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What Once Was Mine
Disney Princess Rapunzel What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales) ABISBOOK Autumn Publishing.
496 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2021
1986 people are currently reading
50811 people want to read
About the author
Liz Braswell
51 books6,357 followersAfter the sort of introverted childhood you would expect from a writer, Liz earned a degree in Egyptology at Brown University and then promptly spent the next ten years producing video games. Finally she caved into fate and wrote Snow and Rx under the name Tracy Lynn, followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under her real name, because by then the assassins hunting her were all dead. She also has short stories in Geektastic and Who Done It and a new series of reimagined fairy tales coming out, starting with A Whole New World—a retelling of Aladdin.
She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, two children, a cat, a part-time dog, three fish and five coffee trees she insists will start producing beans any day. You can email her at me@lizbraswell.com.
She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, two children, a cat, a part-time dog, three fish and five coffee trees she insists will start producing beans any day. You can email her at me@lizbraswell.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,543 reviews
May 12, 2025
**4.5-stars rounded up**
What Once Was Mine is the 12th-installment in Disney's Twisted Tales series. So far, I have read 10 of the 12 books and definitely have plans to read them all.
If you are unfamiliar with this fantastic series, you can read these books in any order. Each one tackles a different Disney story, twisting one major plot point and then examining what would have happened as a result of that twist.
In this volume, Liz Braswell twists the tale of Rapunzel, or the movie, Tangled, if you prefer to look at it that way.
Worried about the life of their ailing Queen, pregnant with her first child, the citizens of Corona search for the infamous Sundrop flower to cure her, but end up picking a Moondrop flower accidentally.
Because of this one tiny error, the baby girl, Rapunzel, has silver hair, the color of the moon, dangerous to the touch.
In order to keep everyone safe, the Queen and King make the heartbreaking decision to have Rapunzel locked away in a Tower, far from the kingdom proper, and watched over by a powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.
Rapunzel dutifully stays put for 18-years. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, but the pull of seeing the floating lights on her birthday is just too strong.
She sets out on an adventure of epic proportions with two theives, Flynn and Gina, on a search for her happily ever after.
Y'all, this book is an absolute blast to read. Dare I say, the BEST TWISTED TALE YET!!!
If you love the story of Rapunzel, the cute and quirky characters found therein, or you think that the movie Tangled is a true gem to be watched on repeat because of its glorious good humor, you absolutely have to get your hands on this book!
I have never jived with Braswell's writing as much as I did with this one. She really shines here, bringing this story and these characters to life in a whole new ((moon))light!!
A hearty thank you to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It absolutely filled my heart!
What Once Was Mine is the 12th-installment in Disney's Twisted Tales series. So far, I have read 10 of the 12 books and definitely have plans to read them all.
If you are unfamiliar with this fantastic series, you can read these books in any order. Each one tackles a different Disney story, twisting one major plot point and then examining what would have happened as a result of that twist.
In this volume, Liz Braswell twists the tale of Rapunzel, or the movie, Tangled, if you prefer to look at it that way.
Worried about the life of their ailing Queen, pregnant with her first child, the citizens of Corona search for the infamous Sundrop flower to cure her, but end up picking a Moondrop flower accidentally.
Because of this one tiny error, the baby girl, Rapunzel, has silver hair, the color of the moon, dangerous to the touch.
In order to keep everyone safe, the Queen and King make the heartbreaking decision to have Rapunzel locked away in a Tower, far from the kingdom proper, and watched over by a powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.
Rapunzel dutifully stays put for 18-years. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, but the pull of seeing the floating lights on her birthday is just too strong.
She sets out on an adventure of epic proportions with two theives, Flynn and Gina, on a search for her happily ever after.
Y'all, this book is an absolute blast to read. Dare I say, the BEST TWISTED TALE YET!!!
If you love the story of Rapunzel, the cute and quirky characters found therein, or you think that the movie Tangled is a true gem to be watched on repeat because of its glorious good humor, you absolutely have to get your hands on this book!
I have never jived with Braswell's writing as much as I did with this one. She really shines here, bringing this story and these characters to life in a whole new ((moon))light!!
A hearty thank you to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It absolutely filled my heart!
May 6, 2025
3.75 ☆
omw to rewatch tangled for the 98474736th time after reading this
~~~
decided to dive into the magical tangled world to escape the real one.
Disney has always been my escape since i was little so here i am again😌
only my pretty boy Flynn can cheer me up if only he was real
omw to rewatch tangled for the 98474736th time after reading this
~~~
decided to dive into the magical tangled world to escape the real one.
Disney has always been my escape since i was little so here i am again😌
only my pretty boy Flynn can cheer me up
May 16, 2024
10/18/21
If you know me, chances are you know that I. Love. Tangled. I have been looking forward to this book since it was announced.
And boy, was it a let-down.
The first half was okay. The adventuring, learning about her powers... all good!
But when it got closer to the end and the "big bad" was introduced, it went downhill.
To begin with, I was not a fan of it being set in the real world. It was very offputting to be reading about my beloved kingdom of Corona (the name of which is never even USED, might I add) in Renaissance-era Europe.
Eugene feels like a one-dimensional version of himself. Much of what makes him Eugene feels forced. And he's never even called Eugene in the text! He’s not funny or sly or charming. He feels dull and forced. I couldn't find myself actually getting invested in his character, which is sad. Eugene deserved better.
Gina. Gina, Gina, Gina. Gina, my beloved. Probably due to the fact that she's an "original" character, she doesn't feel like a caricature of a person. Now, I have no idea if the author of this ever watched TTS/RTA, but Gina feels, to me, like a new version of Cassandra. If not, maybe the rough and tumble girl who wants freedom and to hold her own in a patriarchal society really is just what Rapunzel needs in her life (if you get the reference to that Chris Sonnenburg tweet, let's be friends).
Now, Rapunzel! The most important character. I do feel like the author had her characterization pretty much down and I love her just as much as I love actual Rapunzel. Wasn’t a huge fan of the whole “witch” portion of her character, when really it’s all just magic, but. Whatever.
Next, we really have to talk about all of their relationships with each other.
First up, all three of them. I loved Eugene and Gina’s banter (again… Eugene and Cass, anyone?). I loved that Rapunzel got to make a female friend first. What I am not a fan of was Rapunzel’s irrational jealousy of Eugene and Gina’s blossoming friendship. Real Rapunzel would NEVER.
New Dream. Eugene and Rapunzel feel SO forced. The author relies upon the idea that they fall in love at first sight, except… that isn’t New Dream’s dynamic at all. I didn’t really understand why their relationship happened. Rapunzel is just enamored by the IDEA of Flynn Rider, not the actual man. Then pretty out of the blue Eugene starts actually caring about her. It just felt like they fall for each other and end up together because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Also, there is NO moment akin to “You were my new dream.” “And you were mine.” which is THE defining moment of their relationship.
Now, my beloved animal children, Maximus and Pascal. In sum? They deserved better.
Ok so! Finally. My BIGGEST ISSUE.
Onto Countess Bathory, my detested!
It's 2021. You'd think we'd be done with blatantly queer coded villains, right?
Wrong.
So, so wrong.
I don't deem this as a spoiler because this type of writing is extremely harmful, so let's go.
Countess Bathory is based on a real-world Countess Bathory who killed many young women. A popular story is that she would bathe in their blood, and she is deemed something of a real-life vampire.
In this story, Bathory kidnaps girls and bathes in their blood to stay young. She is called "unnatural," "insane," and "monstrous" because she has "gone through all of the young women in the village."
See where I'm going with this?
I would've preferred if Gothel had kidnapped Rapunzel again and we had a face-off similar to the one in the movie rather than the actual kidnapping and fight.
All in all, I'm disappointed. At first, I went into the book playfully nitpicking everything that was different from the current Tangledverse canon, but by the end, it wasn't playful because I wasn't having fun reading about these characters. If I hadn't watched the movie a hundred times and had such a deep understanding of them already, they'd feel like strangers still.
While I'm thankful for more Tangled content, I'm not here for it if it's like this.
Still, a huge thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for an ARC of this.
9/18/21
Finally finished it.
Yikes.
RTC.
9/7/21
Happy release day!!! I’m about halfway through this book and SO excited to celebrate its release!
8/27/21
FINALLY
I HAVE AN ARC
IT IS IN MY GRASP
BLESS
3/11/21
Since we got a cover reveal today, here's your reminder that Tangled the Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure exists and is amazing and goes into a lot of the Tangled-verse lore that this book seems like it'll also be exploring✨
1/22/21
While I’ll forever be upset that they don’t use any series lore (*cough* CASS *cough* MOONSTONE *cough*), I am aLWAYS HERE FOR MORE TANGLED CONTENT
If you know me, chances are you know that I. Love. Tangled. I have been looking forward to this book since it was announced.
And boy, was it a let-down.
The first half was okay. The adventuring, learning about her powers... all good!
But when it got closer to the end and the "big bad" was introduced, it went downhill.
To begin with, I was not a fan of it being set in the real world. It was very offputting to be reading about my beloved kingdom of Corona (the name of which is never even USED, might I add) in Renaissance-era Europe.
Eugene feels like a one-dimensional version of himself. Much of what makes him Eugene feels forced. And he's never even called Eugene in the text! He’s not funny or sly or charming. He feels dull and forced. I couldn't find myself actually getting invested in his character, which is sad. Eugene deserved better.
Gina. Gina, Gina, Gina. Gina, my beloved. Probably due to the fact that she's an "original" character, she doesn't feel like a caricature of a person. Now, I have no idea if the author of this ever watched TTS/RTA, but Gina feels, to me, like a new version of Cassandra. If not, maybe the rough and tumble girl who wants freedom and to hold her own in a patriarchal society really is just what Rapunzel needs in her life (if you get the reference to that Chris Sonnenburg tweet, let's be friends).
