I am convinced Christina and Lauren can do no wrong. Everything they write is a masterpiece and this was no exception. I lived every second of it, and I’m so ready for whatever this have next!!!

Tangled is my favorite animated movie ever! I will forever read anything by Christina Lauren. Tangled Up in You was simply perfection. Tangled Up in You was a cute Tangled retelling. Our main character Ren is an innocent and naive 22 year old getting her first taste of freedom. Ren decided to attend college for the first time and encounters Fitz. Fitz is the popular guy on campus and under some circumstances, they end up on a road trip together that leads to an adventure. I loved this story so much and I can’t wait to own a physical copy. Once again thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for a copy of this book. I had an amazing time!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Ren has been sheltered all her life but now she's branching out to go to college. But even with this new adventure, her parents insist she comes back to the homestead on weekends and won't let her tell anyone where she lives. It's been like this all her life and she never thought it was odd. Until she meets Fitz, and goes on a cross country adventure with him to investigate some DNA results she got from her class at school. Along the way she has many firsts, including finding herself attracted to Fitz. But her parents won't have any of it and find her only to drag her back home. But turns out there's more to her parents and her life than she could have ever imagined.
I love Christina Lauren and all their books. Of course I needed a chance to read this one and see what it was about. It's very different from their usual romance. If you're looking for a typical Lauren book, this won't be it. But it's a cute story. It's a reimagining of a modern day Rapunzel story. And it's dual POV, which I love in a romantic story.
Ren is oddly sheltered, having grown up home schooled with parents who insisted they be totally self-sufficient on their homestead. College is a totally different animal for her. One where she learns there's more to life than only what her parents have presented. She's a naive character but at the same time has fairly good instincts about people. I think this is what saves her character for me. Because while she's been sheltered all her life, she still managed to walk away with a good head on her shoulders.
Fitz is damaged goods. Or at least that's what he believes. He doesn't like to let anyone in and doesn't like for people to know about his past. He's determined to graduate and make something of himself, and seek revenge all at the same time. He didn't need Ren in his life to change how he feels about his plan, but there she is. And, while he comes across as locked up, he really just needed the right person in his life to help him open up and see what he can truly make of himself.
I kind of figured out the underlying plot line early on. Something never sat right for me with Ren's parents. They were odd and still insisting on sheltering her at the age of 22 seemed very off to me. The romance is definitely part of the story, but it's really not the main plot line. If you're looking for the usual spice that accompanies Lauren's books, you won't find it here. You'll find some light romance and attraction. But the book truly reads more like a YA book. The main plot is really Ren coming into herself and learning what she needs to do to be an independent woman.
If you're looking for a cute fast reading romantic adventure a la Disney style with a bit of a mysterious twist, jump into this one.

This is book 4 of the Meant to Be series - updated and contemporary takes on classic Disney princesses for adults! This one is a retelling of Tangled. It was a cute will they or won’t they story with a touch of Disney magic. I knew it would be good because I’ve never read a Christina Lauren book that wasn’t great! I’m looking forward to the next book in the series…. But I have some catching up to do!
Thank you Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC!

3.5 rounded up. Cute, a bit predictable with some edginess to it. It was a fun, fast read that would be good for vacation or poolside.

I'm probably biased because Tangled is one of my favourite Disney movies, but I had so much fun with this! I thought it was an excellent retelling, and it really captured the vibe of the movie. Ren was a cute, quirky and naive main character without that ever feeling like too much. It follows the plot of Tangled fairly closely, so there is some suspense as well, but in a way that really worked in a romance novel. I would just have liked to see more of an epilogue, because I felt like the book ended very suddenly.

This was such an adorable Rapunzel retelling! I feel like they included every single highlight from the Disney movie version! Just when I thought that would be all the similarities, they’d throw another one in there! I loved the naïveté from Ren, her character truly was so endearing and likable. I felt like they captured that Rapunzel essence perfectly! Fitz was a perfect modern day embodiment of Flynn Ryder too. The way their relationship developed and formed felt like true friendship. I loved it!

Unfortunately I only made it 37% and finally gave up. I could not get invested in the story, which felt flat and the characters I couldn't get into. I am totally bummed about this since I am a big Christina Lauren fan.

Maybe I will try the audiobook at a later date.

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

"Tangled Up in You" is a delightful Disney Tangled retelling that brings a fresh twist to the beloved tale. The story beautifully blends the magic of the original with new elements that make it stand out, particularly the intriguing family mystery that adds depth to the narrative.

The protagonist, Ren, is an authentic and relatable character. Her journey is not just about discovering her roots but also about self-discovery, making her a compelling figure for readers. The road trip aspect of the story adds a sense of adventure and freedom, allowing for plenty of character development and bonding moments.

Unlike the author's other novels, this one is not spicy, making it a perfect fit for a young adult audience. The book maintains a light, engaging vibe that captures the essence of youthful exploration and growth.

Overall, "Tangled Up in You" is a charming read with a unique blend of mystery, adventure, and heart. It's a great choice for fans of Disney retellings and young adult fiction.

I don’t think I’ll ever dislike a Christina Lauren. Fun, reminiscent of my childhood and a great story over. Loved it!! Forever a CL fan

Tangled Up in You is part of the Meant to Be series, which are reimanginigs of Disney movies.

