A Tangled Magic

by Andrea Eames

Rapunzel meets Six of Crows in this darkly imagined high fantasy for fans of T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone, The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart, Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, and Disney’s Tangled, as a woman with amnesia—and magical hair—searches for her lost memories while navigating a web of royal intrigue, bone magic, and secret monasteries.

All her life, Netta has only known the Tower—its musty shelves of books she cannot read, ink-splattered quills, and endless scrolls of paper. Her mother, ambitious and analytical, has spent decades perfecting her greatest masterpiece: a spellbook of unspeakable power. Netta’s only companions are her long red Hair, which moves of its own accord, and a telepathic raven named Baldbeak. Her only amusement lies in crafting intricate embroidery from scraps of silk and thread.

When attackers storm the Tower, her mother and the spellbook vanish. Determined to find her, Netta ventures into a kingdom on the brink of civil war. The monarch lies dying, while pious Temple fanatics and the noble elite scheme for the throne, forging secret alliances and building hidden armies. For reasons she cannot yet fathom, all these factions seek Netta—and the dangerous, uncontrollable magic in her Hair.

But whom can she trust? The sharp-eyed pickpocket bent on revolutionizing the use of magic? The elusive black market trader known only as the Book Man? The charming magician who slips between shadow and light? From masked carnivals to opulent ballrooms, from hidden monasteries to catacombs, Netta must untangle a web of lies and intrigue - not only to find her mother, but also to uncover the true nature of the power that has shaped her life.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Retellings, Adult, Adult Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 28, 2026

About the author

Andrea Eames was born in 1985. She was brought up in Zimbabwe, where she attended a Jewish school for six years, a Hindu school for one, a Catholic convent school for two and a half, and then the American International School in Harare for two years. Andrea's family moved to New Zealand in 2002. Andrea has worked as a bookseller and editor and now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband.

Reviews

[BookishKB · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨♥️ A Tangled Magic ♥️✨
I absolutely loved Netta. She was kind, wholesome, and such a people pleaser that it honestly broke my heart at times. I just wanted better for her. And if I’m being honest, I pretty much disliked everyone else in the book except for Baldbeak.

The only reason this isn’t a full 5 stars for me is the beginning. The first 100 pages were pretty confusing. There was a lot of information upfront, but it didn’t feel like the kind I actually wanted as a reader. It ended up being a little frustrating to get through.

But once the story settled in, I was fully invested in Netta and her journey. And I really loved how it all came together in the end. It genuinely felt like she reclaimed herself, and I was so happy!

🕯️ What to Expect
• Dark fairy tale fantasy
• Rapunzel inspired
• Amnesia FMC
• Living magical hair
• Royal intrigue
• Bone magic
_ _ _ _

⭐ Final Score: 4.5 stars
📅 Pub Date: July 28, 2026
📝 Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts are my own.

[strawberrymatchaprincess (semi ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
A Tangled Magic (spoiler free review)
💜👸🏼🐦‍⬛🏰 ✧

ׂ╰┈➤ 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵: 𝘑𝘶𝘯 13 | 𝘌𝘯𝘥: 𝘑𝘶𝘯 20 ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

rating → 3.75 ★★★☆☆

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

❈ 𝒫𝓁❀𝓉 ❈ :
Netta has spent her entire life locked away in a tower, her only companions being a raven named Baldbeak and her own long magical red hair. But when mysterious attackers storm her home, her mother and a powerful spellbook vanish. Forced into a dangerous kingdom on the brink of civil war, Netta must navigate a deadly web of royal, temple fanatics, and hidden armies all while trying to figure out why everyone is hunting her, and what the true, uncontrollable nature of her magic actually is.
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭
✧ World building
✧ Magic
✧ Politics
✧ body horror
✧ Found Family
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
𝒩𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒶👸: She is a soft fmc described with long magical red hair just trying to find her mom. I had mixed feelings about her because she came across as naive and too trusting and there were times where she felt younger than her actual age but at the same time i understand why she acts that way because she had been isolated in a tower for so long. So i liked that she saw the good in everyone but i also wish she would just listen sometimes because of the situations she got herself into 😭. I did sympathize with her on this part because she felt like everyone was just using her, i feel that she is worth more than just her magical hair. 🥹

𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒸𝓀🪄: I dont have a lot to say but i enjoyed his character because he was kind and helpful in Netta’s journey.

𝐵𝒶𝓁𝒹𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓀🐦‍⬛: My fav character he was always there and helpful and a good friend to Netta. 🥹

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

⋆˚₊ 𖤓☽˚.⋆ 𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 🦴✨
❝ 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. ❞
❝ 𝘯𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯. ❞
❝ 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘛𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭. ❞

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

⋆˚₊ 𖤓☽˚.⋆ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I thought it would be a Rapunzel retelling but the only similar aspects are the long magical hair and the tower and how the mother isolated her. Although I really liked the magic system in A Tangled Of Magic because in this world, magic requires sacrifice. I really liked and found it unique of the use of needles and embroidery in this book and the politics. I loved the world building and the atmosphere the author used in this book because i could imagine it. However I didn’t really connect with the romance subplot and I had mixed feelings about some of the characters. Overall I would recommend this book to those who like fantasy! ✨👸💜🐦‍⬛🏰

Love, Avrielle 💌






⋆˚₊ 𖤓☽˚.⋆ 𝐏𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Okay I know my cr is starting to get a BIT chaotic esp w exams coming up, YAYAYA I GOT APPROVED TO READ THE ARC and im so excited to read this because my favourite Disney princess is Rapunzel from Tangled and I lovelove dark fairytale fantasies.
💜👸🏼🏰🍳🦎☀

[Hannah Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this author’s previous work, A Harvest of Hearts and gave it 3 stars. I enjoyed this one much more and can tell the author has really grown as a writer. There is a lot going on in this book. I wouldn’t call this a Rapunzel retelling. Maybe Rapunzel inspired? It has the key elements (the hair and the tower). But this book also feels completely original. The magic system is intricate and intriguing. There are different affinities and ways that mages wield magic. It is one of the stand out elements of the story. One of my other favorite elements was our lovely Raven companion. He is fiercely loyal and at times quite funny. I really liked that the main character’s hair was almost sentient. It often behaved like a cat. There’s a lot of emphasis on books in the story, specifically the making of books. I really enjoyed reading about the spell book making process. (Even though a lot of them were grotesque) The author created a magical twist on the art of book binding. I could’ve read a whole book just about scholarship and making spell books. Our main character definitely has some form of anxiety and I really appreciated how the author wrote her character. I loved that we actually saw the main character’s coping mechanisms and how she dealt with her anxiety. Sewing and embroidery are what kept her grounded throughout the story. As someone who reaches for her crochet hook at any sign of distress I found this incredibly relatable. There’s a complicated mother daughter relationship in the story that was heartbreaking, but very important to our main character’s growth. Netta is constantly put into difficult situations. I wanted something so badly to go right for her but at every turn another obstacle was right around the corner. I was honestly stressed for her! I felt as unsafe and unstable as she was. There is the slightest hint of romance that I wish was either omitted or we had more of. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a series or not. I personally don’t think it needs to be, but I would’ve liked an epilogue. Just to tie up things a little neater. I felt like a lot of the comp. titles were not all the accurate. This is being compared to Disney’s Tangled which I fear will disappoint a lot of people. Other than magical hair I don’t see any comparisons to it. It’s also being compared to Six of Crows and Uprooted which I personally don’t see. There are a lot of great messages one can take away from the book. My favorite being: it’s okay to be soft. Just because you’re soft doesn’t mean you aren’t strong.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!*

[anjaRUok]

dnf'ed at 50%

there's gotta be some other term of endearment than "my dear", surely? and it would have been nice for a 20 year old protagonist to have at least the tiniest amount of common sense, surely? on top of that, there must exist some other form of magical skill not based on shadows, surely?

i really tried liking this because the synposis sounded like something i would very much enjoy. the story started rather promising, the premise was good, the magic system was not too elaborate but not too simple either with a solid conflict/question built on top and the rapunzel retelling could've been very exciting.
unfortunately, none of these factors were developed in a way i might have found satisfying. the story progression slowed dramatically after the first third of the book, nessa acts like a 14 year old at best (for real though, this is the third or fourth book i've read this year where a YA fmc acts like a stupid child. why? why ist this the route new fantasy books seem to be taking more and more often? what kind of representation and role model is that for young women?) and why does there have to be a romance subplot forced into every story nowadays?
story telling/world building wise this also didn't deliver for me since i'm not a fan of spelling everything out rather than showing the world to the reader in a more organic way.
oh, and if you couldn't tell from the first paragraph of this review, the writing style was highly redundant which annoyed me so much i decided to dnf because for all that maybe might have gotten more interesting in the second half the reading flow was hindered by the frequent repetition of the same phrases over and over and over again.

all in all, this read like a first draft for something that might have been good with more time and care to craft the characters and story.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Erewhon Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rhiannon Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

I feel so bad when I apply for an ARC and get selected, only to dislike the book I received. I want nothing more than to be able to support someone's hard work and dedication, and I feel so honored to be chosen for the opportunity to read books before the general public. That being said, I have had several just total misses lately in my ARC reads, this being one of them I honestly wish I could be a beta reader for some of these, because the potential is there, they just need better execution.

This book was described as a Rapunzel retelling meets Six of Crows. So, obviously, I wanted to read that! However, I was utterly bored for 80% of the book. The plotline served very little purpose. Struggles were resolved quickly throughout and just made way for the next quickly resolved issue. There were numerous events that if you deleted them entirely from the story, would have zero impact on the plot.

The romance was meh at best and the MMC was honestly just cringe. I like that the story wasn't about a romantic relationship but I would have preferred a friendship to that. The villains were boring and until the end with the exchange between Netta and her mother, I just really didn't feel strongly about anything that happened. Baldbeak was the best part, but even as an animal sidekick, he fell flat.

This book was not for me, but I appreciate the story the author was portraying.

[Bazia · Rating 3 out of 5]

this story feels sweet and dreamy, very YA in tone. it’s not a negative thing, just something to be aware of😉
it starts strong, but then slows down with a lot of background and world-building. for me, there were too many long descriptions and not enough plot movement at all

i was much more interested in the mother’s past than in the daughter’s journey. FMC felt very young to me, which made it harder to connect. I’ll give her 15 years max, instead of 20 and in this case her behaviour would look reasonable in my eyes
i also wasn’t a big fan of convenient plot helpers appearing out of nowhere

this book just wasn’t fully for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. i actually think author has strong potential to create something truly unordinary in the future. overall, it has heart and atmosphere, but i just needed a bit more action and mature FMC

i received ARC from kensington publishing and netgalley, thank you for the opportunity💘

[Sid · Rating 3 out of 5]

{2.5}

Very grateful to have been approved for this ARC on NetGalley because the premise genuinely sounded so interesting and right up my street. I went in really excited… and I’m a bit sad to say it just wasn’t my favourite. A big chunk of the book focuses on world building rather than plot, and while you can tell a lot of thought went into it, it did make things feel like they were dragging at times. The politics and the tension between the monarchy and the temple were genuinely interesting, though, and probably the strongest part of the book for me.

It did start to pick up around the 3/4 mark and I thought we were finally getting somewhere, but then somehow it lost momentum again towards the end and I was mostly just pushing through to finish it. The pacing just felt a bit uneven overall, which made it harder to stay fully invested in what was happening.

The protagonist unfortunately really grated on me. I think she was meant to come across as fiercely independent, but instead she felt stubborn to the point of repeatedly making terrible decisions… only to end up needing help anyway. The romance subplot also felt very underdeveloped since the characters barely interacted for most of the book, so it just didn’t feel believable that feelings would suddenly appear. There’s definitely potential here and it’s far from the worst thing I’ve read, but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Still very grateful to have had the opportunity to read it!

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, Kensington books, Erewhon books and NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 58%

I was really looking forward to reading this book but the FMC is extremely frustrating and irrational to the point of getting herself killed. I do not understand why she did not allow Mieka and Patrick to rescue her from her abusive aunt, who is selling her off to an even more abusive man. Patrick and Mieka have shown her nothing but kindness in so many ways yet she listens to her aunt who is physically hurting her, keeping out baldbeak, won’t provide stitching supplies (Mieka brought her some though) and is selling Netta to a man that has also physically abused her. Not to mention that the man, ban Morin is her aunt’s boyfriend. Netta doesn’t even bother asking for Patrick’s side and when he does, she still rather stay in her current horrific situation. Also, the evil ban Morin placed a ring on her that literally sinks its teeth in her. I can’t stand FMC characters written like this. Use some logic!! Common sense!! Stay in an abusive situation that will just get worse or go with the people that have shown nothing but kindness? Hmmmm such a hard decision….not!! Sheesh.

[Evie Oliva · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fortune or fate that I saw an announcement and leapt at the chance to be a part of the ARC team for this book. I loved A Harvest of Hearts and I knew that I NEEDED to have a chance, however small, to read this book. When I saw my name on the list, my heart jumped in my chest and I was so grateful to be a part of the team. I read this book in a matter of days and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. From the plot, to the characters to the world itself, everything is so unique and enthralling, I anticipate this being a big hit for, well, EVERY reader. It's just that good.

A Tangled Magic follows Netta, a young woman who has grown up in isolation with her mother in a tower. Her mother has spent the entirety of Netta's life working on a book that contains her research into magic and her creation of a powerful spell. Unable to read the books around her, Netta has her hair, which contains magic and almost a mind of its own, and her telepathic raven, Baldbeak to keep her company. Netta works on making the inks and quills for her mother and anything else she needs while her mother works on her masterpiece book. Also, when Netta has the time, she enjoys making intricate embroidery, using her needle and threads to work through emotions by putting them to fabric. One day, Netta wakes up to find that the tower has been attacked and her mother and the spellbook are gone. Determined to find her mother, Netta ventures into the kingdom outside the tower, which is coming close to war. Different factions are trying to gain power and for reasons unknown to Netta, they want her and the power she has in her hair. In order to find out what happened to the only family she has, Netta needs to discover the truth about her magic and how to wield it along with her place in the kingdom.

I'll start with the writing. Everything is concise, with reveals given at opportune times, making it easy to follow along with the story and Netta on her quest. The ease of the story allows it to be accessible and yet complex enough to be intriguing with the different motivations that are driving the country to be close to a civil war. Eames has talent and it shows with the way the story unfolds, every moment earned and every decision made with just enough trepidation that the risk of making a wrong choice or right one keeps the reader guessing from one moment to the next. Nothing is unnecessary, everything has a part to play, and all questions are answered that need to be answered by the end of the story. There is also enough left for the reader to want to follow Netta into another installment, which hopefully is in the future for this book. I want to know more about EVERYTHING and I hope it is not too long of a wait to see what comes next for this world and the people in it. I also enjoyed the insertion of the various embroidery stitches that Netta uses, which were placed as explanations at the beginning of every chapter. Each example provided an insight into the coming chapter that made me appreciate the research that Eames put into this aspect of the story. It made the story that much more immersive, allowing the readers a chance to understand the significance of the embroidery and how it ties in with the story.

