3.5-4 stars. Ren is starting college at 22. She lives in a homestead and runs the whole operation for her parents so they are reluctant to let her go, but they have consented. Fitz is a college senior looking to graduate and remove a felony from his record. He gets paired up with Ren to give her a tour and is taking note of how naive and inexperienced she is regarding the modern world, which is everyday life for everyone else. It also does not escape him how incredibly intelligent she is and that they are both in the same Immunology class. It does not bode well for him if she is competition for him to graduate at the top of the class.

A DNA project yields unexpected results for Ren, prompting her to take a cross country trip and she strong arms Fitz into taking her via blackmail. A road trip in one vehicle and sharing hotels and meals together leads them to spending a lot of time together, getting to know one another. Fitz is the grumpy to Ren’s sunshine and he’s avoided her thus far because she gets on his nerves. But now they have no choice but to be around the other and learn their vulnerabilities. It’s a cute story, like Disney’s Tangled, and Fitz’s cynicism begins to thaw when it comes to Ren, whereas she is learning to discover everything about the world around her. There are some funny scenes and dialogue and I could appreciate Ren as a fearless and smart heroine because she was not easily deterred when she had a goal and seemed oblivious to danger. I was also anxious for her to reach her final destination to get answers to her long awaited questions. For a more adult version of the Disney film, this was entertaining and fun to read.

I know some of what happens in Disney’s Tangled, but I have not watched it (gasp!). I was excited to read another Christina Lauren book, and it happened to be a reimagination of Disney’s fair-haired maiden with the long, golden locks.

Ren begins college at 22, moving away from home for the first time after spending her entire life on a homestead in Idaho. She has met few people beyond Steve and Gloria, her parents. She is doe-eyed going into college, and she is viewed as a phenomenon of sorts by her peers. Ren shatters the ideas about the “sheltered” girl through her intelligence and kind heart.

Ren meets Fitz on her first day at college – he is tasked with showing her around the school. Her roommate has cautioned her about Fitz’s reputation, and Ren slowly breaks past the image of what she thought he was. Ren discovers something unbelievable about her past through a class DNA assignment, and the knowledge causes her to break all the rules that Steve and Gloria set forth when she left for college. Ren joins Fitz on a road trip that changes both of their lives.

Tangled Up in You has YA vibes with well-loved author(s) Christina Lauren. The story kept me reading, and not having seen the movie helped because I wasn’t expecting any plot points. It’s not my top CLo novel, but I will keep coming back for more.

Thank you to Christina Lauren, Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Tangled so much and it really surprised me! I was expecting a romance, but I got so much more! There was a lot of depth as Ren and Fitz deal with their individual battles and there was a mystery thread that was REALLY interesting. I enjoyed getting to know the characters as they got to know each other. It was sweet and adorable, but not just your usual cotton candy romance.

TUIY fell into the cute and ok category for me. It was a quick, easy read and while I didn't hate it, it just felt rather meh IMHO. It had a little bit of drama thrown in but not enough to turn it into something more than just ok.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

My opinion (though it doesn't seem to be widely shared by other advance readers):
This book reads like a bad YA novel, with characters that are stereotyped and inconsistent in their behavior. The plot is very slow to start, and when it picks up in pace, it becomes absurd: exceptionally traumatic events are airbrushed as if in a Disney movie. There is little-to-no emotional chemistry between the two main characters, and it's unclear how two people so different and so damaged will ever build a successful long-term relationship.

Christina Lauren's reimagining of Rapunzel was a fun read. I loved Ren, the main character, who was so naive in her first foray off her sequestered homestead to college, but also a strong and capable young woman in her own right. I enjoyed watching Ren and Fitz grow and also grow closer on their road trip without overstepping too much on the foundation of who Ren was and what she believed about relationships and sex in this story of romance. I look forward to recommending this book highly to those who already know Christina Lauren as well as those who remember the Rapunzel story and to my teen patrons who have a bit of both in them. A big thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the early read in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

Rapunzel has never been my favorite story but I liked how this author did the story. Ren is the Golden Girl everyone loves and it's hard not to enjoy her fresh outtake on life. Fitz is completely her opposite but I like how he changes. Still, there was something missing from the story that made this a 4-star read for me.

