Rapunzel is the best Disney princess. Blonde hair and green eyes for the win. She and Eugene are the best couple, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one to continue that journey.

This audiobook was received as an ARC from Disney Audiobooks through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Having already read the digital version of this books and many of my friends, family, and colleagues reading it as well, I knew I had to listen to the audiobook version. Rachel Kimsey does a fantastic job narrating the story bringing the imagery to life unlike ever before. The story itself is very compelling with Rapunzel, Mother Gothel, and Flynn Rider along the way and Rachel made sure she did them justice while narrating. This audiobook will be perfect to listen before bed, during a workout, or even in the car on the way to work. The audiobook will sure brighten someone's day with its joyful alliteration, compelling story, and clear dictation.

A audiobook that will sure fly off the selves on a modern interpretation of a classic tale in the modern Disney format. This audiobook deserves 5 stars.

This was a fun retelling of Rapunzel. I enjoyed that other story that was going along with it about the brother and sister and how he starting making up a new story because his sister was constantly making him read Rapunzel over and over again. It was a fun take on if the Queen drink the tea from the wrong flower.

I love this whole series of fairytale retellings and this one did not disappoint. This book was an fun and easy listen and was read by a great narrator. Thank you NetGalley for the advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved reading all books from this series and had been looking forward to a Rapunzel retelling for such a long time. I didn’t really care for the way the author kept leaving the fairytale story to go back to a pair of sisters that were writing the novel it took away from the plot for me.

I absolutely love this series and will recommend it at every opportunity that presents itself. The narrator does so much to bring the characters and the story as a whole to life and reading this one was such an enjoyable experience. This one in particular I really enjoyed because it takes the Disney tale that we all know and love and turns it into something dark and twisted where the magic works in such an interesting and unique way. I loved it and will definitely recommend it in the future.

This was not my favorite book I've listened to. Rapunzel is my favorite Disney princess, but it was difficult for me to get invested in the story. The narrator was good, and did not make me want to pull my hair out listening to. I would not read it again, but I'm not mad that I listened to it.

I have been interested in reading these Twisted Tales for some time and have bought some for my library, but this is the first I have read. I enjoyed it, and will go on to read others in the series. My students are also interested in these. They buy them at the book fair and look at them and comment on them on the displays, but they don't get checked out often. I am hoping that my reading of them will allow me to have better conversations with students about them as they pick them up and convince more students to check it out.

I think there is something comforting about a familiar story. We tend to watch our favorite movies and tv shows on repeat. I also think stories based in fairy tales or Disney storylines such as this bring back a fond childhood nostalgia for many. The twists, new characters, and humor add to the fun and make it just different enough for us to be engaged and want to know what happens next while still in that comfort nostalgia zone. I also enjoyed the dual story in this one of the brother and sister and found myself wanting to see more of their interaction too. Overall, light, fun, and enjoyable.

The second paragraph is also posted to Goodreads.

This is the type of story to read when you want to feel warm and fuzzy at the end. And I do--I feel warm and fuzzy.

Summary:
This book is a retelling of the Disney movie Tangled, based on the story of Rapunzel. However, in this story, Rapunzel’s mother is given a healing potion from the Moondrop flower rather than the Sundrop flower. As a result, Rapunzel develops silver hair rather than gold, and powers that are as strange and mysterious as her hair…

This new fairy tale is created by a teen boy in contemporary times as he seeks to distract his sister from her hospital stay while she receives treatments for cancer. Sporadically throughout the novel, the author includes a chapter with an exchange between the brother and sister, then returns to Rupunzel’s twisted tale as the brother continues the story.

My Review in short, no spoilers:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the opportunity to return to the world of Tangled and its beloved characters. The author did an excellent job capturing the essence of Rapunzel, Flynn, and many other fan favorites as readers join them on an adventurous romp through the kingdom. I would give this book a solid 3.5/5 stars as a sincerely enjoyable, lighthearted read.

Readers should expect to see many familiar faces from the film depicted in the story as the author examines how things might have changed if the Queen received a different potion resulting in different powers. One of the reasons I didn’t score this book as a four is that I wasn’t a huge fan of mixing the fantasy world of Tangled with real historical places and people. In my opinion, a “twisted tale” and a “historically-accurate retelling” are two different things. I didn’t like how as a reader I kept getting jerked out of a magical realm with enchanted hair and witches to be confronted with real historical characters or constraints.

However, I think this blend of history and fantasy was an extension of the author’s choice to tell the story from the perspective of a teenage boy from our own world. It made sense that he would pull inspiration from his history classes and research to create the world where he set the story.

This was the first Disney Twisted Tales book that I have read. Usually I can’t stand to read a series out of order, but for this series each book is a standalone story imagining how classic Disney stories may have turned out differently. I will definitely consider picking up another when I feel some Disney or fairytale nostalgia once again.

Great tween book for middle grade readers who are ready to move up to YA. Fun take on the Rapunzel/Tangled story. The frame tale was a bit weird, but since this is my first read in the Twisted Tale series, I’m not sure if it’s normal for the other books in the series to have a frame tale.