Next is the worldbuilding. I hope there is a map in the future for this book because I am desperate to chart Netta's path through the kingdom of Virelith to the various places she went while searching for her missing mother. The world of this book is unique, especially the information given about the magic system. There are different forms of magic, some people have more than one type of magic, and some even have only a small talent, called an affinity. All of the magic is kept under strict control, with most who can wield it being taught in Temple schools so that they can become a part of their order. It turns out that a plague, started by a mage who used bone magic outside of its purpose, swept through the kingdom, killing many people and forcing the kingdom to burn their dead from then on as a precaution. It also forced magic to be contained into books, so that only those who were worthy would be able to learn it and all other magic was forbidden. Now different factions have gained power but they want more in the current timeline and they will do whatever they can to gain it.

The Temple has gained power through their story of being the only ones who were able to abolish the plague and eradicate bone magic, all for the sake of keeping the kingdom safe. There is the monarchy, which is in peril because the king appears to be ill. There is the nobility and mages, where magic is kept in families usually through marriage, in order to gain the power for themselves and keep it away from common folk. There is also the Followers, a nomadic group of people who walk through the kingdom and are allowed safe passage by the Temple. All of these people have a stake in the story and their interest in Netta is a driving force in keeping Netta on the move, forcing her to deal with the turmoil in the kingdom while trying to find her mother. It's all so intricate and I hope any future installments will delve more into the history of the kingdom, possibly even giving us the complete story of the plague and who started it. I would be first in line to read any of that background story.

Netta, my dear sweet Netta, I wanted to take her with me and have her join a sewing circle so she could embroider to her hearts's content. I thought she was brave and intelligent, proving that she had the strength to leave the safe confines of her tower and venture out into a world she'd only heard about from her mother. Her instincts were spot on and her tenacity was inspiring. I'm so grateful she had her magic hair because I would have been a ball of nerves at every new trial that came Netta's way. Not because Netta was unable to take care of herself but because the worst of the characters in this world were determined to make things difficult for her. It all served to help Netta become more than she could have ever thought with the way she was raised and I loved the way she grew and learned from the people she met and I will follow her and Baldbeak wherever they go next. As for Baldbeak, his loyalty was beautiful to behold, his choosing Netta over and over again made him the animal companion book characters could only dream about having for themselves. If anyone were to be lucky enough to find an animal companion with a devotion like Baldbeak, they would very blessed. I could not get enough of these two together. Their story showed the true depth of emotion that can join two souls together, and Netta and Baldbeak are a pair meant for greater adventures, side by side forever.

As for the rest of the cast, each is important in their own way. Patrick, a traveling magician, was interesting and yet suspicious enough to keep Netta on her toes trying to determine what his motivations were. Patrick in turn led Netta to the Followers, who offered Netta safe passage into the city where she was told by Patrick to find Mieka, an associate of his who offers her a place to stay her first night in the city. There is also the Book Man, known only as the Book Man for now, who was a former associate of Netta's mother, and who also offers his assistance in helping Netta in her search while also offering her shelter. Every one of these people were individuals that Netta chose to accept into her life, most of them for the better, helping her learn more about the person she was and who she could become. After twenty years locked up in a tower with only her mother as her only other human company, Netta is able to step up and make a mark on these people's lives, changing them just as much as she changed herself. I hope to learn more about each of them in future books.

As for the plot, this book is just as much if not more a story of self-discovery as it is a book about a young woman searching for her mother. On this journey, Netta is forced to come to terms with the magic she has and where it came from and how it ties in to the strife currently going on in the kingdom. The discoveries she made were exciting and the decisions she made as a result were enough to make Netta one of my new favorite leads in the book world. It takes talent as a writer to get a reader to the end of the book only to look back and see just how much more intricate the story is about a young woman coming in to herself as a powerful mage in her own right. She just needed the space to grow and to prove that she could more than just an assistant to her mother's great work. The fact that Netta was able to come to terms with just what kind of relationship she truly had with her mother and how it had affected so many parts of herself just proves that Eames has talent galore and is an author to follow. I can't wait to see what Eames comes up with next. It is sure to be a sight to behold.

In the end, I can truly say that I was honored to have the chance to read this book. Everything worked for me and I can't wait for my copy to arrive so it can join my beautiful copy of A Harvest of Hearts and force me to make room for what I'm sure will be many more Eames books to come. That's when I know a book is truly a new favorite, when I have to leave space around it on my shelves to accommodate future works. Only the best books make me rearrange my library.



Rating on my Scale: 10 Magnificent Stars! I hope I was able to clearly convey just how much I loved this book. I was trying to be as clear and concise as possible without being too emotional. But now that that is done, let me be just a little more direct: READ THIS BOOK! YOU'LL LOVE IT!

Okay, now I'm done. Have a wonderful, magical day.


My thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and Andrea Eames for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

[Alexandra Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

****Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for an advanced eArc in exchange for my honest opinion****

Traumatized from the sheer amount of times I read "my dear".

My first question is where is the lgbtq label for this book? There is an awful lot of mentions that would most definitely warrant a label.

Some examples:

"We don't use sir or ma'am among our ranks, nor any signifiers of that kind" at 12%

One who appeared to be a young woman about my age (although of course the Followers used no signifiers of gender, so I had to think of her as they) 13%

At least the voice sounded like a he... 18%

He for I could tell that the owner of a laugh was a he..

Look if it's done right and I mean mentioned once and NEVER brought up again I literally don't care. But when it is constantly brought up again and again and again I am so over it. It is brought up so often in this book that I am no longer think I am in Virelith I know I am just back in today's bullshit modern times. Which when I pick up a fantasy book that means I am trying to escape today's world, seems counterintuitive to me.

Nette herself is probably one of the most pathetic FMC's I have ever had the misfortune of reading. Yes, while I know she has spent 20 years of her life basically locked away in a tower with only mother and Baldbeak for company, there has to be some sort of personality.. RIGHT?! If in Disney's Rapunzel movie and say the same parameters apply except I am fairly certain she is younger than Nette, how does Disney's Rapunzel have LIFE IN HER. She is a spite fire, she is rebellious, she has kindness, she laughs and jokes etc. How come Nette here has nothing? She plods along the plot, gets saved at 90% of the book by others and somehow is the final boss of all Special Snowflake's? I am just not a fan of FMC's that don't have to work for their "powers and or magic" it seems like a cop out to me. She had so many "I just felt and I just knew" moments that I am shocked my eyes are not in permanently rolled to the back of my head. She makes incredibly questionable decisions and when is she crying about "how could I get not know that was going to happen" moments I was disgusted. But then on the flip side she CONSTANTLY questions those who have proven themselves to her that they are allies. Like wtf...

Magic in general in this book is not clear whatsoever. In the beginning magic was for all.. but only Bone Magic and "affinities" are explained more in depth. Is it elemental magic? Is Bone Magic the only big magic in this world? I needed more descriptions about it because after finishing the book I am still not sure.

The outline of Virelith is also unclear to me. From the descriptions I get it sounds like a forested land... but that's all I get.. ANDREA what else is in this vague forested land? Mountains, rivers and lakes? Or is it hills and flower filled valley's, are their farms? Towns? You mention a sea once... are there other countries on the other side of the ocean, are trade routes established? Religion is a big one for me.. when you say the Temple I immediately think of ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Romans etc. But your county sounds more modern, I almost would have thought using The Church would have made more sense to me.

Patrick, Patrick was a breath of fresh air honestly. He isn't 7 foot tall, skin like umber and green gemstone or blue ice chip eyes. He has ulterior motives, he can be selfish but he can be kind and thinks about the entire kingdom instead of the woman. I can understand how the vast majority of booktok audience would loathe him, but instead I find him refreshingly realistic.

What I cannot get behind is the forced romance between Nette and Patrick. He was a foster brother to her mother and sister and yeah they didn't see each other much but this just rubs me the wrong way, there is no way that could have been introduced in a way where I didn't physcially say UGH. Make him some oddball rich lord and move on already.

1 Star for the Bone Bird, because without her they literally would have died. 1 Star for ending my misery at 492 pages.. At least it stopped before 500. Thank the lord.

[rebeccareads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up A Tangled Magic because I'm a huge Kingfisher fan and general enjoyer of Rapunzel stories. I found it enjoyable enough to finish - which is genuinely saying something because I will DNF anything, anywhere, anytime - but I had quite a few issues with it and wouldn't read any more from this world or characters even if it weren't standalone.

The writing is solid enough, definitely more competent than the current pop romantasy standard, but it does feel very YA, and suffers from too much telling, wildly overdone foreshadowing, and some cartoonish choices. FMC Netta falls in the same vein; I understand that she's been locked away for most of her 20 years, but she reads more like 13-15. Maybe that's really what would happen to the brain of someone in her situation, but I had two issues with this. The first is that the book treats naïveté and stupidity a bit too interchangeably for my liking. The second is that while a mentally-thirteen-year old would be fine if this were a YA book, it strains credulity with an adult audience. It also makes the romance pretty creepy. Someone locked away their whole life with exposure to a single other human is seriously mentally, emotionally, and physically vulnerable, and should not be running around kissing MMC Patrick, who is an adult man and a literal peer to her mother and sister. She and many other characters make repeated references to her childlike innocence while all this is going on. Ew! Making it even worse, there are several times when Patrick is described as her mother's "foster brother." Sure, it was only a few years or whatever, but that would make him her foster uncle. I just do not understand why that part was even needed - it's repeatedly asserted that there was leftover tension from those years, but it never materializes into anything, so the extra creep factor is pretty inexplicable to me.

Some parts of the romance are refreshing - like how it is just a teeny subplot (a big relief in this case), and how he's repeatedly described as short, and not that attractive. Cool! That's different, lovely, and needed. But he's still kinda her uncle, and she's still definitely mentally younger than 20. There are what feels like clumsy attempts to defray this - assuring us he looks younger when he sleeps, or a stilted conversation highlighting how their age difference isn't all that big - but to me it was a bit of a Streisand effect on-page, and ended up being even more off-putting.

I enjoyed the action scenes the most, and wish there were more of them. The overpowered-secret-chosen-one thing is so beyond tired, but the magic itself here is at least a bit fresh. We've got animal magic, embroidery magic, memorizing magic, spell-rewriting magic, hair magic, healing magic, hair magic, bone magic, and somewhat separately, necromancy. If it sounds like way too much, that's because it is, but it's still all decently interesting. I do wish the hair magic had actually gone somewhere, though - the Rapunzel tie-in doesn't do much beyond the mildly-magical hair that's never explained and some vague Mother Gothel vibes.

This review got a little rantier than I expected, even as I tried to stay out of the weeds. Again, I finished it, so I wouldn't say I disliked this book. The issues above feel more like weird authorial choices, and less like writerly incompetence. Those choices probably wouldn't bother me if I’d gone into this as a brain-off read, but I went in with that Kingfisher comp top of mind. (Yes, I complain about bad comps a lot! But this one is so very wide of the mark that it's doing everyone a disservice!!!) It's just that there's enough to like about the premise and execution of A Tangled Magic that the weird choices are more frustrating than they'd be otherwise.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Rallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute triumph! This book is for all the strange kids who wanted more than a fairytale, something with teeth, and nails.

Eames has created such a lush world. From cultural elements (I love the Followers and desperately want to join them, like, please?) to politics and religion, to history, Eames put so much work into building something believable and captivating.

Netta is a charming and genuine heroine and it's easy to imagine people jumping in to help her (or finding new motivations to do so) - and luckily she has Baldbeak, who is best bird and I would do anything for him! For someone basically shoved out the nest with no time to prepare and only the barest idea of a strategy she never comes across as stupid (no matter what she might tell herself). My feelings about Patrick and his Puss in Boots flavored insouciance cannot be described without spoilers, so we'll just go with "wow, what an incredibly written and complex character!" (which is true). Also, I'm moving in with the Book Man.

Eames' writing style has an effortless quality to it that draws you in and holds your nose to the page. As a lover of A Harvest of Hearts one of the first things I noticed that really sucked me in is that her heroines have both had their own entirely unique voice. She has a gift for dialogue and for description, quippy moments between Netta & Patrick and Netta & Baldbeak had me cackling and as somebody with mild aphantasia there were descriptions that were so evocative I could truly feel the scene. I also love how she wrote Baldbeak's dialogue and behavior, it felt so natural for a raven ("for why the blood?" sounds like a curious corvid). One thing I love is how deftly Eames uses pacing as a storytelling device; Netta only ever barely has her own footing and a relentless pace keeps the reader in the same position. Our heroine is in a state of constant precarity and that mood is directly reflected in the text. Eames doesn't rely on cheap GOTCHA moments to sweep the world out from under Netta's feet; events are clearly foreshadowed in the same way people watching a horror movie know not to go into the basement. We have the shape of each misfortune before it occurs but that doesn't make them any less dire. And where we don't? They hit even harder.

I ADORE her treatment of necromancy as more than "ooky spooky/dark and scary/violent and evil (or 'morally grey')" but magic dealing in entropy and the body; breaking out of the western lens to find something that feels sacred, powerful, and awe-some which isn't explored enough despite the current popularity of necromancy in fantasy. Netta's power being tied to the "silly" and "pointless" art she does because she loves it - embroidery - speaks volumes to the way Eames encourages the reader to consider power dynamics, access, and meaning. Art is never pointless but we live in a society that is constantly defunding the arts or treating them as lesser and unimportant when without art, we couldn't survive - and the gendered aspect of embroidery and the importance of "women's work" as something that heteropatriarchal society under capitalism struggles to manage and contain also comes into stark relief. Fiber arts have been employed in resistance movements for centuries, and Netta's refusal to give in and be what is expected or desired of her feels reflective of that.

I am so grateful to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Erewhon Books, and Andrea Eames for giving me access to this ARC, I cannot wait for more Persinette and Baldbeak!

TW Animal Welfare: Baldbeak dies but is resurrected.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

*1.5 stars*

The blurb makes this book out to be significantly more interesting than it is. All characters are one dimensional, the romance is bland, silted, and quite uncomfortable, the fantasy world doesn’t feel woven into the narrative, and there is SO SO much repetitiveness in prose, turns of phrases, and dialogue. The only reason I didn’t rate this one star is the magic system had the potential for depth.

