Tangled Webs - A Black Jewels Novel
The invitation is signed “Jaenelle Angelline,” and it summons her family to a special soirée. But when her guests enter the house, they find themselves trapped in a living nightmare created by the Black Widow witches—and if they try to use Craft as protection, they risk being sealed in the house forever.
But Jaenelle did not send the invitation. And now she and the rest of her family must rescue the others inside—and then find out who has created such a place, and why...
*~*~*
If you're looking for a mind blowing read, pass this over. While still fantastically written, the pace of this book is much more muted than the epic trilogy. Aimed more at satisfying readers' cravings than pulling in new victi- I mean, new readers, Anne Bishop builds on what we already know from the trilogy and plunges into story telling.
The characters are still as charming and funny, and it's so easy to fall in love with them again. Surreal and a new character, Rainier, feature most in this novel, but we get to see Jaenelle, Daemon, Lucivar, Saetan and other beloved characters again. I'm a little disappointed that Jaenelle has given up her Ebony Jewels.
What could have added a little more oomph to the story was watching Daemon deal with the antagonist. However, the book is a little vague on how the SaDiablo family dealt with him, choosing instead to focus on well known characters.
Included at the end of this novel is 'By the Time the Witchblood Blooms', a short story featuring Surreal. It takes place before the trilogy, and shows Surreal on one of her assassinations. Not as bloody as you think; Surreal has style.
Rating:
(I will be looking at getting my own ratings meter soon)
I agree with your review. If Rainier is introduced in the short story "Kaleer's heart" in the anthology "Dreams Made Flesh". That story takes place between this novel and the trilogy. DMF actually tells many of the tales that fill out the background of the Trilogy. Lucivar's love story, Saetan's story "Zuulaman", and Draca's background are all covered as well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually been able to find DMF :( And I believe Rainier was in the trilogy, just never mentioned. It's said in the book that he was a dance teacher to the Queens before the Dark Court was formed.
ReplyDeleteI wrote to Anne last week and DMF is being recorded as an audio book right now. I think you can still buy it, if not check your local UBS for it. His position as a dance instructor is mentioned in DMF, but he is not mentioned in the trilogy itself. There is another Rainer/Surreal short story in a mystery mythology that takes place after Tangled web. And of course they both are in The Shadow Queen/Shalador's Lady books (brief scenes that show the development of them in the SaDiablo household.
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