I didn't ✨love ✨ it, but I also didn't hate it!

It was enchanting (duh, it's a Disney Princess retelling) but it just moved way too slow for me. I did appreciate how close to the plot of the movie it stayed, and how Christina Lauren did an impressive job of balancing the romance and adventure of the road trip! It just felt too YA for what it's supposed to be.

Highly recommend for Rapunzel fans! Thank you, Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Tangled Up In You is a retelling of Tangled. I thought Christina Lauren did an exceptional job capturing the energy and vibe of Disney's Rapunzel, while making the story more modern. Ren was raised off the grid with limited access to anything related to pop culture, the internet, etc. She's fit and capable, and exceptionally bright. As a young adult, she longs to go to college and eventually convinces her deeply skeptical parents that she can handle it. If you love that movie, you will enjoy this book and all of the Easter eggs that you'll find. As a straight-up novel, it's honestly all a little too Disney, but I'm not sure how they could have avoided that! For me, this was 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to this sweet and charming book.

3.5
Adorable. Christina Lauren do a delightful job of taking the sweetness and humor of Disney's Tangled and giving it a modern spin. Ren is a sweet golden retriever of a human and Fitz is a jaded and sardonic and it just works. I love that this is a romance novel I can put in the hands of my older students - it is mature, but gentle (discussions of sex, but no action on page). I did guess why our sweet Ren was raised off-grid pretty quickly, but if you've seen Tangled or are even remotely familiar with the story of Rapunzel you probably will too. That's okay though, I don't need this to be highbrow! There are so many great nods to the movie - the Snuggly Duckling becomes a biker bar, frying pans, the lanterns become fireworks, and I love, love, love that the girls managed to sneak Maximus into the story in such a cute way!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hyperion for a digital ARC.

TANGLED UP IN YOU was a cute story from start to finish. I don't usually like a retelling, but this one didn't disappointed. It definitely kept me entertained. I laughed quite a bit.


Many thanks to Hyperion Avenue and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

Christina Lauren does it again! They are MARVELOUS writers, as you probably already know, but I was skeptical about how a Tamgled adaptation would play out in real world scenarios and I am GHRILLED to say I was skeptical FOR ZERO REASON.

Ok, first things first, our main characters. Ren, our resident Repunzel, has the sweet, lovely nature that we all love in the original. She is loveable and kind and absolutely perfect on page. I adore her immensely, and I would love to be her BFF—which is how everyone in the book also seems to feel. She is genuine, a bit naive, and so fun to follow through a romcom!!

Now, Fitz, our smouldering Flynn Rider in this retelling, is ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS. I cannot overstate how much better it was to have him fleshed out in a romcom that had his point of view. For anyone who loves Eugene in the Tangled franchise, you will NOT be disappointed by our guy showing up as a book boyfriend. He is perfection.

The story is equal parts entertaining and exciting, swoony and a bit sizzly— though the sexual tension doesn’t have on-page sex scenes it is TENSE and the kisses are 🥵🔥 great.

For lovers of Disney, adventure, rapunzel, flirty MMC’s with depth, and some sizzle in their story, definitely pick this up!


TW/CW: kidnapping, foster care, strained parental relationships, talk about sex, make-out kisses

A sweet YA romance that offers a modern take on Disney's Tangled. If you're looking for your typical Christina Lauren book, this is not it but it's not a bad thing. Ren is a woman who's been homeschooled/homesteader and is going to college where she meets Fitz who has his whole life planned out. They end up on a roadtrip and the romance/relationship between them blossoms. The entire book feels so very Disney-esque and I love the modern takes on certain situations from the movie (I'm looking at you Screaming Eagle). It's not insta-love between the character and their relationship has a nice build up. A great summer read!

I couldn't keep going with this one...I do usually love Christina Lauren but sometimes Disney stories should stay Disney stories....and not be remade into a weird romance that is so unbelievable and dare I say, creepy. It's like Uneducated was made into a Disney classic. Nope.

Ren has lived off the grid with her parents on their farm/homestead for most of her life. Ren has been homeschooled and kept mainly at home working on the farm. Ren longs for more, she wants to go to college, to learn, and to experience new things. Her parents eventually allow her to attend college but with conditions....

