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The Town of Superstition #4
A Tangle of Secrets
Sequel to The Battle of Iron Gulch
The Town of Superstition: Book Four
Thaddeus and his family and friends have returned from Iron Gulch and Thaddeus’s summer of magical awakening to a very different life. For one, he has both his parents for the first time, though his mother is still haunted by terrors and powers she can’t yet control. Teofil, Thaddeus’s gnome boyfriend, is consumed with finding Thaddeus’s evil uncle Lucian and answers about what happened to his brother, and he spends his days sequestered in Leopold’s library, pouring over the old wizard’s journals. When Thaddeus starts school and makes friends Teofil doesn’t like, there’s tension between them for the first time ever.
Thaddeus’s problems don’t end there. It’s harder and harder for him to conceal his magic, especially when facing the school bully. He’s lost, confused, and lashing out, and for once, he finds no solace in those closest to him. His enemies are hiding in plain sight, biding their time, until the Bearagon reappears and instigates a fight not everyone will walk away from.
260 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2017
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
R.G. Thomas
6 books22 followersR. G. Thomas has been reading books from an early age. As a young gay man, however, he found very few characters with whom he could truly identify. Now that he's an adult—or at least older than he used to be—he likes to write stories that revolve around gay characters. The Town of Superstition is his YA fantasy gay romance series which includes wizards, witches, and other magical creatures.
When he's not writing, R. G. Thomas loves to read, go to movies, watch some TV, and putter around in the small suburban patch of ground he calls a yard. He visits his mother once a week, not just for the free cookies, and enjoys spending time with close friends drinking wine and making up ridiculous things that sometimes show up in his books. Although he hates the process of travel, he does enjoy experiencing new places. His dream trip is to one day visit the country of Greece, and he is currently saving his nickels and dimes to make that a reality.
Twenty years ago he met a man who understood and encouraged his strange, creative mind, who made him laugh more often and more freely than anyone else. They were officially married in November of 2015 and today they still laugh often as they live in a suburb just north of Detroit with their two cats who act as both muse and distraction to him while he writes.
When he's not writing, R. G. Thomas loves to read, go to movies, watch some TV, and putter around in the small suburban patch of ground he calls a yard. He visits his mother once a week, not just for the free cookies, and enjoys spending time with close friends drinking wine and making up ridiculous things that sometimes show up in his books. Although he hates the process of travel, he does enjoy experiencing new places. His dream trip is to one day visit the country of Greece, and he is currently saving his nickels and dimes to make that a reality.
Twenty years ago he met a man who understood and encouraged his strange, creative mind, who made him laugh more often and more freely than anyone else. They were officially married in November of 2015 and today they still laugh often as they live in a suburb just north of Detroit with their two cats who act as both muse and distraction to him while he writes.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 21, 2019
3 Stars
Overall, this was a very nice wrap up to what I’m assuming to be the end of this series, and despite this being my least favorite due to personal preferences, it was not because it was poorly written.
This pretty much had everything in spades that I don't like in YA. I’ve remarked before that often this genre is too anxiety inducing for my fragile self, and I don’t enjoy the reading experience if I’m constantly fretting. Here, there’s staying in the closet, bullying, miscommunication or no communication on all fronts, strife with parents, and of course, the requisite growing pains of finding oneself with loads of doubt and confusion. Toss in magic and the need to keep it a secret, less terrible ramifications befall our hero, and it was just too much.
Again, not my favorite but still a solid entry to this paranormal series that I feel is definitely for an actual teen audience. This is wonderfully representative, and more books like this need to be out there. I'm just not the obvious demographic, but I still applaud this series, and I still love my favorite gnome Teofil, who will always hold a special place in my heart.
Overall, this was a very nice wrap up to what I’m assuming to be the end of this series, and despite this being my least favorite due to personal preferences, it was not because it was poorly written.