Netta, canonically 20 years old, reads at most 14. Naive and bumbling, sure, due to her secluded upbringing, but arranging a romance between a girl who is mentally a teenager and a man nearing 30 is creepy. I had to skip the entire chapter where he dyed her hair because the intimate descriptions were too uncomfortable. In terms of plot, she’s largely reactive and doesn’t drive the story. There are plot conveniences at every turn, where she just so happens to stumble upon the only person who can help her. All the side characters exist in service of her—they do not feel like real people. Much of the plot is also contingent on Netta going “I don’t know why, but my gut is telling me to do this” or “for some reason” or “well not like I have other options.”

I found the Mother’s past to be much more intriguing. How she ended on a powerthirsty path. The one chapter on the mother’s childhood made me curious, and then it was only shallowly revisited then. I wish we got to properly know her motivations. What did she want power for? Did she want to prove something to her father? The altercation between her and Netta was not satisfactory.

The world, in general, doesn’t feel real. Outside of plot-relevant stories and uses, magic isn’t integrated in the land. The world could very much simply be a historical period on Earth, save for convenient uses of magic here and there, instead of high fantasy. Characters never interact with the world in a magical way, thus I found myself skimming over description paragraphs where I normally relish them in fantasy novels.

My biggest gripe is that the prose style incessantly repeats itself. Everything has to be concluded, summarized, then restated again. There’s significant “telling” in exposition dumps and dialogue. This does not read like an Adult category novel. For example, there is a scene where a character overhears others’ conversation, with the conversation ending with, “well, being loyal to XYZ is better than watching the kingdom fall apart.” The immediate next sentence of which the narrative has to conclude: “it sounds like the kingdom is coming apart at the seams.” Everything is told and repeated to the reader. This bogs down the narrative greatly and causes me to skim many chapters.

Only in the last couple of chapters did my attention finally catch a little. The extent of bone magic, the mother’s plans, the spellbook, etc. Things finally seemed interesting, and then boom final boss defeated in 2 minutes. Netta’s character growth arc also seemed promising, if we’d gotten to know the mother or Netta’s emotional interiority better.

Overall, this book fell short of my personal expectations and might’ve benefitted from more revision rounds in tightening prose and structure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Lysandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

5/5

This was incredibly fun! I enjoyed “A Tangled Magic” from the very first page, the prologue being extremely addictive. The story is truly a blend of “Rapunzel” and “Six of Crows” with our twenty year old heroine, Netta, having lived all her life in a Tower with her Mother.

I will start by noting that Netta’s character is extremely well executed — she is a young woman who has spent all her life alone, away from society, her only other companion being her Mother. The first friend she makes is her familiar, Baldbeak, a fiercely loyal and sometimes mischievous raven, and her eternal companion is her Hair, a form of quintessential magic connected to our heroine, who is both extremely rebellious and protective of our heroine. Upon escaping from the Tower, Netta’s horizon suddenly becomes vast — she meets other people for the first time, she finds out others don’t have the same opinions as Mother, and she learns the hard truth of having to always doubt her trust in others. As our heroine grows, so does her perception of Magic and Magic itself becomes a beautiful, protective, nurturing element of our heroine’s story. The lore and the heroine are so beautifully entwined, and it becomes more so as the story progresses.

There are several characters Netta meets on her journey, some of whom become her friends, her found family, her enemies, and well… naturally something even more. The love interest is mostly shrouded in mystery for the vast majority of the novel, that being his appeal, but it’s also his strength. Just like Netta, his own being is entwined with Magic itself, that his Magic is a reflection of his past struggles. It is a great execution. For the “Six of Crows” reference mentioned before, our romantic hero is quite reminiscent of Kaz Brekker, but that is all I shall say for I do not want to spoil.

The plot follows Netta’s journey, as I alluded to before, in search of Mother and her stolen spellbook. It’s quite direct truthfully speaking, but the twists and turns of it all, the entertainment, is found in Netta’s own reactions to the external world she’s placed into for the first time in her life. Her experience is bittersweet, and she truthfully does her best considering herself.

The prose is rather lovely; it’s blended between Netta’s own perspective and the more objective storytelling of previous events, and the author’s talent shines through. The exposition/world building is well executed and paced neatly throughout the entirety of the novel, which offers the somewhat direct storyline even more appeal.

Despite this novel having an adult character as a heroine, I would easily place this in the category of middle grade fantasy — and I mean it as a praise. In the end, Netta has no experience outside the Tower and her evolution is the spotlight of the novel.

Lastly, a special shout out to Baldbeak and him being a good boy indoors.

[Faith Lavezoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating: 3.5

Features: animal companion, body/sacrificial based magic, a controlling fantasy religion, rewritten history

Themes: isolation, agency, uncovering the secrets of a rewritten history.

A Tangled Magic is inspired by the fairytale of Rapunzel, but with a darker twist. The main charachter, Netta, was raised in a tower, isolated from the world for 20 years with her mother as her only company. The book starts suddenly, in the middle of an attack on the tower, and Netta has no memory of the events leading up to the attack. Her magical hair saves her from one attacker while the other one flees with her mother's magical book. With both her mother and the book missing, Netta leaves her tower for the first time to find them both. Because Netta's mission was really vague and she didn't really have much to work with, the first half of the book felt aimless. At the same time, the plot gets really garbled towards the end as Netta's story continues.

Netta as a character is stubborn and immature, which can be frustrating at times, but it makes sense that she acts like a younger teenager when she's 20 because of how isolated she was. For the first half of the book, she seems to instantly trust people and then instantly have a close relationship with them even after only knowing them for a day. Then, she has a shift where all of a sudden she doesn't trust any of her friends and started being mean to them because she felt betrayed by them. Her trusting nature is justified by her naivety, but it felt really off for her to have such emotional bonds with the first few people she met. I liked to get to explore the world through Netta's point of view because she was learning that her mother did not give her a full picture of what the world was really like.

The world seemed like a typical fantasy setting, but there were a few unique elements that set it apart from other fantasy worlds. The magic itself was a little bit difficult for me to grasp, but was very interesting. The magic in this world is powered by sacrifice and requires a spell book (according to the Temple, the religion of this world). Mages sacrifice either their nails, hair, or teeth in order to cast spells. There is a forbidden form of magic in which mages sacrificed their own bones, that is blamed for the Plague, which pretty much was a fantasy zombie apocalypse. This type of magic is controlled by the temple and deemed acceptable, but there are also "affinities," which are small powers that some people are born with.

The way this book was written made it feel like it should be categorized as young adult, and if the main character was 18 or younger, it still would have made sense. It bothered me at the beginning that it kept bringing something up, then saying "but we'll get to that later." Also the words "susurration" and "glim" were used so many times it was getting a bit annoying, so be prepared for that.

Overall, the story was an enjoyable fantasy adventure in a world with a unique magic system. There is a hint of romance, but it is not the main focus.

[TheRedBookBox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minor spoilers - With A Tangled Magic, Andrea Eames has created another fantasy masterpiece! Our FML, Netta, has been raised in isolation from everyone but her mother, a spellcaster who has spent the past 20 years working obsessively on a single spell. One day Mother and the spellbook are taken from their isolated tower home, and Netta has to leave to search for them. Her constant companion is Baldbeak, a raven that only she can speak with.

