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My Name Is Rapunzel
My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did.
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.
322 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2013
74 people are currently reading
16497 people want to read
About the author
K.C. Hilton
7 books431 followersK.C. is a wife, mother and manages the family business. K.C.’s husband refers to her as Hobbit size and claims that she is “nuttier than a fruit cake.”
She owns a complete set of pink tools, believes in aliens and secretly wants to become a badass ninja. In her spare time, she can be found daydreaming about leaving work early to eat chocolate and drink wine. Sometimes her dreams come true.
Website: www.kc-hilton.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KcHiltonAuthor
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsKcHilton
She owns a complete set of pink tools, believes in aliens and secretly wants to become a badass ninja. In her spare time, she can be found daydreaming about leaving work early to eat chocolate and drink wine. Sometimes her dreams come true.
Website: www.kc-hilton.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KcHiltonAuthor
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsKcHilton
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 321 reviews
Want to read
July 23, 2012This book won me over by the title, the picture, the votes, the reviews, and the description. So it practically made me fall hard for this book, and why not? I am a sucker for fairy tales, quite normal for the females I guess. I just hope this book doesn't let me down.
Since again, I love fairy tales, and since this might be a new version of the Rapunzel fairy tale, I again, hope, it will not disappoint me.
Or I might just cry....
And it isn't a prety sight. :\
Also....it'll end badly. Since some people will be like, "Dude....a fairy tale novel about Rapunzel? How old are you? Seven?"
And I'll be defending the book by saying....
And after reading the book and it turns out it sucked...I would be totally eating my own words. Which hopefully, I won't.
So I can't wait for this book, so I can read it and be like, "THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. FAIRY TALES FOR THE WIN. WOOT, WOOT!"
Since again, I love fairy tales, and since this might be a new version of the Rapunzel fairy tale, I again, hope, it will not disappoint me.
Or I might just cry....
And it isn't a prety sight. :\
Also....it'll end badly. Since some people will be like, "Dude....a fairy tale novel about Rapunzel? How old are you? Seven?"
And I'll be defending the book by saying....
And after reading the book and it turns out it sucked...I would be totally eating my own words. Which hopefully, I won't.
So I can't wait for this book, so I can read it and be like, "THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. FAIRY TALES FOR THE WIN. WOOT, WOOT!"
January 4, 2014
I desperately tried to love this book. Unfortunately, no amount of effort on my part can overlook the juvenile syntax, the measly world-building, cliched/intelligence-lacking characters, the half-baked love triangle, and convoluted ending. In addition, the major plot points were identical to Tangled but not so beautifully told or animated. I ended the book more confused than when I had began.
This is an okay introduction to fantasy. However, there are far better retellings out there, and it just pains me to say that this book pained me. Let's start with the wording. You'd figure that a 260 year old anyone that lived through the times of Dickens, whose self-proclaimed favorite author is Jane Austen, who lives through books from the tower could write better than a first grader. Okay, maybe a 5th grader. A large portion of this book is comprised of letters written by Miss "Rapunzel" to John the reporter. And it's extremely dull, with poor word choices, boring and bland.
Now onto the world building. I live near real-life Paradise Valley-- there are no dragons here. Now that would be totally fine, and I get that Ms. Hilton probably just chose a name without any thought to real-world connections, but the author also chooses to set this book in modern times. And here's where I get confused-- I not only live near Paradise Valley, but in the real world . YET I'M STILL CONFUSED. Modern conveniences are thrown in to convince the reader that this is, indeed, 2013, while all evidence poses to the contrary. Why isn't the town suspicious that there's an ancient TOWER/CASTLE just a few miles away from the center? Where even is town? Also-- if Rapunzel has access to social media, doesn't that completely contradict the point of staying secluded and away from discovery? WHY HASN'T ANYONE ELSE SEEN A GIGANTIC FLYING DRAGON THAT ARRIVES DAILY. Too many unsolved questions, making the setting utterly unbelievable.
Now the characters. I've mentioned that Rapunzel is now extremely old. She even claims that she has the wisdom of lifetimes, an old woman in a body as "youthful as a fresh blossom" (by the way, that phrase appeared at least five times). However, she acts with less maturity than your average highschooler. It's infuriating. Also even though the novel is told in 1st person, I still remain confused on Rapunzel's motives. She hates Gretta. She doesn't want to leave the tower as the dragon , but tries to run away from the tower yet is prevented from doing so by the dragon. Also-- WHY CAN'T SHE EVER RUN WHEN SHE NEEDS TO. Now onto John/Henry. They're pretty much interchangeable. We don't learn much except that they're undeniably gorgeous, insta-falling in love with Rapunzel, annnnd that's about it. The author even emphasizes their utter lack of difference by Even Gretta was confusing . The side cast of supporting characters also made no sense, and seemed to be spliced in to conveniently save the day without explanation or background. In the end, the characters were one-dimensional, and flatter than a thin-crust pizza.
Now the ending. I really enjoyed the twist that But everything after fell to pieces. The curse was so easily circumvented, why didn't Henry take action sooner, like, I don't know, 260 YEARS AGO . Why was the romance between John, however stilted and instant, thrown away just as quickly as it had begun for the most unexplained and overused of all reasons? Just stop. Please.
I now crawl back into my book-hermit cave to recuperate from this novel in wait of Cress, a hopefully better retelling of Rapunzel.
This is an okay introduction to fantasy. However, there are far better retellings out there, and it just pains me to say that this book pained me. Let's start with the wording. You'd figure that a 260 year old anyone that lived through the times of Dickens, whose self-proclaimed favorite author is Jane Austen, who lives through books from the tower could write better than a first grader. Okay, maybe a 5th grader. A large portion of this book is comprised of letters written by Miss "Rapunzel" to John the reporter. And it's extremely dull, with poor word choices, boring and bland.
Now onto the world building. I live near real-life Paradise Valley-- there are no dragons here. Now that would be totally fine, and I get that Ms. Hilton probably just chose a name without any thought to real-world connections, but the author also chooses to set this book in modern times. And here's where I get confused-- I not only live near Paradise Valley, but in the real world . YET I'M STILL CONFUSED. Modern conveniences are thrown in to convince the reader that this is, indeed, 2013, while all evidence poses to the contrary. Why isn't the town suspicious that there's an ancient TOWER/CASTLE just a few miles away from the center? Where even is town? Also-- if Rapunzel has access to social media, doesn't that completely contradict the point of staying secluded and away from discovery? WHY HASN'T ANYONE ELSE SEEN A GIGANTIC FLYING DRAGON THAT ARRIVES DAILY. Too many unsolved questions, making the setting utterly unbelievable.
Now the characters. I've mentioned that Rapunzel is now extremely old. She even claims that she has the wisdom of lifetimes, an old woman in a body as "youthful as a fresh blossom" (by the way, that phrase appeared at least five times). However, she acts with less maturity than your average highschooler. It's infuriating. Also even though the novel is told in 1st person, I still remain confused on Rapunzel's motives. She hates Gretta. She doesn't want to leave the tower as the dragon , but tries to run away from the tower yet is prevented from doing so by the dragon. Also-- WHY CAN'T SHE EVER RUN WHEN SHE NEEDS TO. Now onto John/Henry. They're pretty much interchangeable. We don't learn much except that they're undeniably gorgeous, insta-falling in love with Rapunzel, annnnd that's about it. The author even emphasizes their utter lack of difference by Even Gretta was confusing . The side cast of supporting characters also made no sense, and seemed to be spliced in to conveniently save the day without explanation or background. In the end, the characters were one-dimensional, and flatter than a thin-crust pizza.
Now the ending. I really enjoyed the twist that But everything after fell to pieces. The curse was so easily circumvented, why didn't Henry take action sooner, like, I don't know, 260 YEARS AGO . Why was the romance between John, however stilted and instant, thrown away just as quickly as it had begun for the most unexplained and overused of all reasons? Just stop. Please.
I now crawl back into my book-hermit cave to recuperate from this novel in wait of Cress, a hopefully better retelling of Rapunzel.
Want to read
May 20, 2013That, my friends(or not, I don't really know whoever's reading this) is the best synopsis ever.
I was just scrolling along a listopia, and I come across this book. Nice title, nice cover, then I read the synopsis:
"but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did."
This was so awesome.
"My name is Rapunzel and I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth."
My brain feels like it's going to explode now.
February 20, 2014
This review was originally posted on Mermaid with a Book.
This book has a beautiful cover and a beautiful synopsis, but left me floundering when I was barely a quarter in. I had expected much more of My Name Is Rapunzel. I did not have the easiest time writing this review; I’ll section it so that it’ll be easier for everyone to process.
Undefined goals. It's extremely frustrating to have a main character and villain who both do not have defined goals. In the traditional fairy tale, Rapunzel is held captive in a tower by a witch. Gretta is the witch in this story. However, Gretta's ulterior motive for keeping Rapunzel captive is not clear until the 80% mark in the story. I was constantly distracted by what Gretta wanted exactly from Rapunzel, as nothing more was given except for a rough idea. I was reading page after page and hoping that Gretta's motive would be stated clearly, but it wasn't stated for most of the novel until I was 89% through with the book.