Now, Rapunzel! The most important character. I do feel like the author had her characterization pretty much down and I love her just as much as I love actual Rapunzel. Wasn’t a huge fan of the whole “witch” portion of her character, when really it’s all just magic, but. Whatever.
Next, we really have to talk about all of their relationships with each other.
First up, all three of them. I loved Eugene and Gina’s banter (again… Eugene and Cass, anyone?). I loved that Rapunzel got to make a female friend first. What I am not a fan of was Rapunzel’s irrational jealousy of Eugene and Gina’s blossoming friendship. Real Rapunzel would NEVER.
New Dream. Eugene and Rapunzel feel SO forced. The author relies upon the idea that they fall in love at first sight, except… that isn’t New Dream’s dynamic at all. I didn’t really understand why their relationship happened. Rapunzel is just enamored by the IDEA of Flynn Rider, not the actual man. Then pretty out of the blue Eugene starts actually caring about her. It just felt like they fall for each other and end up together because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Also, there is NO moment akin to “You were my new dream.” “And you were mine.” which is THE defining moment of their relationship.
Now, my beloved animal children, Maximus and Pascal. In sum? They deserved better.
Ok so! Finally. My BIGGEST ISSUE.
Onto Countess Bathory, my detested!
It's 2021. You'd think we'd be done with blatantly queer coded villains, right?
Wrong.
So, so wrong.
I don't deem this as a spoiler because this type of writing is extremely harmful, so let's go.
Countess Bathory is based on a real-world Countess Bathory who killed many young women. A popular story is that she would bathe in their blood, and she is deemed something of a real-life vampire.
In this story, Bathory kidnaps girls and bathes in their blood to stay young. She is called "unnatural," "insane," and "monstrous" because she has "gone through all of the young women in the village."
See where I'm going with this?
I would've preferred if Gothel had kidnapped Rapunzel again and we had a face-off similar to the one in the movie rather than the actual kidnapping and fight.
All in all, I'm disappointed. At first, I went into the book playfully nitpicking everything that was different from the current Tangledverse canon, but by the end, it wasn't playful because I wasn't having fun reading about these characters. If I hadn't watched the movie a hundred times and had such a deep understanding of them already, they'd feel like strangers still.
While I'm thankful for more Tangled content, I'm not here for it if it's like this.
Still, a huge thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for an ARC of this.
9/18/21
Finally finished it.
Yikes.
RTC.
9/7/21
Happy release day!!! I’m about halfway through this book and SO excited to celebrate its release!
8/27/21
FINALLY
I HAVE AN ARC
IT IS IN MY GRASP
BLESS
3/11/21
Since we got a cover reveal today, here's your reminder that Tangled the Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure exists and is amazing and goes into a lot of the Tangled-verse lore that this book seems like it'll also be exploring✨
1/22/21
While I’ll forever be upset that they don’t use any series lore (*cough* CASS *cough* MOONSTONE *cough*), I am aLWAYS HERE FOR MORE TANGLED CONTENT
November 25, 2024
Watch my video to get a complete review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJOMO8YR99g
I had such high expectations diving into this one, with it being a retelling of Tangled (which is one of my favorite Disney movies), but unfortunately, this book didn't completely live up to them.
I liked the plot, but I think the author took too much time recreating the movie. The first half of the book is basically a scene-by-scene of Tangled. Considering the audience for this book is fans of the movie, I'm not sure it was necessary. This book is overly long and could easily have been condensed.
I loved what Liz Braswell did with the characters, but I have to admit that Flynn Rider felt off. He was easily my favorite character in the movie, and I feel like the author didn't really exploit his full potential. However, I love Rapunzel and the new characters that were introduced.
One thing that really bothered me was the scenes set at Kettering Memorial. Honestly, they didn't bring anything relevant and they really took me out of the story. I understand why the author felt the need to include them given her note at the end, but they weren't needed.
--------------
You're telling me that there is going to be a TANGLED book in this series?!?!
I NEED IT. I NEED IT NOW.
I had such high expectations diving into this one, with it being a retelling of Tangled (which is one of my favorite Disney movies), but unfortunately, this book didn't completely live up to them.
I liked the plot, but I think the author took too much time recreating the movie. The first half of the book is basically a scene-by-scene of Tangled. Considering the audience for this book is fans of the movie, I'm not sure it was necessary. This book is overly long and could easily have been condensed.
I loved what Liz Braswell did with the characters, but I have to admit that Flynn Rider felt off. He was easily my favorite character in the movie, and I feel like the author didn't really exploit his full potential. However, I love Rapunzel and the new characters that were introduced.
One thing that really bothered me was the scenes set at Kettering Memorial. Honestly, they didn't bring anything relevant and they really took me out of the story. I understand why the author felt the need to include them given her note at the end, but they weren't needed.
--------------
You're telling me that there is going to be a TANGLED book in this series?!?!
I NEED IT. I NEED IT NOW.
September 9, 2021
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
TW: blood (including mentions and descriptions of a woman bathing in young women's blood to maintain her youth), (minor) body-shaming, cancer, confinement, death, emotional abuse, kidnapping, murder, torture, trafficking.
Whoa boy. Okay. I don't even know where to start with this one.
I think it's time I give up on Liz Braswell's writing. After enjoying Unbirthday last year, I was hopeful that maybe I'd enjoy her next books as well, but that was unfortunately not the case. If anything, this book seemed like a conglomeration of everything that's bothered me about her works in the past - and then some.
I get that these are Twisted Tales and I don't think this series should ever be held to the standard of the movies we love, but my gosh, this felt absolutely nothing like Tangled. Part of that is because how she chose to age the story up did not work.
Making Rapunzel a glorified witch that spends a huge chunk of the book under the moon, drawing mandalas and trying to get in touch with her true witchy nature didn't work.
Having Flynn be a glorified side-character with dialogue that felt about as real as a cardboard cut-out didn't work.
Having the main villain be Lady Bathory, a woman that bathes in the blood of young girls, didn't work.
Clearly, these are just my opinions and if you loved these changes, I'm happy for you. But as far as I'm concerned, nearly every change made to this story bored me at best.
There's also the problem I have with Liz Braswell's writing style itself. Which, again, I'm sure some people love and I'm not lessening that. It simply doesn't work for me. I'm paraphrasing her but we constantly get lines like "The world seemed to be waiting for something - like in the moments before a thunderstorm, or the hours before her monthly bleed." which is just... such an odd comparison? This is a very personal critique, but gosh it pulls me out of the story every single time.
I will say, I appreciated that she acknowledged the realization Rapunzel goes through that Gothel was the villain the whole time and the emotions that come through that. Her back and forth of comparing Gothel's actions with her (sometimes) kind words was handled pretty well and I appreciated her dealing with it.
All in all, if I hadn't been reading this as an ARC, I 100000% would have DNF-ed it early on. It's far too long with far too little happening, and characters that I either wanted to throw or just didn't care about at all. I'll still read the Twisted Tales written by the other authors (obligatory, Elizabeth Lim can do no wrong moment) but I'm giving up on Liz Braswell. Her writing just doesn't work for me and that's okay.
Just don't go into this book expecting it to be something it isn't. The characters and places and main plot points of Tangled were all here, but the heart of the story just wasn't.
TW: blood (including mentions and descriptions of a woman bathing in young women's blood to maintain her youth), (minor) body-shaming, cancer, confinement, death, emotional abuse, kidnapping, murder, torture, trafficking.
Whoa boy. Okay. I don't even know where to start with this one.
I think it's time I give up on Liz Braswell's writing. After enjoying Unbirthday last year, I was hopeful that maybe I'd enjoy her next books as well, but that was unfortunately not the case. If anything, this book seemed like a conglomeration of everything that's bothered me about her works in the past - and then some.
I get that these are Twisted Tales and I don't think this series should ever be held to the standard of the movies we love, but my gosh, this felt absolutely nothing like Tangled. Part of that is because how she chose to age the story up did not work.
Making Rapunzel a glorified witch that spends a huge chunk of the book under the moon, drawing mandalas and trying to get in touch with her true witchy nature didn't work.
Having Flynn be a glorified side-character with dialogue that felt about as real as a cardboard cut-out didn't work.
Having the main villain be Lady Bathory, a woman that bathes in the blood of young girls, didn't work.
Clearly, these are just my opinions and if you loved these changes, I'm happy for you. But as far as I'm concerned, nearly every change made to this story bored me at best.
There's also the problem I have with Liz Braswell's writing style itself. Which, again, I'm sure some people love and I'm not lessening that. It simply doesn't work for me. I'm paraphrasing her but we constantly get lines like "The world seemed to be waiting for something - like in the moments before a thunderstorm, or the hours before her monthly bleed." which is just... such an odd comparison? This is a very personal critique, but gosh it pulls me out of the story every single time.
I will say, I appreciated that she acknowledged the realization Rapunzel goes through that Gothel was the villain the whole time and the emotions that come through that. Her back and forth of comparing Gothel's actions with her (sometimes) kind words was handled pretty well and I appreciated her dealing with it.
All in all, if I hadn't been reading this as an ARC, I 100000% would have DNF-ed it early on. It's far too long with far too little happening, and characters that I either wanted to throw or just didn't care about at all. I'll still read the Twisted Tales written by the other authors (obligatory, Elizabeth Lim can do no wrong moment) but I'm giving up on Liz Braswell. Her writing just doesn't work for me and that's okay.
Just don't go into this book expecting it to be something it isn't. The characters and places and main plot points of Tangled were all here, but the heart of the story just wasn't.
November 6, 2021
3.5
- 1⭐️ for The other story being told to us by a teenage boy reading it to his sister👀
- .5⭐️ for Maximus
I’m not disappointed with this! I’m happy there is a decent Rapunzel retelling out there!
I had a fun time but there were some flaws and things I didn’t like which I’ll get to.
CHARACTERS
-Rapunzel did act like Rapunzel from Tangled about 95% of the time so that definitely makes the book good.
