To the outside world, Sage Deverill has it all. In truth, her marriage is a gilded cage.
When Sage flees, she takes her young son to the only place that has ever felt like her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket, the beating heart of the racing world. Surrounded by ivy-clad walls, the kindness of her family and the thunder of hooves on the heath, Sage reconnects with the place, people and creatures she loves most.
Riding beneath the wide Suffolk skies, Sage encounters Rafe Dunbarton – an ambitious, intriguing trainer with a gentle soul. What begins as friendship soon becomes an irresistible pull between two people who never expected to find each other.
But just as Sage rediscovers her freedom, her past returns in a tangle of destruction and lies and she is forced to decide how much she is willing to risk for her future . . .
Okay… give me a beautiful countryside estate, horses thundering across the heath, a woman escaping a gilded cage and a gorgeous trainer with a gentle soul… and apparently I’m SOLD.
Tangled Webs by Callie Coles was such a lovely mix of romance, family, horses, secrets and second chances, and I absolutely flew through this one.
Sage Deverill looks like she has the perfect life from the outside.
Except appearances can be VERY deceiving.
Her marriage is basically a gilded cage, so Sage finally decides enough is enough and escapes with her young son, heading back to the place that has always felt like home and her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket, right in the middle of the racing world.
And honestly?
I wanted to pack my bags and go with her.
Give me ivy covered walls, wide Suffolk skies, horses, countryside rides and people who actually make you feel safe, and I’m ready to move in.
Being back at the estate gives Sage the chance to reconnect with the people, places and animals she loves, while slowly rediscovering who she is outside of her marriage.
And then she meets Rafe Dunbarton. An ambitious horse trainer.
Intriguing. Kind. Gentle.
Basically, Callie Coles said, “Here, have a nice man,” and I was like THANK YOU.
What starts as friendship slowly turns into something much deeper, and I really enjoyed watching Sage and Rafe’s relationship develop naturally.
There wasn’t an instant “OMG WE’RE SO IN LOVE” situation. Instead, it felt like two people finding comfort in each other when neither of them expected it.
And I really liked that.
Sage’s journey was definitely my favourite part of the story. Watching her regain her independence and confidence while figuring out what she actually wants from life made her easy to root for.
But, of course, because we can’t just let our girl be happy…
HER PAST COMES BACK.
And suddenly all that newfound peace is threatened by lies, destruction and people who clearly haven’t learned that sometimes you should just LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE.
I loved the atmosphere of this book. The racing world and countryside setting gave it such a warm, cosy feeling, while the darker elements from Sage’s past kept the story moving.
🐎💔 Sometimes finding your way home means finally choosing the life and love you were always meant to have.
Tangled Webs by Callie Coles completely swept me into the atmospheric world of Suffolk, horse racing, family secrets, and second chances, and I found myself rooting for Sage from the very beginning.
From the outside, Sage Deverill appears to have the perfect life. But behind closed doors, her marriage is anything but perfect it’s a gilded cage. When she finally finds the courage to leave, she takes her young son and returns to the place that has always felt like home: her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket.
I loved the sense of place in this story. The ivy-covered walls, wide Suffolk skies, racing grounds, and thunder of hooves created such a vivid backdrop that I could practically feel the countryside around me. There’s something beautifully comforting about watching Sage reconnect with the people, animals, and pieces of herself she had lost along the way.
And then there’s Rafe. 🥹❤️
Their relationship begins with friendship, but that quiet connection slowly transforms into something deeper. I really appreciated how their romance unfolded with tenderness rather than feeling rushed. Rafe’s gentle nature and the way he sees Sage made their relationship feel especially meaningful as she learns to trust herself and someone else again.
But just when Sage begins to believe she might finally have a future of her own, her past comes crashing back in. The lies, secrets, and emotional tension added just enough drama to keep me turning the pages and wondering how much Sage would have to sacrifice to protect the life she was finally building.
What stayed with me most was Sage’s journey toward freedom, healing, self-discovery, and love. This felt like a story about finding your way back to yourself and realizing that starting over doesn't mean you've failed. Sometimes, it means you've finally found the courage to begin living.