Rapunzel's father places her in Gretta's care in the hopes that Gretta would one day reverse the curse on his daughter. Doesn't sound like a good plan. Gretta doesn't stand to lose anything by not removing the curse. If I were cursed with immortality and lost the love of my life, I would have committed suicide or tried ways to kill Gretta instead of living for 250 years in a castle with her (which is exactly what Rapunzel did). Rapunzel wasn't actively searching or trying all means and ways to escape from Gretta. All she did was grumble about having to live with “that witch” for 250 years without any fierce struggle, based purely on her father's hopes that Gretta would remove the curse one day. In the eyes of any villain, one day is the equivalent of fat hope. The logic doesn't make sense at all. And most times, Gretta just disappears into the background.
Characters and writing style. The tension created in the prologue was pretty awesome. However, the first chapter didn’t build up much personality in Rapunzel for me to connect with her. The chapter starts off with Rapunzel panicking about her first kiss with Henry and whether he would dump her if he found out that "no man had ever before found [her] worthy of affection". The writing was exaggerated in Rapunzel's POV and didn't give me a likeable impression of her. It was totally absurd because Rapunzel actually thought that her true love would be shallow enough to judge her based on a single kiss.
As I read on, I got more and more annoyed by the writing style of Rapunzel’s POV. She asks too many unnecessary questions which comes off as very childish. There’s an average of 4 to 5 questions on every page within the first chapter, and I counted 8 of these questions on a page in Chapter 2. The questions consist of things like "What did that mean?", "Why now?", "Who was that?", "What now?". One paragraph even had 4 questions in it:
It was a major turnoff for me, hearing the voice in my head read out so many questions like an annoying child. Rapunzel runs around like a headless chicken whenever something bad happens. I couldn't feel for her or Henry at all even when disaster struck. Henry didn't have any depth to his character and I felt like I should feel bad for Rapunzel, but I didn't. The first time I felt for a character was in Chapter 5 – for Rapunzel's mother. It's not a good sign if I'm actually feeling more for a supporting character than the main character.
Gretta doesn't seem like a complete villain. Her villainous side appeared when she first cursed Rapunzel, then it disappeared during the 250 years with Rapunzel. Gretta is totally un-villainy after that until the last 15% of the book, and hardly poses a real threat to Rapunzel (I’ll discuss this further in the plot holes section).
Jenkins. Ah, Jenkins, the skeptical reporter. He wrote a newspaper article scoffing at fairy tales and also ridicules Rapunzel's famous hair. Rapunzel reads it, gets hopping mad and decides to write him her autobiography, letter-style. The flashback-like writing style of the letters is very poor. The letters don't sound like letters, they sound like a novel within this novel. It's ridiculous how Rapunzel bothers so much about what a stranger thinks of her. At this point, it's almost half the story and Rapunzel's goal is still undefined. Even if her goal is to make Jenkins realise she's real, the stakes are not high enough. When they meet, Jenkins' character suddenly undergoes a 180° change overnight and they both take to each other a lot. It was not believable at all, given how skeptical Jenkins is and how Rapunzel detests him. All seems to be forgiven just because Jenkins is handsome.
Also, I cannot feel anything for Luke. He's a useless character who lets his wife push him around.
Major plot holes. There's a dragon which has lived 250 years with them. Up till the last quarter of the novel, it isn’t clear whether Gretta controls the dragon or vice versa. Rapunzel's convinced that the dragon "protects" her and wants her "safe" when all it does is fly around and roar. Unless a nightly candle is lit in her tower, the dragon cannot rest as that is the only way it knows she is “safe”. On one occasion Rapunzel tries to run from the castle, but the dragon “caught her” just by roaring, because it hadn’t seen the candlelight. The dragon doesn't seem to actually be able to stop her, so Rapunzel could still have left. Jenkins gives Rapunzel an electric candle and that’s it, problem solved. It's so absurd. Rapunzel would have been able to acquire an electric candle without Jenkins’ help as she knows how to use the Internet on a laptop to go online shopping.
Gretta is not a real threat at all to Rapunzel, being easy to kill (Rapunzel did not kill her). Rapunzel could've set herself free if she had a weapon and a moment alone with Gretta. And Rapunzel had plenty of those opportunities to kill Gretta throughout the 250 years!
HUGE SPOILER ALERT (FURTHER PLOT HOLE EXAMPLE)
I don’t like to include major spoilers in my reviews, but for My Name Is Rapunzel, I simply have to in order to show you how flawed the plot is.
Henry is the dragon. And he’s been that dragon flying around and roaring and supposedly keeping Rapunzel “safe”, when he doesn’t really do anything at all. We find out that Gretta cursed him so he would be a dragon for all time except for “mere moments of time” as a man. If Henry should lay eyes on Rapunzel’s face, he will turn back into dragon form.
Now, we only find this out at the 83% mark of the book. At 85%, Henry reveals himself to Rapunzel in a manner that would have been possible at the very start of his curse, but he chose to do that only at the end of the book. The solution to his problem was very simple and the stakes had not been high enough. Also, other solutions would have been simple, such as writing a letter and sending it to Rapunzel when he was in human form. He needn’t have waited 250 years. The whole thing was incredibly ridiculous.
~ END OF SPOILER ~
BOTTOM LINE: The synopsis of My Name Is Rapunzel sells the supposed true story of Rapunzel, and so I felt that this novel had a lot of potential. However, the characters really lacked depth and the plot was full of holes so laughable, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The story did not flow or move forward well. Seriously, don't waste your time on this one. Not worth it.
This book has a beautiful cover and a beautiful synopsis, but left me floundering when I was barely a quarter in. I had expected much more of My Name Is Rapunzel. I did not have the easiest time writing this review; I’ll section it so that it’ll be easier for everyone to process.
Undefined goals. It's extremely frustrating to have a main character and villain who both do not have defined goals. In the traditional fairy tale, Rapunzel is held captive in a tower by a witch. Gretta is the witch in this story. However, Gretta's ulterior motive for keeping Rapunzel captive is not clear until the 80% mark in the story. I was constantly distracted by what Gretta wanted exactly from Rapunzel, as nothing more was given except for a rough idea. I was reading page after page and hoping that Gretta's motive would be stated clearly, but it wasn't stated for most of the novel until I was 89% through with the book.
Rapunzel's father places her in Gretta's care in the hopes that Gretta would one day reverse the curse on his daughter. Doesn't sound like a good plan. Gretta doesn't stand to lose anything by not removing the curse. If I were cursed with immortality and lost the love of my life, I would have committed suicide or tried ways to kill Gretta instead of living for 250 years in a castle with her (which is exactly what Rapunzel did). Rapunzel wasn't actively searching or trying all means and ways to escape from Gretta. All she did was grumble about having to live with “that witch” for 250 years without any fierce struggle, based purely on her father's hopes that Gretta would remove the curse one day. In the eyes of any villain, one day is the equivalent of fat hope. The logic doesn't make sense at all. And most times, Gretta just disappears into the background.
Characters and writing style. The tension created in the prologue was pretty awesome. However, the first chapter didn’t build up much personality in Rapunzel for me to connect with her. The chapter starts off with Rapunzel panicking about her first kiss with Henry and whether he would dump her if he found out that "no man had ever before found [her] worthy of affection". The writing was exaggerated in Rapunzel's POV and didn't give me a likeable impression of her. It was totally absurd because Rapunzel actually thought that her true love would be shallow enough to judge her based on a single kiss.
As I read on, I got more and more annoyed by the writing style of Rapunzel’s POV. She asks too many unnecessary questions which comes off as very childish. There’s an average of 4 to 5 questions on every page within the first chapter, and I counted 8 of these questions on a page in Chapter 2. The questions consist of things like "What did that mean?", "Why now?", "Who was that?", "What now?". One paragraph even had 4 questions in it:
Should I go to Henry's parents? Or to my home? Where would I find help? Even as I asked myself, I knew the truth. There was no help to be found. I was on my own. After all, who could help against forces such as these?
It was a major turnoff for me, hearing the voice in my head read out so many questions like an annoying child. Rapunzel runs around like a headless chicken whenever something bad happens. I couldn't feel for her or Henry at all even when disaster struck. Henry didn't have any depth to his character and I felt like I should feel bad for Rapunzel, but I didn't. The first time I felt for a character was in Chapter 5 – for Rapunzel's mother. It's not a good sign if I'm actually feeling more for a supporting character than the main character.
Gretta doesn't seem like a complete villain. Her villainous side appeared when she first cursed Rapunzel, then it disappeared during the 250 years with Rapunzel. Gretta is totally un-villainy after that until the last 15% of the book, and hardly poses a real threat to Rapunzel (I’ll discuss this further in the plot holes section).
Jenkins. Ah, Jenkins, the skeptical reporter. He wrote a newspaper article scoffing at fairy tales and also ridicules Rapunzel's famous hair. Rapunzel reads it, gets hopping mad and decides to write him her autobiography, letter-style. The flashback-like writing style of the letters is very poor. The letters don't sound like letters, they sound like a novel within this novel. It's ridiculous how Rapunzel bothers so much about what a stranger thinks of her. At this point, it's almost half the story and Rapunzel's goal is still undefined. Even if her goal is to make Jenkins realise she's real, the stakes are not high enough. When they meet, Jenkins' character suddenly undergoes a 180° change overnight and they both take to each other a lot. It was not believable at all, given how skeptical Jenkins is and how Rapunzel detests him. All seems to be forgiven just because Jenkins is handsome.
Also, I cannot feel anything for Luke. He's a useless character who lets his wife push him around.
