A modern day Rapunzel - they accomplished it beautifully! Gah I want a finish copy of this book sooooo bad! I am already a Rapunzel fan biase but for real this was so good. Anything they write is gold but this had a touch of goodness that I gobbled it in minutes.

Ren is so innocent, passionate about life and voided of societal beat down. Home schooled and isolated, she is a genius.
When she convinces her parents to allow her to go to college, she is beyond thrilled.

CL captures the rapture of Ren’s happiness so warm that you can’t help but want to hug Ren. When a DNA test during immunology makes her question her life, a road-trip is started. Friendly black mail, biker bar, festivals, and a night out skinny dipping - what starts as a way to meet a stranger turns into an experience of a life time.

Force proximity gives such a natural attraction between Fitz and Ren. And interesting structure of this story was how Fitz POV chapters switched to his first name towards the end of the book. I think it is an important significant on his identity

The ending was climatic but the aftermath was a sweet lullaby of promises and adventure.

Knowing CL and their popularity, I NEED MORE!! Crossing my fingers that they’ll be an exclusive ed with extra bonus scenes because I need more!!

Romance I would say is pretty tame. The sweet gestures and kisses melted my heart. One spicy chili 🌶️

I never seen Tangled, so I cannot comment on any comparisons to the movie, but this book lived up to all the expectations I have for this writing duo!

Synopsis: Ren grew up sheltered, living on a self-sufficient homestead with no technology, friends, or experience in the modern world. At age 22, she finally convinces her parents to let her go to college as long as she follows their strict set of rules. However, when she gets a DNA sample back from her biology class and questions everything she once knew, she has no choice but to follow the clues. She asks Fitz, the boy she met on her initial tour, to let her ride with him across country for break, and despite his hesitation, he agrees.

When I first met Ren I quickly compared her to Kimmy Schmidt. While naive and inexperienced, she was loved by all and believed in the best of everyone. The quirky humor had me laughing out loud, and the road trip adventures, from the hotel stays (one bed), the car ride talks and all the exploring, made this story so much fun! There was a bit of suspense with both characters weaved throughout the story, which was unique for their writing but it 100% worked and led to such a special HEA.

What to expect:
-An amazing cross country road trip
-Forced proximity
-Grumpy/sunshine pairing
-A clean read with kissing only
-Laugh out loud humor
-All the chemistry
-A bit of suspense

pub: 6/25

Thanks NetGalley, Hyperion and Christina Lauren for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I should preface this by stating I have never seen Tangled, so my review is purely based on this story without comparisons. I enjoy Christina Lauren books and was excited to see a new one coming out. If I had read this book without knowing who wrote it, I wouldn’t have guessed them. It’s a departure from the romcom/romance they’ve had lately. This is definitely more romance suspense, and it’s fantastic! You have some common tropes: forced proximity (hello roadtrip/one bed) and grumpy/sunshine mixed with heavy subjects (won’t spoil but will say pertaining to upbringings). There is amazing chemistry between Ren and Fitz. This reads more older YA to me (no sex scenes). I’m usually stingy with my 5 stars, but this earned it!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley and it was a delightful read. I was endeared to the characters and enjoyed the way that the story played out and even kept me guessing a bit despite being familiar with the Fairytale. Well done Ladies!

A Tangled re-telling in the modern world? Say no more. I love everything Christina Lauren write, and this was no exception!

Ren and Fitz were just adorable. I loved how it followed the movie, but with a creative twist. So it was less predictable, and more “I wonder how they’re going to make that part work in a non fairy tale setting?”

The romance was so sweet and cute, and felt very organic. There are a lot of good tropes too. There’s rivals to lovers, forced proximity, road trip, and only one bed while being a completely clean read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend it!

Tangled Up in You
4.5/5 Stars

Another fun romp from Christina Lauren, this time with a Disney flair! Did I hear Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi as the main characters? Maybe. Did it hinder anything? Absolutely NOT! I devoured this book in two sittings and probably could have read cover to cover if I didn’t need a silly thing like sleep. Will definitely be sharing this with my bookish friends. For those curious— it’s clean! No spice rating necessary. I loved all the tropes hit as well as bringing Tangled into a modern setting. The characters felt very much inspired by their film counterparts but were their own people and not a straight take. For any lover of Disney and rom-coms, this is for you!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(I'll post a review on amazon and on instagram closer to release!)

Love Christina Lauren and this Tangled retelling is perfect. Morally grey hero, guileless blonde, and even a mention of frying pans as the best weapons. The connection between the characters was perfect in this sweet romance.

Thanks Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for the temporary ARC to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Read this in a few hours and it is certainly a quick read. I’ve read all the books in this series and I’m sorry to say this is my least favorite because I love these authors. The story is meh and if no one told me this was a retelling of Tangled I would have no idea. Maybe I just don’t know Tangled well enough to enjoy this one. 2.5 stars rounded up.

ARC Review
Tangled Up In You
Christina Lauren
Publication Date: 06/25/2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A reimagining of Disney’s Tangled, Christina Lauren weaves a delightful modern fairytale focused on the unlikely pairing of Ren— a sheltered, homestead raised college student and Fitz- a charming, playboy student athlete. As part of immunology class assignment, Ren submits her DNA for sequencing, realizing she may receive results that will shake the foundation that has been her twenty two years on earth. Despite her gentle and naive nature, Ren convinces Fitz to bring her on a cross country road trip over their college’s spring break in an attempts to solve her DNA mystery. While annoyed at first, Fitz finds himself enjoying Ren’s company on a wild trip through the USA stopping at every touristy attraction along the way. Fitz has a troubled past, with a solid guard around his heart that no one can cross but, Ren. You can’t help, but root loudly for these two as they discover themselves and their love for each other through witty banter and new experiences. I devoured this book in two sittings and did not want it to end! While this is book four in the Meant To Be series published by Hyperion Avenue, it can be read as a standalone novel as each book portrays an individual fairytale, written by a different author. Not surprisingly, I’ve already added all the others to my TBR. I am so excited for this book to be out in the world next year, I really think all of the fairytale loving, Disney, and romance fans will adore it as I have.

Thank you @netgalley , @hyperionavebooks, and @christinalauren for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review of this special book.

I am convinced this book was written just for me 🥺

Tangled is my absolute favorite Disney movie, so this modern retelling immediately intrigued me and I sure wasn’t disappointed!!

Ren is a 22 year old soon to be college student. She had never left her homestead, had lots of chores to do, and absolutely longed to see what else the world had to offer. Her parents begrudgingly allowed her to go off to college but not without a laundry list of strict rules she has to follow. She had never stepped foot in a school so it was a big adjustment for her! She meets Fitz during a campus tour and I immediately loved these two from the start!

They go on a cross country road trip and ugh these two really pulled at my heart! Their individual growth was great but the way they grew together was even better. They had me smiling from ear to ear the entire time. It was truly such a joy to meet these characters! Even though I know the original story of Tangled so well, this still kept my attention the entire time. I was not ready for it to end!! Well done ladies, well done!! 🩷

Thank you, Hyperion Avenue and Christina Lauren for the ARC 🫶🏻

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader ebook! I am a huge fan of Christina Lauren, and this one did not disappointment. I was a little worried at first because I found it cheesy at first, but it quickly grew on me.

This was one of my favorite recent titles from Christina Lauren. I love the writing style and the joyful premise made me giddy with glee. I’ll definitely be recommending it!