From the bestselling author of Only One Life comes a story of true love that spans decades. Lillian Alexander has never understood why her twin sister hates her so much. Layla’s animosity stems from childhood, from their mother’s death twenty-seven years ago. But Lillian remembers nothing about that day. Why, if her mother’s death was an accident, does Lillian harbor guilt, as though she were … she were somehow to blame?
Lillian discovers a thumb drive, marked for her eyes only, in her recently deceased father’s study. Graham’s account of his stormy relationship with her mother stirs long-suppressed memories and divulges information about Lillian’s past that sets her on a journey of self-discovery.
After a whirlwind courtship and fairy tale marriage, Graham’s honeymoon with Ivy is short-lived. When tragedy strikes, Ivy sinks into the depths of despair, refusing to see anyone but her childhood best friend. Resentful of the strange hold Alice has over his wife, discouraged by Ivy’s persistent despondency, Graham turns elsewhere for comfort, spawning events that forever alter the course of their lives.
When the Alexander sisters learn the family fortune is gone, the rift between Lillian and her sister deepens as Lillian fights to save her family’s ancestral on Charleston’s prestigious East Battery. Ghosts from the past resurface and truths are revealed, leading to a dramatic conclusion not soon forgotten.
“. . . the story is endlessly intriguing, with enough plot turns that readers who predict one or two may still be surprised . . . The ending befits this realistic portrayal of love, family, and all the complications those two often engender . . . An absorbing fusion of a searing family drama with an unusual love story.” –Kirkus Reviews
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I adore southern fiction and author Ashley Farley always delivers the best. Tangled Ivy has it all–family secrets, wonderful setting and a storyline that kept me reading well past two in the morning!
I simply love everything I ready by Ashley Farley and this story is no exception. There is something about her southern stories of women that are strong yet vulnerable and the families that surround them that draw in the reader and perhaps even have them relating to the various characters.
In this story we meet Lillian and Layla, twin sisters that don’t seem to have that close bond most twins, even sisters, might have together. They are as different as can be and the truth about their mother’s life and her death can either tear them apart even more or bring them together.
I enjoyed the story told from several viewpoints and different time periods. Learning more about Graham and Ivy’s life together was intriguing and explained so much of the family dysfunction. Sadly, Lillian and Layla learn all of this after his death, and had they known some of it before he died, perhaps they could have cleared the air of so much. The sisters might have even come to a better understanding of who they were and why there was such animosity between them that didn’t need to be there. It takes time to heal the rift, but even with that journey, there were many bumps in the road that added more drama to the story.
I think I stayed up way too late finishing this book but it was so worth it and while this book isn’t due to be published until June, grab it as soon as you can or go ahead and pre-order the book, you will be glad you did.
We give this book 5 paws up!
I love Southern fiction and I love books about sisters. The new novel Tangled in Ivy meets these two criteria and even more. There are secrets, dysfunction, a house that has been in the family for decades and a perfect setting in Charleston. I have read all of Ashley Farley’s novels and this in my new favorite.
This book is told in two timelines. The first begins in 1984 when Graham meets Ivy and they fall in love and get married. The second time line begins in 2019 when Graham dies and it is told by his daughter Lillian.
The novel centers around Ivy’s death. Lillian has long repressed her memories of the day her mother died and no one will tell her the truth of what happened that day. Layla thinks that her sister really does remember and is using the amnesia to get attention. As the two sisters struggle to decide what to do about the house, Lillian is searching the house to find information about what really happened to their mother. Her search leads her to some startling truths about her parents and about she and her twin sister.
This is a fantastic book that kept me reading long past my bedtime. There are twists and turns and several truths uncovered that were shocking and I never saw coming. It’s a book about family, love, secrets and sisters. This is a southern fiction novel that you don’t want to miss. Ashley Farley cements her credentials as a first rate author in this genre.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
I love this cover! If I had never read a book by this author, I would buy the book just because of the cover! Just like the cover, the story inside is beautiful and heart warming. It also has family intrigue and sadness. I could not put this book down and wanted to read it slow and make it last.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher and author for the early copy
WOW! Intriguing! A beautifully written book by Ashley Farley. Once I started I could not put it down! Was reading until my eyes couldn’t stay open anymore.
I felt like I was in the room watching the family dramatics happen before my eyes.
A ride with twists and turns, romance, so many emotions and family secrets. I could picture the low country of South Carolina as I was reading.
Thank you NetGalley, the Publisher and Ashley Farley for the opportunity to read this book.
Secrets always find a way to surface when you least expect them . Lillian finds out that the life she has led so far is full of secrets , after her father passes away she finds his memoir telling the story of his and her mothers life .Lily has a twin sister whom never got along with each other , the history of the house they are now fighting over will come to light .The story is emotional and surprising.
Tangled in Ivyy by Ashley Farley is captivating as you read the story of two twin sisters. Their lives are about to change forever and it will depend on how they choose to react as to whether they will survive as friends. Lillian is the kinder sister and Layla seems to be selfish and unfeeling toward others. The sisters have a long history of conflict since their mother died when they were young girls.
Their father has died and left the family estate in financial trouble. Lillian and Layla inherit together but problems arise when Lillian wants to keep the mansion and Layla wants to sell. Lillian was with her father before he died and he was struggling to tell her something about Hemmingway knowing his life secrets.
Lillian decides to go to their lake house where her father would stay and write. She searches through his books by Hemmingway and finds a letter from her father and a USB drive with his memoir written for her to read. As Lillian reads her father’s book, old secrets are uncovered which will turn her world upside-down!
I won’t post spoilers but the story has layers of secrets that affect both girls and causes many heartaches in their lives.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I love Ashley Farley’s books. This one is now my favorite of hers. It’s a quick read that will captivate you from the very first page to the very sweet ending.
Lillian and Layla are twins. But they are not your typical twins. They have almost nothing in common and seem to never get along at all. Lillian is more quiet and down to earth while Layla is a bit loud and outgoing. Lillian is more into books and painting and seems to have way more feeling that Layla. Layla is a typical narcissist person.
Lillian took care of Graham, the twins dad, until he took his very last breath. Layla arrives shortly after he passes away. Then the battles begin.
This is a very quick read and one that will keep you wanting more. It’s told from Lillian and Graham’s POVs. While Lillian tells what is going on in the here and now, Graham is telling about his life with the love of his life, Ivy. He has written a book for his daughter’s to read and boy what a story it is. While I pretty much guessed the two huge things going on in this book it is still so good. I think maybe it was not really meant to be a true secret what is revealed in this story, to the readers that is. Maybe it is and maybe not. Needless to say it’s the best book I have read by this author and I’ve loved several of hers.
This is the story of sisters. Not close, be there for each other sisters, but sisters none the less. It’s also the story of Graham and Ivy. Ivy was a very complicated woman and I personally didn’t like her very much. I didn’t approve of some of the things Graham did either but it’s what made the story what it is. Ivy was a spoiled woman and didn’t seem to care who she hurt when she got something in her head that she wanted. Graham was a good guy with a few bad flaws. He did love Ivy though and I believe she loved him in her own way also. Another that I didn’t like was Alice. Alice was Ivy’s best friend from a very young age. Alice and Ivy were both spoiled little rich girls and didn’t seem to care who they hurt in the process of getting what they wanted. But again this book needed their antics to make it the great book it was. You will learn to love or hate these two women. I didn’t like them very much at all. But they were who they were.
It’s hard to say much about this book because you can easily give something away and I hate spoilers. I’ll suffice it to say this is a wonderful story of love, loss, happiness, sadness, heartache and even a few laughs. It’s the story of a family and many secrets. It’s a story that will make you shed tears. Make you hold your breath and make you want to smack someone. It’s a great story and one that you won’t be able to put down.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #AshleyFarley, #Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
A 5 star book for sure. I highly recommend this book to you all..
Lillian and Layla Alexander are twins. Their mother is/was Ivy. Ivy’s best friend is/was Alice, the girls’ godmother. Their father is Graham. They live in Charleston, SC. Ivy passed away when the twins were six years old and Graham, a college professor, has raised them on his own, with the help of the house staff, since then, particularly Trudy who was a sort of surrogate mother to the girls. . The twins, however, do not fit your normal perception of wins – closeness, finishing each other’s sentences, etc.
The story starts out with Graham’s terminal illness and Lillian ‘s care of him. As he lay dying, he mumbled something almost incoherent to Lillian. At his funeral, more puzzling them happen, including an unknown woman on the outskirts of the mourners at the cemetery.
At the reading of the will, the girls find out that the Stoney fortune, their mother’s family fortune, is gone. In the ensuing events, Lillian finds her father’s memoir of his life with Lillian and of how Alice, her best friend, fit into the family story.
I haven’t been able to fully focus on my reading during this time, but reading Ashley’s latest changeD that. I couldn’t put it down. Definitely one of her best If not the best! So many emotions and secrets to untangle. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how this would all play out.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC
A story so great that I didn’t want it to end. Deep secrets, emotions and personality conflicts fill each page. The drama is strong and heartfelt. Author Ashley Farley takes the reader inside the minds of the main characters and makes us feel like we are part of the story. I could feel myself standing on the sidelines watching as each scene unfolded. Each detail in the story allowed me to feel the air, sights and sounds of the Lowcountry of South Carolina. An exceptional story. I received a complimentary copy of the book. No review was required.
INTRIGUING!
Ashley Farley continues to solidify her place as a top Women’s Contemporary Fiction author with her latest release TANGLED IN IVY. Farley’s writing is compelling and her plot is so intriguing that that you will want to read this book in one sitting (I did!). Her characters are so vivid that you feel as though you are watching their drama on display across the room. The setting of Charleston’s East Battery adds its own elements of charm, beauty, mystique, aristocracy, old money and greed. These components plus Farley’s ability to grasp the depth and intensity of family dysfunction add up to a very intriguing storyline. TANGLED IN IVY will grab your attention, keep you reading page after page and even if you solve things in your own mind, you want to know more. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the author and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.
Once again Ashley Farley has done it again. She took me on a wild ride with twists and turns, lots of intrigues and wishing I could read faster.