✨ Thank you to Bibliolifestyle, Harper Perennial, and Callie Coles for sharing Tangled Webs with me. 🐎📖❤️
I got this book last year when the author had a handful of copies independently printed (before it got picked up by a publisher). The original cover design is delightful, so after staring at it for many months, I finally read it. I, too, wish I had a wealthy family estate in the UK filled to the brim with racehorses.
This is an atmospheric slow burn romance that has horses and dogs.
Sage flees her abusive husband with her son and returns to her family’s horse racing home. As Sage slowly rediscovers herself she meets Rafe Dunbarton and builds a friendship that turns into more. Their romance is tender and believable.
As her past resurfaces Sage has to confront what she is willing to risk for her freedom and a future she has just begun to want.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Callie Coles for the ARC.
Total, utter dross. A ridiculous, thin plot with one dimensional characters that were impossible to invest in. The books I read as a pony-mad teenager in the 90s were better than this. Avoid….
Thank you to Harper Perennial for the free book & audiobook. All opinions are my own.
I jumped into this one knowing only that it was book 1 of a series, and that there would be horses. And…that’s exactly what I got! 😂
I immediately fell right into the story, which starts with Sage’s flight (with her son) from her husband/home (heads up for domestic abuse TWs), landing her on her Grandparent’s Horse Racing Estate in England, leading her to reacquaint herself with all the people her marriage had isolated her from.
I really felt Sage’s instant comfort upon coming home, and the love her family and friends have for her. I also felt the fear and the ever foreboding threat of her husband lurking in the background, especially as the story progressed.
I really enjoyed the romance storyline. It might be a little fast, but with how they clicked right away, and their shared passion and admiration for one another, it still definitely worked for me.
This one is told in a style quite different from any other romance I think I’ve read before, in Third-Person Omniscient, which gave us the thoughts and feelings of not only the protagonist, but every other character as well. It did take me a minute to fully settle into it, but I actually quite enjoyed it, especially as something a little different.
Knowing very little about horses, I thought everything to do with them *felt* authentic, and having looked up the author now, I can see why (she appears to be an Equestrian Influencer?)
Although expecting a cliffhanger, the ending did feel a bit *abrupt*, but regardless, I am definitely hooked to the story, and looking forward to the next book(s).
Audiobook notes: Charity Wakefield did such an excellent job with this one! (Thought her name sounded familiar and looked her up while writing this, and omg I love her as an actress, so no surprise I loved her narration!) She had an excellent voice that fit this world and narration style (Third-Person Omniscient) perfectly.
What this book is giving: ✅ Contemporary Romance ✅ Third-Person Omniscient ✅ Slow Burn ✅ Horse Racing World ✅ Coming Home ✅ Self Rediscovery
2.5⭐️. I’m a horsey girl, which is what drew me to this book. We follow Sage, a young mother in an abusive relationship who makes the decision to leave her husband in Panama and return to her grandparents in Newmarket. Entering back into the exciting world of horse racing and under the care of the people who raised her, Sage starts to regain herself and make a new life for her and her son. Early on, she meets the enigmatic race trainer, Rafe, and it’s not long (and I mean it’s really not long!) before feelings start to develop. However, Santiago (her hopefully soon to be ex) is not willing to go down without a fight…
The premise was fantastic and, on paper (no pun intended!), this should have really worked for me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite the case. For a start, there were quite a lot of small inconsistencies - one example being a chestnut mare being described two pages later as having a yellow mane. While really minor, when it feels like there’s one inconsistency or typo after another, it starts to take you out of the story. I will say that, as this was an arc, it may be that these bits are picked up before publication.
Another thing I found odd was the way it would briefly switch perspectives mid way through a chapter - you’d feel like you were in Sage’s POV and then suddenly you’d get a paragraph from Rafe’s (or any of the other central characters), and then you’d be back to Sage again. But my biggest issue was the lack of connection I felt to the characters - the author goes into a fair amount of detail describing scenery and landscapes, yet in terms of the characters and their relationships, everything felt very surface level and there was a lot of telling, not showing. For example, Rafe is described as notoriously unattached, yet within the space of a couple of the smallest interactions, we’re told that he can’t stop thinking about Sage. The next thing you know, they’re in love 🤷♀️. There was absolutely no build up, no tension and no chemistry - so if you go into this book expecting a romance, I think you’ll be disappointed.
