
Member Reviews

Rapunzel has been my favorite princess for years and Flynn my favorite love interest. I have also always been obsessed with fairy tale retellings and enjoyed other books in the Twisted Tales series, so I was very excited to read this. I loved the story line of it being a story told by a big brother to help his little sister, very Princess Bride-esque with their dialogue cutting in throughout. I loved exploring the idea of the flower being harmful instead of helpful and how that would shape Rapunzel's character, as well as her interactions with other characters. I also adored all the new characters and the found family that was formed over the course of the story. I would recommend this to all lovers of Disney, fairy tale retellings, and anyone wanting a fun fantasy book with found family.

As a huge Disney fan, this scratched an itch that I never knew I had within the Rapunzel realm. This author clearly did her research, and this special, lovingly written fiction book shows that off. The twists are twisting, the feels are feeling, and this sweet installment was perfect. Maybe that it's Rapunzel is one of my favorite Disney installments and I'm bias, but this adventure was, while being different from the movie or the traditional book, a really fun read. It wasn't like watching Tangled and just calling it a day.

I haven’t met a book in the Twisted Tales series I haven’t liked, and when I saw Tangled was coming?! I screamed. And Liz did NOT disappoint. This was a tribute to the original Tangled story that took us through a journey of an adventure off the beaten path and I adored it!

I unfortunately never got to this Arc! However it is still on my Tbr. The premise and cover is amazing and i hope to get to it someday!

I cant resist a fairytale retelling, and this one really hooked me. There aren't enough Rapunzel retellings out there, so this was such a refreshing read. The alternate reality in the story is rich and engaging, and I loved how it kept surprising me with unexpected twists. It made the whole journey feel fresh, while still capturing the magic of the original.

An excellent entry to the series. This one takes a different angle from the others by having a storyteller from "our world" redoing the Disney tale. Some good twists along the way.

*Review will be posted on 7/19/24
This has to easily be one of my favorite retellings in the Twisted Tales series! I adored every second of reading this book! It still paralleled the movie pretty well but I didn't mind that. The details were a little different but the overall journey was the same.
Something that this book did really well was expanding on the romance between Rapunzel and Flynn. They had more time to develop things slowly and it made it so much better. It was cute and sweet.
Another thing I really enjoyed (oddly enough) was getting to spend more time with Gothel and seeing her schemes. She had less appearances in the movie, so it was nice to see more of her cunning and sassy comments this time around. Plus, I liked how the stakes were upped by having more people hunting for Rapunzel.
And something else that this book did differently was Rapunzel's powers. Her abilities were more complicated in this book. I loved that change because it expanded more on the lore about where these powers came from and how they worked. I thought it was an interesting twist. Overall, it was a really well-thought-out retelling of this lovely Disney tale that any fan of fairytales will enjoy!

DNF
I didn't realize this was a story within a story. This type of storytelling isn't for me and the writing wasn't intriguing enough for me to want to continue.

I enjoyed this one. I'm hugh fan of the movie so I figured I would give this one a try. It was entertaining and great writing style. Would give it 4.5 our of 5 stars.

What Once Was Mine, by Liz Brazwell, is a “twist” on a familiar fairytale. Liz Brazwell’s twisted variation of Rapunzel was everything you would hope for.! Highly recommended! The storyline and writing is easy enough for preteens and teens but Liz Brazwell remarkably managed to write a surbyrd book that will also captivate adults. Brazwell brought the characters to life and What Once Was Mine is now among my favorite Twisted Tales!
Thank you Liz Brazwell, Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading What Once Was Mine.

A phenomenally fun play on Rapunzel and flawlessly executed as usual for Liz Braswell. I have no critiques at all for this book and enjoyed it immensely

While I have enjoyed many of the Twisted Tales in the past, this one just fell a bit short for me personally. Braswell's writing was a bit hard to get into in the beginning and I feel this was a tougher story to change since "Tangled" is such a beloved classic in the more recent Disney era. That being said I do think die hard fans of the series will enjoy it and it's not horrible in the end.

These Disney retellings make my heart happy. I love how the story we know has been adapted to something new and intriguing. Just the right amount of nostalgia meets unexpected.

Let me start by saying that I love these Disney retellings. I will read pretty much any myth or fairy tale retelling. What I liked about this book: the side characters, exploring the world more, the writing. What I didn't like: the inclusion of Elizabeth Bathory, the framing device of the whole book, the side characters didn't get as fleshed out as I would have liked. I did love the side characters and wished that we'd gotten more time with them and their POVs (Gina and Flynn in particular). The choice to not have Mother Gothel as the main villain was certainly interesting. That being said, the inclusion of Elizabeth Bathory (the real-life murderous countess) felt very out of place to me. Lastly, the framing device made me feel constantly pulled out of the story rather than having it help to further the plot. I did like the sense of adventure and that Rapunzel goes through more character development than the movie.

What if Rapunzel‘s hair did not heal, but instead killed? This is the premise behind this Disney books—indeed, of the whole series, where the tale is twisted and turned into something that feels horrifying and dreadful. However, the books are absolutely fantastic, well written, and so enjoyable that I have bought every one that is available, read them voraciously, and then added them to my Classroom library. I recommend them to everyone. You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy the creativity and clever writing. Several of my students are reading them right now, and I know they will enjoy them as much as I did!

I have come to be really intrigued by Twisted tales. This one was no exception. I have read some really good ones and some not so good ones. This one I was really pleased with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Hyperion for allowing me to read this book.This is the 12th book in the Twisted Tales series. It can be read as a standalone.
Desperate to save the life of their queen and her unborn child, the good people of Corona search for the all-healing Sundrop flower to cure her—but mistakenly acquire the shimmering Moondrop flower instead.If you are a Disney fan or a Rapunzel fan this book is for you.

I liked this twist on the tangled story. Much more exciting and it added dimension to Rapunzel. I think her moon hair is much better than just the healing of her sun hair in the original tale. I also like that this was made by a brother to tell his sister while she is going through chemo. Much better storyline and message in this book. I enjoyed reading it a lot!

Due to some health issues, I was unable to get this book read and reviewed in a timely manner. I apologize.

I absolutely love retellings, and especially Disney retellings. This retelling of Rapunzel was wonderful!