-Flynn, however, was like the OG Flynn only about 65% of the time. There were several times I was thinking that is not what he would say or do.
-And I loved Gina as an addition to the story! I don’t know who she was meant to be a retelling as (maybe she wasn’t) but I really enjoyed her character! I could relate to her dreams and goals so I understood where she was coming from. But I’m not like her in the sense that she is brave and can fight oops😂
- Maximus was an odd retelling...I didn’t really like how it played out. He is a human in the beginning and I was like how is he gonna he turned into a horse? Then about half way they revealed something and I was like ohhh thats how they’ll do it. So I guessed the little plot twist for Maximus from halfway through the book which isn’t fun. And I didn’t really like him😒
RELATIONSHIPS
- I wish Rapunzel and Flynn’s romance was a bit more slowburn like in the movie. They were cute but it wasn’t the same. It was a bit soon but not insta love.
-I love the relationship between Flynn and Gina though👀 its like a brother-sister relationship. Their attitudes reflected off each other and the bicker was amazing. The moments between them were low-key funny.
PLOT
This had to be my favorite thing! I really enjoyed the whole hair situation. It was so creative about the moon drop and the different things it can do. The Sundrop reverses time, heals, and restores. And so you would instantly think the Moondrop destroys. Yes but there is so much more to it and it’s SO creative! It would be a spoiler if I said it but it was very creative and I loved that part of it.
OTHER
What was a really big downer for me was that there was another story/world going on at the same time. For those of you have seen the Princess Bride movie it was just like that. (Except in the movie it works) It starts with an older brother going to check on his younger sister who has cancer I think? And he decides to tell her his version of her favorite movie, Tangled. So like every 3-5 chapters we go back to them and honestly I’m interested in the story not about the people’s thoughts telling the story. It gets in the way and unnecessary to the story. Honestly I skipped a few of those chapters because they were pointless and annoying.
Well that’s all! I hope my review was eye-opening for you for this book. Let me know if you’ve read it and your thoughts. Or if you plan on reading it! <3
- 1⭐️ for The other story being told to us by a teenage boy reading it to his sister👀
- .5⭐️ for Maximus
I’m not disappointed with this! I’m happy there is a decent Rapunzel retelling out there!
I had a fun time but there were some flaws and things I didn’t like which I’ll get to.
CHARACTERS
-Rapunzel did act like Rapunzel from Tangled about 95% of the time so that definitely makes the book good.
-Flynn, however, was like the OG Flynn only about 65% of the time. There were several times I was thinking that is not what he would say or do.
-And I loved Gina as an addition to the story! I don’t know who she was meant to be a retelling as (maybe she wasn’t) but I really enjoyed her character! I could relate to her dreams and goals so I understood where she was coming from. But I’m not like her in the sense that she is brave and can fight oops😂
- Maximus was an odd retelling...I didn’t really like how it played out. He is a human in the beginning and I was like how is he gonna he turned into a horse? Then about half way they revealed something and I was like ohhh thats how they’ll do it. So I guessed the little plot twist for Maximus from halfway through the book which isn’t fun. And I didn’t really like him😒
RELATIONSHIPS
- I wish Rapunzel and Flynn’s romance was a bit more slowburn like in the movie. They were cute but it wasn’t the same. It was a bit soon but not insta love.
-I love the relationship between Flynn and Gina though👀 its like a brother-sister relationship. Their attitudes reflected off each other and the bicker was amazing. The moments between them were low-key funny.
PLOT
This had to be my favorite thing! I really enjoyed the whole hair situation. It was so creative about the moon drop and the different things it can do. The Sundrop reverses time, heals, and restores. And so you would instantly think the Moondrop destroys. Yes but there is so much more to it and it’s SO creative! It would be a spoiler if I said it but it was very creative and I loved that part of it.
OTHER
What was a really big downer for me was that there was another story/world going on at the same time. For those of you have seen the Princess Bride movie it was just like that. (Except in the movie it works) It starts with an older brother going to check on his younger sister who has cancer I think? And he decides to tell her his version of her favorite movie, Tangled. So like every 3-5 chapters we go back to them and honestly I’m interested in the story not about the people’s thoughts telling the story. It gets in the way and unnecessary to the story. Honestly I skipped a few of those chapters because they were pointless and annoying.
Well that’s all! I hope my review was eye-opening for you for this book. Let me know if you’ve read it and your thoughts. Or if you plan on reading it! <3
October 15, 2021
Wow. Just… Wow. Where do I even begin?
Just a little heads-up, this review may be harsh, but I wasted time and money on this, so…
First, the writing style. This was my first Twisted Tale, and last (from this particular author) Her writing style is comparable to that of a 14-year-old with a Deviantart account. Constantly describing everything with similes (ex. her eyes shone like emeralds that were drooled on; this sentence was bizarre, but so were her similes) I’m no writer myself, but I’ve noticed that people will attempt to make their stories longer by doing this; these stories are rarely good. I found myself skipping many paragraphs that were doing this. And this was only part of the problem. I’ve noticed other reviews talking about the immature sounding narration. Those reviews are completely correct. The characters thoughts and way of speaking were bizarre to say the least. The way they conversed is how children imagine adults speaking to each other, if that makes sense. I could go on about this, but I’m getting tired just thinking this story.
…which is a perfect time to talk about that. I mentioned that that her writing style was like a 14-year-old. Well, so is her story telling.
SPOILERS BELOW!
The story goes like this; sick pregnant queen needs magic sun flower to be better. Servants find wrong magic flower and give it to queen. She’s better but her baby is now a deadly baby. So they give her to Gothel to raise. And everything goes wrong.
First things first, the moondrop flower. The idea of the mother drinking the moondrop flower instead of the sundrop was an interesting idea. And it’s not as if the moondrop was a completely new idea, it was introduced in the tv show and was given a simple power; the sun gives life, the moon takes it away. Simple, easy to follow. (Which makes the movie easy to enjoy)
This author took this idea and tried running with it. Now, it takes life away… during one moon phase. And it changes animals in another. And it shrinks objects in another. It’s really stupid. But I can forgive it when comparing it to other story elements (but not easily)
This tries to be like The Princess Bride with a brother telling his sick sister the story while she’s in the hospital. When I first started reading this, I had to stop and make sure I had the right book. It comes out of nowhere and completely ruins the immersion. And I really don’t think the author knows how siblings speak to each other, twins or not. I’m one of 6 children with my youngest sibling being 20 YEARS younger than me. And trust me when I say, we speak to each other as siblings.
The other thing that comes out of nowhere is the villain. No, not Mother Gothel, although she is still a terrible person, so you don’t have to worry about that. No, I’m talking about Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the blood countess herself. I almost stopped reading when I first saw her name, my patience with stupid running thin. But, I soldiered on, because maybe it would stop at being a small Easter egg for any gory-history lovers… NOPE! She’s the villain! And she doesn’t even want Rapunzel’s blood, she wants her hair to rule Europe… (she says exactly this in the book) If all of this mess wasn’t enough, there’s one other thing I’m going to speak of before I completely lose my mind typing this.
And that is what I can only describe as a self-insert OC named Gina. Now, Gina isn’t the worst thing in this book… (that would be everything else in it) but she’s completely unnecessary, isn’t Cassandra from the animated show, her banter with Flynn is cringy at best, and in the last 3 pages of the book, we find out that her and Flynn were siblings. All. ALONG. I don’t even know what to say to that.
In summary, this book is terrible. What should have been an interesting idea turned out to be a terrible fanfiction written by a less than talented author. Harsh? Absolutely, unapologetically yes. Unless you are a hardcore Disney fan who probably also enjoys the live action films for some ungodly reason, stay far away from this book. If you really need a what-if story, I’m sure some kind of fanfiction site has what you’re looking for. You’ll get the same writing quality, but at least it’ll be free.
Just a little heads-up, this review may be harsh, but I wasted time and money on this, so…
First, the writing style. This was my first Twisted Tale, and last (from this particular author) Her writing style is comparable to that of a 14-year-old with a Deviantart account. Constantly describing everything with similes (ex. her eyes shone like emeralds that were drooled on; this sentence was bizarre, but so were her similes) I’m no writer myself, but I’ve noticed that people will attempt to make their stories longer by doing this; these stories are rarely good. I found myself skipping many paragraphs that were doing this. And this was only part of the problem. I’ve noticed other reviews talking about the immature sounding narration. Those reviews are completely correct. The characters thoughts and way of speaking were bizarre to say the least. The way they conversed is how children imagine adults speaking to each other, if that makes sense. I could go on about this, but I’m getting tired just thinking this story.
…which is a perfect time to talk about that. I mentioned that that her writing style was like a 14-year-old. Well, so is her story telling.
SPOILERS BELOW!
The story goes like this; sick pregnant queen needs magic sun flower to be better. Servants find wrong magic flower and give it to queen. She’s better but her baby is now a deadly baby. So they give her to Gothel to raise. And everything goes wrong.
First things first, the moondrop flower. The idea of the mother drinking the moondrop flower instead of the sundrop was an interesting idea. And it’s not as if the moondrop was a completely new idea, it was introduced in the tv show and was given a simple power; the sun gives life, the moon takes it away. Simple, easy to follow. (Which makes the movie easy to enjoy)
This author took this idea and tried running with it. Now, it takes life away… during one moon phase. And it changes animals in another. And it shrinks objects in another. It’s really stupid. But I can forgive it when comparing it to other story elements (but not easily)
This tries to be like The Princess Bride with a brother telling his sick sister the story while she’s in the hospital. When I first started reading this, I had to stop and make sure I had the right book. It comes out of nowhere and completely ruins the immersion. And I really don’t think the author knows how siblings speak to each other, twins or not. I’m one of 6 children with my youngest sibling being 20 YEARS younger than me. And trust me when I say, we speak to each other as siblings.
