Honestly, Christina Lauren have done it again. They’re already a favorite of mine, but when I saw they had written this Meant to Be novel, I was skeptical (given its source material and how spicy their original work tends to be). They balance the perfect amount of tension between the characters without writing M-rated fanfiction of children’s characters, and I think the believability is honestly great. All the changes and modernizations made were exactly what wanted from a Tangled AU! Excellent work turning something timelessly Disney into something else completely original, inventive, and a joy to read!

This is such a cute retelling of Rupunzel. I loved it.
When Wren finally gets to leave her hometown and attend college and see what she has been missing her whole life, she realizes there were secrets kept from her by her parents. This book is really good. The plot twist blew my mind. Christina Lauren made this story even better. It’s perfect.

This was a great retelling of Tangled! I loved how earnest and thoughtful Ren was. I liked how, even though he didn’t want to admit it, how caring, kind, and protective Fitz/Edward was. The two of them were so good together, and I loved their relationship progression—it felt like a real, raw partnership and like these two people actually knew each other. I liked how Fitz was in a constant battle with himself and what he was feeling for Ren. And I liked Ren's strength; she wasn’t just a naive character. I wanted a bit more of Fitz’s story. I understand why he couldn't reveal it all to her, but at the end, when it ass revealed, I wanted a bit more.Overall, it's a super cute story!

Book Ratings:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Book Review (no spoilers):
This was such a sweet, funny, entertaining, and enjoyable romance! I loved that it was a Disney’s Tangled retelling. That is one of my favorite movies, so I was so excited to read this.

Honestly it was so refreshing to read a book with true slow burn romance and no real spice. This was all about learning to fall in love and allowing yourself to do it. It was precious how they were both there for each other throughout all of their struggles.

The whole story wasn’t super surprising since I went in knowing it was a Tangled retelling but if you haven’t seen the movie, there is definitely a surprise ending! Either way, stuff went down at the end that I wasn’t expecting.

I really enjoyed watching her go to college, learn about the modern world, go on the roadtrip, and learn to love everything the world had to offer.

A true coming of age tale combined with learning who you are learning what love means and what you will do for those you love.

Would absolutely recommend this! Thank you for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was literally everything that I wanted from this book. It is like Tangled, but set in the modern world with no magic. It is a feel-good, fun, romantic, and quirky read. It was very cute.

A special thank you to Christina Lauren, Hyperion Avenue, and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy Christina Lauren books. Tangled was quirky and funny. I enjoyed this book but not as much as some of their other titles. I will always continue to read Christina Lauren though.

This romance is very silly and charming, exactly what I expected. Rapunzel/Tangled is a fairy tale that is dear to my heart. I'm glad it was in the capable hands of Christina Lauren.

This had all the coziness of Tangled set in the modern world with no magic. While the main characters are technically new adults (22 y/o) it definitely reads as a YA novel. Which was totally fine but you can go into this expecting a grown up Rapunzel retelling.

As someone who is a big fan of the film I adored the little Easter eggs that were weaved into the story. From Pascal to Max to no one being able to draw Flynn’s nose right.

There were definitely some faults with the whole “road trip” plot line as it doesn’t take a full day to drive from Kansas City to St Louis but that really didn’t impact the whole storyline much so I’ll forgive it.

Overall it was a super cute and delightful read.

I was a little apprehensive on how a story like Tangled could be adapted to a modern setting in a believable and interesting way and I wound up being delightfully surprised. As someone who is a huge fan of this movie and has seen it dozens of times I had a great time picking up on little details and callbacks to the movie while still be interested and invested in these brand new characters and brand new spin on a slightly familiar story. I especially appreciated a more in depth background for Fitz. And despite going in already knowing the final act plot twist, this version still delivered it in a way that was very exciting and satisfying to me. I think fans of the movie will have a great time and anyone who isn't familiar with Tangled will find something new here from other contemporary romcoms. Very cute! And I found myself staying up late to read - couldn't wait to finish it!

It was fun to see how the characters were going to parallel the source material. However, that was also how it limited the authors into certain choices that bought too much drama. Ren was a delightful character, but the end drama that she lives with is really traumatic. It brought down the ending of the story. Nevertheless, this author combo is a solid purchase for all libraries. Patrons will read and enjoy this title.

Tangled Up In You from Disney Publishing is the fourth installment of the Meant to Be series with authors Christina Lauren heading up this installment. This reimagining of Tangled (Rapunzel). This story features Ren, a 22 year old woman living off the grid with her parents in a homestead. She’s never been to school or been a part of modern day society. She’s self taught in subjects like physics and Mandarin. She shocks her parents when she applies to college and is accepted. Her parents reluctantly agree to send her as long as she returns home every weekend and never leaves campus. On her first day, she meets fellow classmate Fitz who is the class pet and rich dad boy. Her and Fitz attend the same immunology class and during a DNA data study, Ren gets some alarming results. The man she thought was her dad may not actually be her real dad. She doesn’t have a computer or cell phone and needs to contact this man on her results sheet. When she discovers Fitz illegally changing his grade she blackmails him into driving across the country to meet her father. He agrees and an epic roadtrip ensues. This book was very innocent. Ren is innocent but free spirited and a firecracker. This was heavy with Tangled references. It features a frying pan and of course long, blonde hair! If you love fairy tales and adventure stories, this is one to pick up!

