𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★★★

I never thought I would come across a book that combines my favorite authors, Christina Lauren, and one of my other favorites, a modern day Disney style fairytale!

I am not going to lie, I never know if I am going to like retellings or if they will come off a bit cheesy, but this story was perfection! I loved every second of it and couldn’t put it down! I finished the book in one day while it kept me hanging on the edge of my seat!

The way Christina Lauren turned this Tangled style story into a modern day retelling was brilliant! I loved the characters Ren and Fitz and I adored the way they mended together. Ren’s story of growing up off the grid and going to college as her first thing outside of the homestead was a fun adventure to go on. The road trip that the two of them went on was so fun and my favorite parts were when Fitz was able to give Ren so many of her “firsts” in life.

I really enjoyed the mystery behind the story, the excitement that unfolded towards the end and the way things wrapped up. I loved reading this and catching the similarities to Tangled but enjoyed that this was more of a contemporary modern day story. Definitely worth the read!

I was SO excited to read Tangled Up In You and it was incredible!! I could not put this book down. I loved the sweet relationship between Ren and Fitz. Individually, they also had excellent character growth. The banter between them was hilarious!

Christina Lauren incorporated moments from the original version of Tangled, yet still made it feel unique and contemporary. I thought it was very smart how they did the isolation of the tower and Mother Gothel behavior. It felt believable in a modern setting.

Tangled Up In You is simply a joy to read and one of my favorite installments to the Meant to Be series. Readers who love Tangled, sweet romance, and hilarious banter need to read Tangled Up In You!

Thank you to Christina Lauren, Hyperion Avenue, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me about 10% in. I typically enjoy this author duo, and the premise seemed fun and cute to me. The set up felt a bit forced in the present day, and I was having a hard time relating to our main character. It could be due to the lead being younger than their typical FMC. I did not get far enough in to give a fair review, but could see that I was not the intended audience.

Christina Lauren writing an adaptation of Disney's Tangled? I never knew how badly I needed this in my life. Reading Tangled Up In You felt a little bit reminiscent of Educated by Tara Westover but with all of the fun of a Christina Lauren romance. Ren and Fitz were Rapunzel and Flynn, but in a sexy, modern way. This was such a fun read.

I've read basically everything by Christina Lauren, so I was excited to get an ARC of Tangled Up in You from NetGalley.

This is a contemporary retelling of Disney's Tangled. Ren is our Rapunzel. She's been raised off the grid, is extremely book smart, and is going off to college at 22. Once there, she meets Fitz, our Flynn Rider. They find themselves on an unexpected journey across the country and their relationship takes some twists and turns along the way.

This is a very sweet story that blends romance and adventure. Of course there is a happily ever after ending, but I wasn't ready for it to be over. Such a fun read!

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this one early.

Christina Lauren's Tangled Up In You is a reimagining of Disney's Tangled. Ren (Rapunzel) has been raised off the grid, never used used an Iphone or googled a single thing. Fitz (Flynn) is our dashing fellow with a perfectly planned out life. These two are thrown together on an unexpected road trip after having a class together at Corona College.
Slow-burning, heart warming adventure.

“Tangled Up in You” by Christina Lauren was a re-imagining of Disney’s Tangled. This book hooks you from the first page to the very last. It was so fun to look for things that were similar to the movie.
Ren is going away from home the first time in her life. She is not used to the college life and tries to stay as authentic to herself as possible. Fitz is used to being at the top of his classes and will do anything to make sure that he stays there.
When he meets Ren he just seems some clueless girl. As they spend more time together he realizes just how much she opens his eyes to the small wonders in life.
This is a great read and I highly recommend.

A charming retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale. Ren Glyden has been raised completely off the grid by her parents in a compound in Idaho. She has been self taught by reading every book she can get her hands on. She has convinced her parents to let her go to Corona College in Spokane, at the age of 22. There she is a bit of a fish out of water with her flowing blonde locks, her sweet, naive nature, and her lack interaction with the modern world. There she meets Edward Fitzsimmons, aka Fitz, a senior who has a reputation as a rich playboy. After an assignment in their immunology class throws Ren for a loop, they end up on a road trip that leads them to discoveries about themselves and each other. While you know upfront that this is a retelling of Rapunzel/Tangled, you can guess which way the plot is going. It is still an enjoyable story with really likable protagonists. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

“They were both sort of broken, just in totally different ways.”

Christina Lauren knew the assignment and fully delivered on this retold Disney Classic of Tangled in their new Meant to Be novel: Tangled Up In You. Beautiful Ren, with her golden long hair, at 22 years old has never been far from her homestead in Idaho – where she takes care of the animals and has a mile long list of chores to attend to daily. Finally convincing her parents to let her attend college, Ren quickly becomes the talk of the campus with her new views, positive outlook, and her ways of experiencing everything for the very first time thanks to her sheltered life. Fitz is the ultimate playboy: good looking, flirty, top in his class, and his rich dad is the top donor for the college. When these two opposites get tangled in their immunology class, a cross-country road trip begins that will change both of their lives forever.

