Member Reviews
Christina Lauren’s reimagination of the Disney classic, Tangled was more subtle, on a deeply intellectual level, than the other in the series. I loved the nods to Rapunzel with Ren’s eager, optimistic personality on the adventure of her lifetime, and all of the little plot details (Max, the lights, the festival, etc). Fitz was an interesting character, and I thoroughly enjoyed his background story, to round him out as “a bad boy”, so we see him in a different light. The book did start slow for me, but picked up in the second half and quickly ramped up to the writing of Christina Lauren that I know and love. I appreciated the modern take, with a little twist of mystery, that had me on the edge of my seat. They took a literal fairy tale and grounded it in reality, making it a believable story line for modern day.
This was a fun fairytale retelling, that is perfect for YA or closed door romance readers.
This was a cute story about a young couple that fall in love while on a cross country adventure. They have very different childhood backgrounds.
While this story unfolds secrets of the past come out. There are some surprises in this story, I enjoyed this easy read.
Thanks to Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.
I adore Disney’s Tangled and all of Christina Lauren’s works, so naturally, I adored this book. Ren and Edward were wholesome, their romance felt super genuine and organically developed, and the major plot reveal at the end was flawlessly done.
This is a perfect read for Disney fans, as well as for those who like their romance relatively spice-free.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
What an unexpected and pleasant surprise this was! It’s been interesting to read the books in this series and how each author has written a modern-day retelling of a Disney classic. Each author has a unique way of doing this, and Christina Lauren knocked this one out of the park. I love every CL book I’ve been able to get my hands on, but this one, while very well-written, was a vast departure from their usual writing. We still have dual POVs, but it’s just…different. And I don’t mean that in a bad way!
It was fun to see how Christina Lauren incorporated different scenes from Tangled into this story line. It was subtle, but identifiable. That’s what made it fun! It wasn’t so literal and an exact story just set in modern day. It took the elements we love from Tangled and wrote it in a new story.
It started a little slow for me, but did pick up fairly quickly. Fitz and Ren were so easy to love. She’s naive and he’s guarded. These two personalities make for a fun road trip. I loved watching him soften and let down his guard, while she learned to let go and enjoy the moment.
I think this will make for a really fun audiobook depending on the narrators.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Be sure to pick this up or check it out from your local library when it releases in June!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of this book in exchange for a review. I screamed when I got an early copy of this. I’ve read many Christina Lauren novels and was excited for this one. I devoured this book (I read it in 2 days which is fast for me!). This was a Tangled retelling and I thought it was so well done! I thought the authors did a great job adapting the story and putting their own spin on it. I loved Ren and Fitz’s characters and the relationship they built throughout the story. A fun, cute, enjoyable read!
3 stars!
Tangled Up In You is a modern-day retelling of Disney's 'Tangled,' which is a retelling of the classic fairytale Rapunzel.
I am not a big Disney person so I only know the Tangled/Rapunzel stories loosely and to that end, the story achieves the goal. I am, however, a big reader of Christina Lauren's books and have read almost everything they've put out in the last several years. So I was very excited when I was approved to read this ARC! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book and provide an honest review.
In this storyline, we meet Ren, who has been raised with no siblings on a remote homestead in Idaho and has had limited contact with the outside world. She does a ton of work on the family farm raising animals and food and is extraordinarily smart, teaching herself everything from calculus and chemistry to Mandarin and engineering (I found this part to be a little far fetched, but anyway...)
At 22, Ren has finally convinced her parents to allow her to go to a nearby college in Spokane to pursue her love of learning, including the promise to learn new farming techniques, but she must stay off the internet, away from boys and booze, and come home every weekend promptly at 5pm on Friday to spend the weekend doing farm chores. Sounds a bit controlling doesn't it? Anyway, Ren goes to college and meets a boy named Fitz. One thing leads to another and they become frenemies of a sort, and the story takes off from there.
As for evaluating this as a present-day retelling of the classic fairytale, I think the authors did a good job of taking the original storyline and modernizing it to a story that could happen today. However, as a standalone 'romance' or fiction book, I found it to fall short of my expectations. Mostly, it felt very YA-ish, which would have been fine if it was geared towards YA or younger readers, but I don't see any indication it is. Maybe this feeling came from Ren being sooo naive and green to the world. And secondly, it felt like the book moved very slowly especially in the middle 50%. The last quarter moved quickly and the end of the book was captivating.