Major plot holes. There's a dragon which has lived 250 years with them. Up till the last quarter of the novel, it isn’t clear whether Gretta controls the dragon or vice versa. Rapunzel's convinced that the dragon "protects" her and wants her "safe" when all it does is fly around and roar. Unless a nightly candle is lit in her tower, the dragon cannot rest as that is the only way it knows she is “safe”. On one occasion Rapunzel tries to run from the castle, but the dragon “caught her” just by roaring, because it hadn’t seen the candlelight. The dragon doesn't seem to actually be able to stop her, so Rapunzel could still have left. Jenkins gives Rapunzel an electric candle and that’s it, problem solved. It's so absurd. Rapunzel would have been able to acquire an electric candle without Jenkins’ help as she knows how to use the Internet on a laptop to go online shopping.
Gretta is not a real threat at all to Rapunzel, being easy to kill (Rapunzel did not kill her). Rapunzel could've set herself free if she had a weapon and a moment alone with Gretta. And Rapunzel had plenty of those opportunities to kill Gretta throughout the 250 years!
HUGE SPOILER ALERT (FURTHER PLOT HOLE EXAMPLE)
I don’t like to include major spoilers in my reviews, but for My Name Is Rapunzel, I simply have to in order to show you how flawed the plot is.
Henry is the dragon. And he’s been that dragon flying around and roaring and supposedly keeping Rapunzel “safe”, when he doesn’t really do anything at all. We find out that Gretta cursed him so he would be a dragon for all time except for “mere moments of time” as a man. If Henry should lay eyes on Rapunzel’s face, he will turn back into dragon form.
Now, we only find this out at the 83% mark of the book. At 85%, Henry reveals himself to Rapunzel in a manner that would have been possible at the very start of his curse, but he chose to do that only at the end of the book. The solution to his problem was very simple and the stakes had not been high enough. Also, other solutions would have been simple, such as writing a letter and sending it to Rapunzel when he was in human form. He needn’t have waited 250 years. The whole thing was incredibly ridiculous.
~ END OF SPOILER ~
BOTTOM LINE: The synopsis of My Name Is Rapunzel sells the supposed true story of Rapunzel, and so I felt that this novel had a lot of potential. However, the characters really lacked depth and the plot was full of holes so laughable, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The story did not flow or move forward well. Seriously, don't waste your time on this one. Not worth it.
May 13, 2015
Read the blurb. Have you read it? Read it again. Does that voice not compel you, make you want to read it? Does it not leave you anticipating a firm, somewhat derisive voice guiding you through the ‘actual’ tale of Rapunzel? Does it not pave the way for a book that is at least average, if not brilliant?
If you find yourself nodding, and are fortunate enough not to have started the book yet, heed my advice and do not start it. Sure, you’ll feel curious, but, trust me, that is a lot better than having visit optometrist because you strained your optical muscles rolling your eyes due to the many ludicrous passages in the book.
The Story
Nine-year old Rapunzel pities the old woman living next door and so befriends her despite the repeated and empathic warnings not to. She then promises said old woman never to fall in love or marry.
Time passes. Rapunzel is now a teenager. She falls in love with a handsome prince in shining armour, and he falls in love with her too.
They decide to elope (because his parents have the gall to threaten to disown him if he marries Rapunzel, a commoner. Fortunately, Rapunzel chose a guy willing to give up the entire kingdom just to be with her). As they run away, the old lady next door appears, except now Rapunzel (and the author) has decided she is evil and so the poor old lady starts glaring coldly and cackling evilly like any good old witch in any cartoon.
The old lady then mutters curses and poof! darling Henry (Rapunzel’s One Twu Wuv) is gone, and a looming dragon suddenly appears! (Starting to connect the dots yet?) Also, a side effect of the curse is that both Rapunzel and the old lady stop aging, and Rapunzel’s hair cannot be cut in any way.
Rapunzel mopes. And mopes. And mopes.
Flash forward to present times. Rapunzel has decided to write a letter to a newspaper editor declaring her identity. It goes something along the line of
And since the newspaper editor is a moderately intelligent human being, he is sceptical. She flies into a rage.
He asks to meet her to interview her. He gets struck by her beauty and asks her out. Whilst in the process of regretting her first date, she starts making plans for the second one. The old lady finds out. The dragon finds out. They both try to stop her seeing the newspaper editor (who, by the way, has a flashy sports car. I didn’t know newspapers paid that much).
It all comes down to a final showdown. The newspaper editor loves Rapunzel so much he can’t bear to see her suffer and so swaps with dear Henry and becomes the dragon. The poor old lady gets killed.
Rapunzel the Beautiful
Rapunzel is such a shallow character. After reading this book, I still cannot tell you anything about Rapunzel except that she is a beautiful bitch. Can she read? Erm…I think so? She does have a laptop. Is she good at maths? Or science? Or even etiquette? Well, that’s a very good question. I’ll get back to you on that one.
Her beauty is repeatedly emphasized throughout the whole book.
See what I mean? And, for a girl who claims not to understand slang…
…she uses an awful lot of it.
She was such a bitch to Gretta, the old lady. One moment she claims not to believe not to believe Gretta is a witch –
– and the next we have Gretta cackling and chanting like mad.
I understand that you’re mad at Gretta for turning your One Twu Wuv into a dragon, really, I do, but need you be angry at her for three hundred odd years? And let’s not forget that she was merely punishing you for breaking a promise you made to her.
I have quite a lot of these, so I’ll put them in a spoiler bracket for you to read if you’re interested.
Fine, some people are born to be eternally beautiful, shallow bitches. I shouldn’t judge. But one would think, even if those beautiful bitches do not manage to save themselves from the old, evil, cackling witch, they would manage to stay out of the way, and not actively hinder the rescue mission.
And she doesn’t scream, or shriek, or, God forbid, try to find a way to aid the rescue mission. Oh no, that’s way too much to ask of poor little Rapunzel. She squeals.
The (1st) Romance
This isn’t Snow White. Princes don’t ride – unaccompanied – into little holes and stumble across their One Twu Wuvs. Let’s be realistic here, even if that did happen, nobody would beretarded idiotic enough of a half-wit lovesick enough to throw away an entire kingdom for their One Twu Wuv. You could always plan ahead, my dear prince, and wait for your parents’ demise before marrying, or, if you’re really desperate to have her, just, you know, don’t make it official.
The (2nd) Romance
I don’t know which news agency John Jenkins (alliteration!) works, but wherever it is, I will find it and apply for a job there. He makes enough money to buy a fancy sports car and a gym membership! I’m betting that he also has a nice condo tucked away somewhere nobody knows and goes to a lot of parties.
But one would think that such a rich man would also have the depth not to be sucked in by, essentially, a beautiful corpse. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the rich people nowadays are just shallow money earning fools. Who knows?
Anyway, back to the romance. Even allowing for Jenkins’s insta-love for Rapunzel, surely their relationship wouldn’t have developed to the point when he was willing to sacrifice his life, job, and earthly riches to make Rapunzel happy…right? Or is it just me again?
Conclusion
I won’t expound on the setting/world-building because I tend not to place as much importance on that unless it was outstandingly bad, or drowned in metaphors. It just…wasn’t really there. I know the basics of where she lives, but, I don’t know, maybe the author decided to allot more words to Rapunzel whining or something.
I would like to say it was horrible all the way through, but I can’t – not without lying. The beginning was actually fairly promising, although, like so many other tragic cases, it careened downhill from there.
Don’t read this book. Really. Don’t. At least, not unless you like whiny, weak, shallow protagonists, rather half-assed love triangles, and a very predictable plot.
If you find yourself nodding, and are fortunate enough not to have started the book yet, heed my advice and do not start it. Sure, you’ll feel curious, but, trust me, that is a lot better than having visit optometrist because you strained your optical muscles rolling your eyes due to the many ludicrous passages in the book.
The Story
Nine-year old Rapunzel pities the old woman living next door and so befriends her despite the repeated and empathic warnings not to. She then promises said old woman never to fall in love or marry.
Time passes. Rapunzel is now a teenager. She falls in love with a handsome prince in shining armour, and he falls in love with her too.
They decide to elope (because his parents have the gall to threaten to disown him if he marries Rapunzel, a commoner. Fortunately, Rapunzel chose a guy willing to give up the entire kingdom just to be with her). As they run away, the old lady next door appears, except now Rapunzel (and the author) has decided she is evil and so the poor old lady starts glaring coldly and cackling evilly like any good old witch in any cartoon.
The old lady then mutters curses and poof! darling Henry (Rapunzel’s One Twu Wuv) is gone, and a looming dragon suddenly appears! (Starting to connect the dots yet?) Also, a side effect of the curse is that both Rapunzel and the old lady stop aging, and Rapunzel’s hair cannot be cut in any way.
Rapunzel mopes. And mopes. And mopes.
Flash forward to present times. Rapunzel has decided to write a letter to a newspaper editor declaring her identity. It goes something along the line of
I am nearly 268-years-old and very much alive. However, I don't appear to be older than an eighteen-year-old girl. I've been cursed.
And since the newspaper editor is a moderately intelligent human being, he is sceptical. She flies into a rage.
Well, I never! Never in my life have I experienced such a rude man. He’s laughing at my old age? It’s a joke to him to perceive me as feeble and elderly? That Mr. Jenkins possessed quite a sick sense of humour.