This pretty much had everything in spades that I don't like in YA. I’ve remarked before that often this genre is too anxiety inducing for my fragile self, and I don’t enjoy the reading experience if I’m constantly fretting. Here, there’s staying in the closet, bullying, miscommunication or no communication on all fronts, strife with parents, and of course, the requisite growing pains of finding oneself with loads of doubt and confusion. Toss in magic and the need to keep it a secret, less terrible ramifications befall our hero, and it was just too much.
Again, not my favorite but still a solid entry to this paranormal series that I feel is definitely for an actual teen audience. This is wonderfully representative, and more books like this need to be out there. I'm just not the obvious demographic, but I still applaud this series, and I still love my favorite gnome Teofil, who will always hold a special place in my heart.
September 30, 2024
3 Stars
Note: This series is one long continuing story following the life, love, and (sometimes dangerous) adventures of fifteen year old wizard Thaddeus, and as such this fourth story should not be read as a standalone.
I’ll be honest upfront and say this fourth instalment of the Superstition series was my least favourite read of the bunch. This had to do more with personal preferences and (possibly) current mood, rather than any issues with the writing or the story itself.
Where the first story served to set the magical scene, and the second and third stories followed Thaddeus and his family and friends on an epic and treacherous quest, this fourth story focused on the aftermath of such, largely following Thaddeus as he truly settled into life in Superstition, starting his new school year and facing the trials and tribulations that often come with being the new kid.
As I said, I’m unsure if my current life woes and poor mood had anything to do with my experience here, but I found this story to be very angsty, often causing me strong reactions of anger and anxiety as Thaddeus dealt with school bullies, teenage mood swings, and a boatload of magic related stressors and revelations that just kind of left me depleted when all was said and done.
I will say that I was impressed with the fact that this story was heavier in theme and more realistic in terms of teenage angst, but I guess I just missed the fun and adventure of the earlier instalments.
Overall, this was a solid and satisfying conclusion to the series as a whole (if that is indeed what it is?) and I still highly recommend it as a quality YA series, featuring cool fantasy elements and LGBT leads, while remaining geared towards middle school aged kids and teens.
Note: This series is one long continuing story following the life, love, and (sometimes dangerous) adventures of fifteen year old wizard Thaddeus, and as such this fourth story should not be read as a standalone.
I’ll be honest upfront and say this fourth instalment of the Superstition series was my least favourite read of the bunch. This had to do more with personal preferences and (possibly) current mood, rather than any issues with the writing or the story itself.
Where the first story served to set the magical scene, and the second and third stories followed Thaddeus and his family and friends on an epic and treacherous quest, this fourth story focused on the aftermath of such, largely following Thaddeus as he truly settled into life in Superstition, starting his new school year and facing the trials and tribulations that often come with being the new kid.
As I said, I’m unsure if my current life woes and poor mood had anything to do with my experience here, but I found this story to be very angsty, often causing me strong reactions of anger and anxiety as Thaddeus dealt with school bullies, teenage mood swings, and a boatload of magic related stressors and revelations that just kind of left me depleted when all was said and done.
I will say that I was impressed with the fact that this story was heavier in theme and more realistic in terms of teenage angst, but I guess I just missed the fun and adventure of the earlier instalments.
Overall, this was a solid and satisfying conclusion to the series as a whole (if that is indeed what it is?) and I still highly recommend it as a quality YA series, featuring cool fantasy elements and LGBT leads, while remaining geared towards middle school aged kids and teens.
December 27, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
This fourth story recounts Thaddeus returning to “real life” at his new high school. Starting out with no friends, he’s picked on by the school bully straightaway. And he is befriended by another new kid, Andy, and two others. Thaddeus runs afoul of the counselor, who’s suspicious why Thaddeus and his dad moved so frequently. Thaddeus is having trouble keeping his thoughts together, and has unexpected and increasingly problematic urges to do magic in public, at school, to prove that he’s stronger than the ridicule he faces. This only gets worse when his dad takes a “city job” that’s less-than-ideal. Thaddeus is overwhelmed with frustrations and anger, and it causes problems for him and Teofil. Teofil, as a gnome, doesn’t go to school, and he’s off on excursions to track down Lucien so he can possibly locate his missing brother, Fetter, who’d been abducted by Isadora more than a decade ago. The secrets that have kept Thaddeus safe his whole life are being twisted in his mind—and it’s intense. Thad’s growing anger issues are causing problems in all his relationships, and soon Thad’s being suspended (first time ever!) and grounded (also a first!) and Teofil’s maintaining a distance that breaks Thad’s heart.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
This fourth story recounts Thaddeus returning to “real life” at his new high school. Starting out with no friends, he’s picked on by the school bully straightaway. And he is befriended by another new kid, Andy, and two others. Thaddeus runs afoul of the counselor, who’s suspicious why Thaddeus and his dad moved so frequently. Thaddeus is having trouble keeping his thoughts together, and has unexpected and increasingly problematic urges to do magic in public, at school, to prove that he’s stronger than the ridicule he faces. This only gets worse when his dad takes a “city job” that’s less-than-ideal. Thaddeus is overwhelmed with frustrations and anger, and it causes problems for him and Teofil. Teofil, as a gnome, doesn’t go to school, and he’s off on excursions to track down Lucien so he can possibly locate his missing brother, Fetter, who’d been abducted by Isadora more than a decade ago. The secrets that have kept Thaddeus safe his whole life are being twisted in his mind—and it’s intense. Thad’s growing anger issues are causing problems in all his relationships, and soon Thad’s being suspended (first time ever!) and grounded (also a first!) and Teofil’s maintaining a distance that breaks Thad’s heart.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
April 17, 2018
‘A Tangle of Secrets’ is the fourth and, from the looks of it, final book in this fascinating fantasy series about fifteen-year-old wizard Thaddeus, his gnome boyfriend Teofil, and their families and friends. Thaddeus has already been through a lot, is beginning to be able to control his magic, and is much stronger and more mature than at the beginning of his story. But a few hurdles remain: he has to return to the human world and master a new high school with all its challenges, deal with his mother now that she is human once again, help Teofil find his uncle and his older brother, and much more. As magical, action-packed, and suspenseful as ever, this novel focuses on Thaddeus’s mental and emotional growth as much as on his adventures. Oh, and I’d definitely recommend you read these books in order or you’ll miss too much of the back story.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
December 26, 2017
Book – A Tangle of Secrets (The Town of Superstition #4)
Author – R.G. Thomas
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 277
Cover – Perfect!
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Young Adult, Adventure, Coming-of-Age
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
This story is a difficult one to review, because it's mostly quite a negative story – full of negative emotions, chaos and a lot of bad teen experiences happening to a teenager – but on the other hand, there are some shining moments of joy and relief that match the previous books. For me, this is the first book that felt really long and a hard slog to work through. This was mostly due to the negative experiences and emotions that took over the majority of the book. It made it hard to be stuck in for so many hours at a time. I had to put the book down a few times, just to get a little relief from the intense teen hormones causing so much negativity.
The story offers a few new supernatural aspects than before: revisiting the wizard heritage, introducing ghosts, and changelings. However, it felt that a lot of magical stuff was going on at one time and it made it harder to follow from one sub-plot to another. Despite them all being interlinked with each other, the various sub-plots were often abandoned and not fully explored to my liking, because the story focused too much on Thaddeus' experiences in high school and his emotions. I wanted him to have an adventure, but he didn't. He watched Teofil and his siblings go off on adventures, investigating things without him, off page, while Thaddeus dealt with teen drama. I would have liked to have had a dual POV or split POV so that we could follow Teofil on his journey and see what he was experiencing.
