These Tangled Vines

A Novel

By: Julianne MacLean

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the USA Today bestselling author of A Curve in the Road comes a sweeping and captivating tale of one woman’s journey to the lush vineyards of Tuscany - and into the mysteries of a tragic family secret.

If Fiona has learned anything in life, it’s how to keep a secret - even from the father who raised her. She is the only person who knows about her late mother’s affair in Tuscany thirty years earlier, and she intends to keep it that way...until a lawyer calls with shocking news: her biological father has died and left her an incredible inheritance - along with two half siblings. 

Fiona travels to Italy, where the family is shocked to learn of her existence and desperate to contest her share of the will. While the mystery of her mother’s affair is slowly unraveled, Fiona must navigate through tricky family relationships and tense sibling rivalries. Fiona both fears and embraces her new destiny as she searches for the truth about the fateful summer her mother spent in Italy and the father she never knew.

Spilling over with the sumptuous flavors and romance of Tuscany, These Tangled Vines takes listeners on a breathtaking journey of love, secrets, sacrifice, courage - and most importantly, the true meaning of family.

©2021 Julianne MacLean Publishing Inc. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“This heartwarming story of love and loss, longing and betrayal set amid the vines of Tuscany is the perfect escape in troubled times.” (Rhys Bowen, best-selling author of The Tuscan Child and Above the Bay of Angels)

“Rich descriptions and attention to detail will have you living and breathing the Tuscan air, and the tangled vines of truth and lies will have you questioning what is right and wrong. I recommend you curl up with a glass of Italian wine and savour every page.” (Donna Alward, New York Times best-selling author) 

“Wouldn’t it be a dream to inherit a wine estate in Europe? That’s what happens - most unexpectedly - to the character at the center of Julianne MacLean’s latest. This introspective escapist story of tangled family secrets and the impact of our choices all set to the backdrop of a sprawling Tuscan winery will make you crave a glass of Chianti Classico and reflect on roads not traveled. Cin cin!” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Lost Names and The Winemaker’s Wife) 

Really enjoyed this story, but it was sad...

...because I recently discovered through DNA that my dad is not my dad and I will never know him b/c he had already died. So that really hit close to home.

Good story with as good an ending as could be expected, just sad.

Narrator was very good.

Will try to listen to more by this author.

**Tried to add more to my library by this author, but the reviews say too much filthy language, too much description of sex scenes, and too much talk of reincarnation and ghosts. I enjoyed this one story by this author as it did not have ANY of the above, but I won't listen to any more by her with all that junk.

Beautiful Story

I read this book after the death of my mother, it told a beautiful story and it helped me be at peace with myself during this solemn time. The story was very touching and I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. It was a very good read and I recommend it highly!
The narrator’s did a wonderful job in telling the story.
A definite five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The title describes this book

This is an incredible rendition of a beautiful life long love story with entangled twists and turns and surprising events along the way. Totally enjoyable, can’t put it down listening! I plan to read more of Julianne MacLean’s books. Thank you!

4.75 ⭐

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio recording. Great story and narrator. About a woman who finds out that her biological father in Italy has died and has left her something in his will. She had never met him or really knew anything about him. She had only learned about him when her mother had died 12 years before. Her mother on her death bed had asked not to tell the man she thought was her father that he wasn't her biological father. Her trip to Italy was very enlightening; about the will and her mother's time in Tuscany 31 years earlier. I denied it a quarter star for a bit of over writing...
PS Have a tissue handy...

Great first Audible book

This was my first audible book. The narration was wonderful! Good story with a continuously thickening plot. I deeply felt the characters the author created, which may be due, in part, to the spot-on narration.

Good listen

The story was well crafted and the characters were well developed. I always enjoy the “discovering the simple pleasures of Tuscany” underlying theme, and It’s always fun to envision inheriting a great fortune and a life in Italy. That being said, it was a pretty stereo typical depiction and the authors writing style was often kind of cheesy for my taste…but it was still a good read, or listen.

Good story but the narration is distracting

The story is enjoyable. I found the narration made most characters sound like a female Eeyore was reading the book, especially Sloan. I would listen to other books by this author but pass on those narrated by the same person.

Love true love.

This is out of my usual genre, but I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully written and beautifully read.

Quick nice story. Nothing overwhelming.

Just a little story to fill your day. Narrator had a pleasant voice. I enjoyed this book.

New author to me

Fully enjoyed this book. Narration was good and the story was entertaining. I didn’t mind the time travel as it was an interesting way to pull it together.

Still unsure what it was all about

A muddled plot told in a repetitive way that got on my nerves. Kept checking the chapter no because I felt I had heard it all before.
Not one of the best books I have listened to.
The narration was in a strange strangled yet breathy style that also got on my nerves.





I'm sure

Very good, enjoyed the whole story.

Very much enjoyed the book, all the elements worked together very well, strongly recommended.

Great page-turner

The story has the perfect blend of ingredients to make it captivating: suspense, multicultural, Italian warmth, romance, money, greed, guilt, making sense of life, good food and wine! Narration is superb. I loved it.

An Easy, Enjoyable Story

I found this story to be as enjoyable as a ramble along a sunny country lane. The narration was clear and and characterisation 'on the whole' believable. I don't think it's one that will stay with me but it filled a couple of afternoons pleasurable. A good holiday read.

Blubell

so sad yet intently readable/listen worthy. i cried a lot at the loss of love

Happy and dad at the same time

Loved this book I had to keep reading to see where it went. Ended up crying ! but I did so enjoy the way it was written.