Tangled Up in You
Ratings1
Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
She has a dream. He has a plan. Together they’ll take a leap of faith.
Ren has never held an iPhone, googled the answer to a question, or followed a crush on social media. What she has done: Read a book or two, or three (okay, hundreds). Taught herself to paint. Built a working wind power system from scratch. But for all the books she’s read, Ren has never found one that’s taught a woman raised on a homestead and off the grid for most of her twenty-two years how to live in the real world. So when she finally achieves her lifelong dream of attending Corona College, it feels like her life is finally beginning.
Fitz has the rest of his life mapped out: Graduate from Corona at the top of his class, get his criminal record wiped clean, and pass himself off as the rich, handsome player everyone thinks he is. He’s a few short months from checking off step one of his plans when Ren Gylden, with her cascading blonde hair and encyclopedic brain, crashes into his life, and for the first time Fitz’s plan is in jeopardy.
But a simple assignment in their immunology seminar changes the course of both their lives, and suddenly they’re thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire on a road trip that will lead them in the most unexpected directions. Out on the open road, the world somehow shifts, and the unlikely pair realize that, maybe, the key to the dreams they’ve both been chasing have been sitting next to them the whole time.
Featured Series
4 primary booksMeant to Be is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Julie Murphy, Jasmine Guillory, and 2 others.
Reviews with the most likes.
What happens when you spend four days in the hospital and come home feeling unable to do anything? Well, folks, you get me. June and the beginning of July haven’t gone as planned, but I can happily say that this book pulled me out of both a reading and reviewing slump. I loved it so much and can’t wait to feel well enough to get a physical copy.
Ren and Fitz were utterly charming, making me smile from start to finish. Some writers could pen a grocery list and I’d probably give it a shot. When it comes to YA Romance, that number can be counted on one hand with fingers left over. But as I finished Christina Lauren’s “Tangled Up in You” – a delightful modern reimagining of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel plus Disney’s Tangled – I had the same fizzy buzz I’d get as a kid when my heroine got her happily ever after. Even if I wouldn’t normally select a YA title, the story absolutely worked for me as a romance and a fairy tale retelling.
Christina Lauren has crafted a tale that is not only a nod to a classic but also a celebration of finding oneself and love in spite of a bumpy past. In this case, a past that cannot be changed or fixed by magic. (Unless you count therapy as magic, which I do.) I found myself turning pages quickly and looking up other books by Christina Lauren to add to my growing pile.
Twenty-two-year-old Ren has never attended formal schooling, having lived a secluded life on a rural farm in Idaho. Her parents finally agree to let her go to college, but only if she adheres to a strict set of rules. Ren embodies the phrase “innocent optimist.” Every experience in the “real world” is a first for her—first friend, first doughnut, first crush—you get the picture. It’s a joy to watch her discover the world at an age when most people are starting their independent lives.
Enter Fitz. He’s irresistibly charming, top of his class, from a wealthy family, and seems to have it all. But no one at Corona College knows the real Fitz, and he’s afraid they might not like him if they did. When an opportunity arises for Ren to leave town on a secret quest, she blackmails Fitz into taking her to Nashville, where he also has a secret meeting.
This story is a road trip across America, with Ren experiencing countless “firsts” and Fitz falling for the girl he thinks he shouldn’t. I loved the connections to Tangled: Fitz is Eugene Fitzherbert, better known as Flynn Rider; Fitz’s car, Max, is as stubborn as Maximus the horse; and Ren, of course, is the intelligent but naive Rapunzel. A retelling works when you love the characters as much as the original, and I adored Ren and Fitz. They each have unique storylines, and I loved reading about them falling for each other. Their first kiss is one of the sweetest and hottest I’ve read in a long time, and it felt so natural for them to be together. There’s so much kissing in this book, and you can feel how much they enjoy each other’s company. I was also thrilled with how Fitz handles consent. He makes her feel valued and seen, and it’s beautiful.
Even though readers might see where the story is headed, they’ll still love the journey. You get a sweet love story combined with a bit of mystery and intrigue, and all the lovey-dovey feels. Because this is for young adults, or even middle grade, the intimacy is kept to kissing and there’s some very well-handled discussion of boundaries and consent. That doesn’t mean it’s not very romantic in the classic sense and just the right amount of steamy. The dynamic between Ren and Fitz is beautifully crafted, with humor and sweetness woven into their interactions and playful banter. I look forward to going into this author's back catalog when I need a pick-me-up because the writing worked like a charm.