By far the BEST of the Meant to Be series to date! A tale-as-old-as-time is revamped and brilliantly delivered in a captivating and enthralling way. Ren and Fitz were the perfect characters - so well developed and flushed out that you felt like they were real people. The whole opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine vibe will leave you wanting more (with a smile on your face!).

While a tad predictable (though for a second near the end I was shocked for a chapter that maybe I had it all wrong!), I was eagerly anticipating how Christina Lauren would tie together Rapunzel and Flynn to make it a new-age ending. I don't particularly feel like the ending was very Disney-like, but this reimagined retelling hit all the right buttons for me.

If you love Christina Lauren, a sweet story (that had my kids laughing at the jokes from the bar scene), and a fresh look at the perspective of being naive and innocent seeing the world for the first time with a dreamy male lead - this is the story for you! I feel like this will be a BIG hit and will be recommending it to everyone that will listen (in fact, I will be buying it on June 25, 2024 to give to one of my best friends). 4.7 cute stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this spellbinding arc; all opinions are my own!

“It was overwhelming, the way her heart was discovering love at the same time her mind was contemplating the possibility that her entire life had been built on a lie.”

Tangled Up in You is the fourth in a series of Disney sanctioned reimagined stories. Different popular authors create the stand alone books and I’ve read three of the four. I jumped at the chance to read this one because Christina Lauren is a favorite author. This Tangle (Repunzel) based features Ren and Fritz. Ren has been homeschooled and self taught on a homestead in Idaho. She comes to college as a twenty-two year old who has tested into high levels of education. Her parents are strict about rules and she must return home every weekend.

Fritz comes off as the charming, flirty, smart, wealthy kid but has a deep back story of his own. When a class assignment has Ren learning she has a close relative living across the country she didn’t know exists, she invites herself along on a road trip with Fritz. Driving in Max his vintage mustang they get to know each other better while in close proximity. I like that they take time to visit Wall Drug and a few iconic sites along the way.

Ren is cute in her naivety which is offset by her intelligence. Christina Lauren is good at building sexual tension while keeping it a Disney, kissing only book. The ending feels out of place compared to the rest of the book, but I’m not sure what else would have been better. I enjoyed the story but not nearly as much as other books by the writing duo. The cover is adorable. (3.5 Stars)

If you don’t know who the amazing dynamic duo Christina Lauren is….CLIMB OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THAT ROCK! They are the best romance authors! Every single one of their titles is amazing. When I saw they were doing a story inspired by the Disney’s Tangled movie, I knew I had read it! It’s been some years since I’ve seen the movie, but I think they did an excellent job of modernizing the tale. Always looking forward to more from them!

Such a fun modern retelling of Rapunzel and I love what the authors created with these characters.

There’s an interesting mystery plot within this romance that had me quickly to get answers. A theme of growth and living in the moment is a big feature throughout and overall it made for a fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley for the early review copy.

4.25

Wow! On so many level wow! This was so not what I was expecting. Truthfully, since we just had a major Christina Lauren release less than a month ago and this was supposed to be a modern fairytale retelling, I didn’t have high hopes.

But first, as an Idaho native, I can’t not address the setting of these off-the-grid conspiracy-theorizing isolationists, otherwise known as Gloria and Steven. I’d like to say that this isn’t a place where they’d fit right in, but in some parts, they’d fit right in, even though their reasons may differ from other nearby extremists. It is pretty unbelievable that they would allow her to go away to college and there are some closer, like the University of Idaho, where she should have been able to get a scholarship too.

This is very loosely a Rapunzel story, but it’s so loose that you wouldn’t guess it if the cover and description hadn’t mentioned it. I liked this. It seems ironic to say it was a unique story, but that’s how loosely it relates to the fairytale. It is a bit of a enemies-to-lovers trope, but is otherwise not your run-of-the-mill story. Okay, I take that back. It is a road trip where there’s often only one room with one bed available. Aside from those things, it’s not your average romcom and has some serious themes that, as you’ve read in “Educated” (also set in Idaho), you know that there are people who isolate their children as much as Ren was. It’s extremely fortunate that she was basically a genius or she really would have had a tough time.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read that keeps you moving and would you believe that it’s not smutty?! It’s not a clean read, but definitely not your typical Christina Lauren.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was a fun modern retelling of Rapunzel and I love what the authors created with these characters.

Ren was adorable, quirky, and so book smart! I called her MacGyver at her ability to fix things that were broken, how she absorbed information and learned quickly was fun to follow. When she crosses paths with Fitz we get such cute grumpy/sunshine banter from them, his roadtrip rules and slow thaw towards her was again, adorable!

There’s an interesting mystery plot woven into this romance that had me flipping pages to get answers. It was a little over the top but I much enjoyed that suspense and conclusion. A theme of growth and living life in the moment is a big feature throughout and overall it made for a fun summer read!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and Netgalley for the early review copy.

"Tangled Up in You" is a modern retelling of Disney's "Tangled". Initially, I struggled to connect with the story and I felt like it might not be for me. However, just as I was about to set it aside, some unexpected twists really enticed me and pulled me into the narrative.

