3.75/5 stars! I rarely see Rapunzel re-tellings so I was really excited to read this story. This book was fun and engaging. It jumps right into the action and keeps the reader engaged. As a former foster kid myself, I felt for Flynn, and watching him and Zella come together was sweet. I appreciated the story but felt it was a bit simplistic at times. Overall a cute story that is worth a read but probably not picking up and reading over and over.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

As someone who has being watching Disney since i was a kid and being so in love with Rapunzel i was very intrigued with this storyline and also the cute cover reminding of the scene in Tangled. A modern retelling of Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder. This was a fast pace feel good book for me. Not that it didn't have its sad moments as well but overall i felt it was cute. I loved the interaction between Zella and Ryder.. For readers who love Disney and also with a modern touch would surely enjoy this one.

I loved this book! It is so magical with a touch of creepy on the side. Because I adored Tangled, so was excited when I learned this was a Rapunzel retelling.

Zella has lived her whole life in a lighthouse. Never going outdoors, never spending time with people other than her mother. Yet she has always wondered what she is missing out on. When a mysterious boy unexpectedly tumbles through her window, she may have a chance to discover the truth behind all the lies.

I loved the characters in this book. Zella and Ryder's friendship was so sweet and charming.
I was not prepared to be so emotionally affected by this book. Zella's and Ryder's experiences and emotions were so touching and I became invested in both of their stories. The ending was heartwarming and satisfying. I loved reading this.

Oh my gosh this retelling of Rapunzel was amazing!

Being a fairytale retold as a contemporary story, sometimes the plot felt a little strange but Zella being locked in the lighthouse because it was a cult was a great way to make a modern day Rapunzel.

I loved both of the main characters and enjoyed hearing the story from both of their points of view. This book was so good and fast paced that I flew through the whole thing in one evening (I stayed up past midnight to finish it, but I just couldn’t put it down at the end!)

I think this would be great for fans of other contemporary retellings like Ashley Poston’s Geekerella. And of course, fans of the movie Tangled will love to find all the parallels and easter eggs!

Huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

This book was good. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline it was really enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This is a YA romance (it is not the spice, if that is what you are looking for)
Lightkeepers is a YA retelling of Rapunzel (hence the adorable cover I am assuming is largely based on the Disney movie scene). This book is funny and at times emotional. It was a delightful romance to read. I think I was really excited since it is based on Rapunzel who I love dearly. I think I was hoping for more out of the cult. Overall it was a good story, and has the potential for more.

This was a quick and fun read. I liked the modern take on Rapunzel/Tangled. The love story with Flynn was sweet. I also loved that foster care was included. I do wish the book was a little longer. I feel like the story felt a little rushed .

Thank you NetGalley and Kennedy Plumb for providing me with and eARC of Lightkeepers in return for my honest opinion.

Kennedy Plumb has certainly found a way to modernise the classic story of Rapunzel! Rapunzel is my all time favourite Disney princess, so I had very high expectations going into reading this book. It’s YA, so if you are looking for spice this book isn’t it, but I truely loved the connection Plumb built between Zella and Ryder. I enjoyed the dual POV between the two main characters, but would have loved to know more of the back story of the “cult” Zella and her Mother are in, i just felt that part of the back story could have been fleshed out a bit more. I did enjoy Ryders backstory and his struggles in the foster care system. In the end I loved seeing our two main characters get the happy endings they both deserved and I appreciated the plot twist (I definitely did not see that one coming).
Overall if you’re into lighthearted YA love stories and reimagined classics this book is certainly worth the read.

A modern take on "Rapunzel" that will make you laugh your socks off and sob at the same time!

Rapunzel is my favourite Disney movie ever so I went into this book with a lot of excitement and expectations!

This retelling is beautifully written and I adored the conversations between Zella and Ryder! The book is mostly lighthearted with lots of jokes and filled with "feel good" moments.

Despite that, the book also covers a few very important topics, which I feel aren't spoken about enough!