Overall, a great premise and a story with lots of potential, which unfortunately fell flat in the execution.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book.
I feel like I’m going a bit crazy here. This book was rated highly which is why I got it on my kindle to read. Maybe within the first couple of chapters I noticed the writing style and the pacing was not for me.
Why would the mother in law tell her she can’t leave and then next sentence immediately let her leave? Then half the book was Sage being home and *almost* immediately trusting another man, Rafe. Turns out, he’s a good guy which shows that the author only writes good characters that will do absolutely anything for Sage without question (her grandparents, her brother, Rafe, Rafe’s family) or terrible people (Santiago, his mother, Casper’s girlfriend, Mary) with the exception of Louis and the guy who lives in Scotland having a slightly more dimensional character. Slightly.
There were many instances where the POV changes mi chapter and you are given all the inner thoughts of another character and nothing is suspenseful. Want to wonder if Rafe like Sage? No, the POV switches and he immediately loves her. Want to wonder how Dolly feels? No, the POV switches and you immediately know. I feel like a lot of tension and suspense could’ve been built if the author hadn’t spoon fed us information.
Also there really never felt like anything truly bad was going to happen. Maybe Santiago threatening to expose Casper but everything else felt like you didn’t need to worry because it was going to be solved.
Many times characters with deep traumas would just let them go because the narrative was easier and could continue back into Rafe x Sage if we didn’t stop to really understand them. Sage’s mom dies from a horse but in the entire time she’s letting her 3 year old ride ponies and she was jumping over obstacles in hunts the fear was only mentioned once. Sage meets her father after 10 years but he’s effectively pretty much forgiven because she could look at him and see he felt guilty. (Though it does mention the feelings aren’t ALL gone). Sage leaves an abusive relationship but only fears Rafe might be the same once when he’s upset with someone riding drunk. Beyond that she trusts him enough to just let him have her 3 year old alone when she’s not there. He could’ve been working with Santiago the whole time but he wasn’t because he’s a good guy and that’s it. One dimensional.
Sage often lets her three old year run off with people she just met because in this story Hal himself is not important. When she wants to go on a hunt, when she needs to do something that doesn’t require a 3 year old everyone who’s a good character just says they’ll take care of him. He went on a boat with a stranger without Sage because Rafe said the stranger was his cousin. Again, no caution. Hal also is just the perfect little boy, never misbehaves and always does exactly what everyone tells him.
Finally from the first kiss and the first “I like you/need you” to Sage going to Scotland and finding out Rafe told his cousin he wants to MARRY HER???? yeah less than a week or two. I’ve seen other reviews saying it was a slow burn but honestly, it was not. The characters talked a handful of times prior to kissing, there was an attraction between them but neither ever discussed it. Then we get a POV switch to Rafe who says he can’t stop thinking about her so now the reader doesn’t get to wonder. Then in the book they look at each other and we get a POV switch back and forth of “the way he/she looked at me, I knew she/he liked me.” And then they kiss.
Then Santiago appears and Sage runs off to Rafes and they run off to see her father (seems like not the perfect time but ok) and then Santiago follows and Rafe sends her off to Scotland. Then she alone pretty much decides nah it’s safe enough to go back and she returns. Mind you a lady in Scotland, Mary, knows Santiago and is very cryptic about it but Sage doesn’t worry beyond that night and then goes home to Mr. Rafe Lover Boy.
There’s so much more too but I wouldn’t recommend this book to anybody unless they were truly very bored
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Thank you to @calliecoles and @harperperennial for the #gifted book and audiobook.
This is the intriguing first book in the Spinning Silks trilogy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sage and her son, Hal, have escaped Panama and her abusive husband. They have returned to her grandparents in England, where she becomes engrossed in the thrilling world of horse racing.
I loved Sage as she rediscovered herself and began to trust her instincts. Despite still fearing her husband's reach, she courageously embraced her newfound independence. Her slow-burning relationship with Rafe, a gentle and patient horse trainer, was especially captivating. He respectfully allows Sage the space to find her strength, and their friendship blossoms into something beautifully tender.
I also loved diving into the vibrant world of Newmarket racing and the noble horses that compete there. It was fascinating to see Sage reconnect with her family roots. The supporting characters, her grandparents, brother, and friends, each played a vital role in helping Sage and her son move forward.