He asks to meet her to interview her. He gets struck by her beauty and asks her out. Whilst in the process of regretting her first date, she starts making plans for the second one. The old lady finds out. The dragon finds out. They both try to stop her seeing the newspaper editor (who, by the way, has a flashy sports car. I didn’t know newspapers paid that much).
It all comes down to a final showdown. The newspaper editor loves Rapunzel so much he can’t bear to see her suffer and so swaps with dear Henry and becomes the dragon. The poor old lady gets killed.
Rapunzel the Beautiful
Rapunzel is such a shallow character. After reading this book, I still cannot tell you anything about Rapunzel except that she is a beautiful bitch. Can she read? Erm…I think so? She does have a laptop. Is she good at maths? Or science? Or even etiquette? Well, that’s a very good question. I’ll get back to you on that one.
Her beauty is repeatedly emphasized throughout the whole book.
One might call it a perfect day, but perfect was a stretch in my vocabulary. Regarding anything.
But as always, there were no promising developments. I was still perfect.
I’d always been envious of how she could blend in with a crowd of people and easily be forgotten. While I, on the other hand, couldn’t risk going to town as often as she did because I had an unforgettable face. Gretta said both women and men would always remember a beautiful face. The women were envious, and the men desired me, but an old woman would go unnoticed.
“Rapunzel, you're beautiful and unforgettable. I'll never forget you, that's for sure.”
See what I mean? And, for a girl who claims not to understand slang…
What did that even mean? I still have trouble understanding slang. Whatever.
I stood and dusted my hands on my dungarees. Oh, wait. They didn’t call them that anymore. My jeans. “Jeans.” I tried the word out to see how it felt. Strange, it felt like most trendy words were just slurred speech. They changed so fast I could barely keep up—another reason I avoided townspeople.
…she uses an awful lot of it.
Geez, dude.
Girlfriends these days spent time shopping at the mall or getting fancy, frothy coffee drinks and chatting for hours.
She was such a bitch to Gretta, the old lady. One moment she claims not to believe not to believe Gretta is a witch –
I did miss her, but rumours had started to spread through town that she was a witch—though I didn’t believe them.
– and the next we have Gretta cackling and chanting like mad.
I understand that you’re mad at Gretta for turning your One Twu Wuv into a dragon, really, I do, but need you be angry at her for three hundred odd years? And let’s not forget that she was merely punishing you for breaking a promise you made to her.
“I'm not your child.” I might be forced to live with her and call her by name, but I didn’t have to befriend her. I narrowed my eyes to a glare. “Do not speak to me. Ever.”
I have quite a lot of these, so I’ll put them in a spoiler bracket for you to read if you’re interested.
Fine, some people are born to be eternally beautiful, shallow bitches. I shouldn’t judge. But one would think, even if those beautiful bitches do not manage to save themselves from the old, evil, cackling witch, they would manage to stay out of the way, and not actively hinder the rescue mission.
And she doesn’t scream, or shriek, or, God forbid, try to find a way to aid the rescue mission. Oh no, that’s way too much to ask of poor little Rapunzel. She squeals.
Edwin raised his rifle and pointed it at Gretta. I squealed.
The (1st) Romance
This isn’t Snow White. Princes don’t ride – unaccompanied – into little holes and stumble across their One Twu Wuvs. Let’s be realistic here, even if that did happen, nobody would be
The (2nd) Romance
I don’t know which news agency John Jenkins (alliteration!) works, but wherever it is, I will find it and apply for a job there. He makes enough money to buy a fancy sports car and a gym membership! I’m betting that he also has a nice condo tucked away somewhere nobody knows and goes to a lot of parties.
But one would think that such a rich man would also have the depth not to be sucked in by, essentially, a beautiful corpse. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the rich people nowadays are just shallow money earning fools. Who knows?
Anyway, back to the romance. Even allowing for Jenkins’s insta-love for Rapunzel, surely their relationship wouldn’t have developed to the point when he was willing to sacrifice his life, job, and earthly riches to make Rapunzel happy…right? Or is it just me again?
Conclusion
I won’t expound on the setting/world-building because I tend not to place as much importance on that unless it was outstandingly bad, or drowned in metaphors. It just…wasn’t really there. I know the basics of where she lives, but, I don’t know, maybe the author decided to allot more words to Rapunzel whining or something.
I would like to say it was horrible all the way through, but I can’t – not without lying. The beginning was actually fairly promising, although, like so many other tragic cases, it careened downhill from there.
Don’t read this book. Really. Don’t. At least, not unless you like whiny, weak, shallow protagonists, rather half-assed love triangles, and a very predictable plot.
June 27, 2013
First off, I was lucky enough to have been chosen and given the opportunity to be a part of the 'street team' that Ms. Hamilton put together in order to help edit it and review the book before it was officially published. And second of all, I am very well pleased to say that I very much enjoyed reading this book. I went through the whole entire book in two days (keep in mind I work 10 hours a day). This book was everything I expected and more. I have read many fairy tale books and stories and quite a few on Rapunzel, but none with this sort of outlook or twist. The plot is so riveting and unusual, that you feel compelled to go back and read the story a second time. Of course there are always down sides to the amazing stories that I hope Ms. Hamilton keeps in mind or is fully aware of. Towards the beginning of the story, the pace is rather slow and are questioning which direction the plot may lead you, but as soon as you get past that, the story picks back up again and you can barely put the book back down because it is so addicting. And lastly I found some parts of the story confusing and having to find myself to reread parts because I am unsure of whether I'm in a flashback or in the present.
Furthermore, I would most definitely recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading of young adult romance, fairy tales and even those of star crossed lovers.
Furthermore, I would most definitely recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading of young adult romance, fairy tales and even those of star crossed lovers.
December 16, 2013
Ok, so I rarely ever review books. I'm just way to freaking lazy and honestly, I don't care about other peoples opinions half the time so why should anyone care about mine.
This book however, I feel the need to review. To clarify, I rate this book 3.5.
To start off, I read this book in 3 hours. It's basically a retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel and we've heard them all. I mean, my first DVD was Barbie as Rapunzel when I was eight and that was a bit far-fetched. However, this story was really well written to some degree.
The book itself starts off describing an escape attempt by Rapunzel from her tower, only to be hindered by her dragon who protects her. It then launches into the real story where she's just been proposed to, and she's off to rule the world with her prince (literally), when she's cursed by a witch.
(SPOILERS)
Her prince in her mind is killed and she's distraught (he's not dead). Typical damsel in distress.
Rapunzel then launches into her story. She is living in 2013 and basically retells her life story every single day, always ending in the fear of Gretta and her dragon.
Then one day, she reads a very cynical article that defames her story (as it's been told through generations) and writes a long letter describing every detail of her life to the reporter.
From there, it gets a little interesting.
The thing that got me about this book though was the way it's written. It's not exactly old style speech like when you read Shakespeare or Jane Austen, because it has a certain modern feel to it. However, it gives you this feeling like you've been transported to a time where ladies were proper, and enunciated every syllable that came out of their mouth. Dotted the i's, crossed the t's etc.
What I did find extremely disappointing about this certain book (as I write this review at 12 am with a fuzzy brain), was the ending.
When we found out that Henry wasn't in fact dead, instead was the dragon, I thought that was the perfect twist. I literally had this "OH MY FUCKING GOD, GRETTA TURNED HENRY INTO THE DRAGON FUCK WHAT IS THIS I CAN'T EVEN" moment.
But then the author launched into this rushed ending where Henry reveals himself RIGHT AFTER Rapunzel agrees to run away with the reporter.
Of course, Rapunzel is thrilled that Henry is alive, and immediately drops all plans about leaving with said reporter. It just really pissed me off that she seemed so enamored with him, and he believed her story, and he was all "I WANT TO FLY, LIKE A DRAGON", being really cute, and just as the reader warms up to him, he's practically shot down. RAPOHN IS OTP OK.
And of course, that isn't even the end of it. Gretta discovers Rapunzel trying to leave, and gets mad and then Henry gets mad, and John gets mad, and then John is a dragon, and Henry's human again, and Gretta's dead, and it's like; WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAPPENED HERE?
Plus, two characters that were hardly consequential made this huge plot twist, that was like the biggest brain fuck ever.
I don't know, the ending just bugged me. It could have been so much better. The author could have dragged it out a little more and it would have made an awesome trilogy. I just felt that it was way too rushed.
So to complete my first review ever, I conclude that; it was a good book, I enjoyed it, and the story line was interesting for the most part. It's not often that there are retellings of old fairy tales, that aren't butchered to the point of being unrecognizable. (I mean come on, I think I read a Beauty and the Beast retelling - or was it a fan fiction? - where Belle was a freaking designers daughter, and was shallow as fuck and she fell in love with a street boy or something or other. Not very convincing if you ask me.)
Also it was just a tad repetitive. I found that a little disappointing.
So yeah, while I enjoyed the book, it could have been better, and I advise the author to try and slow things down a little so it's not a huge cluster fuck of what the heck just happened there moments.
This book however, I feel the need to review. To clarify, I rate this book 3.5.
To start off, I read this book in 3 hours. It's basically a retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel and we've heard them all. I mean, my first DVD was Barbie as Rapunzel when I was eight and that was a bit far-fetched. However, this story was really well written to some degree.
The book itself starts off describing an escape attempt by Rapunzel from her tower, only to be hindered by her dragon who protects her. It then launches into the real story where she's just been proposed to, and she's off to rule the world with her prince (literally), when she's cursed by a witch.
(SPOILERS)
Her prince in her mind is killed and she's distraught (he's not dead). Typical damsel in distress.
Rapunzel then launches into her story. She is living in 2013 and basically retells her life story every single day, always ending in the fear of Gretta and her dragon.
Then one day, she reads a very cynical article that defames her story (as it's been told through generations) and writes a long letter describing every detail of her life to the reporter.
From there, it gets a little interesting.
The thing that got me about this book though was the way it's written. It's not exactly old style speech like when you read Shakespeare or Jane Austen, because it has a certain modern feel to it. However, it gives you this feeling like you've been transported to a time where ladies were proper, and enunciated every syllable that came out of their mouth. Dotted the i's, crossed the t's etc.
What I did find extremely disappointing about this certain book (as I write this review at 12 am with a fuzzy brain), was the ending.
When we found out that Henry wasn't in fact dead, instead was the dragon, I thought that was the perfect twist. I literally had this "OH MY FUCKING GOD, GRETTA TURNED HENRY INTO THE DRAGON FUCK WHAT IS THIS I CAN'T EVEN" moment.
But then the author launched into this rushed ending where Henry reveals himself RIGHT AFTER Rapunzel agrees to run away with the reporter.
Of course, Rapunzel is thrilled that Henry is alive, and immediately drops all plans about leaving with said reporter. It just really pissed me off that she seemed so enamored with him, and he believed her story, and he was all "I WANT TO FLY, LIKE A DRAGON", being really cute, and just as the reader warms up to him, he's practically shot down. RAPOHN IS OTP OK.
And of course, that isn't even the end of it. Gretta discovers Rapunzel trying to leave, and gets mad and then Henry gets mad, and John gets mad, and then John is a dragon, and Henry's human again, and Gretta's dead, and it's like; WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAPPENED HERE?
Plus, two characters that were hardly consequential made this huge plot twist, that was like the biggest brain fuck ever.
I don't know, the ending just bugged me. It could have been so much better. The author could have dragged it out a little more and it would have made an awesome trilogy. I just felt that it was way too rushed.
So to complete my first review ever, I conclude that; it was a good book, I enjoyed it, and the story line was interesting for the most part. It's not often that there are retellings of old fairy tales, that aren't butchered to the point of being unrecognizable. (I mean come on, I think I read a Beauty and the Beast retelling - or was it a fan fiction? - where Belle was a freaking designers daughter, and was shallow as fuck and she fell in love with a street boy or something or other. Not very convincing if you ask me.)
Also it was just a tad repetitive. I found that a little disappointing.
So yeah, while I enjoyed the book, it could have been better, and I advise the author to try and slow things down a little so it's not a huge cluster fuck of what the heck just happened there moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2013
I received an ARC copy of this book from the author as part of her "street team" on a read to review basis
The first thing that I want to talk about is the front cover. It's absolutely gorgeous, and definitely one of my favourites. It portrays exactly what the story is about in a simple, yet beautiful way.
I am a huge mega fan of fairy tale re-tellings, and Rapunzel is a definite favourite of mine. I have read several re-tellings, and this one was certainly different, yet great at the same time.
Rapunzel is such an innocent character, and she cares dearly for her beloved Henry, and I was so sad in the beginning when the witch Gretta came in and ruined everything.
Speaking of Gretta, I really wanted to punch her at times, so she was written well to be evil enough.
Rapunzel was alone in this, and I did feel greatly sorry for her. Doomed to live an eternal life and to watch everyone around you pass away isn't a really nice thing to cope with, so I admire that Rapunzel stayed strong.
One of the differences about this story was that Rapunzel was allowed to roam about more and exit the tower at times. In other stories, she is trapped inside the tower and not allowed to leave no matter what.
Another was that there was a mysterious dragon flying around the castle; acting as a protector to Rapunzel.
There were even times when Rapunzel would mock the other stories told of Rapunzel, and the well-known line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!".
I really enjoyed this story. The chapters weren't too long, and it was full of mystery (and even contained some shockers near the end!).
The very ending of the book is sweet and leaves you full of hope.
The only thing I would say about it was that the middle seemed a little too stretched out, and made it seem long, but that is my only criticism.
It's written so beautifully, and I definitely recommend to all, especially if you like re-tellings on fairy tales.
Overall I gave this book four out of five stars as it was a fantastic read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you so much K. C. Hilton for letting me read this wonderful treat =)
The first thing that I want to talk about is the front cover. It's absolutely gorgeous, and definitely one of my favourites. It portrays exactly what the story is about in a simple, yet beautiful way.
I am a huge mega fan of fairy tale re-tellings, and Rapunzel is a definite favourite of mine. I have read several re-tellings, and this one was certainly different, yet great at the same time.
Rapunzel is such an innocent character, and she cares dearly for her beloved Henry, and I was so sad in the beginning when the witch Gretta came in and ruined everything.
Speaking of Gretta, I really wanted to punch her at times, so she was written well to be evil enough.
Rapunzel was alone in this, and I did feel greatly sorry for her. Doomed to live an eternal life and to watch everyone around you pass away isn't a really nice thing to cope with, so I admire that Rapunzel stayed strong.
One of the differences about this story was that Rapunzel was allowed to roam about more and exit the tower at times. In other stories, she is trapped inside the tower and not allowed to leave no matter what.
Another was that there was a mysterious dragon flying around the castle; acting as a protector to Rapunzel.
There were even times when Rapunzel would mock the other stories told of Rapunzel, and the well-known line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!".
I really enjoyed this story. The chapters weren't too long, and it was full of mystery (and even contained some shockers near the end!).
The very ending of the book is sweet and leaves you full of hope.
The only thing I would say about it was that the middle seemed a little too stretched out, and made it seem long, but that is my only criticism.
It's written so beautifully, and I definitely recommend to all, especially if you like re-tellings on fairy tales.
Overall I gave this book four out of five stars as it was a fantastic read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you so much K. C. Hilton for letting me read this wonderful treat =)
Want to read
July 5, 2012When people are crazy about this book, I just want to be able to say: I DISCOVERED IT FIRST!
April 13, 2015
Read the rest of my review on my blog, Behind The Secret Bookshelf.
I received this book as part of a Goodreads ARC giveaway.
Two words: highly disappointed.
I saw this book on Goodreads and immediately told myself I had to have it. The concept was highly intriguing and I am a sucker for a fairy tale re-telling. But when I finally started reading the book, what did I find, but something not so magical and truthfully, not very worthy to be called one of the great fairy tale re-tellings.
Initially, I was extremely excited to delve into this book, but the moment I started reading (and reading further only confirmed it) I saw to my disappointment that although the concept had potential with the whole "Rapunzel is immortal and must co-exist next to the modern world while she lives with a witch and dragon" it never really took off.
The characters themselves were highly one-dimensional and did not ring true to me. No exposition on any of the characters is given and the reader barely knows anything about them other than they are stuck together. Rapunzel was particularly unbelievable, not because she was a fairy-tale character, but because I could not believe her complete immaturity and ignorance for being over two centuries old and having access to the supposed "devices" she had. And Henry. Oh, Henry. The reader never finds out anything about his background and never gets any character development from him, other than knowing he is Rapunzel's "true love." And the reader doesn't really even know why! He is supposed to be one of the most important elements of the story-why Rapunzel sacrificed so much for him, and yet the reader never once even finds out his last name! Then there was Gretta. Honestly, I couldn't hate the witch because she was too flat a character, just like all the others to hate. The problem with each and every one of these characters is that they stay pretty much the same person they were throughout the book, never evolving and maturing; they were simply stagnant. Back to Gretta. She is introduced as a terrible witch and yes, what she inflicts upon Rapunzel and Henry is terrible yes, but I could never really get into Rapunzel's anguish because she is so close-minded about everything and never once becomes curious about who Gretta really is, and just decides to hate her for two centuries, never really figuring out Gretta's history until Gretta conveniently tells her. Gretta was someone who you were supposed to hate and loathe, and I felt pretty apathetic about her-about all of them really. The greatest feeling I had while reading was annoyance, especially with Rapunzel because she decides to be extremely stupid and writes to a stranger about her life, though she does not know this man and knows that he will likely not believe her.
And it is this little oversight by Rapunzel that annoyed me the most. She gets infuriated because of some person who she does not know, writes an article about fairy tales being not true and all of that, blah blah blah. So what does any sane person who has a secret to keep so she does not get hunted do? Write a series of very long, badly written letters to this unknown person with her address on it so he can conveniently trace her and fall in love. My biggest problem with this scenario is that throughout the book, Rapunzel frequently stresses the fact that she wants to stay hidden and does not want anyone to recognize her-that's why she only ventures into town once every fifty years. But then, the witch lets workers into the castle (don't you think people would get suspicious?) to set up modern conveniences and Rapunzel immediately spills her guts out to a person who might expose her entire secret to the entire world. Why? Just why would she do this? I get that the letters are to tell the reader more of the story in a "unique" way, but Rapunzel's lack of foresight on the matter with John (who is another annoying, one-dimensional character)is what makes the least sense in the book. Why risk blowing your entire secret for some sassy reporter's column?