The other thing that comes out of nowhere is the villain. No, not Mother Gothel, although she is still a terrible person, so you don’t have to worry about that. No, I’m talking about Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the blood countess herself. I almost stopped reading when I first saw her name, my patience with stupid running thin. But, I soldiered on, because maybe it would stop at being a small Easter egg for any gory-history lovers… NOPE! She’s the villain! And she doesn’t even want Rapunzel’s blood, she wants her hair to rule Europe… (she says exactly this in the book) If all of this mess wasn’t enough, there’s one other thing I’m going to speak of before I completely lose my mind typing this.
And that is what I can only describe as a self-insert OC named Gina. Now, Gina isn’t the worst thing in this book… (that would be everything else in it) but she’s completely unnecessary, isn’t Cassandra from the animated show, her banter with Flynn is cringy at best, and in the last 3 pages of the book, we find out that her and Flynn were siblings. All. ALONG. I don’t even know what to say to that.
In summary, this book is terrible. What should have been an interesting idea turned out to be a terrible fanfiction written by a less than talented author. Harsh? Absolutely, unapologetically yes. Unless you are a hardcore Disney fan who probably also enjoys the live action films for some ungodly reason, stay far away from this book. If you really need a what-if story, I’m sure some kind of fanfiction site has what you’re looking for. You’ll get the same writing quality, but at least it’ll be free.
March 11, 2022
5✨
This book was so much better than I expected.
When I started This book i didn’t know what to expert from This book. But it blew up my mind
The story was Unique yet it matched The real story🤩
I love the twist in this book! ❤️
It's great that the moonflower was used and that rapunzel got completely different gifts!
I really loved This book
This book was so much better than I expected.
When I started This book i didn’t know what to expert from This book. But it blew up my mind
The story was Unique yet it matched The real story🤩
I love the twist in this book! ❤️
It's great that the moonflower was used and that rapunzel got completely different gifts!
I really loved This book
December 30, 2021
The more Tangled retellings I read, the more convinced I am that Eugene and Rapunzel are the best Disney couple
October 21, 2021
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Oh boy...I did not love this book. *cringes* Let me explain why!!!
This book is 512 pages long and tries to take a page out of the The Princess Bride movie (not to be confused with the book version. They're different!) by having some kid telling this story to their sibling. Only you get no warning about that so there I was, sitting in the waiting area of my chiropractor office with this horribly confused look on my face as I stared down at my phone in confusion...the receptionist may have asked me if everything was okay.
I said yes, but in reality, no. No it was not! This book is extremely slow (and confusing) to start for teen/YA book from Disney. I'm an adult (apparently) and I struggled to get through the first 100 some odd pages. I had to double check to make sure I opened the right book on my phone. I scrolled forward to make sure I had the right book. Yeah, that confusing.
Again, it is sssllllooooowwww. Which is really sad because Tangled is my favorite Disney movie and I managed to see it no less than 4 times in theatres with various people when it first came out. 4 times. Me. Miss Frugal. Miss I'll-get-it-from-the-library-FOR-FREE. My record before hand was twice and one time it was on cheap Tuesday! I also own it on Bluray and that puppy is one of my favorite comfort watch movies for hard days and running in the background when I want some noise.
Anyhow, back to the issue at hand. I thought a twisted retelling would be awesome! Hair that kills? Way cool. Right? In theory yes. In execution, no.
Now this is where the Princess Bride movie thing really kicks in. It's the brother (I think) telling the story. I may have started skipping the 'real reality' sections of this book. So aside from the jarring interruptions where we flip back to the 'reality' of the brother and sister talking to each other, we have young teenage boy language like 'murderhair' dropped in there. He would have to be younger because his language reminds me of the grade 9s I work with, not the older grades....sigh. I can't really tell you if that's true or not because, again, I skipped a lot of these sections on purpose. So, unfortunately, for me it flops hard.
Where this book makes up some of its lost points is with Mother Gothel, who is portrayed as being even more horrible in this book than the original movie. The movie is a bit subtle about certain things she does (like petting her hair, whille singing about keeping 'her' safe and sound). This book clubs you over the head with it. Her abuse of power is VERY obvious. No holds barred. 'Let's sell off Rapunzel as a weapon/assassin to the highest bidder!' ummm excuse me, what now? Yeah. That happened! She also had her kill a chicken with her hair just to show off to a potential buyer what Rapunzel could do. Rapunzel, of course, did not realize the real reason Gothel was having her do this.
Once Rapunzel starts going out of the tower (to basically kidnap Pascal from the ground), things start moving along at a faster pace and improve a bit. Just a bit. Probably because at this point I was pretty un-invested in the story.
Conclusion
This book would be so much better (and shorter) if they would just rip out all the 'real reality' sections out of this book and change the language a teeny tiny bit to sound like a more mature narrator was telling it.
Trying to make it sound like the Princess Bride movie was a mistake. Even the best of authors would be hard pressed to pull off that level of awesome. That movie is a phenomenon that is best left to itself.
The book has a slow start. I would NOT recommend it to reluctant readers as a result. Die hard Tangled fans may be disappointed.
Or not, because all I this is just my personal opinion! You do you, Bo!
Oh boy...I did not love this book. *cringes* Let me explain why!!!
This book is 512 pages long and tries to take a page out of the The Princess Bride movie (not to be confused with the book version. They're different!) by having some kid telling this story to their sibling. Only you get no warning about that so there I was, sitting in the waiting area of my chiropractor office with this horribly confused look on my face as I stared down at my phone in confusion...the receptionist may have asked me if everything was okay.
I said yes, but in reality, no. No it was not! This book is extremely slow (and confusing) to start for teen/YA book from Disney. I'm an adult (apparently) and I struggled to get through the first 100 some odd pages. I had to double check to make sure I opened the right book on my phone. I scrolled forward to make sure I had the right book. Yeah, that confusing.
Again, it is sssllllooooowwww. Which is really sad because Tangled is my favorite Disney movie and I managed to see it no less than 4 times in theatres with various people when it first came out. 4 times. Me. Miss Frugal. Miss I'll-get-it-from-the-library-FOR-FREE. My record before hand was twice and one time it was on cheap Tuesday! I also own it on Bluray and that puppy is one of my favorite comfort watch movies for hard days and running in the background when I want some noise.
Anyhow, back to the issue at hand. I thought a twisted retelling would be awesome! Hair that kills? Way cool. Right? In theory yes. In execution, no.
Now this is where the Princess Bride movie thing really kicks in. It's the brother (I think) telling the story. I may have started skipping the 'real reality' sections of this book. So aside from the jarring interruptions where we flip back to the 'reality' of the brother and sister talking to each other, we have young teenage boy language like 'murderhair' dropped in there. He would have to be younger because his language reminds me of the grade 9s I work with, not the older grades....sigh. I can't really tell you if that's true or not because, again, I skipped a lot of these sections on purpose. So, unfortunately, for me it flops hard.
Where this book makes up some of its lost points is with Mother Gothel, who is portrayed as being even more horrible in this book than the original movie. The movie is a bit subtle about certain things she does (like petting her hair, whille singing about keeping 'her' safe and sound). This book clubs you over the head with it. Her abuse of power is VERY obvious. No holds barred. 'Let's sell off Rapunzel as a weapon/assassin to the highest bidder!' ummm excuse me, what now? Yeah. That happened! She also had her kill a chicken with her hair just to show off to a potential buyer what Rapunzel could do. Rapunzel, of course, did not realize the real reason Gothel was having her do this.
Once Rapunzel starts going out of the tower (to basically kidnap Pascal from the ground), things start moving along at a faster pace and improve a bit. Just a bit. Probably because at this point I was pretty un-invested in the story.
Conclusion
This book would be so much better (and shorter) if they would just rip out all the 'real reality' sections out of this book and change the language a teeny tiny bit to sound like a more mature narrator was telling it.
Trying to make it sound like the Princess Bride movie was a mistake. Even the best of authors would be hard pressed to pull off that level of awesome. That movie is a phenomenon that is best left to itself.
The book has a slow start. I would NOT recommend it to reluctant readers as a result. Die hard Tangled fans may be disappointed.
Or not, because all I this is just my personal opinion! You do you, Bo!
September 17, 2021
3 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In this retelling of Tangled, What Once Was Mine shows what could've happened if Queen Arianna drank from the wrong flower. When she accidentally drinks from the Moondrop flower instead of the Sundrop flower, Rapunzel is born with a headful of silver hair and the ability not to heal, but hurt. She is then sent away to live in a castle under the care of Mother Gothel until she has learned to harness her power.
What I liked:
-The addition of Gina and her mother.
-Flynn
-Although there a lot of similarities to the Tangled movie, the differences that were there were creative and enjoyable.
-I liked the dark take on the Tangled.
-The whole concept of the Queen Arianna drinking from the Moondrop flower.
What I didn't like:
-Countess Bathory. Where does a psycho from 1500s Hungary who kills young women and bathes in their blood belong in Tangled?
-I wasn't a fan of all the historical references.
-The frame story with the brother telling his sister the story. I thought it was cute and all(especially considering the fact that the author's sister also had suffered from cancer) but I thought it was just unnecessary, it their chapters were just interrupting the storyline.
-Rapunzel and Flynn's relationship. Rapunzel had never met a guy before, so I'm not gonna make a big deal about her falling in love with him before meeting him. But the problem is that she fell in love with the idea of him. To prove my point, she says “I had ideas of what I wanted you to be. And you wound up being almost exactly like that.” And am I the only one who noticed that they both confessed to loving each other when they had literally barely exchanged only a few sentences?? I loved their relationship in the movie, but in this book they would've been better off as friends.
-Slow pace.
-SO much of this book was really similar to the Tangled movie.
-Not a fan of the narration. It was a little childish and I wish it sounded like someone mature was telling it.
Overall it was enjoyable and interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to impatient and reluctant readers.
