Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles

by Jeannie Nicholas

Important update from the author
A corrected version of the book was uploaded 11/15/2025.
This tale is told from three distinct points of a young teenager, her mother, and their landlady. Kalayla is a bi-racial girl determined to teach adults a thing or two. Her mother, Maureen, has been disowned by her Irish family and works as a waitress. Their Italian landlady, a widow, is retiring as CEO of her family’s business.
Their deepening friendships provide a scaffolding of support and show the transformative power of connection as they each risk new adventures with laughter and courage. Their stories touch on adolescence, single motherhood, self-discovery, race, and marital abuse with honesty, humor, and compassion.
Some of the scenes in Unraveling Tangles will be familiar to readers of Kalayla. However, this book is not a dressed-up duplicate of the first. Unraveling Tangles allows the characters to reshape and complete their stories.

379 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2025

About the author

Jeannie loves animals, meditates daily, and practices Tai Chi. She admits she is obsessed by the number of steps on her Fitbit, and according to her husband, several other things, too. Kalayla is her first book, but not her last.

Reviews

[Vanessa Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute page turner.

Kalayla:Unraveling Tangles was a well written page turner. A young girl whose life seems to shatter when her father dies; but she picks up the pieces and makes a beautiful masterpiece. The author describes the difficulties of being in a mixed race relationship and the unfortunate behaviors some people do.
I liked how the author showed strengths and weaknesses in all the characters and how one young girl determination and personality changes peoples perspective.

[Lisa McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and entertaining read. Liked the three different perspectives. Looking forward to Jeannie's next book.

[Vaishnavi Somavarapu]

This story is based on life's of three women of different age groups Kalayla ( a teen age girl), Lena ( a old women) and Maureen ( a middle aged women). Author Jeannie Nicholas explains how women have to struggle regardless of age, color of skin and period of time!!

This story highlights the fact that though no matter what we are going through if have each others back we can over come all of that together.

This story begins in early 1900s and goes all the way to early 2000s, though its a long period of time all the scenarios that has bean explained are similar to the one that all the women in the real world go thorough, it never felt that i am reading a friction but all the time i read it felt like i am reading a real persons diary...

Kalayla a teenage girl who is living with her single mother, learning how society works learns about dealing with it with the help of a old women who is living across the hall in her apartment. i fell this story focuses on how she grows from a conserved girl who lost her dad and don't want to deal with nothing and no one, learns what she wants in her life, gets a pet, finds friends and long last family.

Maureen the mother of Kalayala who is a single parent who lost her husband in an accident, how she lives up to be a mother and a women she wants to be.

Lana who lost her twins and her husband, finds her home these two mother and daughter and eventually finds her way to connect with her other sons and family.

Tough it is the first book for Jeannie Nicholas her way of writing makes you fell all the emotions that the character is going through.

over all it took me a while to write this review though i have finished the book couple of days ago, because it has changed the my way of thinking and i think this story will stay with me for a long period of time.

[Teboho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalayla: Unravelling Tangles

When I started reading this book I was concerned that the story would not flow because each character spoke their part. I was wrong.
I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone that likes reading stories that have a real flavour to them.

[Diann Forquignon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable reading

I enjoyed this book which had chapters switching between peoples point of view. This is not the typical book I would choose to read as a horror story aficionado but I'm glad I chose it. It reads pretty quickly and gave me a different viewing of some of the family dynamics we all go through.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extended version of Kalayla, this book provides an extensive dive into three women's mental state, looking at their relationship and growth.


I received a free review copy. Thank you to OnlineBookClub and author.