I found the new characters interesting, and there was no shortage of suspects for who Logan, Lucius and his thugs might be pretending to be. The intrigue was high, the chaos full scale, and there was plenty of emotional intensity. I loved when Teofil and Thaddeus were alone together, but when other people were there, the chemistry was ruined and Thaddeus began acting like a stranger. It was only when they were together that he was the same old Thaddeus that I've grown to love throughout the series. I was a little disappointed at the distance Teofil put between them, but was prepared for that after reading the blurb. All of this came together to really show the dramatic change in Thaddeus and add another layer to the plot that helped explain all of the negativity and bad experiences as being related to his mood and vice versa.
In the end, the answers given settled some of the issues I'd had and made sense of them, questions were answered and plots were resolved. It just felt like it took a long time to get there. Overall, it was a book of two halves. It really did resolve the overall plot, with an ending that I could buy, while also leaving the possibility of more in the future, but it was a tough read, emotionally. I found myself losing interest at points, just because there was so much negativity all clumped together. I could have used a break from the onslaught of emotional torment, but I did like that it answered a lot of questions and finished off the story well. I could happily read more in this series in the future, and if that isn't in the cards, then that's okay with me too, because this one offered a solution and ending that sits well with me. I'll definitely be buying these books in paperback, just as soon as I can.
~
Favourite Quotes
““It hasn't been easy for you, has it?” Thaddeus asked.
His father shrugged. “Not always, no. But I had a great motivation to do the right thing.”
“What was that?”
“Keeping you alive.””
Author – R.G. Thomas
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 277
Cover – Perfect!
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Young Adult, Adventure, Coming-of-Age
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
This story is a difficult one to review, because it's mostly quite a negative story – full of negative emotions, chaos and a lot of bad teen experiences happening to a teenager – but on the other hand, there are some shining moments of joy and relief that match the previous books. For me, this is the first book that felt really long and a hard slog to work through. This was mostly due to the negative experiences and emotions that took over the majority of the book. It made it hard to be stuck in for so many hours at a time. I had to put the book down a few times, just to get a little relief from the intense teen hormones causing so much negativity.
The story offers a few new supernatural aspects than before: revisiting the wizard heritage, introducing ghosts, and changelings. However, it felt that a lot of magical stuff was going on at one time and it made it harder to follow from one sub-plot to another. Despite them all being interlinked with each other, the various sub-plots were often abandoned and not fully explored to my liking, because the story focused too much on Thaddeus' experiences in high school and his emotions. I wanted him to have an adventure, but he didn't. He watched Teofil and his siblings go off on adventures, investigating things without him, off page, while Thaddeus dealt with teen drama. I would have liked to have had a dual POV or split POV so that we could follow Teofil on his journey and see what he was experiencing.
I found the new characters interesting, and there was no shortage of suspects for who Logan, Lucius and his thugs might be pretending to be. The intrigue was high, the chaos full scale, and there was plenty of emotional intensity. I loved when Teofil and Thaddeus were alone together, but when other people were there, the chemistry was ruined and Thaddeus began acting like a stranger. It was only when they were together that he was the same old Thaddeus that I've grown to love throughout the series. I was a little disappointed at the distance Teofil put between them, but was prepared for that after reading the blurb. All of this came together to really show the dramatic change in Thaddeus and add another layer to the plot that helped explain all of the negativity and bad experiences as being related to his mood and vice versa.
In the end, the answers given settled some of the issues I'd had and made sense of them, questions were answered and plots were resolved. It just felt like it took a long time to get there. Overall, it was a book of two halves. It really did resolve the overall plot, with an ending that I could buy, while also leaving the possibility of more in the future, but it was a tough read, emotionally. I found myself losing interest at points, just because there was so much negativity all clumped together. I could have used a break from the onslaught of emotional torment, but I did like that it answered a lot of questions and finished off the story well. I could happily read more in this series in the future, and if that isn't in the cards, then that's okay with me too, because this one offered a solution and ending that sits well with me. I'll definitely be buying these books in paperback, just as soon as I can.
~
Favourite Quotes
““It hasn't been easy for you, has it?” Thaddeus asked.
His father shrugged. “Not always, no. But I had a great motivation to do the right thing.”
“What was that?”
