her from plots and threats. But his attentions are divided when he commits to marrying Constance, a young woman who has refused his advances for mysterious reasons. But with his focus turned, Rafe doesn't realize that there are more plots than just the one to overthrow the queen.

As a standalone, this book would be much lower rated. The style is brisk and lacks the detail and charm that I expect from a Nancy Warren mystery. But as a short story explaining Rafe's past, this book is satisfactory. It gives us some context into why Rafe has a house near the yarn shop and how the vampire culture has evolved over the years. I would not suggest reading this book before book 1, but it does end just where book 1 begins, so you can pick it up anytime after you've gotten the full context that book 1 provides.

[Mr Francy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS NOVELLA WAS SO GOOD THERE'S ONLY 1 WORD FOR IT... "ENTRANCING!"

Oh my goodness. So I came across this book after wanting to give the Vampire Knitting Club a go. What I expected was to begin with book 1, so colour me surprised when I found out there was a 0.5 Novella to read first.

I was caprtivated from the off and the spell Nancy Warren weaved, I was trapped under it for the duration of the book.

My only concern is that this book was written in 2019, while book 1 was written in the year before (so it was published out of chronological series order). I get why she would do this but I'm concerned about book 1.

Either way this book is enchanting from start to end, so I highly, highly, HIGHLY reccomend it.

5 Stars!

xoxo.

[EB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rafe's maker story. Seems mostly like an excuse to write a book in a British accent and to use a lot of words like "thee." Also, we learn that Rafe had a pattern of falling for witches!

Listening to this story to take a break from the rest of the series, which is getting less and less unique? At least - book #7 isn't doing it for me. I have ZERO interest in TV shows. I'm guessing the host (celebrity knitter) is the one who will be murdered?

UPDATE (at end): OK, so Lucee is the descendant of Rafe's original wife's sister? From the niece that he and his wife (Constance) raised when the sister passed away? In Salem, MA (natch). Tidy.

Also - forgot to mention earlier - Rafe was all abt protecting *his* women right from the start! It's part of this story, too.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tangles and Treason by Nancy Warren
Vampire Knitting Club Series Prequel
Rafe Crosyer is the dark, cool...in more than one way...vampire in the Vampire Knitting Club Series. But hundreds of years ago, he was just a man. A man of the court. A man who protected Queen and country. A man who had plans for a future...

One night that all changed for Rafe. And now, his future loomed ahead of him. Forever.

This is a short but enjoyable story that gives the reader insight into what made Rafe into the vampire he is today...in this series. This story is not a cozy mystery. Outstanding series!
https://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com...

[Melodie Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done! I remain happily bewitched by the Vampire Knitting Club. I have completed all 13 books in the series, and just finished reading this prequel. I also read the Christmas knitting circle mystery, Cat's Paws and Curses. Utterly enchanting. I hope Nancy Warren writes and soon releases book 14 and beyond; and perhaps more prequels about Lucy, her parents, her grandmother, her great-aunt, her cousin, members of the coven, members of the knitting club ... etc!! lol Meanwhile, I'm moving on to the Vampire Book Club series! Blessed be 🪠🌙

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! I happened upon this quite by accident. A happy accident indeed! Having enjoyed some of narrator Sarah Zimmerman's previous work, I gave this audiobook a shot and quickly found myself enjoying this little adventure. While the plot makes some necessary jumps to account for the shorter duration of this novella, it was a delightful journey - quick paced and intriguing! I quite enjoyed the cast of characters and the mysterious plot. I'm not sure how I feel about the series transitioning to the modern era, but this story was enjoyable enough that I'll certainly give it a fair shot!