The time travel clock ticks ever so slowly in this one, my fellow romance book loving friends. Though at first I was intrigued by the concept and the characters’ backgrounds, I found myself frustrated at the snail, slow pace in the first half of this book. As an avid romantic at heart, I’m usually very patient when it comes to waiting for the main couple to get tangled up in the sheets, mostly because I prefer a strong, established emotional connection to take place first. However, a considerable amount of time was spent on the ins and outs of Regan and her relatives’ ghostly gifts and Faelan fumbling around trying to convince Regan to recognize he did really need her to break a curse some may feel he earned.

At nearly 30% into it, when a windy explanation with even more details about gravity, magnetism, realms, solstices and equinoxes was presented to try to lend some credibility to this fictitious scenario, I seriously started to question whether I was wasting my time and if I should just give up the ghost and move on to my next romantic read.

At 62%, when after two big reveals and a task assigned to Regan that did not sit well with me, I found myself not wanting to suffer through how it all works out just to get to a HEA. I actually did push onward until 85%, and it still didn’t get any better for me, folks.

Here’s to hoping others enjoy it. I just didn’t overly enjoy the author’s direction or delivery of this particular storyline.

Title: Tangled in Time, Author: Barbara Longley, Pages: 268, stand-alone, paranormal, former manho hero, didn’t really enjoy it.

(I received a free advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. No type of compensation was given to this reviewer. There is no relationship/affiliation between the reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

Normally, I'm not a fan of time travel romance but I loved the author's contemporary work so much I had to give this one a try. I'm very glad I did. Regan is strong and feisty and independent; all things I love to see in heroines. She's also stubborn, opinionated, and quick to judge which I didn't like as much. In fact, her stubborn streak made me want to smack her for a lot of the first half of the book. But by the time we got into the second half she needed that stubbornness to see her through. Fáelán is like the knights of legend (without the heavy, clank-y metal armor). He's courageous, kind, honorable; all the things that make up the best heroes. My only problem with him was that he was a bit of a horn-dog. I guess nearly two thousand years without a woman will make some needs more insistent than others, so that trait's forgivable. The island came to life through the blending of ancient and modern Ireland as a backdrop to their story and many times it felt like I was there with Reagan and Fáelán. It's set an interesting stage for the stories of her sisters to follow.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.

I'm probably not the right person to review this one since paranormal, even light paranormal like this book, aren't really my thing. That's on me, I should have read the blurb fully. So I will base my review on the writing rather than the story itself. The story is very well constructed with great character develop. The story has a nice easy flow and pace. Overall it's very well done. The story is fun and magical. For those that enjoy light paranormal stories this one seems like a good one.

Book: Tangled in Time
By Barbara Longley

Series: The McCarthy Sisters, Book One

Release Date: October 24, 2017


Reviewed by: Barb Massabrook (of)
Tartan Book Reviews
Purple Tulip Book Reviews
Celtic Barb’s Tartan Book Review Blog

Rating:🔥

Overall Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Present Day, County Meath, Ireland

This is the first book in the brand new McCarty Sisters series. Regan the eldest sister, can see and communicate with ghosts. Her job is to bring them to the light - as sometimes they are attached to objects or things. As they are so focused on these items are off the chosen path they are supposed to take. Regan puts them on the right path to heaven's gate. Regan’s twin younger sisters, Meredith and Grayce, have the power of premonition and precognition. They all have a trace of fae blood in them as well.

Regan McCarthy is the heroine of this story. Her ancestors have passed down the dreaded power of seeing ghosts. She received this unwanted gift from her Irish ancestry-so bam she an idea! To go back to Ireland: the source of the mystical newgrange monument in County Meath and return to sender!

Well she is hoping for some type of result or at least to get some kind of control over this power. As she did not want it! Felt it destroyed her life! All her boyfriends have left her thinking she's a freak and people in general think she's nuts! As people can’t see her ghosts. So as she converses with them being a ghost whisperer per say, human’s see her talking to air! They think she's schizophrenic or just plain cra cra crazy! She just wants some normal in her life, a nice boyfriend, maybe even get married and have a family. If only someone could accept who she really was!

