Review: Tangled by Kate Douglas (Intimate Relations #0.5)
Tangled Vines, the vineyard and winery her parents started and cared for, was supposed to be Cassie Phillips's. Only now, it belongs to someone else, what with financial choices Cassie's father made costing them the once-successful vineyard. Cassie may still be employed as the winemaker, but that's all she is--an employee, and decisions like changing the name of the vineyard are out of her hands. Soon, she's joined by a recent hire--Nate Dunagan, Tangled Vines's new manager. Their first meeting leads to them spending the night together and it's a night that proves to be highly memorable for both of them. Sleeping with a fellow employee could cause problems, especially since their employer has made it clear that Nate is not to mess around with Cassie. But being together is proving to be more intoxicating than the wines they make.
Tangled is the prequel novella to author Kate Douglas's contemporary romance series entitled Intimate Relations and is part of the multi-authored Hot Alphas anthology. Admittedly, I've had the anthology for a good while--yes, I admit to being a book hoarder--and only got around to actually opening the book because I was going to review Intimate, the first full-length novel in the author's new series. This prequel is a quick read--less than a hundred pages--and it's a fast-paced love story set in Tangled Vines, a vineyard formerly owned by twenty-eight-year-old winemaker Cassandra Phillips's family, sold after decisions by her father, who suffers from Alzheimer's, took a toll on the business. It is bought by wealthy businessman Marcus Reed, who goes on to hire thirty-five-year-old Nathan Dunagan as the vineyard's live-in manager.
There was chemistry between Cassie and Nate from the get-go, and while they definitely had a case of insta-lust, their relationship isn't one without any ups and downs before any actual feelings of love are confessed. Adding to the romance is the mystery of a stranger who seems intent on gaining access to a winery cave on the vineyard property. I had one suspect from the get-go and while my suspicions were proven on the spot, the individual's motives behind the actions were surprising and added a dimension of suspense. Kate Douglas's writing is impressive and while this novella was all about Cassie and Nate, my curiosity regarding Marc Reed has already been piqued, and since I know books one and two aren't about him, I'll happily work my way through the series until we get to it. I'm giving Tangled four out of five stars. ♥
Date Read: 01 December 2015
Learn more about Kate Douglas.
So glad you enjoyed TANGLED! I actually had a visual of a winery/vineyard across the valley from where my husband and I lived for 17 years when I was writing this, and well remember the loud booming as the owners of yet another winery dynamited the side of the mountain to build a much nicer wine cave than the one in Tangled.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for such a terrific review. I'm updating my website today and will be putting up links to these.
Hi, Kate!
DeleteYou're very much welcome! This was the first time I had ever read about a wine cave and I always like discovering new things in the books I read. :)
Funny story about the wine cave--when Bella Vineyards was building it, (that's the winery I used for research) none of us knew what was going on against the hills on the west side of Dry Creek Valley--or if others did, they weren't talking. We lived on a vineyard directly across the valley and would hear (and feel) these ear-shattering explosions every once in a while. Went on for months, and whenever we called anyone to find out what it was, no one with the county had any information. Found out a couple years later that it was the construction of the wine cave that was shaking the glassware. The reason caves are so popular for wineries is that they keep the aging wine at the perfect temperature without the cost of expensive heating and cooling systems. Plus, they're really cool looking inside!
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