The narration was exceptional, bringing each character vividly to life. The varied voices and accents, along with Hal’s charming voice, added richness to the story.
The ending left me on a complete cliffhanger, eagerly awaiting the next book, scheduled for release in July 2027.
Oh boy, this one was a complete dud for me. I love reading about the English countryside and British life, however, I could not handle the main character, Sage, she was infuriating. Who flees an abusive husband but then puts said husband on the preschool pick-up list? This book was oversimplified and read more like a middle grade novel. I did enjoy the descriptions of British estate life and learned a lot about horse racing life, but I will not be reading the next books in the series.
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audiobook, all opinions are my own.
Now this is a holiday read. Settle into your sunlounger with this debut novel by Callie Coles, who you might have bumped into on Instagram: she’s the one with the beautiful country home filled with kiddos, chickens and ponies which occasionally bimble through her kitchen and help themselves to tea. Set in and around neighbouring Newmarket, this is the first in a planned trilogy and is an all-senses deep dive into the world of horses. If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic caused by an early-morning parade of exercising thoroughbreds and wondered what it must be like to ride horses for a living, this is the novel for you. Sage Deverill’s marriage to her dashing but abusive race-driver husband has crumbled, and she and her young son Hal have rushed back from South America to the only home she’s ever known: her grandparents’ ivy-clad Georgian manor and stables in the heart of Newmarket. While slowly reconnecting with old childhood friends, riding a lot of horses and rebuilding her sense of self, she crosses paths with handsome trainer Rafe Dunbarton – but is it too soon to fall head-over-heels for someone else, when she should be falling in love with herself? And what about her not-quite-ex husband? If you’re already missing Jilly Cooper’s creations, you will find solace here: Coles is a confessed fan of Cooper’s work and every sentence shimmers with gorgeously vivid description, whether it’s Sage slipping into her grandparents’ kitchen for post-ride bacon butties and pots of coffee, or an escaped chestnut filly clattering off towards the clock tower roundabout. Let the stud’s iron gates clang shut behind you, throw caution to the wind and race off into this modern fairytale: you won’t regret it.
One of the best books I have read in my life. The story is comforting yet interesting, the characters have depth and the author has a beautiful way with words. A lovely horsey read for grown-ups too!
Absolutely loved this book. Callie writes sooo incredibly, I cannot WAIT for the next in the series. Love Sage, love Rafe, love Kestrel. Love them all... written so well you can literally feel the atmosphere of the rooms you are reading about.
Callie Coles’ Tangled Webs came outside with me for a little reading time, and before I knew it, I was completely wrapped up in Sage’s life and the horse-racing world of Newmarket. A huge thank you to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy. Tell me I’m not the only one who sees an English country estate, horses, family drama AND romance and immediately thinks, “Well, there goes my afternoon.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From the outside, Sage has the kind of life people might envy, but behind closed doors her marriage is anything but beautiful. She finally takes her young son, Hal, and runs home to her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket—the place where horses, family, and wide-open spaces remind her of who she was before her marriage slowly took pieces of her away.
I really liked Sage. Watching her begin to trust herself again was probably my favorite part of the book. She isn’t magically okay just because she escaped, and I appreciated that. Her fear follows her home, especially when her husband makes it very clear he isn’t going to quietly let her go.
And then there’s Rafe. ❤️
He’s a horse trainer, kind, patient, and thankfully not written as the man who swoops in and fixes everything. He gives Sage room to find her own strength while simply being there beside her. Their friendship turning into something more felt sweet and wonderfully old-fashioned in the best possible way.
I also loved being dropped into the Newmarket racing world—the stables, training yards, horses thundering across the heath, country estates, dogs, and all those very British traditions. At times I could have used a little less detail, particularly during some of the longer riding and hunting scenes, but I still wanted to stay in this world.
Now we need to discuss THAT ENDING. 😳 I knew this was the beginning of a series. I did NOT realize Callie Coles was going to leave me hanging quite like that. Ma’am. We need words.
What book has given you a cliffhanger that made you immediately start looking for the next one?