Thank you NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In this retelling of Tangled, What Once Was Mine shows what could've happened if Queen Arianna drank from the wrong flower. When she accidentally drinks from the Moondrop flower instead of the Sundrop flower, Rapunzel is born with a headful of silver hair and the ability not to heal, but hurt. She is then sent away to live in a castle under the care of Mother Gothel until she has learned to harness her power.
What I liked:
-The addition of Gina and her mother.
-Flynn
-Although there a lot of similarities to the Tangled movie, the differences that were there were creative and enjoyable.
-I liked the dark take on the Tangled.
-The whole concept of the Queen Arianna drinking from the Moondrop flower.
What I didn't like:
-Countess Bathory. Where does a psycho from 1500s Hungary who kills young women and bathes in their blood belong in Tangled?
-I wasn't a fan of all the historical references.
-The frame story with the brother telling his sister the story. I thought it was cute and all(especially considering the fact that the author's sister also had suffered from cancer) but I thought it was just unnecessary, it their chapters were just interrupting the storyline.
-Rapunzel and Flynn's relationship. Rapunzel had never met a guy before, so I'm not gonna make a big deal about her falling in love with him before meeting him. But the problem is that she fell in love with the idea of him. To prove my point, she says “I had ideas of what I wanted you to be. And you wound up being almost exactly like that.” And am I the only one who noticed that they both confessed to loving each other when they had literally barely exchanged only a few sentences?? I loved their relationship in the movie, but in this book they would've been better off as friends.
-Slow pace.
-SO much of this book was really similar to the Tangled movie.
-Not a fan of the narration. It was a little childish and I wish it sounded like someone mature was telling it.
Overall it was enjoyable and interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to impatient and reluctant readers.
September 8, 2021
What Once Was Mine is the 12th installment in Twisted Tales series. I've been patiently waiting for this book to became a thing because I absolutely adore the movie Tangled. So instead of having magical hair that heals.. she sort of has magical hair that kills. Which, yes, I thought was completely different and made Rapunzel a little bad ass. Even if her first kill was purely an accident. She was a baby and honestly she wouldn't really know any better.
As for Mother Gothel, well, we always knew she was obsessed with Rapunzel's hair. So it's safe to say that in this one she is still somewhat obsessed with it but she really just wants to auction her off to get lots of money. It just so happens that her plans get demolished quite easily once Rapunzel leaves her tower.
On her little adventure, to go see the floating lights, Rapunzel runs into Gina and Flynn. I really enjoyed the romance that blossomed between her and Flynn because it just gave me the same movie vibes. As for Gina? Well, I was definitely getting some sibling vibes between her and Flynn. So with the little reveals at the end - it's safe to say that I freaked out a bit.
Other than that, I just really enjoyed this twist on Rapunzel. So much happened on this adventure and the little family reunion was just really cute. I'm also happy with little HEA between two certain people.
October 19, 2022
This was sooo wholesome & cute i just had a great time reading this book
September 16, 2022
…this is quite possibly the worst retelling I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. I just…what? Why? What on earth was the author thinking? I am so…mindblowingly disappointed.
I really need to stop reading Liz Braswell books because I’m finding that I always get excited about them (because of the source material) and then I just can’t help feeling exceedingly annoyed at how terrible the “twist” and subsequent writing of the story is.
What even was the point of the outside, non-related characters in the hospital? This was such an utter waste of pages in the novel to begin with, but made even worse by how poorly written it all was. And then everything about the adaptation of the characters themselves? Forget having a decent time reading it when a book that’s supposed to be the same characters with twists to their stories ends up so far from their personalities that they’re not even recognizable.
And that child trafficking subplot? What the hell was Braswell thinking???? Not only was it an unreasonably poor decision to include in a young adult novel, it was poorly written (again) and deeply disturbing for literally no reason.
I just can’t believe how bad this book was.
I really need to stop reading Liz Braswell books because I’m finding that I always get excited about them (because of the source material) and then I just can’t help feeling exceedingly annoyed at how terrible the “twist” and subsequent writing of the story is.
What even was the point of the outside, non-related characters in the hospital? This was such an utter waste of pages in the novel to begin with, but made even worse by how poorly written it all was. And then everything about the adaptation of the characters themselves? Forget having a decent time reading it when a book that’s supposed to be the same characters with twists to their stories ends up so far from their personalities that they’re not even recognizable.
And that child trafficking subplot? What the hell was Braswell thinking???? Not only was it an unreasonably poor decision to include in a young adult novel, it was poorly written (again) and deeply disturbing for literally no reason.
I just can’t believe how bad this book was.
January 28, 2025
SO, THIS MAY BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR. Top 3 for sure and most definitely one of the of the best Netgalley arcs I’ve ever reviewed. When I heard the newest Twisted Tale was going to be Tangled I was like HELL YEA TAKE MY COINS!!! BECAUSE TANGLED IS THE GREATEST MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF FILM! As a Tangled super fan since 2010, I have seen and read all things Tangled. I’ve seen the movie at least 11 times, read the Mother Gothel POV book from Serena Valentino’s villain series (HIGHLY recommend that series btw; I actually prefer it to the Twisted Tales series) and even seen every episode of that Tangled Disney channel show. I hold Tangled to a HIGH REGARD. Who’s Frozen idk her? I only know TANGLED.
The book starts off strong, with the Queen soon realizing that Rapunzel’s hair has the capacity for evil, and the capacity to kill. A maidservant attempts to comb through Rapunzel’s constantly knotted hair, causing an infant rage so intense that the maid immediately drops dead. That completely took me by surprise, the fact that in this version, Rapunzel can inadvertently cause someone’s instantaneous death just from feeling rage. It’s strange imagining someone as bright and happy as Rapunzel being so dangerous that she eventually will be deadly to even be near because she could unintentionally kill someone just for being in her vicinity when she’s feeling angry, sad, or hurt. Rapunzel even calls it murderhair later 😂
Can I just say, Liz Braswell wrote Flynn Rider SO PERFECTLY and so realistically true to the movie that reading this book made me fall in love with him all over again (as if I ever stopped). She captured his character so exactly and the little quips and commentary are things that he most definitely would say. She truly did capture the most accurate depiction of Flynn with dialogue only and she deserves props for that. Rapunzel’s enthusiasm, optimism, and innocence was perfectly written as well! This book reminded me how much I love these characters. Rapunzel and Flynn’s dynamic is also SO CUTE and it was so fun to see these characters fall in love in an entirely different way than it happened in the movie. Some scenes with them together actually had me squealing.
What’s also interesting is that this book mixes the Disney universe with actual history; this book not only mentions Europe but Countess Elizabeth Bathory (the notorious serial killer who dismembered girls and bathed in their blood) plays a significant part in this book.
I found the concept of the moondrop quite similar to the Tangled Disney channel show (where there was a moondrop stone that formed at the same time as the sundrop and was the evil version of the latter) but that personally didn’t bother me since it showed me that the author did her research and really did look into to all things Tangled, even the tv show, before writing this. The new original character, Gina, even seems based on a Rapunzel’s handmaiden and sidekick from the tv show, down to her physical traits and all. That was my only hesitation going into this, because I strongly dislike plagarism and I would’ve liked the author to have not taken such specific details from the show, even down to the original character looking so similar to Cassandra from the Disney show. However, there were enough changes regarding Gina’s persona and the moondrop for this to not bother me, and I actually much preferred this concept of the moonstone to the one Disney did. Killer hair that can murder you if you get too emotional? That’s legit genius. There were enough unique plot points such as this version of the moondrop being so different and the unique touches such as bringing in the notorious Elizabeth Bathory that made these things a non issue for me as I read it.
This story was so much more elaborate than the Disney film, with so much more plot and development to it, and is an EASY 5 stars. Also, what Braswell did for Maximus is absolutely genius. COMPLETE BRILLIANCE and a must read for anyone who loves Tangled.
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for sending me and advanced copy in return for my honest review.
The book starts off strong, with the Queen soon realizing that Rapunzel’s hair has the capacity for evil, and the capacity to kill. A maidservant attempts to comb through Rapunzel’s constantly knotted hair, causing an infant rage so intense that the maid immediately drops dead. That completely took me by surprise, the fact that in this version, Rapunzel can inadvertently cause someone’s instantaneous death just from feeling rage. It’s strange imagining someone as bright and happy as Rapunzel being so dangerous that she eventually will be deadly to even be near because she could unintentionally kill someone just for being in her vicinity when she’s feeling angry, sad, or hurt. Rapunzel even calls it murderhair later 😂
Can I just say, Liz Braswell wrote Flynn Rider SO PERFECTLY and so realistically true to the movie that reading this book made me fall in love with him all over again (as if I ever stopped). She captured his character so exactly and the little quips and commentary are things that he most definitely would say. She truly did capture the most accurate depiction of Flynn with dialogue only and she deserves props for that. Rapunzel’s enthusiasm, optimism, and innocence was perfectly written as well! This book reminded me how much I love these characters. Rapunzel and Flynn’s dynamic is also SO CUTE and it was so fun to see these characters fall in love in an entirely different way than it happened in the movie. Some scenes with them together actually had me squealing.
What’s also interesting is that this book mixes the Disney universe with actual history; this book not only mentions Europe but Countess Elizabeth Bathory (the notorious serial killer who dismembered girls and bathed in their blood) plays a significant part in this book.
I found the concept of the moondrop quite similar to the Tangled Disney channel show (where there was a moondrop stone that formed at the same time as the sundrop and was the evil version of the latter) but that personally didn’t bother me since it showed me that the author did her research and really did look into to all things Tangled, even the tv show, before writing this. The new original character, Gina, even seems based on a Rapunzel’s handmaiden and sidekick from the tv show, down to her physical traits and all. That was my only hesitation going into this, because I strongly dislike plagarism and I would’ve liked the author to have not taken such specific details from the show, even down to the original character looking so similar to Cassandra from the Disney show. However, there were enough changes regarding Gina’s persona and the moondrop for this to not bother me, and I actually much preferred this concept of the moonstone to the one Disney did. Killer hair that can murder you if you get too emotional? That’s legit genius. There were enough unique plot points such as this version of the moondrop being so different and the unique touches such as bringing in the notorious Elizabeth Bathory that made these things a non issue for me as I read it.