Another thing that bothered me about reading this was the lack of developed dialogue and general use of words in the novel. Living for more than two centuries, you would think that all of these immortal characters would have developed a more refined speech, but sadly, that is false. The descriptions and dialogue-both internal and with other characters-sounds as if Rapunzel was uneducated or else rather lazy with her speech. She talks like a ditsy teenage girl, not like someone who has experience much in her long, long life. And all those books she read over the years were bound to have had just a little impact on her speech, but no. The syntax was not up to par at all and it highly annoyed me. This girl's vocabulary was so unrefined and her diction completely inappropriate for the character she was supposed to be portraying that it was one of the biggest turn-offs of the book.
I really tried to like this book, truly I did. But honestly, the the lack of character development, the juvenile syntax, and just the annoyance of the plot (the location did not even ring true!) could not make me like the book. This book took me five months to get through, mainly because I would put it down for weeks at a time, not reading, too annoyed to go on. There was definitely a boat load of potential, but it just did not work out. I think I'll go watch Tangled now so my faith in Rapunzel is restored a little bit.
I received this book as part of a Goodreads ARC giveaway.
Two words: highly disappointed.
I saw this book on Goodreads and immediately told myself I had to have it. The concept was highly intriguing and I am a sucker for a fairy tale re-telling. But when I finally started reading the book, what did I find, but something not so magical and truthfully, not very worthy to be called one of the great fairy tale re-tellings.
Initially, I was extremely excited to delve into this book, but the moment I started reading (and reading further only confirmed it) I saw to my disappointment that although the concept had potential with the whole "Rapunzel is immortal and must co-exist next to the modern world while she lives with a witch and dragon" it never really took off.
The characters themselves were highly one-dimensional and did not ring true to me. No exposition on any of the characters is given and the reader barely knows anything about them other than they are stuck together. Rapunzel was particularly unbelievable, not because she was a fairy-tale character, but because I could not believe her complete immaturity and ignorance for being over two centuries old and having access to the supposed "devices" she had. And Henry. Oh, Henry. The reader never finds out anything about his background and never gets any character development from him, other than knowing he is Rapunzel's "true love." And the reader doesn't really even know why! He is supposed to be one of the most important elements of the story-why Rapunzel sacrificed so much for him, and yet the reader never once even finds out his last name! Then there was Gretta. Honestly, I couldn't hate the witch because she was too flat a character, just like all the others to hate. The problem with each and every one of these characters is that they stay pretty much the same person they were throughout the book, never evolving and maturing; they were simply stagnant. Back to Gretta. She is introduced as a terrible witch and yes, what she inflicts upon Rapunzel and Henry is terrible yes, but I could never really get into Rapunzel's anguish because she is so close-minded about everything and never once becomes curious about who Gretta really is, and just decides to hate her for two centuries, never really figuring out Gretta's history until Gretta conveniently tells her. Gretta was someone who you were supposed to hate and loathe, and I felt pretty apathetic about her-about all of them really. The greatest feeling I had while reading was annoyance, especially with Rapunzel because she decides to be extremely stupid and writes to a stranger about her life, though she does not know this man and knows that he will likely not believe her.
And it is this little oversight by Rapunzel that annoyed me the most. She gets infuriated because of some person who she does not know, writes an article about fairy tales being not true and all of that, blah blah blah. So what does any sane person who has a secret to keep so she does not get hunted do? Write a series of very long, badly written letters to this unknown person with her address on it so he can conveniently trace her and fall in love. My biggest problem with this scenario is that throughout the book, Rapunzel frequently stresses the fact that she wants to stay hidden and does not want anyone to recognize her-that's why she only ventures into town once every fifty years. But then, the witch lets workers into the castle (don't you think people would get suspicious?) to set up modern conveniences and Rapunzel immediately spills her guts out to a person who might expose her entire secret to the entire world. Why? Just why would she do this? I get that the letters are to tell the reader more of the story in a "unique" way, but Rapunzel's lack of foresight on the matter with John (who is another annoying, one-dimensional character)is what makes the least sense in the book. Why risk blowing your entire secret for some sassy reporter's column?
Another thing that bothered me about reading this was the lack of developed dialogue and general use of words in the novel. Living for more than two centuries, you would think that all of these immortal characters would have developed a more refined speech, but sadly, that is false. The descriptions and dialogue-both internal and with other characters-sounds as if Rapunzel was uneducated or else rather lazy with her speech. She talks like a ditsy teenage girl, not like someone who has experience much in her long, long life. And all those books she read over the years were bound to have had just a little impact on her speech, but no. The syntax was not up to par at all and it highly annoyed me. This girl's vocabulary was so unrefined and her diction completely inappropriate for the character she was supposed to be portraying that it was one of the biggest turn-offs of the book.
I really tried to like this book, truly I did. But honestly, the the lack of character development, the juvenile syntax, and just the annoyance of the plot (the location did not even ring true!) could not make me like the book. This book took me five months to get through, mainly because I would put it down for weeks at a time, not reading, too annoyed to go on. There was definitely a boat load of potential, but it just did not work out. I think I'll go watch Tangled now so my faith in Rapunzel is restored a little bit.
March 4, 2015
I was a part of a "street team" asked to read this ARC for my thoughts, comments, and for a review. I am so glad that I was able to participate in this capacity as this was a very enjoyable read! I look forward to receiving my copy of the edited and corrected version because this is definitely a keeper to be reread.
Initially, I was drawn in by the cover and the name Rapunzel, but became hooked by the "back cover summary". Purposefully, I kept myself from "brushing up" on the various versions of Rapunzel's story to keep my mind free of other people's versions, including that of the Brothers Grimm.
I am an easy target for YA romance because I like to be moved by the characters' and my hearts -- slowing down a relationship to enjoy and appreciate the getting-to-know one another stage and the thrill of the first kiss. This has it -- the love to last a lifetime (actually MANY lifetimes) and unswerving devotion to that love.
KC Hilton has a great story and a great layout for unveiling that story to the reader. The story feels a bit short (355 pages of double spaced text as the "working copy"), but that is a good criticism as I wanted the story to continue.
As this was an uncorrected ARC small typos and like issues were noted and passed on, but I have two other comments that are more meaningful that I hope Ms. Hilton and her editors address. First, the dialogue of Rapunzel and the other characters in 1763, when we enter the story, through at least 1813, is not consistent with the time period. The dialogue is somewhat questionable in the 1913-1922 time frame with Luke as to whether words/phrases match the era.
The second item is the frequent flashbacks. Once Rapunzel reads Mr. John Jenkins articles in the 2013 newspaper, she flashes back to various moments of her memories of the last 250. I frequently had to reread closely to calculate where in her history Rapunzel was speaking. Edwin in the wheelchair, I thought was in 2013, but by the end (more than half a book later) I realized I was wrong. Having to sort out the time took me out of my "trance" of the story.
I recommend this book to all who like YA romance and to anyone with an interest in learning Rapunzel's true story.
Initially, I was drawn in by the cover and the name Rapunzel, but became hooked by the "back cover summary". Purposefully, I kept myself from "brushing up" on the various versions of Rapunzel's story to keep my mind free of other people's versions, including that of the Brothers Grimm.
I am an easy target for YA romance because I like to be moved by the characters' and my hearts -- slowing down a relationship to enjoy and appreciate the getting-to-know one another stage and the thrill of the first kiss. This has it -- the love to last a lifetime (actually MANY lifetimes) and unswerving devotion to that love.
KC Hilton has a great story and a great layout for unveiling that story to the reader. The story feels a bit short (355 pages of double spaced text as the "working copy"), but that is a good criticism as I wanted the story to continue.
As this was an uncorrected ARC small typos and like issues were noted and passed on, but I have two other comments that are more meaningful that I hope Ms. Hilton and her editors address. First, the dialogue of Rapunzel and the other characters in 1763, when we enter the story, through at least 1813, is not consistent with the time period. The dialogue is somewhat questionable in the 1913-1922 time frame with Luke as to whether words/phrases match the era.
The second item is the frequent flashbacks. Once Rapunzel reads Mr. John Jenkins articles in the 2013 newspaper, she flashes back to various moments of her memories of the last 250. I frequently had to reread closely to calculate where in her history Rapunzel was speaking. Edwin in the wheelchair, I thought was in 2013, but by the end (more than half a book later) I realized I was wrong. Having to sort out the time took me out of my "trance" of the story.
I recommend this book to all who like YA romance and to anyone with an interest in learning Rapunzel's true story.
March 14, 2015
Arc was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Name is Rapunzel by K.C. Hilton is a beautifully written fairytale retold by a great author who knows how to keep her readers on edge.
I liked this book a lot. I felt like I stepped into the time of fairytales, dragons and witches myself. It was so imaginative!
I loved the way the author wrote the main character, Rapunzel over the centuries and you can definitely see a change in her. At the end, she definitely wasn't the girl we met at the beginning of this book. Great character building!
I also liked a lot of the other characters. There were quite a few but I do have to say I loved John and I'm glad in the end he got what he wanted, which was to fly. I was really touched by that turn of events, which brings me to the topic of the ending of this book. A lot was happening and I kept reading page after page to see how it was going to turn out and I must say, one of the best ending I have ever read. I was really glad by the outcome of it all and how everything fit together.
In the first part of this story, though, I had a little difficulty getting into the story because everything seemed to go so very slow. I wanted things to start happening and picking up but that has probably more to do with my personal likings than the author's writing. I did love the second half of the book when things began fitting together more and more and when we came to the year 2013, modern times and all that.