Unique retelling of Rapunzel any fairytale or Disney lover will enjoy! Darker than the Disney movie but not as dark as the original fairytale. The essence of the characters shines through the dialogue matched with new fun characters and magical settings was an enjoyable read.

This is my first time listening to a Liz Braswell book. While the titles have always appealed to me, I haven't gotten the chance to read/listen to one myself until now.

The story: In general, I like the story and thought it was a nice adaptation of the Disney tale. Not having read the other books, I don't know if this is a common theme, but occasionally, I felt that the storyline was ... convenient. In some ways that makes thing a little easier. No hard conversations or misunderstandings when things are left unsaid or hidden from the other characters (which usually happen and so leads to a lot of misunderstandings and human actions that need to be forgiven or remedied before trust can be re-established or whatever). In some ways, it is a breath of fresh air -- the truth being told when asked, etc. In most cases, though, it doesn't seem to me to be how most people react in the same situation. It didn't, however, detract from my enjoyment of the story overall.

The audio: I do the majority of my reading via audio these days. I wouldn't say this was my worst narration by far, but I did have a somewhat hard time imagining the characters I knew from the movie with the narration I was hearing. She did fairly well with Repunzel, but most of the other characters were not as easy for me to mesh with those in the movie. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I thought it worth mentioning. I also didn't care for the short musical episodes between the chapters. They seem out of place to me, and sometimes the pauses were a little too long.

What Once Was Mine is a retelling that firmly grips your attention and holds you, and your breath, until the very end. So much more is learned about Rapunzel, why she is in the tower, and how everything is resolved. Readers will not be disappointed in this book nor the narrator.

This was the first Twisted Tale for me, but it won’t be my last. I have heard about the series for some time now, and I enjoyed this introduction—and I especially appreciated the audiobook option, as that’s how I prefer to enjoy YA fiction.

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚:
A crowned princess locked in a tower, whose locks of hair can kill.

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
Is this the best book every written...no. However it was a fun twist! What if Rapunzel’s hair brought death instead of light and hope! A scared crowned princess afraid of herself. If you loved Tangled all the nuances are here still! A wonderful retelling worth experience

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the ⁣ chance to read this book :)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to listen to this audiobook. It was a cute spin on the Tangled tale, which is 100% my favorite Disney movie. The narrator was also engaging, which is a huge help when listening to audiobooks. If I can't stand the narrator I have to just give up - that was not the case with this one! If you love Disney and the story of Rapunzel, you'd definitely like this story as well.

This story was just way too long. It didn't need the added historical figure bad guy and the framing story of the brother making up this whole story just added more detail for no reason. I haven't read too many of the twisted tale books but this one took forever to get through.
The narrator did a really great job with the different characters.

What once was mine

I have read a few of this author’s updates of classic fairytales and I think this was my favorite! I love the addition of the strong female “outlaw”/heroine. (Although I was tempted to say sidekick, I think the author’s point is that she isn’t just a sidekick!) I also like that Rapunzel isn’t just a damsel in distress. She is a strong, modern young woman, who is empowered, despite her circumstances.
What I didn’t like - at all - was the frame story. It was mostly unnecessary and I felt like it was a cheap way for the author to say “look, I’m being so culturally relevant!” without actually doing so … except for that few sentences (which were unrelated to the actual story). There are plenty of more sophisticated, subtle, and authentic ways to incorporate more diversity into the story and characters.

What was once one of my favorite Disney movies is now my favorite book! I LOVE love LOVE this retelling of Disney's Tangled.
Basic premise: a brother and sister need to pass the time during Chemo. Sister is OBSESSED with Tangled. Brother is less than enthused about rewatching/rereading Tangled all day, every day; but, he wants to distract his sister from the Chemo. So he comes up with his own alternative version of Tangled. Yes, that is the scene and it's incredibly sweet and incredibly creative and I think Rapunzel would be proud of this retelling.
Now for the twisted part: what if Rapunzel's mother wasn't saved by the sun flower? Instead, she's saved by the mysterious moon flower? After all, the moon is more temperamental and ever changing. So it makes for a fun plot twist. All the favorite characters are in this story: Pascal, Maximus, Flynn Rider, captain of the guard, hook hand, Vlad. There is a new addition of an amazing character: Gina. I love Gina. She's a sassy, female version of Flynn.
The plot is almost the same - except for a few blood lusted villains, some kind heart-ed midwives and the addition of Gina.
Narrator: Loved the voice. It was perfect for Tangled. I was sucked into the story and could hear the voices playing out in my head in sync with the movie voices at times though.

First, I would like to say that the narration was done really well and felt very familiar to the movie. I really enjoyed the modern aspect of this story of a brother telling his sick sister this new tale of Rapunzel. It reminded me of Princess Bride and Never Ending Story in that aspect. I did want a tiny bit more of the modern story. The retelling was interesting and kept true to the feel of Rapunzel but with many twists. I think this story made sense on why Rapunzel would have stayed away from people locked in a tower. If you believed since you were little that you brought death on those who touched or got close to you, you would live in a constant state of fear. This reminded me a little of Elsa from Frozen. If you love the Disney tales and want one that is original but also touching then this book is for you.