“Keeping you alive.””
December 28, 2017
Full review at :
https://optimumm.blog/2017/12/27/review-a-tangle-of-secrets-by-r-g-thomas/
After the battle of Iron Gulch, Thaddeus and his family and his friends have returned to Superstition.
Thaddeus and his father have succeeded, they found Claire, Thaddeus’s mother, and freed her from her curse. Claire needs some time to adjust to her new life. Thaddeus needs to return to his old life, meaning go back to school. But this time everything is different for him, he’s no longer the lonely boy he was, he has a boyfriend, he’s a wizard and his mother is back home.
Between Teofil’s quest to find his brother Fetter, the bully at school who harasses Thaddeus, and his new friend Andy, Thaddeus lives through a lot of changes and he feels more and more like an outsider from everyone, including his family.
But when the past comes back to hurt them, Thaddeus will have to make a choice and find the truth in all the lies.
It’s the final book of this series, and it’s my favorite.
Thaddeus has to come back to school, deals with a bully too, and starts to have dark and mean thoughts. He talks back to his parents, fights with Teofil and he’s angry all the times…
At first, I thought, nothing is wrong with him, he’s just a teenager. But the more I read, the more I understood that there’s something really wrong with him. And I had to wait for the end of the book to have my suspicions confirmed or not.
This story was more focused on Thaddeus and his family. It was interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I really liked this book and how the author describes Thaddeus’s change, he makes a great metaphor between magic and the change all teenagers go through when they hit puberty.
The plot was good, and we have a real closure at the end, no more secrets, suspicions, nothing left.
I’m a little bit sad to say goodbye to them, but it was a beautiful final chapter.
4 OptimuMMs for All of them.
***The ARC was provided by Ink Harmony . My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
https://optimumm.blog/2017/12/27/review-a-tangle-of-secrets-by-r-g-thomas/
After the battle of Iron Gulch, Thaddeus and his family and his friends have returned to Superstition.
Thaddeus and his father have succeeded, they found Claire, Thaddeus’s mother, and freed her from her curse. Claire needs some time to adjust to her new life. Thaddeus needs to return to his old life, meaning go back to school. But this time everything is different for him, he’s no longer the lonely boy he was, he has a boyfriend, he’s a wizard and his mother is back home.
Between Teofil’s quest to find his brother Fetter, the bully at school who harasses Thaddeus, and his new friend Andy, Thaddeus lives through a lot of changes and he feels more and more like an outsider from everyone, including his family.
But when the past comes back to hurt them, Thaddeus will have to make a choice and find the truth in all the lies.
It’s the final book of this series, and it’s my favorite.
Thaddeus has to come back to school, deals with a bully too, and starts to have dark and mean thoughts. He talks back to his parents, fights with Teofil and he’s angry all the times…
At first, I thought, nothing is wrong with him, he’s just a teenager. But the more I read, the more I understood that there’s something really wrong with him. And I had to wait for the end of the book to have my suspicions confirmed or not.
This story was more focused on Thaddeus and his family. It was interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I really liked this book and how the author describes Thaddeus’s change, he makes a great metaphor between magic and the change all teenagers go through when they hit puberty.
The plot was good, and we have a real closure at the end, no more secrets, suspicions, nothing left.
I’m a little bit sad to say goodbye to them, but it was a beautiful final chapter.
4 OptimuMMs for All of them.
***The ARC was provided by Ink Harmony . My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
July 24, 2022
All of the 4 books of The Town of Superstition series are a great read. Thomas strikes the right balance between fiction and reality so the reader is not left far off. The social matters addressed in this action-filled journey are done tastefully. I am a non-fiction reader and I enjoyed every part of these books. Well-written and easy to read.
September 2, 2024
This was a very fun and engaging story that had a nice storyline filled with normal teenage angst! I loved the characters and the simple elegance of what happens when mistrust and doubt plague the mind. Hope the author continues this magical adventure as there are quite a few stories left to be told!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews