Michael Skeet

This is a highly enjoyable romp through the lives of French aristocrats, smugglers and the poorest of Paris during the 17th century. The impoverished protagonist, Mlle. Victoire de Berenguer from a noble family, has found a way to smuggle fanciful dyed cotton into the City. She earns an income using her entrée into the highest levels of society and an accomplished staff of sewists to create magical outfits for the fashionistas of the day. But this is a dangerous source of income: the show more Emperor has prohibited the import of dyed cotton fabric in an effort to bolster the sagging fortunes of the weavers’ guilds producing fine brocades, silks and linens. The narrative is set against a thriving black market, as the wealthy gentry try to outshine one another in the fashionable India and Far Eastern cottons channelled through Italy. In the grand tradition of such pure romance, there lurk corrupt officials and a charmingly disingenuous antihero, Robert de Vimoutiers.

Michael Skeet is a new author for me. His writing is precise and descriptive, adroitly filling in the backstory without pulling the reader out of the story. There were occasions where I was confused by the characters' names and their relationships within the complex Parisian society of the day. As the adventure progressed, the key names became familiar, and the characterizations more vivid. I dithered in rating the book, because the tale seemed to gallop roughshod over the action towards the dénouement. The reveal was a little too prophetic, so lost its surprise twist impact. However, my enjoyment of the main characters made up for this fumble, and may not strike other readers as a disappointing closing. The hint of a third adventure at the end certainly encourages me to be on the look out for a possible sequel. Meanwhile, I’m on the hunt for the novel with Robert de Vimoutiers’ backstory, A Poisoned Prayer (2017).
Note: I received A Tangled Weave from the publisher via the Early Reviewers group in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

Skeet writes a wonderfully swashbuckling narrative, featuring Lise de Trouvaille, a strong female protagonist set against the background of Paris (France) in the 17th-Century. The story completely engaged me from the gripping scene in the opening with an attack by a loup-garou, support from Rafael, duc de Bellevasse , through to intrigue, treachery, and high adventure in a corrupt medieval city.

For me, “Poisoned Prayer” provided Robert de Vimoutiers’ backstory and introduced the show more novel’s concept of Blessings and the use of prayers. The author develops an historically reflective French aristocracy able to wield powerful control of the victim with these magical prayers. However, Skeet’s novel never descends into a juvenile flurry of spell-casting fights, and remains a sophisticated balance of these mental abilities, sword fights, clever repartee and high-level politics.

A Poisoned Prayer is a prequel to A Tangled Weave, my having read the latter novel first. This reading sequence did not diminish my enjoyment of either story; however, if you have the opportunity, I recommend reading the books in publication order. Aspects of the world Skeet builds are not so clearly evident in the second book, since he quite rightly does not go overboard reiterating the basis of how this 17th-Century society operates. show less

I hate it when I have to struggle to write a review. As a huge, HUGE fan of The Three Musketeers, a lover of Regency-styled romance stories and willing to dabble a little with fantasy reads, Skeet has come up with a rather fun combination: A young, rapier-wielding female heroine in a fantasy version of 17th century Paris with all of the basic trappings of a court with musketeers, a controlling cardinal and a dastardly plot to overthrow the current ruler on the go. A world where the show more aristocracy are "Blessed" with the ability to cast magical spells by way of prayer/song. From that general perspective, this story has a lot to offer a reader like me. I liked how the action pacing is steady and Skeet does a fabulous job keeping the identities of the perpetrators a mystery until the end. On the downside, the story tends to lurch a bit from section to section. I had to dispel belief when Lise has no problem dressing up as her cousin Robert, basically fooling everyone about her identity, especially when a courtesan friend of Robert's accosts Lise at a gaming house, engages Lise in sexual foreplay and doesn't even realize that it isn't Robert. That, and the inclusion of the dark spectre Shahrbaz (a minor character that really doesn't fit with the overall tone, feel and character of the story), tended to throw me off what is otherwise a rather good historical/fantasy adventure story.

Overall, a decent read and one that I would have felt was squarely targeted for the YA audience, expect for that courtesan encounter I mentioned above. That strikes me as requiring a bit of an older audience. show less

I received this as an ebook from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I enjoyed this. It is a fantasy/adventure/romance set in an alternate France where the nobility use "prayers" to produce magical effects, but peasants with magic are considered cursed.