You can read what the book is about when you are deciding if you want to read it. So, I will tell you the reason I loved the book and why I recommend it. Ashley has a way of writing that as you are reading, you get a sense that there is more going on. As the book progresses, I start to see what has been going on but I know there is more to come. Sure enough, there is. Then as it is coming to the end, she finishes it with flair. She doesn’t come out with just an answer, she leaves a little mystery still until she knows I will figure it out myself.
I said I wished I could read faster, I know you are thinking you can skip pages. No, you can’t because she is always revealing more and you don’t want to miss it. Thank you, Ashley and NetGalley for the ARC. It is an amazing book that I hope you choose to read.
This is one of the most heartfelt, and Intriguing books I have ever read. It is beautifully written, and the characters are portrayed in a way they feel real. The book starts out with Lillian saying a final goodbye to her beloved father as he takes his last breath. She has been faithfully at his side for the past months, caring for him along with a hospice nurse. Within about 20 minutes of his death, Layla arrives, but too late to say a final goodbye.. Lillian and Layla are twins, although Lillian has stayed in Charleston where they were raised ,and Layla now lives in Atlanta. Ivy, the mother of the girls died when they were 6 years old so were raised by their dad, a nanny,and Trudy, a trusted and loved long-time employee of the family. Lillian and Layla grew up mostly at odds with one another. Lillian being the more quiet sister, and Layla the more domineering one. Together the sisters are now the owner of their ancestral home which creates new issues. Their father, Graham, was an English Professor at the College of Charleston.. When he was a new member of the faculty, at a reception hosted by the college, Graham met Edward Stoney, an alumni, and his adult daughter, Ivy. Edward took an interest in young Graham and invited him to go sailing. Graham accepted, hoping he’d see Ivy again. Eventually Edward encouraged the marriage between Graham and Ivy. Upon Graham’s death, Lillian found a manuscript her dad had written about his life with Ivy. From this point on, the book goes from the story of Graham’s and Ivy’s life together as told my Graham, to the present time .and the challenges that are facing Lillian and Layla. The title of this book is absolutely perfect as what a tangled mess can be created in lives when there are secrets. This book should be read when there are no other time commitments as it’s a difficult book to put down. I kept turning the pages to the end. because I didn’t want to wait to find out what happens next. Ashley Farley has another big winner here!
I love the Lowcountry and no one brings it to life for me better than Ashley Farley. She created some wonderful characters in this book with a unique storyline. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. I went back and forth with what I was rooting for and the last pages gave me what I wanted in my heart all along. Wonderful read.
A great story about family, secrets and memories. When their father dies memories surface and truths are told. Those truths are not what anyone, least of all them, would expect. The story is a wonderful tale of how you deal with what you least expect to find out, memories that surface and old love. The author knows how to give her readers characters with such depth and is so descriptive you feel like you’re with them on their journey of discovery. A book that you can’t help loving, as is the case with all her books!
“I love all of Ashley Farley’s books but Tangled in Ivy is my new favorite. I was gifted an eARC from the author in exchange for my honest review. This book hits all the feels and bases, multigenerational, family drama, mystery/thriller, love,angst, and so much more. The plot will keep you reading right till the end. I predict this will be your new favorite too!
I could not put down “Tangled in Ivy! “. It was so unpredictable. Frequently I can figure out how the book is going to end at the beginning of the book. Tangled… had so many interesting plot developments. I could not figure it out. It seems there were unexpected surprises on every page. Ashley Farley gives us another wonderful story. I can’t wait for the next read from Ashley!
There hasn’t been a book by Ashley Farley that I haven’t liked. She is a master at developing characters that readers love and her stories are woven with a skilled hand. Filled with family secrets, this books will make you feel a multitude of emotions and keep you turning the pages. This is a tale of twin sisters, intrigue, and self-discovery.
Lillian Stoney has just lost her father, Graham, a professor, after caring for him in hospice for the last 3 months. Her mother, Ivy, died when she and her twin sister, Layla, were just 6 and their father did all he could to keep the woman’s memory alive. Layla, a fashion designer in Atlanta, arrived just after Graham passed away. This angers Lillian because Layla knew he had little time left and she should have been there to tell him goodbye. The sisters have never been close and tend to disagree.
Lillian loves her home town of Charleston and works at an art gallery in town. An artist herself, she is disappointed that none of her works have sold as yet.
After the funeral, Lillian’s ex-boyfriend, Marcus, and now an attorney, says he needs to speak with her and Layla right away. It turns out that the family money is nearly all gone and they must sell their home and perhaps their vacation cottage, Wadmalaw. Lillian’s father has left her a letter saying the family finances are not good and he hopes she will remember on her own how her mother died. He also suggested that she look to Hemingway for answers. He had left her a letter and she also found a thumb drive. She took this to their cottage when she started reading what her father had written about Ivy and their time together.
This book is compellingly written which made me want to keep turning pages as I delved into the story. There are lots of surprises and the book grabbed me and wouldn’t let go until the last page. I don’t know when I’ve read such a good story. This is a fabulous book deserving of more than 5 stars. Don’t miss it!
Copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.