Christina Lauren's charming Disney retelling to hit shelves soon!
I was not expecting to love this as much as I did! It reimagines Disney's Tangled as part of the Meant To Be collection. And it is so much fun!
Ren is heavily sheltered and was raised off the grid on a homestead where she has had little contact with the outside world. Self-taught and incredibly smart, at 22, she has achieved her dream of getting into college, but her parents have very strict rules for her to abide by, even away at school. Fitz is asked to show Ren around campus. His wealthy playboy demeanor hides the truth about his life. But, he will soon graduate and set his long-awaited plan in motion. The two form an unlikely but adorable pair. An assignment in their immunology seminar sends them on an unexpected cross-country road trip full of surprises.
This is a unique blend of classic Tangled elements and a modern-day US setting with so many great tropes in this one! Enemies to friends to lovers, opposites attract, forced proximity, he falls first, and more.
Ren is sweet, very naive, highly intelligent, resourceful, and entirely sincere. Fitz is a bad boy hiding a painful past who can dial up the smolder. They could not be more opposite or cuter together. If you're a fan of the movie, you know the basic tenets of the story, but this version is set in the modern-day US. Author duo Christina Lauren respects the source material but changes things up enough that the story feels fresh. Everything is a new experience for Ren, especially on the road trip, where we see her character grow and learn more about Fitz.
I am a fan of Christina Lauren, to begin with, but honestly, they did a fantastic job with this! It differs from their usual books but still features their trademarks, including witty banter, a strong FMC you can't help but root for, and plenty of romantic tension. However, this is a clean romance. Entertaining and totally escapist!
Pub Day: June 25, 2024
320 pages
Thank you to Hyperion Avenue Books for the free book!
My steep was Fireside Chai from Club Magic Hour's new Airstream collection
PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS:
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 fireon 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.
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