This is such a fantastic read. I love the writers voice, the way she wraps you in the world of horse racing without becoming over-technical and slowing the flow of the story. There is also a great depth to her writing in the way she describes the backdrop to this world she has immersed the reader in. A depth which makes you feel you are there walking alongside the characters. It's a read that allows you to immerse yourself in Sage and Rafe's love story with twists and heart stopping moments that make you keen to keep reading to discover how this story will eventually end. Sage, Rafe and Sage's three year old (going on four) Hal, are wonderful central characters who are surrounded by loving families. However, if you thought returning home would provide Sage with a degree of safety, this is not the case. Sage's husband Santiago is an evil individual. Aided and abetted by his dreadful mother, he has made Sage's lifea misery with his physical and mental abuse. Although she has managed to get away from him and return to her family in the UK, he has followed her back from their home in South America. Now he is throwing every obstacle in her way, trying to block her from obtaining a divorce, using every devious and corrupt means possible. It has left Sage still in fear of her life, but due to her new relationship with Rafe, she has slowly regained her confidence and is determined to fight back.
Although I knew this was the first in a series, I wasn't prepared for how this first book ended. A real cliff hanger. It left me slightly frustrated and eager to know what happens next. Unfortunately, the second part of this wonderful series will not be available until next July, so like everyone else who enjoyed it, I'll just have to be patient and wait - and put a note in the diary, of course! Highly recommended.
My thanks to Viking, the Author and Netgalley for an ARC of Tangled Webs in exchange for an honest review.
Seeking safety for herself and her young son, Sage returns to her grandparents' estate in Newmarket, where the familiar surroundings of the racing world and the support of her family offer the chance to rebuild her life. As she settles back into the place she has always considered home, Sage meets Rafe Dunbarton, a dedicated horse trainer whose quiet kindness and gentle nature slowly encourage her to trust again. However, when the past she has tried so hard to leave behind catches up with her, Sage must decide whether she is prepared to risk everything for the future she wants. I really enjoyed Sage's journey throughout the novel. Her determination to protect her son while rediscovering her own confidence made her an easy character to connect with, and her emotional growth felt authentic. Rafe was a wonderful hero who was patient and supportive without trying to rescue Sage, allowing her to find her own strength. Their relationship developed at a believable pace, making the romance feel both heartfelt and rewarding. The Newmarket setting was one of the highlights of the story. The descriptions of the horses, the training yards, and the surrounding countryside created a vivid sense of place that added warmth and atmosphere to the novel. I found the racing world to be an interesting backdrop to the story without overwhelming the central story. While the story followed some familiar romance themes, the strong character development and emotional depth kept me invested throughout. Overall, a great read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tangled Webs is a sweeping, heartfelt slow‑burn romance set against the glamour and grit of Newmarket’s racing world—a place where hooves thunder across the heath and old wounds finally begin to heal. Sage Deverill may look like she has everything, but her marriage is a gilded cage, polished on the outside and suffocating within. When she finally gathers the courage to flee, taking her young son with her, she returns to the only place that ever felt like home: her grandparents’ ivy‑clad manor at the heart of the racing community.
What follows is a beautifully paced story of rediscovery. Surrounded by family warmth, familiar stables, and the rhythm of the track, Sage slowly reclaims the pieces of herself she thought she’d lost. And then she meets Rafe Dunbarton—steady, ambitious, quietly magnetic. Their connection begins as friendship, built on shared respect and gentle understanding, before deepening into something neither of them expected. The slow burn between them is tender, believable, and full of that delicious ache of two people trying not to fall.
But Sage’s past hasn’t finished with her. As lies and destruction creep back into her life, she’s forced to confront what she’s willing to risk for freedom, for her son, and for a future she’s only just begun to imagine.
Romantic, atmospheric, and full of emotional depth, Tangled Webs is a gorgeous escape—perfect for readers who love sweeping settings, second chances, and love stories that grow from courage and hope.
With thanks to Callie Coles, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
📝 Story Review: The writing was good and I found the characters and their relationships interesting. However, I didn’t really vibe with how fast the FMC entered into a new relationship after escaping her abusive marriage and how she still kept seeing her new love interest even though she knew it would only make the divorce proceedings more difficult than they already were. That just didn’t make sense to me, but then again, this FMC is not me. 😂
This book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I’m not invested enough to pursue reading the trilogy. The characters are very much into racing horses and horse/hound hunts and a lot of the story centers around that, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just not my cup of tea.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Spice Level: 🌶️ 1/5
Tropes 👇
- Escaping an abusive marriage - Single mom vibes - Difficult divorce/threatening husband - Horse racing/jockeying - Horse & Hound Hunts - Suffolk, England - Trip to Scotland - Falling in love/second chances
CW’s 👇
- Loss of a parent (horse accident) - Absence of/neglect by a living parent - Abusive husband - Parental abduction of child - Mention of drug use - Alcohol use - Blackmail
Audio Release Date: August 3, 2026 Audio Run Time: 11 hrs, 2 mins Narrated By: Charity Wakefield Series: The Spinning Silks Saga, Book 1 POV: Third Person; Multi Genre: Romance
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for this ALC in return for my honest review.
I tried so hard not to read this in one sitting, I totally failed!
The descriptions alone are worth the price of this book — the estates, the animals, the scenery. It's the kind of writing that makes you want to step through the page and just live there. I had to stop at one point and ask my mother (who grew up in Britain, steeped in horse country) what a heath actually looks like, because I needed to picture it properly. I bought her a copy, because I know she will just revel in all the horse and countryside descriptions!
I went into this wanting something uplifting, and this book delivered completely. The plot kept me in real suspense, the character development was satisfying, and it never once tipped into the kind of heaviness I wasn't in the mood for. It reminded me that stories can just be wonderful, and that's not a small thing.
Now I've come back to reality and I'm a little sad about how quickly I got through it. That's the curse of a genuinely good book! To cope, I've bought the Audible version — something I only do when I really love a book. I'll listen while I'm cooking or driving, and I know I'll catch details I missed the first time around. It's my way of making it last a little longer.
One year until the next one, I'll be counting! Great job Callie, well done!
Be forewarned that this novel is part of a series and ends abruptly with NO resolution. I rarely read synopsis carefully and avoid reviews to my own detriment. I was ready to read this one at “horse racing”, being a kid who ate up any and all Horse stories, but this was overall a disappointment. The book begins in Panama where Sage flees her abusive husband, Santiago, and returns to her horse racing grandparents’ sanctuary in Britain where she falls for handsome Rafe. Soon, with her husband in pursuit, she flees to Rafe’s cousins home in Scotland.Cole’s does a nice job of describing the horsey set, fox hunting, the dogs, Britain, Scotland, and the slow burn romance between Sage and Rafe. However, it doesn’t make up for an abused woman who is fleeing from her husband, who lists him on the Nursery School list as next of kin, approved for pick up. That kind of stupidity in a character is difficult to overlook and IMO, it would have been best to create a more plausible device to move the story forward.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinion expressed in this review are completely my own.
I originally bought Tangled Webs because I follow Callie on Instagram and wanted to support her as an author. I certainly wasn't expecting to fall so completely into the story.
From the first few chapters I was hooked, and I ended up reading it cover to cover in a single day because I simply couldn't put it down.
The story follows Sage and her son as they leave a difficult situation behind and return to the place where she grew up, surrounded by horses, racing, hunting and aristocracy. It's a wonderfully uplifting story about new beginnings, healing and finding the courage to trust again.
What I loved most was that, although there's a romance at its heart, it isn't just a love story. The relationships feel genuine, the characters are beautifully developed, and the equestrian setting adds so much authenticity. I also loved the old-school manners, country house atmosphere and understated elegance of the world Callie has created.
I wasn't quite expecting the ending, and now I'm officially impatient for book two, Silver Linings. I can't wait to find out what happens next!
This story had it all: a traumatic beginning, an engaging cast of characters, and a heroine fighting to reclaim her life. Escaping an abusive marriage that has taken her confidence, friendships, and spirit, her determination to save her son from witnessing the abuse becomes the catalyst for change. The story unfolded beautifully, introducing characters who were easy to like, including the heroine's twin brother, the grandparents who raised them, a kind love interest, and his unique cousin. The antagonist was truly unlikeable.
I also enjoyed Charity Wakefield's narration. It flowed nicely and never distracted from the storytelling.
My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending. There is no happy resolution, so readers will have to wait for the next book. If you're looking for a standalone, this may disappoint if you aren't aware ahead of time. But for those who enjoy good storytelling and love a series, this is for you. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio.