I may very well be an outsider on this but overall this book landed "okay" on the scale for me - and perhaps that is because part of me is comparing it to other CL stories which are usually 4 or 5 stars for me (Love and Other Words is one of my favorites of all time!) and filled with funny banter and anticipation for what is around the corner. I think there will be people who love this and find it adorable and cute - I just wasn't one of them! I never really felt myself 'rooting' for any of the characters nor did I get that sense of being invested in knowing what happens next.
This was an absolute gem of a story, loosely based on Rapunzel. I loved knowing how the story would go, yet still clueless (hehe) on how it was going to happen. It was thoroughly enjoyable to unfurl it through the words of our author duo.
This book started out a little slow but once it got going, I didn't want to stop reading. If you have enjoyed the other titles in the Meant to Be series, than you will enjoy Tangled Up in You. Tangled is one of my Disney favorites and I this adaptation was perfectly done. I will be recommending this title to teen and adult readers.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one as I was reading, the sudden change in pace threw me for a loop. However, after finishing and reflecting on it, I loved it! I love how similar it was to was to the actual Rapunzel story, but with a modern day twist. It did feel more YA to me since the characters are in college. Now I need to go read the rest of the series!
I always look forward to a new Christina Lauren book. This one had a bit different feel to it. Probably because of the fact it's loosely based on Tangled. It felt more YA to me than other CL books, but that didn't bother me. I enjoy YA romance too.
This is a modern-day retelling of Disney's Tangled, and while I was not super familiar with the specific Tangled story, this book was a fun and quick read.
Ren has lived a very sheltered life as her parents have instilled focus, hard work, and several rules into her life. She has not been exposed to technology, school, or many outside people, but convinces her parents to attend Corona College to continue her education. When she arrives at college, she is definitely a fish out of water, and experience new things at every turn. She finds help (and a little competition) easily. Fitz is the golden boy on campus and gives Ren her first tour. He quickly realizes that Ren may give him a run as a top performer in their classes. After taking a DNA test for one of their classes, questions arise and Fitz and Ren soon find themselves on a cross-country road trip together. Ren's eyes are opened in many ways, and an adventure is underway.
This was a delightful and charming modern retelling of Rapunzel. If you are a Disney fan and love reading be sure to add this book to your list. Tangled by Christina Lauren is part of the Meant To Be series that is done by various authors reimagining various classic Disney stories. I’ve loved each of the books in this series so far. This book includes great witty banter and a really fun across country roadtrip adventure. Ren and Fitz together are just adorable and the friendship they have is amazing. He’s very patient and kind to her. Everyone should have a friend like Fitz.
This story follows to main characters. Ren she has long gorgeous blonde hair and has been living on a homestead with her parents. They have animals and everything these need. She has applied for college and got accepted with a scholarship. Her parents reluctantly agree to let her go. She does have to return on the weekends to keep up with daily chores. At college she meets a boy named Fitz who gives her a tour of the campus. Many thanks to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
A spicy spin to a Disney original movie! This book was definitely more of a slow burn- the first kiss happening at 60% read. I felt my interest slipping a few times but not for long. This book ended up being the perfect blend of romance, mystery, and action. At times, It had sad and disturbing elements. But it also had plenty of funny, flirty banter and several meaningful quotes.
The last 40% of this book is what really sold me. It was incredibly exciting and full of action. Can I just say.. that hot tub kiss was hot 🥵
I absolutely, unequivocally adore Ren with every cell of my being and found myself wanting to protect her at all costs. Luckily Fitz was there to take care of her. She is all that is innocent, naive, and precious. She has a big heart and a balanced head on her shoulders. She knows right from wrong and she’s incredibly book smart. She is selfless, honest, brave, and confident. She loves who she is as a person. And I respect her courageous, for insisting on venturing out to experience the opportunities and cruelties of the real world, despite her “parents” wishes. Turns out, there’s a lot more to this story than first appears. I admire the way in which her character faces her fears and trauma so gracefully, and I 100% understand why Fitz fell for her so fast and hard.
I also understand how Ren fell for Fitz so quickly. Aside from how handsome he is and aside from the tough, uncaring facade he tries to initially maintain, underneath he truly is a sweet and caring gentleman. OMG THE PART WHERE Fitz gave Ren the adventure journal gift while they were road tripping so she can mark off all of the places she’s been🥹😭😭 My heart and stomach had butterflies soooo many times. It’s even cuter that nobody before Ren has ever captured his attention or heart the way she has 🥰 He allowed himself to be vulnerable with her and that makes her very special to him. Him calling her “Sunshine” was the cutest nickname. I feel it’s the perfect word to capture Ren’s positive, optimistic, bright attitude.