The bond Ryder formed with his foster parents and the way they treated him (the only way a foster parent should!!!) made me warm and fuzzy inside! And the plot twist that gets revealed at the end was one I was not expecting!

I did tear up in the last 2 chapters of the book but that was well expected as the story is very dear to my heart and seeing a happy ending for both Zella and Ryder tugged on many heartstrings!

It took me some time to get into the book, approx 30% in before I got hooked up and this is the main reason I couldn't give the book 5 stars.

If you love Rapunzel as much as I do, I definitely recommend reading this book!

Many thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book! It is definitely YA so if you’re looking for spice this is not it. Lightkeepers is a modern day Rapunzel retelling. It had an adorable meet cute and a trusty animal sidekick🐱. Zella & Ryder’s banter was very cute and felt authentic for their age. The end was heartwarming for me and I felt it was a good pick for me. I would recommend this book if you need a quick feel good title to jumpstart you back on your TBR list.

Plumb is a solid writer and if I was rating her writing alone I would give 4 stars. The dual POVs work well here, and I think it was pretty brilliant to add miscellaneous writings like lists, poems, and articles (reminded me of Evelyn Hugo). The reason I'm giving 3 stars instead of 4 overall is that I'm a stickler for plausibility, and you realllly have to suspend your disbelief as this plot develops.

In a fairy tale you can have a princess trapped in a tower, but in the real world that would involve some real dark consequences. Zella is way too well-adjusted and knowledgeable about a world she's never seen. As for the legal system, if the public is vaguely aware of this cult then the FBI would definitely be at least biding their time to get involved.

I did, however, find Ryder's narration incredibly genuine and real. In my opinion his was the stronger voice, and I could tell the author had personal experience with and knowledge of the system. I very much admire her bringing attention to kids in the foster system in her writing, as the world so often ignores them.

Thank you to Plumb, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Happy New Year! Starting this year with a Netgalley ARC, thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley
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For me this book was okay, I enjoyed it and it was a very light and easy read.
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I loved learning new things about the foster parenting system and it's just heartbreaking.
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The only reason I didn't give this book a four star or more is because I wanted more insight into Cult life, this book did not do justice in the cult life and I was really looking forward to it. I also didn't like the cliche ending

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It's not that I hate it but I just felt indifferent toward everything. I love a good retelling but I couldn't connect with the characters which affected how I thought about the book itself.

The premise sounds interesting and it intrigued me and I suppose it's how the actions of the main characters and how they interacted throughout the book that seemed off to me and a bit dull to my liking.

The found family was wholesome and that's the only good thing I could say but other than that, this is something that won't stick out to me and is kind of forgettable. I'm gonna say, I was bored as fuck.

Lightkeepers by Kennedy Plumb is a stunning retelling of Rapunzel. It did an amazing job of re-contextualizing the Disney version of the original Rapunzel story into a modern environment that stayed true to the original characters. Zella being in a cult led by Mother Laurel and Flynn Ryder being in the foster care system served as a great way to parallel the original storyline into a meaningful way.

Told through the dual narration between Ryder and Zella, the story emphasizes their situations and their struggles in such an empathic way. I loved seeing how their problems could parallel each other and seeing how their respective stories led to each other. Zella’s experience in the cult was done really well. There was a sense of underlying tension with how Mother Laurel spoke to Zella and what Zella herself was believing and it was all contrasted with how energetic and enthusiastic Zella is. I loved seeing the foster care system described through Ryder’s POV.

Finally, I loved the little interludes in between the chapters. They were composed of material from Zella’s cult, newspaper articles, comments from videos and lists of things specific to Ryder. I thought that was a clever way of incorporating world-building and it wasn’t overwhelming.

Also, there is a huge twist that I didn’t see coming so kudos to the author for doing that!

One of the best books I’ve read in ages.

Ryder has moved in with a new foster family and he feels it’s just a matter of time before they ask him to move on again. In the meantime he needs to get on with the other kids in school so when he’s invited to a party, he thinks he should go.