At the Newgrange monument everything goes kind of haywire and she ends up in front of this swoon worthy eighteen hundred old Celtic warrior Fáelán. She think’s it one of her ghosts. When Fáelán explains he's been cursed and she's his wee miracle, Regan doesn't believe him. No, she is convinced he's just attached to something and she needs to bring him to the light. The problem is she's never felt an attraction to any of her ghosts before! It definitely can't go anywhere but it confuses Regan. Plus he has strange abilities where he can do things her other ghosts can't. It all very consuming and frustrating to Regan who likes everything black and white per say.


Fáelán had been an elite warrior for Fionn MacCumhaill until he met with an unfortunate accident! He was cursed by a jealous, spiteful, fae princess, Morrigan. This fae princess had pretended to be a mortal in the 3rd century. She had her wicked ways, gave him a concoction to become immortal without his knowledge. Fáelán flat turned her down to be her consort forever. So this vengeful fae cursed him and put him in this solemn veil for all of eternity!

The only way to break the curse is to fall in love. The all consuming, I would die for you kind of love. The problem is he can't be seen by anyone, but kin and only has, 5 days at the rare equinox and solstice where the veils lifts, realms merge and dimensions collide. It is his only opportunity to court and fall in love. Plus to break this wicked curse, he has to fall so deeply in love where he would forsake everything, even die for the one he loves. Except when this opportunity presents itself, he realizes both he and the woman he had fallen for are in mortal danger!


Fáelán would rather spend his eternity being imprisoned, than have his beloved Regan in any type of danger! Will this fae princess ever let him go? Will she go into a jealous tirade when she learns he has fallen in love. Will she murder Regan, Fáelán or both? You must read this phenomenal book, as there is a lot of shocking surprises in this spectacular novel!

Another beautiful story by Barbara Longley. She has the power of catching readers in her magic web and never letting go. This story I found really fascinating and a lover of everything Celtic I really loved Fáelán. He was charming, enchanting, honest, smart, honorable and drool worthy!

For those intrigued by science, there are many theories weaved into this story as well. So if you are a fan of either Albert Einstein or Harry Potter - it's a novel you definitely don't want to miss!

Another novel with breathtaking characters that are brought to life. The Irish settings in the present and past and fae Summerland are absolutely picturesque. I could see the brilliant colors of the sky and landscape so clearly in my mind. The plotting in this novel was absolutely mind blowing too. Some of this novel is hilarious where I loved the humor, but some heartbreaking scenes as well. So have the tissues on hand, you will need them. I also loved how the book explained the workings of time - in the past, present and future, plus how work and bind together. Absolutely captivating!

A spellbinding enchanting delightful novel that blew me away! I highly recommend this brilliant read that will stay with you long after you've read it. I know I couldn't put it down! I highly recommend as I absolutely loved “Tangled in Time” by Barbara Longley.


Disclaimer:I received this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review. I voluntarily agreed to read, review, blog and promote through netgalley. All words, ideas and thoughts are my own.


Amazon Buy Link:

Amazon.com: Tangled in Time (The McCarthy Sisters) eBook: Barbara ...

Tangled in Time is a time travel romance with a twist. Fáelán is a Celtic warrior cursed by the fae princess, Morrigan, to live in a void realm, only able to access the Earthly realm during the solstices when the veil thins. Due to the intervention of a friendly fae at the time of his cursing, he is able to teleport himself to the Earthly realm (although this uses a lot of his strength); however he can only be seen by certain members of his family and by those with the ‘gift.’ He is destined to be cursed until he meets one of these gifted and falls in love with them to the point where he’d be willing to sacrifice his own life for them. And so the story begins....

Regan is a psychic who has the ability to interact with ghosts. Thoroughly jaded with her ability, she goes to Ireland to visit ancient sites of power to try and block her gift. It is at one such site that she meets Fáelán and despite his protests to the contrary she believes he is simply another ghost that needs to ‘seek the light.’ She eventually comes to believe his story and then events unfold as she and Fáelán attempt to undo his curse.

This was an enjoyable light read with quite a few humorous moments. The author has a lovely writing style and the relationship between Regan and her ‘boasty ghosty’ Fáelán was lovely to watch unfold. The world building was very well done, as was the characterisation of both the primary and secondary characters.

A few reviews have noted that Regan’s disbelief of Fáelán’s curse may have gone on too long. Perhaps, but I think you have to take in account Regan’s pure weariness of her abilities, and the insistence of her mother to continue to help everyone who needs it, even at the expense of Regan’s own peace of mind. By the time she meets Fáelán she is well and truly over anything ghost related, and her disbelief is a defence/coping mechanism. Once she can no longer ignore the ‘anomalies’ surrounding Fáelán she jumps in with both feet to help him.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I certainly will keep an eye out for her other/future works. This was a perfect read to just relax with, and I suggest that if you read it, go with the flow and just enjoy it.

