Tangled Up In You⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet romance

Ren grew up on a homestead, living off the grid. She’s never held an Iphone before, been on social media or anything a normal 22 year old has done. Her dream is to attend college and learn more about the outside world. She’s read hundreds of books, took care of all the animals on the land, and is book smart. When her parents finally let her go off to college she learns a lot more than what she had ever imagined.

Fitz, is your typical college rich kid. Good looks, smooth talker and of course all the girls have a crush on him. He has his life all planned out. That is until a girl with long blonde hair comes crashing into this world.

I so enjoyed this story. It was such a cute romance. I liked both characters and how they grew and found themselves throughout the book. Also liked how there was a little mystery thrown into the storyline.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for my advanced reader copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

This is why they are my reigning queens of romcom! Christina and Lauren have reimagined Disney's Tangled as a modern romance, complete with smouldering hero and bright haired ingenue. I was charmed by Ren, swooned for Fitz, and laughed at Max the Mustang. This is a sweet fairy tale with a dark backstory for our heroine, but as in Disney films it isn't the primary focus of the story. Disney fans will love picking out the Easter eggs and Christina Lauren fans will love their signature style (albeit with less spice). I'll happily read this one again.

Synopsis: This is part of the Meant To Be series where popular authors retell famous Disney tales. And to tell you the squeal I let out when I received an early copy of Christina Lauren’s version of Tangled.
Pros: This story was cute, I thought it followed the movie in a more current, updated way. The characters were likable and even though I knew how it would end I was still interested throughout.
Cons: This did lack CL’s signature spice but I’m guessing that’s one of the stipulations when following a Disney story.
Additionally, one piece of the conclusion didn’t quite flow for me, and the epilogue was rushed- but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the arc which sadly won’t be released until June. But if you are a Disney lover, check these stories out!

Adored this story based off of Tangled. It's probably my favorite one in this series. Christian Lauren - talent, must read authors... thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Ren was a fantastic character. Great job with writing her book.

This one totally surprised me and was nothing like I ever expected - chef’s kiss. It’s the premise of Tangled wrapped up in a modern love story. It’s pure Christina Lauren and one you need to move to the top of your TBR. Ren grows up completely isolated from the modern world - her friends are the animals on her farm that she takes care of and she is mostly self educated. She is brilliant - knowing many different languages and a whole lot about many different things. At the age of 23, she convinces her parents to let her go to college - with some strict rules attached. This opens many different doors for Ren and when she meets Fitz her world changes forever. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early read. It’s a work of beauty.

Every book of Christina and Lauren's I always feel like it won't live up to my expectations but per usual, it EXCEEDS them! 10/10

I found this modern romcom retelling of Tangled to be delightful. The characters were engaging and the plot moved at a good pace so that I didn't want to put the book down.

This was such a cute modern day Tangled retelling. I think this was my favorite so far of the whole Meant to Be series. It was definitely tamer than most of Christina Lauren's books, but still was such a fun read. I think the book did a really good job of staying true to the original story while updating it to present time and relevance. I really enjoyed this read. Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for the ARC.

3.7! Tangled is one of my favorite animated movies ever made and Rapunzel is my favorite Disney princess! When I found out that Christina Lauren was going to do a retelling of this, I couldn’t have been more excited. However, I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this book.

Ren is attending Corona College, the first time she has ever gone to school and person, and she has left her parents behind in her hometown. This is where she meets Fitz, the top student in his class and a mystery to all the students on campus. Fitz has secrets he rather nobody knows which is why he doesn’t pay much attention to the rumors made about him. When Ren and Fitz meet they are both intrigued by the other and conscious while they are around each other. It isn’t until Ren has information that Fitz does not want to get out that they agree to go on a trip to Nashville, each for different reasons.

One of my favorite things about this book is all the ways the author used scenes of Rapunzel in the book. The way they were able to make it a part of this retelling was something I was questioning going in but it was well executed. The relationship between Ren and Fitz is sweet and fun like Rapunzel’s and Flynn's. Their adventure was fun to follow especially when they had to deal with the fact that there was only one bed in their hotel rooms. However, I still feel like something was missing or off about the story. I think that what Ren went through was something dark and traumatizing but it was kind of swept over. I wish there was more development in that aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up. I'll start off by saying that I've been a huge fan of the Meant to Be Series and have truly enjoyed the modernization of fairy tales. I was so excited to read this as a fan of Christina Lauren and of Disney's Tangled, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Mild spoilers (included in the original story) below.

This one did fall a bit flat for me; it almost felt like they stayed a bit too true to the original story, which made the plot feel a bit absurd. Ren was honestly, annoying, and Fitz seemed to be keeping secrets for no good reason.

My biggest gripe with this story was that I felt like they covered a dark topic in a way that is almost too light - I just can't believe that a young woman would find out that her parents were not her parents, but in fact had kidnapped her 20 years prior, and be doing just fine because don't worry! Her boyfriend is there.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this story a lot. I read it in just a day. I thought Ren and Fitz were a sweet couple, and that both were goodhearted people in terrible situations. If you enjoyed the other books in this series, you'll still enjoy this one a lot.

TW: kidnapping, gun death, parental/emotional abuse

Christine Lauren can do no wrong! They continually write books and characters that feel so real. Ren and Fitz are two characters that have so many dimensions to them. I liked that the relationship wasn't rushed. It felt like two people getting to know one another organically.

