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Rapunzel's Tower: A Fractured Fairy Tale
Two princes. One princess. One decision! A perilous journey up a magical tower.This is a heart-stopping story about a cruel twist of fate that locked an innocent princess in a magical tower. Two princes, one from the east and one from the west, are set against each other and tasked with rescuing Princess Rapunzel. The only way they will make it to the top is to work together to defeat the evil tower. At the end of their perilous adventure, Rapunzel will only be able to choose one prince as her true love. Which prince will prevail in winning her hand? Which prince will make it out of the tower alive?Faced with what was supposed to be an easy task, Prince Andres and Prince Zander have to overcome strange magic on a perilous journey to make it to the top of the tower and rescue Rapunzel. Neither could have known that this dangerous competition between each other would turn out to be a race with death itself.
A tale such as this made from myths and legends will incite your mind and imagination, and tug at your heartstrings while chilling your bones. This is not just a story of cruel fate, but the tale of true love and Rapunzel and her tower.
Buy Rapunzel's Tower! It's not your typical fairy tale retelling but a breathtaking adventure taken for the sake of love!Here’s what fantasy readers and bloggers have to
"Anderson has done it once again with a terrific retelling of a very old tale. The various "rooms" in the tower demonstrate Anderson's imaginative gifts, each more unique than the rest."
“I devoured this book! I just could not put it down!”“I promise you that this is different from anything you have read!”“This is a real winner of an adult fairy tale!”“This author is a master at a good plot weave, and it really shows in this book with glimpses of characters who are evil, almost evil, maybe evil, good, and are they really who they appear to be?”“It is an engaging story from the very beginning until the end.”
A tale such as this made from myths and legends will incite your mind and imagination, and tug at your heartstrings while chilling your bones. This is not just a story of cruel fate, but the tale of true love and Rapunzel and her tower.
Buy Rapunzel's Tower! It's not your typical fairy tale retelling but a breathtaking adventure taken for the sake of love!Here’s what fantasy readers and bloggers have to
"Anderson has done it once again with a terrific retelling of a very old tale. The various "rooms" in the tower demonstrate Anderson's imaginative gifts, each more unique than the rest."
“I devoured this book! I just could not put it down!”“I promise you that this is different from anything you have read!”“This is a real winner of an adult fairy tale!”“This author is a master at a good plot weave, and it really shows in this book with glimpses of characters who are evil, almost evil, maybe evil, good, and are they really who they appear to be?”“It is an engaging story from the very beginning until the end.”
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2021
About the author
Wendy L. Anderson
16 books32 followersWendy L. Anderson is a writer of passionately charged fantasy. Breaking the barriers of typical fantasy themes, she created the Kingdom of Jior epic fantasy series. A lusty and poetic five-book series that will have you wanting more in her Legends of Everclearing spinoff series. Inspired by authors such as Robert E. Howard and Morgan Llywelyn, Wendy went on to write three other stand-alone works; A Cut Twice as Deep, Ulrik, and Rapunzel's Tower. These fantasy works break free from the usual boundaries of fantasy genres.
A Colorado native and mother of two; she has decided it is time to write down the fantasies from her mind. Writing about everything from fantastical worlds to the stuff of her dreams she takes her stories along interesting paths while portraying characters and worlds she sees in her mind's eye. Her goal is to deviate from common themes, write in original directions and transport her reader to the worlds of her creation.
Wendy L. Anderson's fantasy has action, adventure, and suspense with just the right amount of romance! Find out more at: www.wendylanderson.com
Finalist in the 2022 Colorado Author’s League Awards for Rapunzel’s Tower
Of Demon Kind 3rd Place Winner! Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers; award 2020
Finalist in the 2020 Write Touch Readers' Award Contest
Honorable mention Great Northwest Book Contest
A Colorado native and mother of two; she has decided it is time to write down the fantasies from her mind. Writing about everything from fantastical worlds to the stuff of her dreams she takes her stories along interesting paths while portraying characters and worlds she sees in her mind's eye. Her goal is to deviate from common themes, write in original directions and transport her reader to the worlds of her creation.