This story was so much more elaborate than the Disney film, with so much more plot and development to it, and is an EASY 5 stars. Also, what Braswell did for Maximus is absolutely genius. COMPLETE BRILLIANCE and a must read for anyone who loves Tangled.
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for sending me and advanced copy in return for my honest review.
January 9, 2022
It's like the author said "I'm going to take everything you love about the movie and throw it in the trash," because that's exactly what she did.
For the life of me, I have no idea why the author set this book in renaissance Europe. There was literally no reason for this other because she wanted to have Elizabeth Bathory be the main villain???
The weird additions of Christianity in this book also felt really weird, especially when the random priest in the book says "This is what comes from relying on magic plants and witchery to save you, and not the word of God." And yes that is a real quote.
Also by setting this in the real word, the authors basically takes out Maximus and Pasal. Technically they are still there but Pascal is just a random lizard that is sometimes mentioned as being on Rapunzel's shoulder and Maximus isn't even a horse, he's just a some random guard named Justin who is turned into a horse at the end of the book just so the author can say she included him.
There was also the inclusion of a random original character who doesn't have any good reason for being included. Gina is mainly there just so Rapunzel can be jealous when Gina and Flynn speak to each other. Except surprise! Gina is actually Flynn's long lost sister that he didn't know he had!!! Honestly what the fuck.
The basis for this story also bugged me. Instead of just being a reimagining of Tangled, the author decided to include random modern interludes that detail how this book is actually a story a brother is telling his sister as she gets her chemo therapy treatments. These parts added absolutely nothing to the story other than as a way for the author to tell the readers that she planned all of this Actually and often read like "Hey remember that one character I mentioned forever ago????? Well there about to make another appearance!!!! Watch out for them!!!!! Also, I didn't forget to include Mother Gothel!! She's still there too just you wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I'm also a little peeved about the fact that the author tossed out all of the meaningful moments the movie had with this book. Flynn and Rapunzel never go see the lanterns, so there's no moment where he decided he wants to change his ways before kissing Rapunzel. In fact, he never even tells her his real name until the end of the book. Rapunzel has to be told that Gothel is a horrible person rather than discovering that for herself and she also has to be told that she's the princess instead of realizing it. Gothel isn't really written as the true villain in this book, so there's not really a cathartic ending to her and Rapunzel's relationship. Instead of saving Flynn with her healing powers at the end, Rapunzel instead turns the guard named Justin in to the horse Maximus (and also, Flynn doesn't cut her hair to save her from Gothel because that scene didn't happen here).
And most importantly: Flynn never tells Rapunzel that she's his new dream because they never had the discussion about their dreams.
And to end this review. Parts of this book just didn't make or were so poorly written that it made me question why they were even included. Rapunzel's hair isn't explained all that well to me. I guess it's interesting that it technically has different powers depending on the phase of the moon, but some of them are boring and I don't know why they were included (Rapunzel can change to color of certain objects....wow). Also, making Elizabeth Bathory (yes, THAT Elizabeth Bathory) the main villain was such an odd choice not just because she was a real person (with this book playing off the "bathing in the blood of virgins" story) but also because she's hardly in it and doesn't do anything besides be a cartoon villain that is easily defeated in the end.
This book was bad and it should feel bad.
For the life of me, I have no idea why the author set this book in renaissance Europe. There was literally no reason for this other because she wanted to have Elizabeth Bathory be the main villain???
The weird additions of Christianity in this book also felt really weird, especially when the random priest in the book says "This is what comes from relying on magic plants and witchery to save you, and not the word of God." And yes that is a real quote.
Also by setting this in the real word, the authors basically takes out Maximus and Pasal. Technically they are still there but Pascal is just a random lizard that is sometimes mentioned as being on Rapunzel's shoulder and Maximus isn't even a horse, he's just a some random guard named Justin who is turned into a horse at the end of the book just so the author can say she included him.
There was also the inclusion of a random original character who doesn't have any good reason for being included. Gina is mainly there just so Rapunzel can be jealous when Gina and Flynn speak to each other. Except surprise! Gina is actually Flynn's long lost sister that he didn't know he had!!! Honestly what the fuck.
The basis for this story also bugged me. Instead of just being a reimagining of Tangled, the author decided to include random modern interludes that detail how this book is actually a story a brother is telling his sister as she gets her chemo therapy treatments. These parts added absolutely nothing to the story other than as a way for the author to tell the readers that she planned all of this Actually and often read like "Hey remember that one character I mentioned forever ago????? Well there about to make another appearance!!!! Watch out for them!!!!! Also, I didn't forget to include Mother Gothel!! She's still there too just you wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I'm also a little peeved about the fact that the author tossed out all of the meaningful moments the movie had with this book. Flynn and Rapunzel never go see the lanterns, so there's no moment where he decided he wants to change his ways before kissing Rapunzel. In fact, he never even tells her his real name until the end of the book. Rapunzel has to be told that Gothel is a horrible person rather than discovering that for herself and she also has to be told that she's the princess instead of realizing it. Gothel isn't really written as the true villain in this book, so there's not really a cathartic ending to her and Rapunzel's relationship. Instead of saving Flynn with her healing powers at the end, Rapunzel instead turns the guard named Justin in to the horse Maximus (and also, Flynn doesn't cut her hair to save her from Gothel because that scene didn't happen here).
And most importantly: Flynn never tells Rapunzel that she's his new dream because they never had the discussion about their dreams.
And to end this review. Parts of this book just didn't make or were so poorly written that it made me question why they were even included. Rapunzel's hair isn't explained all that well to me. I guess it's interesting that it technically has different powers depending on the phase of the moon, but some of them are boring and I don't know why they were included (Rapunzel can change to color of certain objects....wow). Also, making Elizabeth Bathory (yes, THAT Elizabeth Bathory) the main villain was such an odd choice not just because she was a real person (with this book playing off the "bathing in the blood of virgins" story) but also because she's hardly in it and doesn't do anything besides be a cartoon villain that is easily defeated in the end.
This book was bad and it should feel bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2022
I actually liked this book actually so it’s more like a 3.5-star read for me.
This book was a quick and easy read. Tangled was already my all-time favorite animation movie so it wasn’t hard for me to get into this book. You can read this if you want to take a break from heavy reads & topics. Reading this felt like getting a break from the real world.
This book jumps between the real world where Brendan is retelling the story of Rapunzel to his sister Daniella who is having chemotherapy and the magical world of Rapunzel. Even though Brendan and Daniella were a joy to be around, I found their small intervenes and chapters distracting. It was constantly breaking the magic of Rapunzel’s world. This made it harder to connect with the characters who had no dept at all to begin with. (Then again, this story follows a Disney movie so it should be expected.)
As fot the characters;
Even though he had no personality nor quirky remarks, I actually ended up enjoying Flynn.
I don’t even wanna talk about Gothel because half of the shit she did didn’t even make any sense.
Rapunzel on the other hand, was another story. She is way too smart to be acting this stupid. She shows you how smart she is just to pull up a very VERY stupid thing. Using a toaster as a bath bomb kind of stupid.
Gina who was a brand new character was awesome but, and that's a big but, she was supposed to be the strong independent girl when all she ever did to prove herself was to bring more men into the fight. If she tried and failed to have the fight alone, I'd still like it more sense since it would be fitting for the character. Someone like Gina who is obsessed with proving how strong she is, running and getting help from other men doesn't sit right with me.
THE ENDING. THAT GOD DAMN ENDING. OH, MY GODS. The ending was so rushed, I got a freaking whiplash. Half of the story takes place in a remote cabin in the woods where Rapunzel tries to learn how to control her powers. (It was a nice touch that she had to learn how to use her powers but that’s not the point.) Then the real villain comes along, so naturally, you'd think it's time for the action, some action at least but nope. Nothing. I liked the story much more until the ending.
There were a lot of plot holes but only two really REALLY annoyed me.
One: Okay, I love how her hair can kill in this story but I just can't imagine how people would use this as a weapon? Honestly a gun would be more useful. What are they gonna do? Yeet her to the enemy and hope one of them will be stupid enough to braid her hair? A murderous hair would be very famous in just a few days so people would be ready to cut her hair, or head, off too. It doesn’t make any sense how the whole kingdom was after her magical hair when it can be cut with a knife VERY EASLY during a battle.
Second: Not a really bad mistake but just an annoying one. So Gothel sometimes brings chicken and makes Rapunzel kill it to prove a point. She has no idea Rapunzel's powers change according to the moon phases. (It varies from changing the color of objects to healing. Every phase has a different effect on the hair.) That means she was lucky enough to bring a chicken to kill whenever there was a new moon. Just. By. Luck. Every freaking time. Make it make sense.
In conclusion, I’d say you should read it if you love Disney and want to visit the world of Tangled but do not expect a masterpiece.
This book was a quick and easy read. Tangled was already my all-time favorite animation movie so it wasn’t hard for me to get into this book. You can read this if you want to take a break from heavy reads & topics. Reading this felt like getting a break from the real world.
This book jumps between the real world where Brendan is retelling the story of Rapunzel to his sister Daniella who is having chemotherapy and the magical world of Rapunzel. Even though Brendan and Daniella were a joy to be around, I found their small intervenes and chapters distracting. It was constantly breaking the magic of Rapunzel’s world. This made it harder to connect with the characters who had no dept at all to begin with. (Then again, this story follows a Disney movie so it should be expected.)
As fot the characters;
Even though he had no personality nor quirky remarks, I actually ended up enjoying Flynn.
I don’t even wanna talk about Gothel because half of the shit she did didn’t even make any sense.