I first got to know of Callie Coles through Instagram and was hooked on her postings, of her family life, horses, dogs and rural life. Then she self published Tangled Webs which I pre-ordered from Iggywick. As soon as I received this book I could not put it down. Just the feel of this book in my hands had me gripped. Full of intrigue, romance and a little suspense thrown in for good measure. It follows Sage and her son Hal, fleeing her abusive husband and evil mother in law and coming back to England. She enters into the horse-racing world where she meets Rafe and this story begins. Just yesterday the new version popped through my letterbox and I am looking forward to reading it. Callie Coles is one of the most beautiful people I have yet meet but I feel as if I’ve known her all my life through her postings. Her books can only be listed as pure and written from the heart. Thank you Callie for allowing us into your world. Looking forward to book 2 Silver Linings ❤️
A Powerful Tale of Courage, Healing, and Unexpected Twists Tangled Webs is an incredible story about strength, resilience, and starting over. The book follows Sage as she finally finds the courage to leave an abusive marriage and make a brave escape with her son back to her hometown. What makes this story so compelling is Sage’s journey. Returning to a community that welcomes her with open arms provides the perfect backdrop for her healing, and it is deeply rewarding as a reader to watch her come out of her shell and rediscover who she truly is. While falling in love again wasn't anywhere on her radar, seeing her find love in such a safe and supportive way adds a heartwarming layer to her journey. Just when you think you know where the story is going, it hits you with a total shocker! The twist and the cliffhanger caught me completely off guard in the best way possible. Verdict: An emotional, empowering read with an unforgettable ending. I can’t wait to pick up the next book!
As much as this book was about new beginnings, personal growth, and finding your strength, and romance, it is also a thriller. Once Sage and her son fled from their home in Panama because of an abusive husband, I knew he would come after her. I kept wondering when he was going to show up. What I loved most besides the intensity, was the relationships Sage had. She was reunited with family, I loved her close connection with her son, and of course Rafe. Rafe was everything her husband was not, kind, loving, protective, and they had horse racing in common. This book will take you to Panama, England, and Scotland where you will experience the lowest of lows, and the beautiful highs of learning to live after an abusive relationship. But, be warned, it ends on a cliffhanger!! Can’t wait to read the second book in the series Silver Linings coming out July 15, 2027. Keywords l Bookstagram l Harper Perennial l Tangled Webs l Romance l Thriller
I ordered the self published version of Tangled Webs from Callie Coles own website. It did not disappoint, I couldn’t put it down. Pure romantic escapism into a world of horse racing and sex with some tenderness and beauty thrown in. This was the first of her trilogy and to be honest I was a little disappointed I was unable to purchase the second of the trilogy as it hadn’t been released but can understand the complexities involved in self publishing. Well, Ms Callie Coles has now been discovered by publishers for her amazing talent and writing ability which is just the best news ever. She truly deserves it, such a beautiful, creative writer, I’m so lucky to have had the pleasure of reading her first book. You will not be disappointed in her, now published, slightly amended version on sale in bookshops. Enjoy 🥰
This is book one in the Spinning Silks Trilogy and the series is off to a brilliant start with this first part. Sage Deverill flees her abusive marriage to Santiago with her son Hal from Panama to Newmarket to be with her family. Here she feels safe and can reconnect with the horses she treasures. She meets Rafe Dunbarton, a man with a harmony for horses like herself. He is mesmerised by her, but her life is complicated as she battles the paperwork of her separation from her husband. I loved the character of Betsy Seymour and the setting of Newmarket, not often depicted in fiction. It is clear in the writing that the author has her own harmony for horses and how they can heal someone. This is a brilliant debut novel wrapped in a beautiful cover and I cannot wait to read Silver Linings in 2027.
Oh wow! I adored this book but the cliffhanger ending …. I don’t know how I am going to wait for the next book! This is a story of family, love, the ugly demise of a marriage from an abusive controlling man, and finding the courage to start over. Set primarily in the world of horse racing and hunting in the English countryside it is a story that engaged me from the start and I am still thinking about it. The characters captured my interest and I was quickly engaged in their lives.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrators did a good job bringing the characters and the story to life.
I recommend this to readers that enjoy stories of family and second chances at love and happiness that contain twists.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the free, gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.