Wendy L. Anderson's fantasy has action, adventure, and suspense with just the right amount of romance! Find out more at: www.wendylanderson.com
Finalist in the 2022 Colorado Author’s League Awards for Rapunzel’s Tower
Of Demon Kind 3rd Place Winner! Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers; award 2020
Finalist in the 2020 Write Touch Readers' Award Contest
Honorable mention Great Northwest Book Contest
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 14, 2021
Bravo!! What a cute, whimsical, creative re-telling of this beloved fairy tale! It is an engaging story from the very beginning until the end. The author does a marvelous job with the plot and character development. In my humble opinion, the story was great and if this your genre, you will not be disappointed.
December 25, 2025
I devoured this book! I just could not put it down. I was late for work every single day since starting reading this book, I was late back to work when on my breaks, I stayed up later, woke up earlier, and I did not do any housework at all. All I could think was ‘I need to get back to Zander and Andres’ and it was often a ‘just one more chapter’ scenario.
It isn’t what I expected. I was only read the story of Rapunzel when I was younger and I can not remember it at all, and of course, I’ve watched Tangled too so in my mind, I thought this book was going to be a typical Disney light-hearted princess story. However, this story doesn’t follow the princess, it follows the two princes who are trying to rescue her. The princes are rivals but must work together to complete quests in order to reach Rapunzel at the top of her tower even though they know that only one of them will be Rapunzel’s true love.
The worldbuilding was fantastic and I was/am very impressed with the ability of the author to build so many worlds within one world (you’ll understand what I mean once you’ve read it). I would love to discuss this further with somebody so please message me when you’ve read the book so we can chat about it.
It can be quite dark at times and I felt myself holding my breath a lot and my adrenaline pumping along with Zander and Andres. I loved the characters and I couldn’t help but fall in love with them. If I was Rapunzel, I wouldn’t know who to choose myself. That would be a tough decision. I was also impressed with how the secondary characters stood out enough to be memorable especially the Dragons!
I feel like a lot of thought has gone in to this story and it has been developed so well. I am honestly so impressed by it. The thing about Wendy L Anderson is, she keeps writing these super impressive books that just keep blowing my mind, and I just do not know how I can continue scoring 5/5 when her story’s just keep getting better and better.
Now how long till the next one because I need it yesterday!
It isn’t what I expected. I was only read the story of Rapunzel when I was younger and I can not remember it at all, and of course, I’ve watched Tangled too so in my mind, I thought this book was going to be a typical Disney light-hearted princess story. However, this story doesn’t follow the princess, it follows the two princes who are trying to rescue her. The princes are rivals but must work together to complete quests in order to reach Rapunzel at the top of her tower even though they know that only one of them will be Rapunzel’s true love.
The worldbuilding was fantastic and I was/am very impressed with the ability of the author to build so many worlds within one world (you’ll understand what I mean once you’ve read it). I would love to discuss this further with somebody so please message me when you’ve read the book so we can chat about it.
It can be quite dark at times and I felt myself holding my breath a lot and my adrenaline pumping along with Zander and Andres. I loved the characters and I couldn’t help but fall in love with them. If I was Rapunzel, I wouldn’t know who to choose myself. That would be a tough decision. I was also impressed with how the secondary characters stood out enough to be memorable especially the Dragons!
I feel like a lot of thought has gone in to this story and it has been developed so well. I am honestly so impressed by it. The thing about Wendy L Anderson is, she keeps writing these super impressive books that just keep blowing my mind, and I just do not know how I can continue scoring 5/5 when her story’s just keep getting better and better.
Now how long till the next one because I need it yesterday!
September 27, 2021
This book really kept me reading. I loved the new take on the classic fairytale of Rapunzel, and the story really flowed well.
A high level of description of the worlds and characters really helped to build a luscious realm to base the story in, and there were enough twists and turns of the plot to keep the momentum and surprsies coming.
There were several spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book, which I would have expected to have been removed at the proof reading stage, but this didn't detract from the overall good plot line, good charcters and great storytelling style.
A high level of description of the worlds and characters really helped to build a luscious realm to base the story in, and there were enough twists and turns of the plot to keep the momentum and surprsies coming.
There were several spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book, which I would have expected to have been removed at the proof reading stage, but this didn't detract from the overall good plot line, good charcters and great storytelling style.
December 20, 2021
I absolutely loved this book! It is definitely a 5 star book that I would highly recommend. At first you find that it is nothing like the story we have all heard before, it is so much better! I loved how the author, Wendy Anderson, weaves her tail with so much detail you can hear and see everything around you. At points leaving me where I didn’t want that world to end!!! An ending where you find yourself in tears! But the joy of a wonderful book like this leaves me craving to read another one of her books.
November 16, 2021
Very good
This was an interesting perspective of the prince coming to rescue Rapunzel. I really enjoyed reading from their perspective instead of the princess'. It was captivating and very exciting.
This was an interesting perspective of the prince coming to rescue Rapunzel. I really enjoyed reading from their perspective instead of the princess'. It was captivating and very exciting.
January 16, 2022
Take a familiar fairy tale and make it even better! That is what the author has done. In beautiful prose, Ms. Anderson has created a wonderful fairytale of her own that is a treat to read. Well done!
September 27, 2021
Who doesn’t know the story of Rapunzel? Amazon, with its new commercial based on the story, is certainly betting that almost everybody does but I promise you that this is different from anything you have read! The basics are there, a beautiful damsel locked away in a tall tower waiting to be rescued by her prince but that is pretty much where the story takes a big turn.
Apparently, the rest of the story, or at least the part left out in the children’s fairy tale, is that two princes from different parts of the world arrive at the tower at about the same time, each wanting to rescue and wed this lovely woman. Both fail and are found on the ground beaten and bruised and finding it hard to stand up. An old beggarman helps the two up and offers them a way into the tower, they must understand that they have to compete for the hand of the damsel in distress, it will take the two of them working together to reach their goal and they can take nothing from the various rooms in the tower. So begins the great adventure filled with battles, dragons, blizzards of snow, beautiful women, and danger as the two men work to reach the top of the tower.
I am not going to spoil this for you, but I will say that Anderson has done it once again with a terrific retelling of a very old tale. The various “rooms” in the tower demonstrate Andeson’s imaginative gifts, each more unique than the rest. The relationship between the two men that are thrown together and forced to work together is fascinating as we watch the contrast between hate, competition, and respect change with each different task and over time. This is a real winner of an adult fairy tale!
Apparently, the rest of the story, or at least the part left out in the children’s fairy tale, is that two princes from different parts of the world arrive at the tower at about the same time, each wanting to rescue and wed this lovely woman. Both fail and are found on the ground beaten and bruised and finding it hard to stand up. An old beggarman helps the two up and offers them a way into the tower, they must understand that they have to compete for the hand of the damsel in distress, it will take the two of them working together to reach their goal and they can take nothing from the various rooms in the tower. So begins the great adventure filled with battles, dragons, blizzards of snow, beautiful women, and danger as the two men work to reach the top of the tower.
I am not going to spoil this for you, but I will say that Anderson has done it once again with a terrific retelling of a very old tale. The various “rooms” in the tower demonstrate Andeson’s imaginative gifts, each more unique than the rest. The relationship between the two men that are thrown together and forced to work together is fascinating as we watch the contrast between hate, competition, and respect change with each different task and over time. This is a real winner of an adult fairy tale!
July 19, 2025
Another great book by Wendy Anderson!
The hook doesn't come quite at the start as the previous book I read by this author, but it does pull in as you go.
It's not the bedtime story Rapunzel that you'd be so badly deceived to believe. It's wrapped in layers of danger and romantic rivalry. Each level of the tower-a puzzle full of mystery and potential menace. The voice of the author is so vivid and the smooth ability of peak storytelling let me dive into this tower's mysteries. The world building shines great. The two princes aren't just average lackeys that are necessary for a romantic encounter–they're characters with their own drives, growth and personalities.
Some scenes could've been a bit tighter, but none of that dulled the momentum. If anything, the story's passion punched through so strongly like an experienced and talented indie author would deliver.
There's this other thing that makes this book shine. Rapunzel herself. She's not this passive character and she is not somewhat unrealistically fierce. A young woman navigating an impossible fate.
Take a fairy tale, paint it in dark colours, flaw your characters, and build the world like a dungeon from the heart–that's what you get with this one.
The hook doesn't come quite at the start as the previous book I read by this author, but it does pull in as you go.