Christina Lauren are auto-buy authors for me. I have loved everything they have written. Unfortunately, Tangled Up in You fell flat for me. Instead of being a light and flirty read, I think the underlying topics were just too heavy. The story just seemed drawn out.

Tangled Up in You was a cute and sweet 'Tangled' retelling. Ren is an innocent 22 year old getting her first taste of freedom as a college student and Fitz is the popular guy on campus, but there is more to him. They end up on a road trip together that is quite the adventure. I had fun reading this and some of the moments on their trip had me laughing and smiling big. I enjoyed this one lots!

This was just a fun, light read and if you love the movie Tangled then you will definitely enjoy this modern take on it.

Ren has lived a very different life. She has lived on a homestead for as long as she can remember and was sheltered from a lot of things in the world. Now, she has some freedom while attending college. Fitz has his life planned out and has lived the complete opposite life as Ren. These two are complete opposites, yet I enjoyed seeing them together and seeing the bond and connection between them grow.

This is just one of those stories that you can get lost in and feel good about reading. It is a great summer read.

If you’re looking for a grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, roadtrip, slow burn romance check this one out.

If you love Disney and especially Tangled, then I definitely think you would enjoy this book. I thought the authors did a great job writing a contemporary retelling in a fun and believable way. Ren is so naive (with due cause) and they perfectly captured the spirit of Tangled as she encounters the world for the first time. Fitz is a great Flynn Ryder and I liked what they did with his backstory. The pacing is slow to medium for most of the book but kicks up at the very end with a mystery and some action. I also liked where they landed with the physical aspect of Ren and Fitz’s relationship. For the authors’ fan base, this one is going to deviate from all of the other books I’ve read by them but it fit the story and I’m glad I can recommend this one to closed door readers. The references to Clueless and the Goonies were also fun additions for this elder millennial reader.

I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Content Notes: Makeouts

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I loved this--5 stars but not on GR because I reserve that for books that I love on a different level. At first the main character was cloyingly naive (but passable because Fitz expressed the same feelings). She quickly grew on me and I came to love her. I had a good idea that there was a twist coming and was pretty accurate in my guess, but no points docked for that because it allowed the story to grow beyond a perfect, fluffy rom-com.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I thought this was such a cute book! This was the first I’ve read by Christina Lauren and I will definitely look into more. I normally tend to lean towards more dark romance, but this was a quick, cheery and fun romance read to break up my normal. The storyline of a shelter girl from a homestead meeting a troubled boy at college and a road trip was a good one! I read this in one sitting and really enjoyed it!

Another adorable “Meant to Be” romantic story— the series of Disney/Hyperion books authored by well-known romance authors with definite aspects of those authors’ styles. Julie Murphy, writer of plus size romances, transformed Cinderella in “If The Shoe Fits.” Jasmine Guillory, a brilliant African American romance author, gave Beauty and the Beast its due with “By the Book,” and Zoraida Córdova added her pop rock obsession to a singing Ariel in “Kiss the Girl.” Now the romance writing team of Christina Lauren (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) gets to change Rapunzel into a smart, but very sheltered Ren and transfer her to a college campus. (The next Disney-fied entry is for the guys: action hero author Alex Segura will give Bruno a new look in “Encanto: Nightmares and Sueños”.)

Not quite a YA book, this is still a modern fairy tale. The authors have a knack for inner monologues, so we get a delightful rendition of Ren, as well as the modern day action story of the discovery that Ren is actually a kidnapped child. I think all the Disney series authors have a lot of fun putting their signatures on these retellings. This will make a great beach book. 4 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Ren, like Rapunzel in the movie, has enormous sparkly green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO I love Ren’s interpretation of fireworks as “flowerworks”.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue/Disney Publishing and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I knew that this was a retelling of Rapunzel going into this book, but around halfway through it, I found myself questioning why I was reading this book when I could simply watch the movie Tangled. The source material is already so fantastic that I think Christina Lauren were up for a near impossible task, and this book definitely fell short to me. I feel like I never really got attached to Ren or Fitz.

This book also confronts an interesting dilemma for me, since we're dealing with college students and not animated characters - I found Ren to be incredibly infantilized given how sheltered she was growing up, and I was slightly uncomfortable with the so-called "play boy" in Fitz having an interest in her. I guess it just feels more real when it's painted in this scenario.

The plot itself follows the movie pretty closely, but I felt like the stakes felt so much lower throughout the book until all of a sudden there's an FBI raid that felt like in came out of nowhere; like, I understand the plot but it was a drastic tone shift that gave me pretty bad whiplash.

I hope every single character in this book is in intensive therapy as we speak.

This book was a very entertaining retelling of Rapunzel/ Tangled. I enjoyed all the Disney princess elements to it and found the characters very likable.

Ren has never left the area around the farm her parents live on until she starts attending college at age 22. While getting acclimated to her new life, she meets Fitz - and the two instantly are very annoyed with each other but clearly have some chemistry. When Ren decides she needs to go to Atlanta unexpectedly,

I felt like Ren's wide-eyed wonder at the world was very well written and maybe the naivety was mentioned a little too often. I did love her and wanted the best for her -- I was anxious for her being out in the world! I loved Fitz and thought their romance was very sweet -- loved seeing them become comfortable with each other and break down their emotional barriers.

I loved all the nods to Tangled -- it was as close to the story as it could be while also being a swoony rom com. The last quarter of the book was very tense and I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!