Tangled Magic

by Debra Castaneda

More Monsters, Mysteries, and Mexican Food!

A dark and inexplicable force turns some of Chavez Ravine’s residents’ lives upside down. If Maddy Madrigal can’t find the source and put a stop to it, the neighborhoods will be changed forever.

The security chief knows the lull in entity activity won’t last. While defending her team against budget cuts, strange emergence holes appear in Phantom’s Pass. Maddy suspects something new—and dangerous—is slipping through undetected.

As residents begin to suffer debilitating losses, Maddy must navigate HOA politics, a dangerous romance, and magical fallout. With time running out for some of her closest friends and the Day of the Dead Festival fast approaching, Maddy must combine her magic and detective skills to unravel the mystery and put an end to a dangerous and powerful legacy.

Book five in the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries series delivers urban fantasy at its cursed pop stars, magical landscapes, and a heroine who won’t back down.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2025

About the author

Debra Castaneda is an award-winning author of urban fantasy and dark fiction based on the central coast of California.

Her works include Barely Magic, the first book in the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries series of urban fantasy novels; The Spore Queen, The Devil’s Shallows, The Root Witch, The Copper Man, Circus at Devil’s Landing, and A Dark and Rising Tide, which comprise the Dark Earth Rising series of standalone novels, and The Monsters of Chavez Ravine, an International Latino Book Awards gold medal winner.

Debra loves writing character-driven stories about people who experience scary or magical things, and how they react when confronted with the unexpected. She’s committed to representing Latinas and Latinos in her books.

For inspiration, she draws from her experience as a TV and radio journalist, and as a third-generation Mexican American

Debra now lives on the central coast of California with her husband. She enjoys rediscovering the Mexican dishes of her childhood and texting her two daughters about her latest binge-watch.

~Subscribe to her newsletter for the occasional giveaway and the latest news at www.debracastaneda.com;
~Stay in touch with her at: @castanedawrites on Facebook & @castanedawrites on Instagram .

Reviews

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read one of the books in this series I learn so much new information. I am obsessed with learning about Dios de Los Muertos and the author does an excellent job of sharing what the day means and how to honor those who have passed on. Nothing would be better for myself than to leave food and my dad visit me. He has been gone 31 years and it still hurts terribly for him to be gone. I love that in other cultures, the dead are honored. Maddy seems to be getting her brujeria skills under better control so that she can protect the citizens of Chez Ravine. the idea she came up with to deal with the gnomes was incredible. Of course her biggest issue was finding out how some of the people she knew had become cursed. At first, it was difficult trying to discover how they were cursed, then she had to use her skills to end the curse. I find Maddy the type of person that would be a great friend. She has an incredible personality, she cares for people and she looks at problems with an open mind. Her solutions do not cause further problems but help everyone understand the need for cooperation and compromise. After reading this book I always need a day to digest the information.

[Katja 🇧🇪 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Maddy Madrigal mysterie series, with this 5th book has become quite an addictive series! At the end of each previous book including this one, I am already looking forward to read the next one!

This series is funny, entertaining and makes you crave Mexican food even on a full stomach! Parts of the Mexican culture is woven beautifully into it, with a great mix of magic and mayhem! I series I seriously recommend!

Tangled Magic was a fun read, with quite the mystery and the cliffhanger at the end!!! I just love reading about Maddy and Sam’s adventures. This time a curse seems to be creating quite the disturbance and bizarre wholes in the ground are starting to pop up. Let’s say that a lot of unexpected challenges will need Maddy’s attention and magical skills. Luckily she can count on Sam’s Alfa leadership.
And something tells me, that we are in for a big surprise in book 6 guys!

I am grateful for having received an advanced reader’s copy from the author, and as always I am leaving here my honest review freely.

[Maggie Fornaciari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddy knows something's coming when she finds really large emergence holes... but she doesn't find any new entities. She's certainly puzzled and has her team keeping track. There's nothing that has shown up on the heat maps either. And where did the gnomes come from? All of a sudden they're pulling up plants and putting them in other people's gardens and not making any friends by doing so. They come up with a novel way of dealing with them and it even draws the public to see what's going on. They're also in the midst of getting ready for a Dia de Los Muertos festival with alters on display, lots of marigolds, and food, wonderful food. During all this, it comes to Maddy's attention that several of her friends seem to have lost their magic touch with their skills. Just what's going on? As with all the Maddy stories, your attention is grabbed from the first page and there's so much going on you can't bear to put your book down. If you've been reading this series, you're definitely going to want to add this to your collection. You won't be sorry. Trust me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tangled Magic is the fifth book in the supernatural Maddy Madrigal series. This latest offering finds Maddy in the middle of defending her security team from budget cuts while Chavez Ravine goes through a peaceful, creature-free period. But Maddy knows that won’t last forever, and unfortunately, she’s quickly proven right. Strange holes begin appearing all over the gated community, and her friends are suddenly struck by an inexplicable ailment that causes them to lose their talents in the areas that mean the most to them. Now, it’s up to Maddy to figure out what’s cursing her friends, all while dealing with the possibility of Entities 2.0.