As for the plot twist, I was so focused on the fact that Steve wasn’t Ren’s bio father that I didn’t even THINK of the possibility that Gloria could NOT be her bio mom, too. They were the neighbors that kidnapped her two decades ago and have brainwashed and isolated her since she was 3 years old. They pretended that the world is evil, when in fact, they themselves are the evil in the world.
Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue (publisher) for the ARC edition of this book! This was the first book by Christina Lauren but won’t be my last!
Tangled is my favorite Disney Princess film and Christina Lauren are some of my favorite authors, so getting to read an ARC of Tangled Up In You was a dream come true! Although this novel is a modern retelling of Disney’s Tangled, I appreciated that it had it’s own story. I loved the occasional quotes and nods to the film but liked that the characters and plot weren’t identical. Ren and Fitz were perfect modern embodiments of Rapunzel and Flynn. I won’t spoil anything here but the entire ending was what pushed my rating up to five stars. I would read another Disney x Christina Lauren collaboration in a heartbeat!
4.5⭐️
Oh my this was absolutely delightful! What a sweet and fun reimagining of Tangled. What I really thought was great about this book was that you could enjoy this book in a whole different way if you have never even watched Tangled. I really love Tangled so I really enjoyed finding the Easter eggs or similarities.
Both Ren and Fitz were very lovable characters. Ren is sweet and has the born yesterday look at life. Everything is beautiful and new. Everyone can't help but love her except Fitz at first. Fitz is charming but although Reb drives him crazy at first he is incredibly thoughtful and caring towards her.
What had me not giving this a full five stars I just felt like the ending was rushed. I wanted and needed more. I did appreciate though the time it took exploring trauma and I thought that added a lot to the story versus the they lived happily ever after she is perfectly fine.
I haven't read any of the other stories in the meant to be series but I will for sure be going back and catching up. I really these reimaginings.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me early access to this read.
It’s a modern day retelling of ‘Tangled’ which I thought was so cool. I loved that movie when Disney released it and Christina Lauren did a wonderful job recreating the story line with her own twist.
Ren was a very sheltered woman who lived and worked at the homestead since she was 3 years old with Gloria and Steve, her parents. She was homeschooled where she learned everything she could by getting books from the library and teaching herself. At 23, she was accepted to college with a full ride and after a lot of rules put in place, she was free to go.
You watch Ren get a reality check on how much she was missing out on, things she wasn’t familiar with, and how interesting she was to all the students who met her, including Fitz.
I loved the banter between Ren and Fitz, the way she was so awestruck by the smallest things, and the way he grew to care about her.
I wasn’t able to connect with Ren as a FMC, but I loved watching her learn and experience new things. I couldn’t imagine how crazy everything must have been for her.
The plot twists and the backstory to everything was intense. It was a fun read for sure. Very cozy with no spice at all. Definitely closed door romance.
This book was just missing the wow factor for me. The ending felt rushed for me, I just wanted a little bit more of what happened after everything went down.
I still highly recommend this book, especially if you’re a fan of Disney movies!
if you’re a fan of tangled/rapunzel you’re definitely going to want to read this! i felt like i was watching a disney movie the entire time with the typical twists and turns you’d expect from a christina lauren novel. so so good
thank you to hyperion avenue & netgalley for the arc in exchange for my review!
Major props to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book! It was absolutely everything I needed. This is by one of my favorite authors and out of the four books in the series, this one is the best so far. I finished it in one sitting, didn’t get out of my seat for three and a half hours! It was a good one.
What a cute retelling of Tangled with great banter, fun characters and more intensity than I expected! Once I got to 65%ish I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed Tangled!
What a creative and sweet reimagining of TANGLED. What I love the most about the MEANT TO BE Series is seeing how contemporary romance authors bring a modern and contemporary spin on Disney movies, and TANGLED UP IN YOU is another triumph, this time from Christina Lauren. Having Ren (aka Rapunzel) be a woman who has been on an isolated homestead is just perfect, having Fitz (Flynn) be a popular but secretly troubled popular student works better than I thought it would, and their roadtrip to Nashville in his car (aptly named Max) is so cute and really does evoke themes from a Rapunzel story in a realistic setting. I can't recommend TANGLED UP IN YOU enough, for romance fans, for Disney fans, and for anyone who likes a cute and feel good romance.