Tangled Up In You

April 29, 2024
Bestselling writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, writing as Lauren (The Paradise Problem), spin another convincing romance, the fourth in the multiauthor Meant to Be series of contemporary fairy tale adaptations (after Zoraida Córdova’s Kiss the Girl). For the first 22 years of her life, Ren Gylden was kept isolated and homeschooled in rural Idaho by her prepper parents, Steve and Gloria. But after she wins a scholarship to Corona College, Ren’s parents reluctantly consent to let her experience the real world, as long as she comes home every weekend, stays off the internet, and doesn’t date, wear makeup, drink alcohol, or go anywhere except to classes and the library. Among her new classmates is Fitz, who was adopted as a teen by a wealthy man who needed some good PR. Though everyone assumes Fitz is rich, he’s working his own way through college and attempting to graduate at the top of his class to earn a judge’s promised recommendation to seal his juvenile criminal record. After a class assignment involving a DNA test, Ren learns a shocking secret about her family and persuades Fitz to let her tag along on a road trip he’s taking to Atlanta so she can investigate further. The road trip is fun and eventful with a satisfying twist awaiting Ren at the end. This is a delight.

May 1, 2024
In the latest entry into the Mean to Be series, the romance duo writing as Christina Lauren reimagine Disney's Tangled as a grumpy/sunshine road trip romance. Raised on a homestead by overprotective parents, 22-year-old Ren is eager to start her education at Corona College and experience the real world. Edward "Fitz" Fitzsimmon has a plan: graduate, go to law school, and keep anyone from getting too close. Na�ve, friendly Ren is not part of his plan. But when a class DNA test reveals secrets about Ren's parents, she convinces Fitz to let her tag along on his trip to Nashville. As they drive towards their destination, Ren and Fitz find themselves opening up to the world and to each other. But are they able to maintain their relationship in spite of major revelations, or will it all fall apart? Christina Lauren smartly updates the Rapunzel story for a modern audience. Ren and Fitz both feel like real people in the real world with real problems who also have fairy-tale chemistry. Even Rapunzel skeptics will find themselves rooting for Ren and Fitz's relationship to have a happily ever after.

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April 1, 2024

Tucked away at an Idaho farm for almost all her life, Ren Gylden only knows about the world through books. Since she's read so much, her book-smart genius lands her a full scholarship to attend college, a lifelong dream of hers. A freshman at 22, with no formal education and no experience with technology or boys because of her strict parents, Ren fascinates everyone on campus with her wide-eyed and optimistic persona, much to the dismay of professors' favorite Fitz, who needs to maintain his top-student status. When a class experiment has Ren questioning her homestead upbringing, she badgers Fitz to bring her along on his planned travels, leading to a road trip full of humorous adventures and sparkling attraction. While Fitz is secretive about his convoluted backstory, Ren's openness is wonderful. Their opposites-attract dynamic is adeptly written, and their growing feelings are apparent in swoon-worthy interactions. VERDICT A romantic joyride with roller-coaster plot reveals. Readers of Lauren's (The True Love Experiment) books and fans of the beloved Disney original Tangled will adore this rom-com retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale.--Hazel Ureta

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