This has been one of my favorite new series and the fifth installment brought new creatures and experiences for Maddy to contend with. It also introduces another very cool, and rather horrifying, mythical monster. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Maddy and the residents of Chavez Ravine in the next book!

[Jen Ramsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book five of the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries series, and another incredible story. The characters are so wonderfully fleshed out, that even characters that weren't my favourite in earlier novels are now showing all their fun idiosyncrasies that make them special and have changed my mind about them.
The story itself has a more gentle pace than the previous ones, and while the threat level is still there, its more muted. This doesn't detract in any way- it's nice to read a different kind of mystery for Maddy to solve, and is a lovely way to learn even more about the history and culture of the area.
I do have a bone to pick with Debra though. Naturally, as we reach the conclusion of the story, the ante skyrockets, and I cannot believe I have to wait until I find out what happens next! It's so mean to leave me on a cliffhanger like that 🤣 5 stars, and another request for a cookbook!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love reading a new book in the Maddy Madrigal series! Once you start with the first book, it's pretty hard to stop wanting more. I think one of the most interesting parts is watching how Mexican culture and traditions are brought to life and blended into the storyline. What we have here is a bit of mystery, a bit of romance, and a cliffhanger at the end. It's been interesting seeing the various entities come to life along with supernatural creatures and magic. Maddy has developed a long way as a character, I think, and Sam? Sam is always fabulous! Once you mix everything in a smelting pot with an HOA, a gated community, publicity, and entities, you just never know what is going to come next! I am eager to read the next in the series!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just finished this book and am so angry at the author for leaving us like this. LOL! I won’t say anything to spoil it, but I can’t believe what’s happening. Anyway, in this latest, all of Maddy’s friends seem to be losing their abilities one by one, and she’s on the case. In the meantime, she has to deal with the appearance of gnomes since her mom’s moved into the community. I loved this latest addition, and I really hate to see the end of this series; I just love all the characters so much. Oh, well, I’ll enjoy it until the end. Great installment to the series, and I want the next one very soon. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

[Alysha Yuhas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tangled Magic is book 5 in the Maddy Madrigal series by Debra and it is phenomenal, as always. This series is such a comfort to me. With each book I pick up, I just settle back into Chavez Ravine and the characters all feel like home. Book 5 brings more excitement, more action, more monsters AND more Magic! I love how completely original and different this story is and I just can't get enough!

Check out the Maddy Madrigal series or any of DebraCastaneda she is my #1 most favorite ever and all her work is magical! 🖤

[Kate | Date With A Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series gets better and better with every installment!! 🙌

FMC Maddy continues to grow and embrace her abilities and learns the importance of patience. That ending has me dying for the next book though!!! These books can be read as standalones but I highly recommend starting from the beginning!! Definitely worth it!! 👏

Thank you Debra Castaneda for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

[Rhonda Bobbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was so fun even though it had one the scariest entities yet in the series. With creatures that hover in the air and cursed objects this book will leave you needing more. And that's exactly what Debra did.... I'm needing book 6 now.
I love seeing Maddie grow into her magic and her heritage.

[Heidi S. Trauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good addition to the series. Still frustrating the main character still takes short cuts and doesn’t practice or use her magic unless she absolutely has too. It seems like it’s a reoccurring theme that the books will address. This is a good fun installment but it doesn’t really address much character growth. This ends in a cliffhanger but resolves the main mystery.

[monika hoppe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and cant get enough of Maddy and her ability to calmly, with humor tackle the bizarre!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tangled Magic is another fantastic addition to the Maddy Madrigal series! Maddy, her team, friends, and family help her kick some serious magical butt! I absolutely love this series!

[Leslie Earnest · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️
The 5th book in the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries book series. Maddy is even more powerful in this one, and the stakes are higher! New monsters, more magic, mystery and amazing sounding Mexican food! I really like the characters and the story. There were lots of connections between this one and her Chavez Ravine novels, which was really fun. I can't wait for the next book!