Rapunzel on the other hand, was another story. She is way too smart to be acting this stupid. She shows you how smart she is just to pull up a very VERY stupid thing. Using a toaster as a bath bomb kind of stupid.
Gina who was a brand new character was awesome but, and that's a big but, she was supposed to be the strong independent girl when all she ever did to prove herself was to bring more men into the fight. If she tried and failed to have the fight alone, I'd still like it more sense since it would be fitting for the character. Someone like Gina who is obsessed with proving how strong she is, running and getting help from other men doesn't sit right with me.
THE ENDING. THAT GOD DAMN ENDING. OH, MY GODS. The ending was so rushed, I got a freaking whiplash. Half of the story takes place in a remote cabin in the woods where Rapunzel tries to learn how to control her powers. (It was a nice touch that she had to learn how to use her powers but that’s not the point.) Then the real villain comes along, so naturally, you'd think it's time for the action, some action at least but nope. Nothing. I liked the story much more until the ending.
There were a lot of plot holes but only two really REALLY annoyed me.
One: Okay, I love how her hair can kill in this story but I just can't imagine how people would use this as a weapon? Honestly a gun would be more useful. What are they gonna do? Yeet her to the enemy and hope one of them will be stupid enough to braid her hair? A murderous hair would be very famous in just a few days so people would be ready to cut her hair, or head, off too. It doesn’t make any sense how the whole kingdom was after her magical hair when it can be cut with a knife VERY EASLY during a battle.
Second: Not a really bad mistake but just an annoying one. So Gothel sometimes brings chicken and makes Rapunzel kill it to prove a point. She has no idea Rapunzel's powers change according to the moon phases. (It varies from changing the color of objects to healing. Every phase has a different effect on the hair.) That means she was lucky enough to bring a chicken to kill whenever there was a new moon. Just. By. Luck. Every freaking time. Make it make sense.
In conclusion, I’d say you should read it if you love Disney and want to visit the world of Tangled but do not expect a masterpiece.
February 19, 2024
You know what this book feels like? It feels like Liz wanted to make an Anastasia twisted tale (more based on the movie than anything) book, but couldn't get the green light for it so she weaved aspects of the story into this. Flynn doesn't even feel like Flynn in the slightest, he comes off more like Dimitri.
That might explain the weird framing device that she hasn't used in her other "TWISTED" series books, nor any of the other authors, of having a brother "retelling" the story to his sister, who should be more upset about the retelling if she is that big of a fan of Tangled. It also feels a little disingenuous to the series that was released, completely ignoring that lore that would have fit RIGHT IN with the twist that the author was going with.
Little things are changed as well, like Rapunzel's age. She was celebrating her 18th birthday in the film, why is it 19 in the book? Something about moon cycles, but would anyone have really noticed? I know I wouldn't have, I was just sitting there wondering why it was changed.
It just doesn't feel like a genuine book and I guess since it is one of my favorite Disney movies it is just really hard to remove the two stories. The book is incredibly long and could have been cut shorter just by removing the boy and his sister, who at 16 has some weird things to say about the story. It comes off as a much younger girl.
The writing is stilted and feels more like a first draft than anything else. I wanted to like this and was so excited to have received it, but it leaves me feeling more hollow and disappointed than anything else. And just one of the romantic scenes in any disney film is completely stripped from this and given that was the whole point of the journey it just.... Doesn't feel right in the least bit. Could have done with a lot more editing and at least a touch more of the lore instead of what this is
That might explain the weird framing device that she hasn't used in her other "TWISTED" series books, nor any of the other authors, of having a brother "retelling" the story to his sister, who should be more upset about the retelling if she is that big of a fan of Tangled. It also feels a little disingenuous to the series that was released, completely ignoring that lore that would have fit RIGHT IN with the twist that the author was going with.
Little things are changed as well, like Rapunzel's age. She was celebrating her 18th birthday in the film, why is it 19 in the book? Something about moon cycles, but would anyone have really noticed? I know I wouldn't have, I was just sitting there wondering why it was changed.
It just doesn't feel like a genuine book and I guess since it is one of my favorite Disney movies it is just really hard to remove the two stories. The book is incredibly long and could have been cut shorter just by removing the boy and his sister, who at 16 has some weird things to say about the story. It comes off as a much younger girl.
The writing is stilted and feels more like a first draft than anything else. I wanted to like this and was so excited to have received it, but it leaves me feeling more hollow and disappointed than anything else. And just one of the romantic scenes in any disney film is completely stripped from this and given that was the whole point of the journey it just.... Doesn't feel right in the least bit. Could have done with a lot more editing and at least a touch more of the lore instead of what this is
November 21, 2021
I literally don’t know what to say.
This book was a disaster.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Tangled fanatic (if I’m counting correctly, I’ve watched the movie at least seven times, and love anything Tangled related) but this book just didn’t sit with me. Things that had no reason to be changed were changed, like Maximus being a person who transformed into a horse, or Pascal being turned into a chameleon. The story was set in Renaissance Europe, for goodness sake! I get the idea was to make the story more realistic, but it’s literally a story about a girl with magic hair. Realism was long gone.
I also hate how it messed with canon lore. The moonflower was fine, even if it wasn’t the moonstone, it was close enough. But saying that Rapunzel’s magic changed based on the phases of the moon, but the sun’s only power was healing? It just felt like an excuse to make Rapunzel a Mary Sue, and felt pointless since it went against canon lore of the moonstone only having the power of destruction. The author twisted the story into a nonsensical mess, and made Tangled something completely different. The idea was to change one point of the story and cause a ripple effect; not change things that have no reason to be changed.
And the main villain wasn’t Mother Gothel, but a real person! Like, really? Mother Gothel and the Stabbingtons, who are such a huge part of the original story, barely show up, and are instead replaced with a villain who actually existed in history. Like- why. There’s no point since mother Gothel and the stabbingtons were good enough villains in the first place, and it felt like lazy writing. The author evidently didn’t care enough to make the story continue to work with this new point, so they added a real person as the villain and a bunch of unnecessary stuff.
Another pet peeve: the scenes with the floating lanterns and Rapunzel getting to experience the world for the first time (while having a mental breakdown) and that epic dam fight scene never happen. None of it. It’s instead replaced with Rapunzel chasing Eugene as the only reason she really left the tower is to chase Hot Boy down, a scene where Rapunzel engages in literal rituals with a witch, and Rapunzel just running around and barging into the Snuggly Duckling, which gave me second hand embarrassment. Words can’t even begin to describe how mad I am that I lost such iconic scenes.
There is only one good thing in this book, and that is Gina. Gina is the only reason why this book gets 2 stars, instead of one. While the twist at the end sucked, Gina was brave and snarky and the only character in this book with an actual personality. She’s everything the book should have been.
Now, my list of all the things that make this book a literal comedy, because I was laughing so much over the stupidity of this book:
-Rapunzel constantly screaming at everyone to not touch her hair in such a pitiful way
-Rapunzel literally getting mad when people jokingly called her princess
-Rapunzel doing rituals
-Pascal being a lizard turned chameleon
-Maximus being a person turned horse
-someone’s eyes being described as lizard-like (Mark Zuckerberg, anyone?)
-someone saying they recognized Maximus (HE WAS A PERSON TURNED INTO A DIFFERENT ANIMAL, HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE THEM?)
-Rapunzel thinking she is privileged (why are we doing this in a fairy tale? SHE LIVED IN A TOWER HER ENTIRE LIFE TOO GIRL YOU ARE NOT PRIVILEGED YOU WERE HELD HOSTAGE YOUR WHOLE LIFE)
-Rapunzel comparing chest sizes with Gina
-Rapunzel literally hurling her crown at Eugene in a rage
-periods being called monthly bloods
-Mother Gothel having a completely unnecessary “slay queen!” Moment
-Rapunzel having a meltdown at the thought of hunting because of trauma from killing chickens?
-Mother Gothel literally calls Rapunzel a hussy (like, uses that word in the book)
-the glorious sentence “Man wants story”
I can go on and on but that’s all that comes to mind.
Overall, this book is a trainwreck that I would only reread to be reminded of the absolute utter stupidity of some things in the world. This book was so bad it was hilarious, and that’s the only reason I didn’t DNF it.
This book was a disaster.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Tangled fanatic (if I’m counting correctly, I’ve watched the movie at least seven times, and love anything Tangled related) but this book just didn’t sit with me. Things that had no reason to be changed were changed, like Maximus being a person who transformed into a horse, or Pascal being turned into a chameleon. The story was set in Renaissance Europe, for goodness sake! I get the idea was to make the story more realistic, but it’s literally a story about a girl with magic hair. Realism was long gone.
I also hate how it messed with canon lore. The moonflower was fine, even if it wasn’t the moonstone, it was close enough. But saying that Rapunzel’s magic changed based on the phases of the moon, but the sun’s only power was healing? It just felt like an excuse to make Rapunzel a Mary Sue, and felt pointless since it went against canon lore of the moonstone only having the power of destruction. The author twisted the story into a nonsensical mess, and made Tangled something completely different. The idea was to change one point of the story and cause a ripple effect; not change things that have no reason to be changed.
And the main villain wasn’t Mother Gothel, but a real person! Like, really? Mother Gothel and the Stabbingtons, who are such a huge part of the original story, barely show up, and are instead replaced with a villain who actually existed in history. Like- why. There’s no point since mother Gothel and the stabbingtons were good enough villains in the first place, and it felt like lazy writing. The author evidently didn’t care enough to make the story continue to work with this new point, so they added a real person as the villain and a bunch of unnecessary stuff.
Another pet peeve: the scenes with the floating lanterns and Rapunzel getting to experience the world for the first time (while having a mental breakdown) and that epic dam fight scene never happen. None of it. It’s instead replaced with Rapunzel chasing Eugene as the only reason she really left the tower is to chase Hot Boy down, a scene where Rapunzel engages in literal rituals with a witch, and Rapunzel just running around and barging into the Snuggly Duckling, which gave me second hand embarrassment. Words can’t even begin to describe how mad I am that I lost such iconic scenes.