Overall this book was very likable and quite funny, too. And doesn't everyone loves a good fairytale every now and then? Especially when it's retold in the way K.C. Hilton did it. I'm so glad and honored I got the chance to read the arc and hopefully provide good feedback.
I would recommend this book to readers of fairytale retellings no matter what age. And even if you don't usually read those kinds of books I would recommend it anyway because I loved the author's writing so much. It really was something!
My Name is Rapunzel by K.C. Hilton is a beautifully written fairytale retold by a great author who knows how to keep her readers on edge.
I liked this book a lot. I felt like I stepped into the time of fairytales, dragons and witches myself. It was so imaginative!
I loved the way the author wrote the main character, Rapunzel over the centuries and you can definitely see a change in her. At the end, she definitely wasn't the girl we met at the beginning of this book. Great character building!
I also liked a lot of the other characters. There were quite a few but I do have to say I loved John and I'm glad in the end he got what he wanted, which was to fly. I was really touched by that turn of events, which brings me to the topic of the ending of this book. A lot was happening and I kept reading page after page to see how it was going to turn out and I must say, one of the best ending I have ever read. I was really glad by the outcome of it all and how everything fit together.
In the first part of this story, though, I had a little difficulty getting into the story because everything seemed to go so very slow. I wanted things to start happening and picking up but that has probably more to do with my personal likings than the author's writing. I did love the second half of the book when things began fitting together more and more and when we came to the year 2013, modern times and all that.
Overall this book was very likable and quite funny, too. And doesn't everyone loves a good fairytale every now and then? Especially when it's retold in the way K.C. Hilton did it. I'm so glad and honored I got the chance to read the arc and hopefully provide good feedback.
I would recommend this book to readers of fairytale retellings no matter what age. And even if you don't usually read those kinds of books I would recommend it anyway because I loved the author's writing so much. It really was something!
July 4, 2013
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity of being a Street Team member , And in return , The author stated That I should write my HONEST review
My Name Is Rapunzel attracted me by it's extraordinary cover , It is what brought me here in the first place.
My Name Is Rapunzel is a novel written by KC Hilton. The Story took place in Paradise Valley. The Story is about the way Rapunzel learned to deal with her grief, and the inner conflicts she faces though the time because of the fear of being recognized, And having to leave her home,memories, and past behind accompanied by her father and someone she hated a lifetime.That is what the story is all about
Rapunzel had nightmares everyday ever since. And watched her loved ones leaving her life without being able to help them. She was cursed to live forever without the love of her life. Memories chaced her day and night. She wished she could get away. But how would she be able to ? As she promised her father not to leave ? she regretted that promise just as she regretted the first one that caused her all the pain and grief. But how would an eight-year-old know what she was letting her self into . It's well known that children don't know what they want . How could her nightmare (The Witch) believe she would keep it ?
There are many storms that Rapunzel gets through along the story. One of them-the idea of her lover's death-was the one she kept thinking about all the time. How could a promise cause all that ? Rapunzel begins to get tired of her life , but every time she does , Someone appears to lighten up her world and make a change in it.But , A reporter ? That was a chance to reveal the real story she suffers living in.
I thoroughly reccomend it to everyone who likes romance , and a Fairy tales retelling. I really Liked the book and I don't regret clicking on the link or becoming a Street Team Member. I'm sure everyone will like it. It struck a chord with me. I give two thumbs up for the book.
My Name Is Rapunzel attracted me by it's extraordinary cover , It is what brought me here in the first place.
My Name Is Rapunzel is a novel written by KC Hilton. The Story took place in Paradise Valley. The Story is about the way Rapunzel learned to deal with her grief, and the inner conflicts she faces though the time because of the fear of being recognized, And having to leave her home,memories, and past behind accompanied by her father and someone she hated a lifetime.That is what the story is all about
Rapunzel had nightmares everyday ever since. And watched her loved ones leaving her life without being able to help them. She was cursed to live forever without the love of her life. Memories chaced her day and night. She wished she could get away. But how would she be able to ? As she promised her father not to leave ? she regretted that promise just as she regretted the first one that caused her all the pain and grief. But how would an eight-year-old know what she was letting her self into . It's well known that children don't know what they want . How could her nightmare (The Witch) believe she would keep it ?
There are many storms that Rapunzel gets through along the story. One of them-the idea of her lover's death-was the one she kept thinking about all the time. How could a promise cause all that ? Rapunzel begins to get tired of her life , but every time she does , Someone appears to lighten up her world and make a change in it.But , A reporter ? That was a chance to reveal the real story she suffers living in.
I thoroughly reccomend it to everyone who likes romance , and a Fairy tales retelling. I really Liked the book and I don't regret clicking on the link or becoming a Street Team Member. I'm sure everyone will like it. It struck a chord with me. I give two thumbs up for the book.
December 14, 2013
From 4 stars to 2 stars. eek. After thinking thing through... decided to lower my ratings. I liked some parts of it so yeah. 2 stars is good.
The stupidity of the ending just astound me. But I rated it 4 stars in the first time I rated it because I enjoyed some of it and I was kinda thinking it should outweigh the bad ones right?
But yes, thinking it through, it is stupid. I mean, if she really wanted that witch dead, she should have killed her. And she knows how to use that gun! Her father thought her but noooo, it slips from her mind that you could kill someone with a gun. Yes, Gretta is a witch but she's also a human. She bleeds, for pete's sake. So of course she'll be dead if you shot her through her heart or brain for that matter.
It took 200 plus years of suffering, of living and whining about her one true love. And really, Henry should have approached her the first time. See? Stupid. They should have been still together if they thought about it.
I was enchanted, back when I was still young, about living forever. It sounds so damn good to a kid. Living forever is like a fantasy I would gladly succumb into back then. But now, I know the repercussions of such wish. Living forever is a curse. One that I wouldn't want now. Ever. Except maybe if all the people I love would abd could stay with me forever.
I liked Rapunzel's story back when I was a child. I loved her hair so much I wished that my hair is thick and long too. I hope this story, people will still enjoy. I did for some of the parts but sadly it does not outweigh the negative ones. :(
The stupidity of the ending just astound me. But I rated it 4 stars in the first time I rated it because I enjoyed some of it and I was kinda thinking it should outweigh the bad ones right?
But yes, thinking it through, it is stupid. I mean, if she really wanted that witch dead, she should have killed her. And she knows how to use that gun! Her father thought her but noooo, it slips from her mind that you could kill someone with a gun. Yes, Gretta is a witch but she's also a human. She bleeds, for pete's sake. So of course she'll be dead if you shot her through her heart or brain for that matter.
It took 200 plus years of suffering, of living and whining about her one true love. And really, Henry should have approached her the first time. See? Stupid. They should have been still together if they thought about it.
I was enchanted, back when I was still young, about living forever. It sounds so damn good to a kid. Living forever is like a fantasy I would gladly succumb into back then. But now, I know the repercussions of such wish. Living forever is a curse. One that I wouldn't want now. Ever. Except maybe if all the people I love would abd could stay with me forever.
I liked Rapunzel's story back when I was a child. I loved her hair so much I wished that my hair is thick and long too. I hope this story, people will still enjoy. I did for some of the parts but sadly it does not outweigh the negative ones. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
June 6, 2012How is it that I'm only hearing of this now?! :D Can't wait!!
July 2, 2017
Actual Rating: 2.75
This was an okay read. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the way the book turned out. The premise of the story showed potential, but the writing style did not live up to it. This being a retelling of a fairy tale, I was curious to read the characters in a different way, but it did not click for me. The characters were not as exciting as they were in the being. I thought Rapunzel was okay character. There are some parts that were boring, while other parts were intriguing. The ending was good, but I was also a bit confused. I just thought the story could have been done way better. Overall, an alright read.
This was an okay read. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the way the book turned out. The premise of the story showed potential, but the writing style did not live up to it. This being a retelling of a fairy tale, I was curious to read the characters in a different way, but it did not click for me. The characters were not as exciting as they were in the being. I thought Rapunzel was okay character. There are some parts that were boring, while other parts were intriguing. The ending was good, but I was also a bit confused. I just thought the story could have been done way better. Overall, an alright read.
February 14, 2016
I’ll be honest and say that I did not, could not, finish this book. It wasn’t because I was busy, but because I was bored out of my mind. First off there are pages and pages of her boring ass daily life that go like this:
“Solitaire became my companion, each move like a conversation. And the computer made easy work of writing in my journal. Something felt cold and sterile about composing personal thoughts into a machine rather than scrawling them out by hand. It was almost too easy, but at least my private ramblings were protected by a password. Besides, it certainly beat plunking away at that dreadful old typewriter.”
Not only is her daily life boring, but the interactions she has with other characters are very shallow and one-sided. The story follows the immortal life of Rapunzel. Rapunzel is 268 years old but she is eternally in the body of an 18 year old. Sounds pretty awesome, right? No, because Rapunzel spends all of that time mourning her dead fiance. This isn’t really a spoiler because it happens in the first few pages of the novel.
The romance is half baked at best. The author uses cliche lines to describe their love. A love that is very dependent of their mutual good looks. For example,
"But from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same."
The author tries to use forbidden love to sweeten their relationship, but it really falls flat because of lack of backing. Once Henry, Rapunzel’s love interest, dies, Rapunzel makes up a story about him to distance herself from his suspicious death. What she ends up doing is ruining Henry’s good reputation by making him appear flakey and like a womanizer. Not only does she let Henry die, she also kills his good reputation. For the next two hundred years, Rapunzel cries over Henry.