What I like most about Andrea’s writing is her careful selection and structuring of underlying themes. In this book one of the themes was freedom, and the way she discussed it through her characters was brilliant. As the story progressed Netta met a dozen characters, all of whom had their freedoms limited in a variety of ways; by religion, politics, social mores, etc. I especially liked how she used the religious group “The Followers” to illustrate what some folks are willing to give up in exchange for their freedoms. Even the magic itself has been limited by spellcasters who have regimented ways that it can exist in the world, which may have terrible consequences. Netta’s freedom is attacked in multiple ways, from the more overt attempts to imprison her or marry her off, to more subtle things like withholding information, spying on her, and her own mind preventing her from being able to read. Netta’s embroidery, which plays a large role throughout the book, is another way that people have restricted her freedom. It’s the only thing she can do in the tower that isn’t directly related to survival or her mother’s spellwork. The embroidery is something for herself; creating it is comforting and makes her world more beautiful. Her mother dislikes it because it’s not something useful, which leads to Netta herself dismissing the embroidery’s importance due to her mother’s disdain. The freedom in being able to do something that isn’t practical is so important to everyone’s life, but Netta’s been taught to be ashamed of it. Boy I hope I’m a better mother than Netta’s.

Overall it’s a great, thought provoking book with political intrigue, numerous secrets, and a talking bird. I was thrilled to get to read this book before its release date of July 28th, 2026, thanks to the ARC copy I received from Kensington Publishing and Erewhon Books!

[J Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!!!

This is a fairytale retelling done SO well!!!

Sentient hair?!
Telepathic raven familiar?!
Unique magic that’s a mystery even to the FMC?!

You had me at sentient hair!!!

I loved every minute of this book! It has enough of a Rapunzel element that it felt like stepping into a familiar world, but Eames did not rely on the classic fairytale to drive this story! She made it beautifully magical and unique! Bravo!👏


*This is a Dark Fairytale Retelling*
There are events throughout that discuss dark magic that involves pain and sometimes inflicting pain on others in order to use magic. The darkness increases the further into the book you get.
The ending includes events and descriptions that are moderately gruesome. It is not intense enough that it would fall under the Horror category, but I would not recommend to young teenagers or people who are sensitive to



Language-None to mild
Spice-None

*Dark Fairytale Retelling*
I would not recommend this for those under 15, due to the dark themes and a magic system that involves a level of brutality




Spoiler Free Quotes:

“This is a desperate escape attempt, Patrick, not an opportunity to flirt.”
“It can be two things.”
🤭


I had a glimpse of how magic was in everything and everyone, and our determination to categorize it—to separate it into disciplines and order it to march in inky lines on the page, to imprison it between covers, to limit it to a collection of syllables on a human tongue—had gone against its most essential nature.
💞

“When one is the smallest piece on the board, one learns quickly how to move unnoticed—or appear larger.”
♟️


I felt like a fool, trying to have a conversation with my own Hair about fashion, but it was worth trying. I selected amber ribbons from the tray and held them up above my head cautiously, as if holding out a piece of food to a wild animal. For a moment, the Hair stayed still, and I braced myself for a fight ... But then it reached up to tangle itself with the ribbons. It entwined itself with the shining fabric and braided half of itself into a circlet around my head, crown-like. The rest of fell in loose tendrils beneath. It took a matter of seconds.
🎀

[Keturah Sergeant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the magic system, the world building and the plot. The politics and action interwove throughout creating a dynamic and engaging story, of Rapunzel with a twist, a girl raised in a tower, sheltered and naive, her mother obsessed with research, the subject hidden from her, her only friend a raven. She is forced to venture out into the world after waking to intruders in her home, her mother and her life's work missing. She knows nothing of the world, of the politics and realties of life beyond her tower. She stumbles through increasingly intense situations, trusting increasing untrustworthy and concerning characters, betrayed repeatedly, used, manipulated, coveted, hurt and chased. Her naivety is a constant, she lacks common sense, discernment and general intelligence, which does get irritating at times, especially as she makes the same mistakes and choices, however, it does make sense with her upbringing... The ending is well-done, she makes her final stand, a major sacrifice, standing up for herself and against her mother, against other's expectations and the will of powerful forces behind her.

The magic system was incredible. I loved the different sacrificial elements, the different treatment of mages and 'affinities', the view of magic being bound with that of class and religion, the rebellious movement vying for magical freedom, the mythology of the plague and villainising of certain types of magic, and the constant theme of embroidery throughout. It was interesting, diverse and evolving throughout. I wish the MC had been more interested in, or even inclined to, researching her own magic or the magic of others, in asking others and learning beyond the limited myths her mother told her growing up. Her inability to read also prevented any independent research, so the information given to her is never guaranteed to be a true reflection of what is written down...

An intriguing, engaging and action-packed tale, with interesting politics and magic-system! The MC's naivety does grate but she develops through the story and her final stand is a brilliant end to the story.

[Chrysanthi Gatidou · Rating 5 out of 5]

𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆📖⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ Kindly provided by NetGalley 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆📖⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

There’s something about A Tangled Magic that felt like stepping into a hidden garden at dusk — a little wild, a little mysterious, and completely enchanting.

Andrea Eames writes magic the way I love to experience it: quiet, tangled up with emotion, and rooted deeply in character rather than spectacle. This isn’t flashy fantasy. It’s intimate. It’s layered. It’s the kind of story that slowly wraps around you before you even realize you’re fully caught in it.

What I loved most was how the magic feels intertwined with identity — messy, complicated, and sometimes inconvenient. It mirrors the characters’ inner struggles so beautifully. The emotional undercurrent running through this book surprised me in the best way. Beneath the magical elements, this is really a story about belonging, choices, and learning to live with the parts of yourself you don’t fully understand yet.

The atmosphere? Stunning. Slightly whimsical but with an edge. There’s a softness to the prose, but also tension simmering underneath. I found myself highlighting lines because they felt quietly profound — the kind that make you pause and reread.

And the relationships… I adored the dynamics. Nothing felt forced. Connections evolved naturally, with that subtle ache that makes you root for people even when they’re flawed. It had that gentle romantasy energy I’m always drawn to — more emotional depth than dramatic declarations.

If I’m being honest, it’s not a fast-paced, plot-twist-heavy fantasy. It unfolds deliberately. But that’s exactly why it worked for me. It gave the story space to breathe.

A Tangled Magic feels like:

wandering through ivy-covered walls

secrets whispered in candlelight

magic that’s as complicated as love

This one lingered with me after I turned the last page — and that’s always the sign of something special.

Perfect for readers who love atmospheric fantasy, emotional growth, and stories where the magic is tangled up in the heart. 🌙✨

[a. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an e-arc on NetGalley. Thank you to Andrea Eames and Kensington Publishing.

A Tangled Magic is a dark fantasy retelling of Rapunzel with a minor romantic subplot. This is a dark but intricate and meditative novel, with it's own moments of intensity to be sure, but I think the comps may lead someone to think this book is more action forward than it is. It leans more towards introspection than anything else. The narrative primarily concerns itself with the growth and development of our protagonist Netta, above all else, even if it does not completely succeed in it.

The plot is rather medium paced in my opinion, kicking off almost immediately, but settling into something a tad slower. I think the author's grip on the narrative itself is strong (especially in the beginning) but the interruptions of whole chapters dedicated to flashbacks and lore dumps felt rather jarring. The information was relevant to the story thankfully, but I found the way the author included them left something to be desired.