Zella has loved her whole life in isolation, hiding from The Disease. Her mother heads up a strange organisation called The Lighthouse, who believe that women and children should be totally separated from the world.

When the party goes horribly wrong and Ryder is looking for somewhere to hide, he stumbles across the lighthouse and their worlds collide.

This is an ingenious modern retelling of the Rapunzel story. I loved both of the characters, especially Ryder as I could totally believe his motivation and thought processes. Zella’s situation is highly unlikely but there were enough realistic details to make it appear believable, although I found the baby photo stretched the limits of my belief.

The story was fast paced with enough action to keep me hooked throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
What if Rapunzel was trapped in a dangerous cult, and Flynn Ryder was trapped in the foster care system? How would they still find their way to each other and to the lives they dream of?
Zella has been faithful to the Program her entire life, never doubting Mother’s choice to keep her in isolation since birth. As the first “Child of the Lighthouse,” she’s always had a responsibility to be an example to the others—be grateful, be obedient. But after seventeen long years up in her lighthouse all alone, it’s getting a lot harder to push down her secret—and forbidden—dreams of living a normal life, no matter the risks she’s heard of. She secretly dreams of freedom.
Ryder can’t count the amount of “families” he’s had over the years. He’s been bounced around from home to home for as long as he can remember. That’s why he’s not exactly impressed by this new family’s fancy house, or the fancy new school they’ve enrolled him in. They’re putting on a friendly face, but they’ll show their true colors eventually. They always do. Luckily, he only has to make it a little while longer because soon he’ll be eighteen, and he’ll finally be free.
One whirlwind night changes everything for Zella and Ryder, as the two dreamers cross paths and open each other’s eyes to what true freedom could really look like.
Review:
Zella and Ryder's story was intriguing and captivating and utterly heartbreaking. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book trying to figure out what was going to happen to them and in their relationship as they explored finding their freedom and what family means to them.
Rapunzel was the perfect fairy tale base for this retelling, but this book isn't for the faint of heart. There is a lot of family hurt here and some not small doses of abandonment. Proceed with cautions and appriorate trigger warnings.

First, this is a Rapunzel (of the Tangled variety) retelling and YA, so some of the themes are a bit saccharine and watered down. That’s fine for the target demographic, but adult readers should keep that in mind.

I loved how this story tackled religious cults and issues faced by teens in the foster system. I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, especially modern ones. I thought this was a creative take on a classic.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I won’t lie, I did put off reading this book for a little bit because I very scared that it was going to be an exact retelling of repunzel but I ended up really liking it. I adored the chemistry between Zella and Ryder and how it progressed throughout the book. Seeing the character progression of Ryder was really enjoying to read and I loved the dynamic between him and his foster parents and how understanding they were. Overall this was a fun little read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC to read and review.

Okay, this was seriously such a great book 😭 It's a very wholesome romance set in the midst of very realistic stories of cults (FMC is caught up in one since early childhood) and foster care (MMC has been thrown from one foster home to another his whole life), and I think the author has done an amazing job of writing it.

I have to say I felt uncomfortable in the first part of the book with all the cult-y stuff (though the sweetness of the MMC's latest foster home made up for it), and I almost contemplated DNF-ing it, but I'm so glad I didn't. Tone wise the book gets lighter after the MCs meet, and the ending was truly great. I love how the author handled both arcs. The epilogue was the literal BEST.

TWs - children and vulnerable women caught up in a cult (where they face isolation, forced self harm by fire, etc.), verbal sexual harrasment of a minor through a video call and a parental figure condoning it, kidnapping of a child, mental and physical abuse by a parent, scenes where the MCs are threatened by a gun

--- ty to the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Thank you to Kennedy Plumb and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have you ever read a book blurb and just needed to read the book? Like no matter what? This is how I felt about this book and I am so glad I got to read it. It was amazing. Kennedy's writing was amazing. This whole book was just amazing! I need to stop saying amazing! But its how I feel!