Fitz is an intelligent and driven college heartthrob. He has an image of a rich ladies man but has a record and works to pay his way. When he is assigned to show Ren around and introduce her to college life, he can't help but be impressed by her intelligence and lovely cascading long hair.

A college assignment will change everything....

This is a retelling of Tangled and had a strong YA vibe. While I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. I usually adore Christina Lauren books and this one was missing the mark a little bit for me. What I did enjoy was the modern take on Tangled, Ren's ability to adapt, the tension, and the depth of the characters. I especially liked that there was more to Fitz than meets the eye.

If you have watched Disney's Tangled, then you know somewhat what is going to happen, which made this book predictable to a degree. I enjoyed the journey of Ren and Fitz together and of them separately.

I put this in the liked but didn't love category. The authors did a great job being true to the story and making it modern. I am sure that a lot of time and thought went into the writing of this book. I wonder how many times they had to watch the movie to nail everything. I must give them mad props for that. It was just lacking that little bit of something to push my rating higher.

I never saw the movie tangled so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I seriously adored this book and I loved Ren. She is so sheltered and her parents finally let her go to college, and this is exciting, but she has a ton of rules and those have to be followed even while she's away or they withdraw her from school. Well, being the good girl that she is she follows all rules, but then a little class experiment got her very curious about her whole LIFE. And how does Fitz play into everything? Well he has some secrets he has to protect as well, and the journey they take together, the things they both learn together and from each other, so sweet.

While I understand where they were trying to go with the main character, it just felt very juvenile and farfetched at times. I guess with it being a Rapunzel read alike that was the goal. I just didn't feel a person can be that brilliant yet that naive at the same time. However, I have never been sheltered like that so maybe that is exactly how people in that situation tend to be. I know the characters age are what make it new adult, but it read like a young adult book.

Read if you like: Fairy tale retellings, grumpy/sunshine dynamic, forced proximity, slow-burn romance, road trip adventures, contemporary fiction.

📚Get ready to dive into a contemporary fairy tale that’s a brilliant reimagination of Disney’s Tangled - Christina Lauren’s "Tangled Up in You" is an absolute gem, and the magic it weaves is utterly irresistible.

Ren, raised off the grid, steps into the real world at Corona College, where she meets Fitz, a guy with a meticulously planned life. A simple immunology assignment changes their lives, leading them on an unexpected road trip.

👨‍👧 Ren Gylden is a bookish, wind-power-system-building wonder stepping into the bustling world of college life. Fitz, with his grumpy exterior and hidden warmth, finds his life thrown into delightful chaos when Ren enters. Together, they make for a dynamic and endearing pair.

💞 The chemistry between Ren and Fitz is palpable and beautifully woven into a slow-burning, heartwarming romance. Their journey together showcases a charming grumpy/sunshine dynamic, reminiscent of the iconic Rapunzel and Flynn Rider chemistry.

✍️ Christina Lauren brilliantly captures the essence of the fairy tale with a modern twist. The narrative is paced to perfection, maintaining a suspenseful edge while allowing the story to unfold organically. The duo’s signature charm is evident, making this book a delightful departure from their usual work.

🌟 Tangled Up in You is more than just a retelling; it’s a modern fairy tale that captures hearts with its innocence, brilliance, and a touch of magic.

I will read anything Christina Lauren writes. Even a retelling of a Disney movie! 

The authors did well writing this one in a modern setting. Ren was a fantastic character. Given her upbringing, she was still strong and wasn't afraid to try new things. Fitz wasn't the most likeable character at the start for me but by the end of the book, I had done a full 180 and their happy ending was perfect.

💛Fairytale Retelling
💛Grumpy/Sunshine
💛Forced Proximity
💛Slow Burn

Tangled Up In You is a fun and lighthearted retelling of the Disney classic Tangled. I loved these author’s take on the Tangled story and the little things which were nods to the story (such as Fritz’s white Mustang car). Ren was sweet and funny and a bit naive. Fitz was the popular guy at school and was both grumpy and guarded. I enjoyed the plot of the story but I did find this a little slow at times. If you are looking for a clean, easy YA read then this book is perfect…a great palette cleanser.