What a pleasurable, enchanting read! TANGLED IN TIME by Barbara Longely is engrossing from start to finish, and the book is filled with excitement, heart stopping action and believable fantasy.

Ms Longley gives readers a reason to turn the pages using quick witted dialogue and presenting characters you love and a few you despise.

I never stopped rooting for Regan and Faelan; tears were shed and fears were heightened, but in the end, I knew all would be well.

Thank you, Ms Longley for this magical, enjoyable read!

I received this book from netgalley for honest review of this book. Regan's ability to see ghosts is a gift inherited from her Irish ancestors who somewhere down the line had a baby with a Fae. She wants to give up her powers, so she travels to Ireland to harness the ancient magic that still permeates the mystical site of Newgrange in a hope to return them to the source. She meets Faelan who she thinks is another ghost. She doesn’t believe that he was one of Fionn MacCumhaill’s elite soldiers before being cursed by a resentful fae princess. She believes him when during the solstice when he becomes real. Once they pledge their love to each, it is suppose to break the curse but it ended up throwing both of them being thrown through time. This book was hard to put down. The characters and the beauty of the places she described are incredible. Makes you want to go and visit those places.

I don't often read this genre of book these days, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a sweet story of love conquering all.
Regan has come to spend a year in Ireland to research her family history. She has inherited the gift of second sight, as have her two sisters Gracie and Meredith, although all have different talents. Regan can see ghosts, and is thoroughly weary of helping them pass over, and of bereaved relatives trying to get her to communicate with their departed souls. She is hoping that she will find relatives, or magic, that will close her off from it. She finds it very draining to have ghosts calling to her all the time.
She sneaks into an ancient site before dawn, hoping to channel some of the magical energy she hopes to find there. Instead, she meets Faelan; she believes he is just another ghost, but he tries to make her understand that he is just trapped in another dimension due to a curse placed on him. He tells her that at the equinoxes and solstices the dimensions collide, and he had five days back in the normal dimension, where he hopes to find a woman who would see him, and fall in love with him, and he would be prepared to give up his life for, then the curse could be broken.
Meanwhile, although Regan does not believe him, and refers to him as boastie ghostie, he offers to show her round the ancient sites that were ancient when he was alive, eighteen hundred years before. They get to know each other well, Regan still believes he is a ghost, but goes along with his story because she likes him.
When the solstice occurs she discovers his story is true, he is a living, breathing and very amorous man! And the excitement really begins! Suffice it to say that Regan is very brave, and does everything in her power to rescue her man. She, and he, undergo many trials and tribulations, and at the end he is back in the third century, and doesn't remember her! Magic prevails, of course, and we have a delightfully happy ending.
Barbara Longley must have kissed the Blarney Stone at some point, because the story makes very logical and compulsive reading. Loved it!

The book is interesting. I am not one that reads many time travel books. But the description of the book drew my interest. I like the characters and the depth of their development. The relationships are intriguing. The difference of a ghost and a cursed soul was well covered. The idea of having days of being alive in the current time was a unique idea. The book was a good read..

After selling her business Regan MacCarthy decides to take a year to find her roots and herself in Ireland. Blessed (or cursed) with the ability to see spirits, Regan is naturally unperturbed when an ancient Irish Warrior, Fáelán approaches her at the mystical site, Newgrange. This has happened before, although none of the ghosts she's encountered in the past have made her heart pound like Fáelán.

Cursed by a jealous Sidhe princess, Fáelán has been looking for a cure for millennia -- a woman who can see his cursed state and who he can let himself love. He thinks he might have found her in Regan. The problem. She doesn't believe he's cursed, and he's running out of time.

So I absolutely love time travel romance, it's a thing. But because of that, I sometimes get the "I've seen it all" doldrums when reading. I didn't get that with this book. The twist was unique enough that I was intrigued and even better the time travel was rooted in quantum physics. I don't know about you, but I love me some science with my paranormal.