Thank you netgalley for this advanced copy! I did not mean to read this immediately after getting it, but apparently I have no self control.

This was amazing! I read the first two of the Meant to Be books to prepare for the Christina Lauren book. This one was the first that felt like it was following the Disney movie in its retelling and not just taking the general concept.
It was so fun and cute. I loved the characters and could not stop reading it.

I’ve loved reading this series and seeing the creativity of the authors to take beloved fairy tales and turn them into modern, unique stories of their own. Christina Lauren did a good job of framing the story in a well known plot and that definitely shown through. The thing that really was a let down for me was the execution of the story. There were looooong sections of just descriptions and/or showing and I was really missing more dialogue to keep me engaged.

Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for an ARC of this! I am a HUGE fan of Tangled and Christina Lauren but, I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous about how an adaptation would work. I LOVED Ren and Fitz’s story and always appreciate a good romance with a legitimate plot! 5 stars!

What an incredibly interesting and creative take on the story of Rapunzel. I absolutely loved CLO’s take on the traditional story, and the way they chose to interview key points of the traditional story in modern and unexpected ways. Going in, I kept wondering how it would all come together without feeling forced or “too familiar” and naturally CLO does not disappoint.

From major details like Ren’s kidnapping and living a sheltered life away from society, to small details like Fitz driving a “mustang” named Max or Ren choosing a cast iron skillet as one of her dessert island items, CLO expertly wove elements of the original Rapunzel story seamlessly into a new and entertaining story about a 22 year old college student going on a journey to discover the world and herself and finding even more than that along the way.

I am obsessed with the Meant To Be series and Christina Lauren so this is just a match made in heaven. I will say I don’t know the story of rapunzel as well as the other princesses so I didn’t get the connections and references like I did in the other books. But that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the book! It has the typical banter and humour of a CLo book and bonus points for this one being clean. It started to drag a bit in the middle but that ending was twisty and fantastic! However it did wrap up a little too quickly. Still highly recommend

Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies and Christina Lauren is an auto-buy author for me, so I thought for sure this would be a five-star read and was giddy when I saw it on the "Start Reading" page. I almost stopped after chapter 1 (it feeling quite immature which we'd kind of expect, I suppose), but Christina Lauren… so I carried on, making it all the way to 20% last night. Now I’m sitting here, not feeling the drive to continue.

The way the plot is set up makes sense in terms of, it’s logical and follows Tangled. But there’s something missing. The charm and the naivety and the wonder of the world, I think, that brings Rapunzel/Tangled to life. It reads more like “we put an Amish person in society” than “we escaped the confines of our limited world to explore and break free” … well, anyway. Not for me. It’s labeled “Adult” but it errs on the side of young adult, for sure. At least based on the first 20%, I would happily give it to high schoolers. I don’t know exactly who the target audience is for this, but I am definitely surprised I just wasn’t having a great time with it. The combination seemed like a slam dunk.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for the ARC.

Going to be honest, I’ve never seen Tangled, so wasn’t sure what to expect for this. After spending almost her entire life off the grid, Ren was excited to leave her families homestead for college.

The second half of this book was not only romance, but a road trip adventure with some drama thrown in. I really liked the love interest, Fitz, in this story. He helped Ren navigate new experiences with understanding and patience.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Tangled Up in You to come out June 25, 2024.

As much as I love Christina Lauren, I wasn't wowed by this. I don’t think I was the correct audience (but that is my own fault!). I did not realize this book was a part of a series of Disney retellings and I am not a Disney girl. I can 100% see those who LOVE Disney absolutely eating this book up but I have never been invested in that world. Admittedly Tangled is my favorite Disney Princess movie, but I feel like reading this has disconnected me from my love of it. The naivety is charming in a children’s film, but incredibly frustrating in an adult novel. Although I must say Fitz did live up to my love of Flynn Ryder- especially more towards the end. I had a hard time getting into this book until around the 50% mark which made it hard to power through. I was hooked for a bit there in the middle, but I also feel it ended quite abruptly- or rather did not give enough in the epilogue paragraph. I wanted MORE to their happily ever after- it’s Disney based after all!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue, NetGalley, Christina AND Lauren for allowing me to read this early!

I want to start off by saying I was so excited to receive the latest book from Christina Lauren! I’m a huge fan, but I promise that won’t sway my review.

I was intrigued by the synopsis for this one. I’ll admit that I haven’t read any of the others in this series (they are by different authors), but once I knew this was about one of my favorite Disney films Tangled, I knew I had to read this one.

The first 5 chapters were pretty dull and boring, I must admit. However, after that everything picks up. It’s hard not to like Ren and her innocence. Having been raised by such mean and demanding “parents” I was surprised she was so kind and accepting.

Fitz took a little bit to grow on me, but grow he did. I soon found myself swooning along with Ren. He quickly became a protective male without the whole alpha male personality. He just says in his internal monologue that he feels the need to be her protector during their road trip because she is too innocent for this world.

This book is pretty close to the movie, in terms of going on an adventure, choosing a cast iron skillet for an apocalypse weapon, and even a crazy bar scene. I loved every bit of this retelling. Can we get another?!

It should be known that this is a sweet, closed door romance. Kissing doesn’t even happen until the 60% mark, but the cuteness between these two makes it worth it.

Side note: I wish Ren went back for Pascal at the end. That was the only part that left me unsatisfied.

*An ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.