The story primarily takes place following Ren and Fitz on a road trip. This element was quite charming but it did also feel too drawn out for my liking. I didn't think the pacing of their journey felt realistic, which made it feel like a plot device and I hate becoming aware of that sort of thing. Despite this, their adventures were endearing, and it was very heartwarming to see their relationship develop during their experiences.

One of my biggest struggles with book is the inconsistent characterization of Ren. We see a lot of examples of her naivety, which is too be expected because of her upbringing, and often times, I felt like her behavior was kind of childish. Even with all of her knowledge and book smarts, she came off as a very young protagonist and gave this book a YA feeling. I kind of wish it stuck in that direction because the times where she would become more mature, knowledgeable, and... romantically comfortable... didn't feel natural. It was a pretty jarring change and that made it more difficult to connect. While the experience of the road trip could contribute to this a bit, it wasn't enough to justify such a big change and I think some of her aspects were just too cliche, so they didn't end up blending nicely.

On a similar note, the themes in the story become much heavier throughout the story. We learn a lot about Fitz's background and Ren's entire journey makes it clear that there wouldn't be a particularly positive outcome no matter what. But things dive into a darker category than I would have expected for this particular story. The serious elements are not an issue on their own, but they did clashed with the overall light-hearted tone of the book. It was as if two different books were merged, leading to a lack of cohesion. With that, I also felt like the explanation of why Ren was in Gloria and Steve's care felt a bit underdeveloped -- really, most of the elements in that last chunk of the book felt pretty rushed and unsatisfying.

While this review does focus on a lot of issues, I should definitely say that I didn't hate my experience with this book at all. I found it to be an overall cute and fun story that was very easy to read. Though I haven't watched "Tangled," the book seemed to capture the essence of what I know about the adaptation. It had a very lighthearted charm that made it easy to root for Ren and Fitz's happiness, even if I didn't become deeply invested in their characters.

Overall, "Tangled Up in You" is worth picking up if the premise intrigues you.

Tangled Up in You is a modern retelling of Disney’s Tangled, with 22-year-old first time college student Ren as our Rapunzel. She’s lived her entire life off the grid on an Idaho homestead, so attending Corona College is her first foray into the mainstream. When an immunology class assignment yields a surprising result, Ren finds herself on a road trip with a charming young man named Fitz, both of their lives headed in unexpected directions.

The dynamic duo known as Christina Lauren have done Tangled proud with this sweet, funny romance! Ren is the perfect Rapunzel, with long golden hair, wide-eyed naivete, and a surprisingly witty sense of humor. There’s loads of chemistry in the romance between her and Fitz, but in a fade-to-black, spice-free kind of way. I loved the clever parallels to Tangled, and it was so much fun discovering them that I’m not going to list them so I don’t spoil your fun either! I was completely entertained by this delightful story!

If you like fairytale retellings or New Adult rom coms, I think you’ll love this cute and charming tale! Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me an advance copy of this book.

3⭐
Genre ~ fairy tale fantasy
Series ~ Meant to Be #4
Others in the series ~ are unrelated and share a theme only
Setting ~ road trip from Washington to Georgia
Publication date ~ June 25, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 320 (38 chapters)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 56 minutes
Narrators ~ Patti Murin, Eunice Wong, Andrew Gibson
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, no steamage

I've watched the movie Tangled a gazillion times and it's one of my favorites, so I had to see what this retelling had to offer.

Ren (22) is our Rapunzel. She's been living on a homestead with her parents for 20 years, never once attending school. Now she has an opportunity to go to Corona College, where she meets Fitz (22), our Flynn Ryder, AKA Eugene Fitzherbert.

An assignment has her submitting her DNA and the results were shocking. She hitches a ride with Fitz to Georgia to get some answers.

I must say that the authors did an excellent job of making this resonate with the movie. I love that Fitz's mustang is named Max to go along with the horse in the movie, Maximus. Ren is as naively depicted as you'd expect, however it gives the story YA vibes. She did tell some good jokes, though.

There were some cute moments, like the detours they took on the road trip, but overall, this was so slow moving and I was quite bored for a good portion of it. I didn't feel the ending on the farm was authentic to the story, but I suppose it's just their spin on things.

I LOVED this book! It was sweet and funny and I love the Ranpunzelish vibe. The main characters are so loveable, it's hard to not love this book. It was such an easy and enjoyable read, I was at the end of the book before I even realized it! I didn't want it to end!

What a fun concept to reimagine "Tangled"! I enjoyed this book and liked how some of the movie's best scenes were included in the story. The first half was better for me than the second half, which seemed to focus more on the physical relationship between the main characters. I feel like that section could have been tightened up a little. But, it's definitely a fun summer read for closed-door romance lovers. Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Tangled Up in You is the perfect re-telling of Rapunzel. Christina Lauren's next big hit; they do it again! They take the magical story of Rapunzel and re-imagine it as a college love story. I went in knowing the story of Rapunzel and wondered how they could tell it. I fell in love with the characters and couldn't wait to read how it would all go down.

Thanks NetGalley for the advance audio copy of this book!