Name of Book: Tangled Up in You
Series: Meant to Be #4
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Pub Date: June 25, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 320


Don’t judge me – okay- go ahead I can take!
Yes! It is True I am neither a big movie goer nor a TV viewer - I spend every evening reading for pleasure; so not familiar with the contemporary fairy tale of Disney’s Tangled –which is loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" – now I am clued in as I read Rapunzel

This novel is about friendship, and blossoming of love.
Ren and Fitz are students at Corona College- An assignment in their immunology seminar leads them to a road trip that changes their lives in an unexpected direction.

Although this wasn’t a big WOW for me, I did love Ren's and Fitz turned out to be a good guy.
Yep a HEA story

Want to thank NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 25, 2024.

Omg this book made me SWOON!

At first I didn’t see much of a correlation between this book and Tangled, other than Ren’s long blond hair and her hostile relationship with her strict parents. But as the story went on, I could totally see how this was a reimagining of the classic Disney story.

I’m not much of a Disney person to begin with, but that didn’t stand in the way of how much I adored this book. If anything, the fact that this book was so modernized made me like it even more.

Fitz and Ren had such a sweet relationship… I loved it down to the last page!

(Please note that I will post the link once I share this review on my reviewer page.)

✨RATING: 4⭐️

✨REVIEW: Thank you @netgalley for my eARC in exchanged for my honest review. This “Tangled” retelling/modernization follows a young girl, Ren, who has convinced her parents to let her attend college Mon-Fri, but never been allowed off her homestead otherwise. She is on a quest to discover the truth and blackmails another student, Fitz, to drive her across the country to do so. Their banter and low funds lead to a lot of the comedy and enjoyment in this one. The characters are relatable and I loved pulling away Fitz’s layers revealing more of his character. This was super easy light read once I got past the edit notes and formatting (from being an early release)! Highly recommend!

✨PROS: short chapters, dual POV, tropes- enemies to lovers & single bed

Christina Lauren can do no wrong ... add that this was a Disney retelling and it's the perfect book. The retelling of Rapunzel was done so smartly, I loved every second of it :) And swooned so hard...

4 stars

This was everything I wanted it to be. Cute, fun, witty, romantic, funny.
Tangled is my be of my all time favorite Disney movies and I really think they did it justice bringing the story into the modern world in this retelling. I can see myself re-reading this many times.

Having not read any of the others in the Meant to Be series, I was not sure what to expect. But I'm a big fan of everything Christina Lauren writes, so I was excited to see how they modernized the Disney movie Rapunzel, in Tangled Up in You.

Ren Goldyn has lived a completely sheltered life on a homestead in Idaho with her parents, but finally has convinced them to let her attend Corona College. She is a major fish out of water in terms of social life and modern conveniences, but her years at home reading countless books and learning numerous life skills may be her saving grace.

Fitz is the handsome player who just needs to graduate and put his plan (of wiping some adolescent mischief off his record and starting fresh) into place. Fitz and Ren end up in the same class and both uncover secrets about the other, and eventually end up in a road trip neither of them expected.

Most of this book felt very light and fun. If you've watched Disney's Tangled movie, you will love all the touches and reimaginings of events; the book is beat for beat the same as the movie. The road trip gives you forced proximity and some delicious slow-burning, and I grew more interested in the characters the more I read.

But I was a bit shocked at the darker turn the climax took. It wasn't graphic or completely surprising, but it just got very real very quickly. Even the conclusion where Ren and Fitz are processing all that has happened is like trauma counseling 101, and much more of a modern realistic ending than a classic fairy tale usually has.

This book was so mid for me after obsessing over Tangled for years (I have long hair too and somehow that makes me more attached). I get that this was a contemporary retelling of a famous fantastical movie, which makes the story kinda predictable and hard to nail, but I was so underwhelmed by the way events were replicated in m0dern times.

So, this may be a mini spoiler, but the MMCs name is Edwards Fitzsimmons. He usually goes by Fitz, but later on in the story, he's referred to as Edward, and I really dislike the name, like why is it so unattractive? Of course, I see the reference to Flynn and Eugene, but I'm not a fan. I can't completely explain how the storyline differences in the movie and then the novel were not good enough without spoilers.

There were definitely a decent number of scenes that were beautifully crafted and I enjoyed a lot. Ren was an intriguing character, and I see the resemblance in Rapunzel. Honestly, it would be fun having a Ren in real life. I was also very impressed with the description of scenery, especially Ren's home. I think this is an ok book with decent characters, but needed a lot of work on the plotting.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I’m a huge fan of Tangled and it’s one of my favorite movies period (not just a Disney favorite) so I am slightly biased. But, I had honestly expected this to just be a fun, silly, kind of throw away read. I was really surprised by how well done this was. It was fun, a little corny (in a good way), romantic, sweet, and surprisingly a little adventureful (idk if that’s a proper word or just a girls scout cookie but imma use it anyways). This was a surprisingly realistic rendition of the beloved animated film and I think is a perfect for classic romcom lovers and the Disney Adults.

When you wish upon a star…..! What’s not to love about this modern day fairy tale featuring whip smart, refreshingly self-sufficient and innocent farm girl Ren, who has been living off the grid, and a handsome, wealthy prince of a fellow college student called Fitz whose ride is a vintage car named Max and who has his own complicated backstory?! Among the many things I appreciate about the Christina Lauren authors are their strong, intelligent women and the sense of humor and joy they weave into each story they craft. And Tangled Up In You is a particularly fun and heartwarming tale of self-discovery, the meaning of family, romance, suspense and even brief sojourns across America. I loved it!

Highly recommended! Four and a half stars, rounded up for their highlighting a protagonist with a deep thirst for learning who is multilingual and as capable of fixing a tractor engine as she is mastering the study of immunology.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to publisher Hyperion Avenue for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.