Book Review: Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren

Title: Tangled Up In You
Author: Christina Lauren
Series: Meant to Be #4
Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy, Retelling (of Tangled)
Date of Publication: June 25, 2024
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue

Synopsis

A witty and deeply romantic modern reimagining of Disney’s Tangled, by the New York Times bestselling author duo Christina Lauren, part of the acclaimed and bestselling Meant to Be collection.

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 months short 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.

– Goodreads

My Thoughts

The Tangled retelling we’ve all been waiting for!

This is a reimagining of a movie based on a fairytale. I saw the Tangled movie back when it first came out. I loved it, but I haven’t seen it since. I remember parts of it, and this book has some great easter eggs back to the original movie, but you don’t have to have seen the movie to appreciate the book. If you’re a fan of rom coms, you should still check it out!

The entire book is told in third person from the points of view of Ren and Fitz. Ren grew up on a homestead with two very strict parents, but they’ve finally allowed her to spread her wings–somewhat–and go to college. She’s the oldest freshman there–at twenty-two–and she’s worried that her lack of knowledge about technology and the world will be embarrassing.

The book does have some pretty basic jokes (Why are you buying something from the Amazon?), but it’s super light and sweet, and there are several genuine laugh out loud moments. I adore the grumpy/sunshine dynamic between Ren and Fitz, and it’s mentioned numerous times in the book that Ren has serious golden retriever energy. And Fitz definitely has the soul of a black cat.

All this isn’t to say the book doesn’t have some depth. There are some heavier themes later in the book that I won’t spoil here. That said, the book is still very PG-13 (only kissing, no violence, minimal swearing), and could be read by younger adults who are graduating from binge rewatching the original Disney movie this is based on!

All in all, this is a super light and fun read and I highly recommend it to those who love the movie it’s based on–and even those who haven’t seen it!