It's not the bedtime story Rapunzel that you'd be so badly deceived to believe. It's wrapped in layers of danger and romantic rivalry. Each level of the tower-a puzzle full of mystery and potential menace. The voice of the author is so vivid and the smooth ability of peak storytelling let me dive into this tower's mysteries. The world building shines great. The two princes aren't just average lackeys that are necessary for a romantic encounter–they're characters with their own drives, growth and personalities.
Some scenes could've been a bit tighter, but none of that dulled the momentum. If anything, the story's passion punched through so strongly like an experienced and talented indie author would deliver.
There's this other thing that makes this book shine. Rapunzel herself. She's not this passive character and she is not somewhat unrealistically fierce. A young woman navigating an impossible fate.
Take a fairy tale, paint it in dark colours, flaw your characters, and build the world like a dungeon from the heart–that's what you get with this one.
August 28, 2025
Rapunzel's Tower has many interesting aspects. The two main characters of the princes were not attractive in the beginning (petulant and adolescent), but they became more likable as the story progressed. The author has a clever concept as an alternative to the traditional tale.
I didn't always know who was talking because of the way the dialogue was formatted, nor was I always sure whose perspective was being presented. The omniscient point of view that was mixed in further complicated getting to know Zander and Andres. It didn't help that the two princes' personalities often seemed practically interchangeable.
I especially appreciated the strong female characters. I liked how the relationship of the princes changes, though the biggest change/development was mostly noted rather than shown. The princes grew and become finer people, which is something I always love seeing in a story.
It's hard to talk about tower levels without issuing spoilers, but I found the one with the dragons and the one with the elderly woman to be the most fascinating. The old man/beggar and his backstory was a nice twist. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
I didn't always know who was talking because of the way the dialogue was formatted, nor was I always sure whose perspective was being presented. The omniscient point of view that was mixed in further complicated getting to know Zander and Andres. It didn't help that the two princes' personalities often seemed practically interchangeable.
I especially appreciated the strong female characters. I liked how the relationship of the princes changes, though the biggest change/development was mostly noted rather than shown. The princes grew and become finer people, which is something I always love seeing in a story.
It's hard to talk about tower levels without issuing spoilers, but I found the one with the dragons and the one with the elderly woman to be the most fascinating. The old man/beggar and his backstory was a nice twist. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
September 29, 2021
I love fractured fairy tales! This book takes us inside the adventures of two princes trying to rescue Rapunzel from her tower. The author takes the idea that it might not have been so easy to complete this task. In fact, there may be a whole lot more going on there. This story is filled with layers, not only the ones the princes need to complete but also in the characters and the underlying story behind the curse that keeps Rapunzel in her tower.
This author is a master at a good plot weave, and it really shows in this book with glimpses of characters who are evil, almost evil, maybe evil, good, and are they really who they appear to be?
Of course, like every good fairy tale, there will be a happily ever after – but will it be the one you are expecting? Let’s just say a nice twist is always enjoyed by this reader.
This author is a master at a good plot weave, and it really shows in this book with glimpses of characters who are evil, almost evil, maybe evil, good, and are they really who they appear to be?
Of course, like every good fairy tale, there will be a happily ever after – but will it be the one you are expecting? Let’s just say a nice twist is always enjoyed by this reader.
November 25, 2022
A NEW SPIN ON RAPUNZEL'S STORY. I rarely read in the fantasy genre but I'm glad I did in this instance. This book offers a whole new spin on Rapunzel's story. I won't stay too much, as I hate spoilers in reviews. Suffice to say - for anyone with even a spark of imagination or an appreciation for an intelligent re-imagining of an old classic, this book is a must. Personally, I'm heading over to the author's page now to see what else she has published!
May 17, 2023
A fun twist on a familiar tale
This book offers a new spin on the famous Rapunzel story.
While a tale-as-old-as-time seems boring, this book shakes it up in a way that can keep the reader engaged.
I can perhaps describe this a youthful Dungeon-crawler meets romantic fairytale with some humorous seasoning :)
This book offers a new spin on the famous Rapunzel story.
While a tale-as-old-as-time seems boring, this book shakes it up in a way that can keep the reader engaged.
I can perhaps describe this a youthful Dungeon-crawler meets romantic fairytale with some humorous seasoning :)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews