Tangled Web by Crista McHugh – a Review

Tangled Web by Crista McHugh is the first book in her Deizian Empire series.

Description:

The deadliest assassin in the empire just got too close to her target…

Azurha, a former slave turned deadliest assassin in the empire, has just been offered the ultimate challenge—seduce, then murder the new Emperor. But Titus is not the tyrant his forefathers were, and his radical ideas might be the glimmer of hope the empire needs.

Titus Sergius Flavus has yet to master the powerful magic of his ancestors—magic he must wield if he’s to protect his people—but his father’s death has left him no choice. Rule the Deizian Empire and attempt to right his ancestors’ wrongs, or watch her fall to his greedy kin.

More than just Titus’ ideas hold Azurha captive. Night after night, he awakens desires she thought lost, and uncovers the magic of her hidden lineage. As her deadline approaches, Azurha is forced to make an impossible decision—complete her job and kill the man she loves, or fail and forfeit both their lives.

Review:

Tangled Web begins with Azurha still bound to her master in slavery.  She is abused and humiliated in horrendous ways.  Fortunately, through a series of events, she gains her freedom.  Flash forward 7 years.  She is a free woman and very good at her job:  assassin, a.k.a., The Rabbit.  She’s fast, deadly and a shadow.  She was trained by Cassius, an assassin as well, who took her in after she gained her freedom.  She attends a meeting to find out who her next mark is:  His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Titus Sergius Flavus.  And the person who hires her?  The Emperor’s cousin, who would be next in line as Emperor.  Her cover?  She is being presented to the Emperor as a concubine for the imperial harem.

Immediately upon her arrival at the palace, she realizes that Titus isn’t the same as those before him.  He thinks outside the box, something those that preceded him didn’t do and she is intrigued.  Is this man really trying to do what’s best for his people or, like the ones before him, do what’s best for personal gain?  For the first time in Azurha’s career as an assassin, she hesitates in taking out her target.  She tells herself that she will take the two weeks that she’s been given to kill him in order to find out more.  However, the longer she takes to fulfill her contract, the more danger she places on herself and Titus.

Tangled Web had me enthralled from the very first sentence…. You’ll never find a knot you can’t unravel.  The way McHugh has written the story builds from the very first.  The pull between the two main characters is immediate and does not stop.  There is political intrigue and a bit of mystery.  Due to Azurha’s former slave status, she thinks she can only bring Titus down as their feelings grow stronger for each other.  But Titus has plans for his empire and they include her.  He is determined to change the “status quo”, and everything else be damned.  Of course, there are bumps along the way, where things are not as they appear and things are revealed that change everything.  Can Titus truly love an assassin who was sent to kill him?  Or has Azurha finally found the knot she can’t unravel?

This book was good from the first word until the last.  Actually, it was great.  I keep trying to come up with the words to describe it, and all that keeps going through my mind is “oh my sweet Jesus!!”!!  LOL!!!  It was a page-turner from the word go.  The chemistry between Azurha and Titus was amazing.   There was no “filler” in this book.  No lengthy descriptions of anything other than the characters’ thoughts and feelings about the given situation they were facing at the time.  Even for the supporting characters, which are very well written and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series to find out more about them.  I had a friend call and say that she getting burned out reading and I told her to get Tangled Web.  She did and finished it in one sitting.  It is phenomenal.  This is the first book that I’ve read by Crista McHugh, but I guarantee you it won’t be the last.

Reviewed by Vickie

 Copy provided by Publisher