Furthermore, while I found the majority of the narrative to be strong, as the final 15% went on it began to unravel. The final confrontation was drawn out in some places and cut short in others. Our FMC Netta certainly does show growth over the course of the story, she did not show enough growth, nor was she proactive enough for me to find her decisions in the ending all that believable.

All the main characters were lovable and well realized, but I found the villains weren't as well written. At times they seemed almost cartoonishly malicious, to the point where I wondered how anyone was willing to tolerate them.

I will applaud Eames for not shying away from the world building for this novel, which works with the narrative so neatly, I don't think she could have written the novel without it. I really love retellings that can stand on their own shoulders and justify their existence in their own right.

A Tangled Magic comes out on July 28th, 2026.

[mrsandersonreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading A Harvest of Hearts, I was excited to read Andrea's next offering, A Tangled Magic, and lucky enough to be selected for the street team. Thankfully, ATM did not disappoint - I loved it! Somehow both dark and whimsical at the same time, with a talking raven and the tiniest hint of romance, this book was a delight.

Our FMC, Netta, has been isolated in an ancient tower with her magic obsessed mother for 20 years. She knows very little of the outside kingdom of Virelith, and all her knowledge is coloured by her mother's opinions. When the tower is attacked and her mother goes missing, she must leave the only place she has ever known to venture into the world to find her - and the mysterious spellbook she was working on for Netta's entire life. What follows is a lesson in trust, resilience and identity, with underlying themes of ownership, possession and obsession. I especially loved Baldbeak, Netta's raven companion, for his quips and a loyalty, as well as Netta's sentient hair which has delicious sass! The supporting characters are varied and intriguing, and we are never sure who to trust. Everyone has their own agenda, and most of their plans are not positive for Netta. She is often treated as a pawn in a wider power play, and seeing her rebel against this was inspiring.

The lore of the world Andrea has created is complex and fully realised, and sadly has reflections in our real world. Power is the key word here, and the lengths people will go to obtain power are terrifying. Magic is closely controlled, with religion used as it jailer. And as with our world today, not everyone wants to bow down to an unseen god. This means that Virelith is a place divided, and on the brink of civil war. The people she meets are on opposing sides of this conflict, and she must decide where she stands in this crumbling kingdom.

A dark retelling of a classic fairytale, this is book of self realisation, power plays, ownership and learning to trust yourself. Well worth reading!

[W.S. Luk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Click here to read my full review.

“As delicately as threading a needle, I took the remnants of their magic and stitched it into my own…”

Novelists like people who read. It’s Fiction-Writing 101 to create characters that readers empathise with, and a protagonist who likes books creates an obvious commonality with whoever’s reading a novel. In the olde-worlde settings of classic fantasy, this also yields interesting power dynamics, perhaps with a well-read protagonist who sees through blinkered customs, or one who finds magical secrets in a dusty library.

So it’s all the more intriguing that A TANGLED MAGIC features an illiterate heroine. Brought up in a tower by her magician mother, Netta Edevane grew up surrounded by books but was never taught to read. When the tower is attacked and her mother vanishes, she heads on a quest to unravel these mysteries, aided only by a telepathic raven and her magical hair.

Fantasy aficionados will recognise the broad strokes of its setting: scheming nobles, corrupt and vaguely-Catholic religion, streetwise Dickensian rogues. But Eames’ story is distinguished by a magic system fuelled by the sacrifice of teeth, fingernails, and human bones. She doesn’t over-do the gruesomeness, but when she does describe torn-out nails or veins growing “dark and fat as sated ticks”, this Cronenbergian sorcery is memorably strange and skin-crawling.

With few abilities beyond her stereotypically feminine talent for embroidering “frivolous decoration”, Netta is isolated in a setting where the historically-masculine skill of writing is paramount, used to constrain magic in spellbooks that “separate it into disciplines and order it to march in inky lines”. Eames emphasises how this upbringing puts her at a deliberate disadvantage, but also suggests that it offers unexpected forms of strength...

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[nana✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book! It definitely gave me Rapunzel vibes because of the importance of hair and the isolated heroine, but it's also its own unique story with a wonderfully strange world and mythology.

One of my favorite things was the magic system. I’ll admit that the specifics of the magic surrounding Netta's hair confused me at times, but the overall concept fascinated me. Magic always comes with a price, and that price varies (whether that's losing hair, teeth, or nails). I love magic that has an actual cost. Plus, there was also different magical affinities and necromancy which were both so interesting to read about!

I really liked the worldbuilding too! The Temple, the One-Eyed God, the nomadic Followers, and the plague that hangs over the story all felt vivid and compelling. There were so many fascinating ideas woven together, and I constantly wanted to learn more about the history, beliefs, and legends of this world.

The characters were another highlight. I really liked Netta and enjoyed following her journey as she slowly learned more about herself and the world around her. Baldbeak deserves his own mention, he was easily one of my favorites!

We also have a bit of romance that isn't the main focus of the story, but every scene had me invested. There were moments that had me kicking my feet, and other moments that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room in frustration (so exactly the way I like my romances).

It took me a little while to get fully invested, though. The book opens with a very intriguing event, but then pauses to provide background information and flashbacks. It's not info-dumpy by any means, and the information is important, but it did slow the pacing for me at the beginning. Once the story found its rhythm, though, I was hooked!

I'm not sure if this is a standalone or a series, and while I love standalones, I really hope there's more coming in this world with these characters. This can't be the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5 rounded up*
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"A Tangled Magic" is a Rapunzel retelling with a dark magical twist. The story follows Netta who has lived her entire life in her tower with her mother and things take a turn when the tower is attacked. Netta is forced to leave the comfort of her tower to find her missing mother and her mother's spellbook.

I'm not the hugest fan of Rapunzel-type stories. It feels too easy for the Rapunzel character to just be taken advantage of or groomed but I decided to take a chance on this because the retelling premise sounded pretty interesting. Admittedly, I do not think there is a version of this story where Netta is not a frustrating juvenile. She has lived her life isolated with only her mother as her source of social development so it makes sense that she's so childish and naive. Admitting that and understanding why she is written that way doesn't make her any less of a frustrating character. She is incredibly trusting and her emotions seem to always be so intense. Netta is part of why I struggled reading this. I just could not find myself caring about her.

Additionally, the story itself really meandered the first 50-60% of the book and even when it seemed to find its narrative footing, still struggled to make any real sense. Netta literally wanders during the first half with her only goals being "find mom" and "find mom's spellbook." Not super compelling.

All of that said, the magic system was really interesting and part of why I'm giving this a 2.5. I think the concept of physically sacrificing something of your body really cool but I am still on the fence about whether or not it was well done by Eames.

Overall, not a super amazing book but not terrible. I think this should definitely be marketed towards young adults rather than older regardless of Netta being 20, she is written as and acts like a young teenager. The writing was fine too, just overall not for me.

[Megan LeeAnn Sporleder · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a particular kind of fantasy novel that doesn’t just build a world — it slips a hand around your wrist and pulls you straight into the pulse of it. A Tangled Magic is exactly that kind of book. From the first chapter, it feels lush and alive, like stepping into a story that’s been waiting for you specifically. Eames blends folklore, danger, and tenderness in a way that feels both mythic and deeply human, and I found myself sinking into it almost immediately.

What struck me most was how intimate the magic feels. It isn’t just spells and spectacle; it’s woven into identity, memory, and the messy, complicated ways people love each other. The protagonist’s journey is equal parts emotional excavation and high‑stakes adventure, and I loved how the book never treats those as separate things. The magic system is gorgeous — intricate without ever feeling like homework — and the imagery is so vivid that I kept pausing just to take it in.

I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The emotional beats land hard. There’s a thread of longing running through the whole story, the kind that makes your chest tighten a little because you recognize it. The relationships are layered and believable, especially the ones shaped by grief, loyalty, and the fear of losing what little you have left. And the atmosphere? It’s enchanting in the literal sense: dark forests, shimmering spells, and a sense of danger that never overwhelms the beauty of the world.

This is one of those books that feels like it was crafted with real care — lyrical without being flowery, magical without losing its grounding in character. If you love fantasy that’s rich, emotional, and full of mythic energy, this one is absolutely worth your time. I closed the last page feeling both satisfied and a little haunted in the best way.

[SJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐⭐¼ A Tangled Magic by Andrea Eames

I ended up giving this 2.25 stars, because while the world had potential and the darker, body‑based magic system was genuinely interesting, the execution just didn’t work for me.

✨ What I liked
The magic system is dark, physical, and unsettling in a way I actually enjoyed. Magic that costs teeth, bones, hair, nails gives the world real stakes, and those moments were the strongest part of the book.  

😬 What didn’t work
The FMC was frustratingly immature. She read like she was about fourteen — constantly shocked when people lied to her, endlessly naïve, and predictable in her reactions. I understand she was sheltered, but it went beyond sheltered into geeze, really? territory.  

The romance was disappointing and lacked chemistry. It felt underdeveloped and didn’t add anything meaningful to the story.  

The ending was predictable, and not in a satisfying, foreshadowed way — more in a “I saw this coming a mile away” way.

🤨 A continuity issue that pulled me out
There’s a moment during the fight with her mother where Netta’s hands are described as being stuck inside the book, completely immobilized. But only a few lines later, she’s suddenly trying to jab her fingers into her mother’s eyes. The physical logic just doesn’t line up, and it broke the tension of the scene.  

🐌 Pacing + writing tics
Large portions of the book were slow, and the pacing dragged enough that I kept waiting for something — anything — to happen.

And the overuse of the word “glim” became impossible to ignore. Once I noticed it, it was everywhere, and it pulled me out of the story every time.  

📚 Final thoughts
There were pieces I genuinely liked, especially the darker magic, but the immature FMC, predictable plot, slow pacing, and continuity issues made this a miss for me overall. I could have skipped this as I was bored for 80% of it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the early copy of this book.

I love a good retelling. I was obsessed over Beauty and the Beast retellings for a long time, and this being a new take on Rapunzel was something I didn't see too often. It caught my attention.

In the end, I think this book was a mixed bag for me:

I liked the magic system and world that seemed to have dashes of Paris with the catacombs and New Orleans with the history of parade-style funeral processions. It was unique, but also possibly a little under-described. A fair amount in this book was told instead of shown, and I think it didn't give it enough space to really understand the many aspects of the magic or the culture on the page. But this wasn't terribly done, more of a note to make a good thing better.

I liked Netta - she had a good mix of naive and stubborn that made for fun plot twists. Though occasionally the stubborn might have been hammered a little too much (saying around 40 times that she didn't want to go with Patrick for example... I get it).

I really liked the Book Man too - and honestly could have done with more of him on the page. He had a connection to the plot and the history of Netta that would have been really interesting to explore more.

The Hair as a character in its own right was also really strange in a good way, honestly sometimes I was surprised more people didn't notice it, the amount of times it shifting and floating by itself was mentioned.

I struggled to stay drawn to this book, to read more, possibly because of the repetition in places and a stilted feel to the pacing. And some plot threads that never got tied up, or even continued as much as I think they warranted. But in the end I finished it happy I did so, and overall enjoyed the time I spent in this world, so not bad!

[southernalpscosycorner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I was really drawn in by the magic and overall concept of this one. It has such a dreamy, slightly dark fairy tale feel with clear Rapunzel inspiration, and I loved how unique some of the elements were. The living magical hair and bone magic felt fresh, but what stood out most was how personal the magic felt, like it was tied to identity, memory, and the body rather than just being a tool. I also loved the embroidery details woven throughout the story. That was such a soft, thoughtful touch and made the whole book feel even more intimate and intentional. Once the story found its footing, I did get pulled into the journey and the mystery of what actually happened, and I really liked how everything came together in the end. It felt satisfying and full circle in a way that worked for me.

That said, it didn’t fully land for me overall. The beginning was pretty confusing with a lot of info thrown in that didn’t feel super engaging, and then the pacing slowed down a lot with heavy descriptions and not much plot movement. Netta is very kind and soft, and such a people pleaser that it honestly hurt to watch at times, but she also felt much younger than her age which made some of her choices frustrating. I did really enjoy the interactions between characters though! Plot wise, there were a few convenient plot moments and some repetition in the writing that pulled me out of the story occasionally. I can definitely see the potential though, the atmosphere is there and it has a lot of heart, it just needed a bit more balance and development for me to fully love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, blending fantasy, intrigue and secrets.

Netta has only known her tower with her mother always working on a spellbook of “unspeakable power,” with her only companions being her long red hair “which moves of its own accord” and a telepathic raven, Baldbeak. When her tower is assaulted she awakes to a missing mother and lost memories. Determined to find her mother, Netta leaves her tower to find her mother and ventures out into the kingdom of Virelith where there is a longstanding political feud going on between the religious followers of the One-Eyed God and the high lords of Virelith and the dying king. Netta comes to realize she has magical abilities but she’s also in a world she doesn’t understand - it’s bloody and violent.

I’m not a great fan of fantasy world building but in this book, it holds its own and kept me interested. The political intrigue in this book is also relatable - shades of today - and page-turning. Netta also is so engaging, naive, making bad decisions at times, betrayed and constantly besieged, she still retains her agency. Since we see the story from her eyes, Netta is a perfect conduit for the storytelling. Her naïveté sees the political struggles for what it is - senseless and devoid of humanity. You cannot but not love Netta (and what a double negative it took to say that).

This is a lively and lovely retelling of the Rapunzel story and perfect for those who enjoy fairy tale reimaginings. Enjoyed the read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for granting me access to this ARC.

[CharlieJLZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because I love a fairytale retelling but this is so much more.


I won't spend ages writing the basis to this story as the description covers it well. However, I will share my view after finishing it.


This is brilliantly written and felt like an absolute adventure. It took you through the FMC journey to find her mother, meeting fascinating characters and places, visiting ballrooms, and catacombs. 

I laughed quite a few times during this too. 


To me this was one of the best books in a while for handling strength, power and determination, without relying on cliches. There was a moment in the book I couldn't understand why Netta didn't just take the obvious choice away from danger, but after I stood by her decision and took something from her wanting to make her own decisions and trust her gut and abilities. 


The things I connected well with:

-  The world building. I've read so many, yet absolutely loved this one and it was one of the most immersive I've read in a while

- Main characters strength and the message it gave out. I've taken a bit of her mindset with me and I love Netta's growth.

- I'm not into reading romance yet the love interest was handled really well as sometimes there are more important things than your own need to enter into a relationship. But I was so here for the love interest, tension and 2 characters relationship dynamics! 


I really hope there is a sequel, I'd have bought it straight away afterwards. 


Thank you to #netgalley #kensingtonpublishing and #AndreaEames for the chance to read this ARC.