Taking Chances on Love

"Well thank heavens for your particular way of panicking. 

Seriously. 

That was some quick thinking. 

I was panicking as well, but in a completely different way. 

Still, never would have thought to yell, 

'Rapunzel, thrown down your hair.'"

--Cindy C. Bennett, Rapunzel Untangled

Genre: YA Fairy Tale Re-Telling

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc., 304 pages

Publication Date: February 12th, 2013

Source: Digital ARC from NetGalley on behalf of publisher

Find on Goodreads 

Goodreads Description

Rapunzel is not your average teenager. 

For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction. But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is. 

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

My Thoughts

I'm such a girl! I love fairy tales! I ador fairy tales! I spent my childhood secretly hoping I was always some sort of long lost princess. *sigh* But seriously. I do love them. Self-proclaimed Disney fanatic. We know this. So I was sooooo excited when I was approved for this book on NetGalley! Like, screamed out loud when I got the e-mail. Eep! Ok, I must calm down. And ya know who else loves fairy tales, Rapunzel specifically, my baby sister Alyssa who turns 23 today!! Yay!!! So I HAD to post the review on her birthday because she loves Rapunzel and this story is too cute. :)

SO! This was definitely a fun read. I whipped though it in a day. Didn't really want to put it down in order to see how this Rapunzel re-telling would play out. To be honest, I've seen Tangled, no joke, about 50 times but I really have no idea what the details of the exact original Rapunzel story is. There is a brief paragraph by the author prior to the beginning that explains the original story and how she based her re-telling off of the original. I really liked that she did this to give a bit of a background on her story.

I found Rapunzel completely endearing. Her character was very believable and her fears and hopes were so evident that I was feeling them right along with her. Her naivety was just too precious. She was completely clueless on just about anything having to do with the real world. Enter Fane. Rapunzel's newest Facebook friend...no, I'm serious, that's how they meet. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but it was too funny. Their repartee is immediately hilarious and witty. The dialogue between these two characters had me giggling to myself and was just too cute. 

Rapunzel starts off, obviously, as completely sheltered and fearful. She has been told by Mother Gothel that she has an immune disease that prohibits her from going outside where the germs could kill her. Why wouldn't she believe this? It's all she knows. Her hesitation to break this is believable and I loved her for it. She had a great combination of being hesitant and brave. Fane was perfect for her. He pushed her to seek out answers but backed off when he knew it might be too much.

The mystery surrounding Mother Gothel was revealed in pieces perfectly. There are hints to it throughout the entire story and you get different parts revealed slowly but surely. I didn't know exactly what to expect her entire story to be, so I was surprised by this element because ya'll know she has ulterior motives and something else is going on...just what that is remains a mystery. The pacing I really liked. It was definitely a story. It moved at a brisk walk pace I would say. Leisurely but kept the story propelling forward and I was never bored while reading it.

The only thing I was really disappointed in was the ending. That should have been the best part but instead was the part I liked least. It felt very jumbled while I was reading, it was a bit hard to follow. Some of the decisions of the characters seem to come out of nowhere. A bit confusing. There was also another area at the end that I thought would have been explored but then was just left open. I don't know. I don't judge this book on the ending. It could have been better. But the rest of the story and build-up I really liked so I'll kind of give this book a past on the no-so-good conclusion.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very light and fun read to end my work week on so I really enjoyed just kicking back, relaxing and enjoying a really cute story without having to think too hard. Like I said before, I looooove fairy tales, I will read re-telling whenever I can get my hands on them, so if you guys have any other recs for me I'll take them! And I'd check out this book if you are a Disney and fairy tale fan as I am. :)