Twisted Vines

by Katherine Ginbey

Ivy Whitlock likes her life. She would just like it a lot better if she were allowed to apply to The Academy, the training ground for the demon fighting, royal protecting Vilerian guard. She was not made for organising balls and entertaining simpering suitors. She craves more, craves a legacy like the one her mother made for herself in her Academy years almost two centuries ago.

Despite her mothers status as an alumni, her parents refuse to allow her application and when the Lord and Lady Whitlock of the fae say no? They mean it.

But when Lady Whitlock’s old Academy friends Crown Prince Hal and Sir Channing of Althania arrive at the families winter solstice ball, Ivy is given the opportunity she has always wanted.

Once at The Academy, Ivy soon realises that her mother hasn’t been exactly truthful about her time there and that the branches of a family tree can quickly turn into smothering vines. Can Ivy find the truth before the lies end up putting her in more danger than she could have imagined?

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2024

About the author

Katherine is from Surrey, England. Growing up she was an avid reader and storyteller.

Once at a family sleepover when she was eight, she spun a tale of dragons, princesses, betrayal and cute puppies. It kept her cousins up all night. Sadly, she can’t remember a single bit of it.

To combat that problem for future works, she started to buy notebooks so she could jot down her ideas. It only sort of worked. Some were far too pretty to write in!

She has ‘ probably 2000’ playlists for her characters, stories and scenes. Only five get routinely used. There’s a pattern there…

Reviews

[Myrthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Twisted Vines follows Ivy, the daughter. the daughter of a fae lord, who has spent her life training and dreaming of joining an elite academy to become a top demon fighter and royal protector. But despite being the first female fae to earn a place at the academy, her mother refuses to let her go. Could she accept this and settle for a quiet life with her human boyfriend and family?
Everything changes when her mother’s old academy friends return. A vampire prince and a werewolf lord who were like family to Ivy as a child. With their arrival, Ivy finally gets the chance to attend the academy. However, once she joins, she uncovers a shocking truth her mother has been hiding secrets from her, ones that may change everything she thought she knew..


Twisted Vines was a fun idea about magic that I really liked. However, the book can be hard to follow because there are many characters, and it made me confused at some point because I forgot who everyone was. The story is a good idea although the middle part of the book is slow, and too much happens at the end, which makes it feel rushed. I wish the ending would be slower so it could me a wow factor and that I want to hear more. I did enjoy the writing style and I loved the mix between all the different creatures. Overall I rate this book a 3.5

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

In reality I am rating this a 3.5. I really wanted to rate this more. I liked the book. There were some areas where the book kind of lost my interest. It felt like it dragged on a bit. I think the author wanted to give as much detail as possible before big shock and the ending, but I just think it took a little too long and too away from the grand reveal and the ending.

It was like the book was kind of grasping at straws to be a very detailed fantasy and then I got to 1/4 into the book and nothing exciting was happening I knew all of the action would be rushed at the end and I would be left disappointed. And I was a little.

I won't do any spoilers, because I want everyone to be the judge of this book. It does have a lot of potential. I did like it don't get me wrong, I did enjoy reading it. It took me a bit longer than usual to read this then it usually does, but I did like it. I liked the characters. I liked the mixture between all of the species. Angels, Vampires, Werewolf's, Faes, Mermaids, Oracles, Hybrids, and probably some I forgot. It had all of the species that I loved, and I loved reading about that. I liked reading about the academy, but it just fell short in my opinion.

The ending was rushed. I wish we could see more of Ivy at the end accepting her new role and her mourning. I wish there was more of Prince Hal and Ivy rekindling their family relationship. There is just so much more I think that could have been added.

But I did like it, I just didn't love it. I lost my interest here and there which is why I rated it a 3.5.

I am thankful to the author, Katherine Ginbey for letting me read this book as an ARC, and I really did like it, but it was just lacking things that make it a fantastic fantasy.

[Dawn Brissenden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted Vines follows Ivy, the daughter of a fae lord, who has spent her life dreaming and training to join an elite academy in order to become one of the top demon fighters and royal protectors. However, despite being the first female fae to ever join the academy herself, Ivy’s mother won’t let her join. Surely, she can accept this fate and live a happy life with her human boyfriend and family?

However, with the reappearance of her mothers old academy friends, a vampire prince and a werewolf lord who were like family to Ivy growing up, it seems her path is about to change and she will be able to attend the academy after all. Yet, once she joins the other students she is faced with a truth she isn’t comfortable with, her mother has been keeping many secrets from her.

Amidst classes and training with both old and new friends, Ivy attempts to unfurl the secrets she is discovering about her mothers past, and more importantly why she kept them? However, the true test seems to be for Ivy herself and whether or not she can accept her families secrets or if she’ll spend her life hiding from them. A decision that she is forced to make perhaps before she is ready for it, and the resulting decision will change who she is forever.

This was an exciting and well paced fantasy story, with loveable found family, intriguing magic and adorable first love. That’s not to say this book doesn’t have its darker elements; secrets, rebellion groups, absolute turmoil. Overall, I had a fun time reading this and look forward to seeing how the wide cast of characters develop and especially learning more about the magic system!

[Torii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it too soon to ask for a sequel? Because I desperately want more. This was honestly such an amazing book to read with so many emotions throughout. I've read and enjoyed every book by Katherine and love her writing style.

I mean what's not to love about a "coming of age" story with the Fae world twist because this mixes that with just all round enjoyable fantasy tropes.

Definitely cannot wait to see what is next from Katherine

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished the Twisted Vines duology and was completely hooked. Despite being outside of the intended age, I flew through both books. Each time I thought I had a grasp of what was going on another twist was thrown - which was both amazing and infuriating in the best ways. The relationships in this book were some of the most interesting I have read in a while.
I highly recommend reading especially if you want a heartbreaking book.

[Aaliyah Poffenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

So my actual rating is 4.5 stars. I received an ARC copy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read it faster than I expected and I loved the twists and the world building. The characters were great and I can’t wait to read more of their story.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, let me just say that I love the way Kat Ginbey writes her characters!!.. they're always so full of heart ❤️ I was completely invested in this story right from the start and didn't want it to end! Bring on book 2!! 😄