A good retelling of the beloved movie Tangled is a tall order. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider have an undeniable chemistry and the progression of their story and personal growth never fail to capture the hearts of the audience. There are not many people who would be up to the task of giving this story a modern twist that holds the same standards as the original. Fortunately, the publishers knew what they were doing when they chose Christina Lauren to continue their Meant to Be series of retellings.
Christina Lauren managed to not only capture the magic of the original, but also add their own spin in a way that made the story make sense in a more modern setting. Well, as much as they could anyway. Ren’s homelife and backstory flowed brilliantly into who she was as a person when she started her adventure, going to college. When she meets up with a guide to tour the college, she gets to know Fitz, who, despite their immediate chemistry, can’t stand her. The progression of their relationship and the journeys that they both embark on was brilliantly done. While they are undeniably retelling the story, Tangled, both Fitz and Ren are their own characters who deserve the love of the audience in their own right.
It was great fun to see the modern world through the eyes of the always kind and at times, naive, Ren. There were many times when seeing the world through that lens brought out the beauty and the pain of the real world. The lens provided a look at the hypocrisy of society and the ways that the beauty within the individual can counter that hypocrisy and make the world better, one smile at a time.
The only complaint that I had while reading this book was that the ending felt abrupt. For a story that spent so much time building tension and suspense, it was over rather quickly. There were a few storylines that I felt were left unfinished and would have really helped to finish the rounding out of Ren and Fitz’s characters.
3.5/5 stars for a story that will thrill fans of the movie, Tangled.
Thank you to Hyperion and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review
The Novel Llama 