Fáelán was a unique hero. He was patient in the way that someone who has lived a really long time without going crazy was patient, but at the same time he also wasn't willing to dawdle. He knew what he wanted and he went for it. He was also super intelligent and educated. Something which surprised me because it was so different. He's the kind of hero that will appeal to fans of both alpha males and knights in shining armor... or leather as the case may be.

Regan was grounded in a way I didn't expect. She felt human to me. Real. Her reactions made sense and even when I was frustrated with her, I understood her reasoning. Her struggles with her powers was true to life and having a 'superpower' didn't magically make her life better.

The author's knowledge of Ireland shone through. I could almost smell the peat fires and taste the Harp. Her descriptions of the various places the leads visited could be used as part of a "Visit Ireland" promotional campaign.

In all, I really loved this time travel romance. Which is why I'm happy to give it:

Five Stars

*** I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

Tangled in Time is a fun little book. There's romance, there's a sexy man from ancient times. and there is a whole lotta intensity. Regan can see ghosts and she can communicate with them to help them move on. But it's a gift she doesn't want and she wants to shut it off. And just as she's moved to Ireland to find how to do that, she meets this mysterious ghost. Only he insists he is no ghost and he was cursed som 1800 years ago. He claims that his only way to free himself would be to fully surrender his heart to a woman who is able to see him. Looks like he's found the perfect candidate.

While the premise of the book is interesting, I found several aspects of this book to be somewhat problematic. First off, I am not a fan of insta-love at all and here we have just that. Things happen really fast and it sometimes feels like the author missed a detail or two. We read how Faelan can transport himself with the sheer power of his mind, but how does he transport material possessions with him between the realms? How does he actually shave with a modern razor when he cannot touch things? I don't know if I missed something or if it was never explained...

But these are small details and if you can get past them, this is an enjoyable read for the romance-thirsty person who just wants a quick and fun read.

I voluntarily read the advanced sneak peak of this book and I loved it. I need more ASAP, I can not wait for this book to come out!

Regan's ability to see ghosts is a gift inherited from her Irish ancestors. In an attempt to return her powers to their source, she travels to Ireland to harness the ancient magic that still permeates the mystical site of Newgrange.She meets there Faelan.He was one of Fionn MacCumhaill’s elite soldiers before being cursed by a resentful fae princess. The book is amazing. When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Keep up the good work.I received this book from netgalley for honest review of this book.

‘Tangled in Time’s premise has a certain fairy-tale like veneer to it: a man stuck in some indeterminate, liminal realm, cursed by a fae princess, to be set free only when he finally falls in love and gets a woman to return that sentiment.

The only problem is, Regan MacCarthy refuses to believe that Faelan of the Fiann is anything but a ghost and the latter’s effort trying to convince her takes up a significant part of the first part. The first part of the story goes as expected: Faelan is already half in love with Regan for engaging him and seems to be determined that he will be falling in love with her. Gotta love that ardent, earnest spirit, hey? Except that this happens only for the first half of the story, until Faelan’s curse isn’t released at all, because well, a vengeful fae refuses to let him go.

I spent a fair bit of the first part simply trying to figure out the mythology of the fae and the realms and Longley’s interpretation of Faelan’s cursed existence, which left me more puzzled by how it all worked. But being stuck in the void is just weird business: Faelan, as a 1800-year-old cursed guy, can ‘teleport’ himself past his island, though he isn’t susceptible to the elements, can shave with a disposable plastic razor (does he really shuttle material things back and forth the realms?!), speaks like a Scot, can’t smell, and even manages to alternate between ancient and modern clothes—it’s a mental tally that I’d gotten going subconsciously as it sort of became clear how he managed that.

Yet I was going along with the ride though, until some twists and turns came towards the middle of the book and these revelations made the story difficult to continue after that. There is sort of another woman involved, though not in the traditional sense and the consequences of Faelan’s ancient indiscretions as we learn later, is actually the basis for why he’s stuck that way. Despite the interesting paranormal slant to the story, the heavy involvement of OWs is a personal turn-off and then throwing some foetuses into the mix just makes it worse.

I’m just sorry to say I can’t give a better review and rating to this story whose blurb intrigued me so much. It was fun to see the mythical Ireland reconstructed through Barbara Longley’s pen, complete with mists, rolling hills and magic dust and I really thought I’d enjoy this a lot more than I would but after a while, ’Tangled in Time’ almost felt like a morality tale of not messing with more powerful spirits or things living in the unseen realms of existence…or else.