There is only one good thing in this book, and that is Gina. Gina is the only reason why this book gets 2 stars, instead of one. While the twist at the end sucked, Gina was brave and snarky and the only character in this book with an actual personality. She’s everything the book should have been.
Now, my list of all the things that make this book a literal comedy, because I was laughing so much over the stupidity of this book:
-Rapunzel constantly screaming at everyone to not touch her hair in such a pitiful way
-Rapunzel literally getting mad when people jokingly called her princess
-Rapunzel doing rituals
-Pascal being a lizard turned chameleon
-Maximus being a person turned horse
-someone’s eyes being described as lizard-like (Mark Zuckerberg, anyone?)
-someone saying they recognized Maximus (HE WAS A PERSON TURNED INTO A DIFFERENT ANIMAL, HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE THEM?)
-Rapunzel thinking she is privileged (why are we doing this in a fairy tale? SHE LIVED IN A TOWER HER ENTIRE LIFE TOO GIRL YOU ARE NOT PRIVILEGED YOU WERE HELD HOSTAGE YOUR WHOLE LIFE)
-Rapunzel comparing chest sizes with Gina
-Rapunzel literally hurling her crown at Eugene in a rage
-periods being called monthly bloods
-Mother Gothel having a completely unnecessary “slay queen!” Moment
-Rapunzel having a meltdown at the thought of hunting because of trauma from killing chickens?
-Mother Gothel literally calls Rapunzel a hussy (like, uses that word in the book)
-the glorious sentence “Man wants story”
I can go on and on but that’s all that comes to mind.
Overall, this book is a trainwreck that I would only reread to be reminded of the absolute utter stupidity of some things in the world. This book was so bad it was hilarious, and that’s the only reason I didn’t DNF it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2022
3.25-3.5
Like the idea and concept but I'm looking for more oomph. Also once again, my main gripe is how some parts are too similar to the movie, it's almost like a scene by scene description of what happened. Are all these book going to be like this?
Like the idea and concept but I'm looking for more oomph. Also once again, my main gripe is how some parts are too similar to the movie, it's almost like a scene by scene description of what happened. Are all these book going to be like this?
February 26, 2023
I really liked the whole twist of the story (hence TWISTED TALES). I also really loved how it was an older brother telling his sister a story, that just made it totally unique! I did find it slightly cheesy...but in a good way! And Flynn was simply amazing lol!!!
July 30, 2021
Thanks to Disney Publishing Worldwide & NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
"What Once Was Mine" is a twisted tale in which Rapunzel's hair has the power to kill rather than heal. Things are changed around in small ways, while minor details from the film are largely expanded on throughout this novel.
A fantastic book!
I love the idea that Rapunzel would feel like she "belongs" in the tower because of her murder hair, it really puts more of a twist on her leaving and feeling guilt about possibly killing people on accident. Dark, but works well. I also appreciate how her thoughts are really fleshed out in regards to Gothel, she's so conflicted about how this "Mother" apparently loved her for 19 years....but also didn't *really* love her. It's great writing overall!
I was worried about Gina being an odd one out, but she fit in the story pretty well, and so did her mother. I really enjoyed Rapunzel discovering her moon powers, it's actually a really creative way of using "moon" magic that I've never seen done in a book before.
As others have said, there is a little bit of a Princess Bride storytelling but honestly, it's barely there, it's so short, I largely ignored it. It's not really bad per se, I just wanted to get back to Rapunzel, ha. I can't say it's that entertaining when I tried reading it, it's just a downer to an overall optimistic/hopeful book, so I skipped those short chapters and they had no bearing on the story in the long run.
Tangled fans will certainly enjoy this new addition to the Twisted Tales series!
"What Once Was Mine" is a twisted tale in which Rapunzel's hair has the power to kill rather than heal. Things are changed around in small ways, while minor details from the film are largely expanded on throughout this novel.
A fantastic book!
I love the idea that Rapunzel would feel like she "belongs" in the tower because of her murder hair, it really puts more of a twist on her leaving and feeling guilt about possibly killing people on accident. Dark, but works well. I also appreciate how her thoughts are really fleshed out in regards to Gothel, she's so conflicted about how this "Mother" apparently loved her for 19 years....but also didn't *really* love her. It's great writing overall!
I was worried about Gina being an odd one out, but she fit in the story pretty well, and so did her mother. I really enjoyed Rapunzel discovering her moon powers, it's actually a really creative way of using "moon" magic that I've never seen done in a book before.
As others have said, there is a little bit of a Princess Bride storytelling but honestly, it's barely there, it's so short, I largely ignored it. It's not really bad per se, I just wanted to get back to Rapunzel, ha. I can't say it's that entertaining when I tried reading it, it's just a downer to an overall optimistic/hopeful book, so I skipped those short chapters and they had no bearing on the story in the long run.
Tangled fans will certainly enjoy this new addition to the Twisted Tales series!
October 11, 2024
3.5 ☆ forever a tangled girly at heart, sorry but nothing can beat the movie 💖💐
March 30, 2025
rtc (maybe) it was really good! But nothing can be as good as the original Tangled (glares at anyone who dares to disagree)
September 3, 2021
I adore Tangled, so was thrilled for the chance to read What Once Was Mine. This was such a charming retelling, told by a boy to his sister while she receives treatment for cancer. I loved this take, as it brought an endearing quality to the narrative.
In this story, the potion Rapunzel's mother takes when pregnant and sick is mistakenly made from the Moon flower rather than the Sun flower. Instead of gifting Rapunzel with healing powers, she is cursed. Whoever touches her hair falls dead....or so she's taught to believe. As the story unfolds, Rapunzel gets a taste of freedom and along the way learns there is more to her so-called curse than she thought.
In addition to Flynn, Pascal and Mother Gothel, the book introduces more characters as Rapunzel escapes her tower. Gina, who joins Flynn and Rapunzel on their quest. And Gina's mother, a quirky witch who became my favorite character.
I really enjoyed this book. A few parts felt rushed, but overall it was a delightful experience. It's a magical addition to the Twisted Tales collection.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In this story, the potion Rapunzel's mother takes when pregnant and sick is mistakenly made from the Moon flower rather than the Sun flower. Instead of gifting Rapunzel with healing powers, she is cursed. Whoever touches her hair falls dead....or so she's taught to believe. As the story unfolds, Rapunzel gets a taste of freedom and along the way learns there is more to her so-called curse than she thought.
In addition to Flynn, Pascal and Mother Gothel, the book introduces more characters as Rapunzel escapes her tower. Gina, who joins Flynn and Rapunzel on their quest. And Gina's mother, a quirky witch who became my favorite character.
I really enjoyed this book. A few parts felt rushed, but overall it was a delightful experience. It's a magical addition to the Twisted Tales collection.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2021
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy.
Tangled is my favorite Disney movie, and though I didn’t enjoy the few books I read in the Twisted Tales series, I thought this one would be different.
Alas, I was wrong. Rapunzel ended up being a ridiculously annoying girl and much weirder than the regular story. The introduction of a new character was completely unnecessary, even with the small twist at the end. Honestly it should’ve been Cass from the show if they were bringing in the Moondrop anyway.
Also, it was WAY. TOO. LONG. It was completely unnecessary to have this be over five hundred pages. It could’ve been three hundred and we skip all the BS and weird moments and extra side plots and it would’ve made a lot more sense.
For me this was a great concept but very poor execution and I’m really disappointed with it.
Tangled is my favorite Disney movie, and though I didn’t enjoy the few books I read in the Twisted Tales series, I thought this one would be different.
Alas, I was wrong. Rapunzel ended up being a ridiculously annoying girl and much weirder than the regular story. The introduction of a new character was completely unnecessary, even with the small twist at the end. Honestly it should’ve been Cass from the show if they were bringing in the Moondrop anyway.
Also, it was WAY. TOO. LONG. It was completely unnecessary to have this be over five hundred pages. It could’ve been three hundred and we skip all the BS and weird moments and extra side plots and it would’ve made a lot more sense.
For me this was a great concept but very poor execution and I’m really disappointed with it.
November 2, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Rapunzel and Flynn will always be my fave!! 🥰💕
Rapunzel and Flynn will always be my fave!! 🥰💕
March 22, 2023
One star only because it was Rapunzel and Rapunzel is my favorite fairytale. Sadly this book felt like a desperate fan fiction determined to change everything about the movie, forcing the series in, never having read/heard the original fairytale.
Gina seems like a ripoff of Cassandra or Cass in the Tangled series. Also, she is destroying the group dynamic by being the third wheel and disturbing the sweet romance between Rapunzel and Eugene Disney fans know and love.
Why does Gothel even want the princess in an alternate universe where Rapunzel doesn't have her healing powers? What is she trying to gain by keeping a girl with a killing hair and keeping her locked up? What does she want of the girl?
What was even up with the hair twist, the flower error? Was it really necessary to make the story so dark, that you are worried to read it to children of Disney-loving age?
As if the twist wasn't more than dark enough, it goes on with the "reading a story in a story", that interrupts and disturbs the story, being set in "real life". Also, was it necessary to darken the book even more with the kid sick from cancer?
Gina seems like a ripoff of Cassandra or Cass in the Tangled series. Also, she is destroying the group dynamic by being the third wheel and disturbing the sweet romance between Rapunzel and Eugene Disney fans know and love.
Why does Gothel even want the princess in an alternate universe where Rapunzel doesn't have her healing powers? What is she trying to gain by keeping a girl with a killing hair and keeping her locked up? What does she want of the girl?
What was even up with the hair twist, the flower error? Was it really necessary to make the story so dark, that you are worried to read it to children of Disney-loving age?
As if the twist wasn't more than dark enough, it goes on with the "reading a story in a story", that interrupts and disturbs the story, being set in "real life". Also, was it necessary to darken the book even more with the kid sick from cancer?
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