"Time was supposed to be the healer of all pain. I used to believe that. I’d waited for that to prove true in my life. But I no longer believed. After waking like this, to a drenched pillow, each morning for nigh unto three centuries, it still felt as though it happened only yesterday. Hope did fail for entire lifetimes…for many, many lifetimes.”
There are entire pages filled with her sadness at his death… over two hundred years after he dies. Even when she outlives her parents she spends more time crying over Henry then her mother and father.
“But, the silent mirror was honest. Even though I looked just like her on the outside, I wasn't the giddy girl I was on the day of my first…and last…kiss.
If I was going to live forever, I would have some fun. I would travel the world, learn many languages, save lives. ANYTHING AT ALL. But Rapunzel just sits around in her tower and washes her hair. Year after year. In fact the first interesting thing Rapunzel does is respond to an article in the newspaper that said fairy tales were not reality.
“Let me just say, fairy tales are not real. They don't exist. It's that simple. I hope I don’t burst your bubbles by pointing this out. While I'm on the subject, might I also remind you, dear readers, that neither Santa Clause nor the Tooth Fairy exist either. I'm simply trying to keep things real here, folks. Just because your neighbor claims to have found true love or someone wins the lottery doesn't make it a fairy tale. A wish or a dream-come-true doesn't count as being a fairy tale.”
Rapunzel becomes very angry at this passage and author even though this assumption is the very thing that enables her to live without persecution. She is so angered by this article that she writes him the true story. She hates the fact that there are other versions of her life out there but if I wrote fairy tales I would write a very different one then her life because Rapunzel’s life (in this novel) was so boring. But as the reader I got the pleasure of hearing her story twice! We hear it first when the author introduces the novel and secondly when she responds to the newspaper writer. Because of this double retelling, the author was purposely very vague in her first go around of the Rapunzel narrative.
The romance was stifled at best. The author misses a great opportunity to tell us how Henry and Rapunzel met and fell in love. Instead she relies on their good looks to sell their romance. Even the lovey dovey foreshadowing was shallow.
“A happy life is having you as my wife. If I die today, I'll die a happy man.”
Of course, he dies soon after he says this so…
“Solitaire became my companion, each move like a conversation. And the computer made easy work of writing in my journal. Something felt cold and sterile about composing personal thoughts into a machine rather than scrawling them out by hand. It was almost too easy, but at least my private ramblings were protected by a password. Besides, it certainly beat plunking away at that dreadful old typewriter.”
Not only is her daily life boring, but the interactions she has with other characters are very shallow and one-sided. The story follows the immortal life of Rapunzel. Rapunzel is 268 years old but she is eternally in the body of an 18 year old. Sounds pretty awesome, right? No, because Rapunzel spends all of that time mourning her dead fiance. This isn’t really a spoiler because it happens in the first few pages of the novel.
The romance is half baked at best. The author uses cliche lines to describe their love. A love that is very dependent of their mutual good looks. For example,
"But from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same."
The author tries to use forbidden love to sweeten their relationship, but it really falls flat because of lack of backing. Once Henry, Rapunzel’s love interest, dies, Rapunzel makes up a story about him to distance herself from his suspicious death. What she ends up doing is ruining Henry’s good reputation by making him appear flakey and like a womanizer. Not only does she let Henry die, she also kills his good reputation. For the next two hundred years, Rapunzel cries over Henry.
"Time was supposed to be the healer of all pain. I used to believe that. I’d waited for that to prove true in my life. But I no longer believed. After waking like this, to a drenched pillow, each morning for nigh unto three centuries, it still felt as though it happened only yesterday. Hope did fail for entire lifetimes…for many, many lifetimes.”
There are entire pages filled with her sadness at his death… over two hundred years after he dies. Even when she outlives her parents she spends more time crying over Henry then her mother and father.
“But, the silent mirror was honest. Even though I looked just like her on the outside, I wasn't the giddy girl I was on the day of my first…and last…kiss.
If I was going to live forever, I would have some fun. I would travel the world, learn many languages, save lives. ANYTHING AT ALL. But Rapunzel just sits around in her tower and washes her hair. Year after year. In fact the first interesting thing Rapunzel does is respond to an article in the newspaper that said fairy tales were not reality.
“Let me just say, fairy tales are not real. They don't exist. It's that simple. I hope I don’t burst your bubbles by pointing this out. While I'm on the subject, might I also remind you, dear readers, that neither Santa Clause nor the Tooth Fairy exist either. I'm simply trying to keep things real here, folks. Just because your neighbor claims to have found true love or someone wins the lottery doesn't make it a fairy tale. A wish or a dream-come-true doesn't count as being a fairy tale.”
Rapunzel becomes very angry at this passage and author even though this assumption is the very thing that enables her to live without persecution. She is so angered by this article that she writes him the true story. She hates the fact that there are other versions of her life out there but if I wrote fairy tales I would write a very different one then her life because Rapunzel’s life (in this novel) was so boring. But as the reader I got the pleasure of hearing her story twice! We hear it first when the author introduces the novel and secondly when she responds to the newspaper writer. Because of this double retelling, the author was purposely very vague in her first go around of the Rapunzel narrative.
The romance was stifled at best. The author misses a great opportunity to tell us how Henry and Rapunzel met and fell in love. Instead she relies on their good looks to sell their romance. Even the lovey dovey foreshadowing was shallow.
“A happy life is having you as my wife. If I die today, I'll die a happy man.”
Of course, he dies soon after he says this so…
July 19, 2013
I received an ARC of this book as part of the street team, in return for an honest review.
When I first came into this book, I was expecting a long, perilous journey, filled with magic, danger, and betrayal. While I didn't get exactly what I was expecting, I still quite enjoyed reading "My Name is Rapunzel". It was indeed filled with magic, danger (an evil witch, how can you not expect danger from that?), and betrayal. While reading it, I had the feeling more that a close friend was telling me a story about one of their experiences, than actually getting pulled into the story myself. If this was the writer's intention, then you nailed it.
Rapunzel was so sweet and innocent. Her love for Henry made me want to squeeze her and say "It's okay! I'll make sure you two are together always!" Their scenes together were adorable, and I found myself reading them with a little girly smile every time. When she was cursed into loneliness, I could feel her misery. It made me want to go read outside, because the walls of my room seemed tighter than before I started reading.
While we didn't get to see a whole lot of Henry for most of the book, he was clearly devoted to Rapunzel. While this was extremely sweet, I also wish that he had shown a little more into his personality, other than "I love Rapunzel soooo much."
Gretta had me confused at times, but I feel she was supposed to, as it looked like she had Rapunzel confused also. At the beginning, I was part of the "Burn the witch!" group, but moving through the book, it seemed as if she actually cared for Rapunzel and little Luke. Her moments of fun grandmother-like moments with Luke, and her looks of pain when Rapunzel blames her for the fire, they struck me as genuine, and made me want to get to know her a little better. Then BAM! Bad Gretta's back. Very good job, Ms. Hilton.
One part of the book that made me see a bit of red, was Mr. John Jenkins. Not only was he so much of a skeptic that he would laugh straight to Rapunzel's face whenever she told him her story, but then after only a week or two, (which is how I feel it was, since there weren't any indications as to how long they were together) and after making it clear to all that he did NOT want to settle down, have a family, or even have a steady girlfriend, he was announcing his undying love for her and asking her to run away with him. He really did grind my gears. His "happily ever after" caught me off guard though. I have to say, I wasn't expecting it, and thinking back, I really should have. Very good.
The big twist, I figured out early on, but was still happy to be proven right when it was revealed. That was a very good way to move the story along, and explain questions that popped up in the story along the way.
Overall, I am quite pleased with this book, and will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good young adult, fairytale re-telling.
When I first came into this book, I was expecting a long, perilous journey, filled with magic, danger, and betrayal. While I didn't get exactly what I was expecting, I still quite enjoyed reading "My Name is Rapunzel". It was indeed filled with magic, danger (an evil witch, how can you not expect danger from that?), and betrayal. While reading it, I had the feeling more that a close friend was telling me a story about one of their experiences, than actually getting pulled into the story myself. If this was the writer's intention, then you nailed it.
Rapunzel was so sweet and innocent. Her love for Henry made me want to squeeze her and say "It's okay! I'll make sure you two are together always!" Their scenes together were adorable, and I found myself reading them with a little girly smile every time. When she was cursed into loneliness, I could feel her misery. It made me want to go read outside, because the walls of my room seemed tighter than before I started reading.
While we didn't get to see a whole lot of Henry for most of the book, he was clearly devoted to Rapunzel. While this was extremely sweet, I also wish that he had shown a little more into his personality, other than "I love Rapunzel soooo much."
Gretta had me confused at times, but I feel she was supposed to, as it looked like she had Rapunzel confused also. At the beginning, I was part of the "Burn the witch!" group, but moving through the book, it seemed as if she actually cared for Rapunzel and little Luke. Her moments of fun grandmother-like moments with Luke, and her looks of pain when Rapunzel blames her for the fire, they struck me as genuine, and made me want to get to know her a little better. Then BAM! Bad Gretta's back. Very good job, Ms. Hilton.
One part of the book that made me see a bit of red, was Mr. John Jenkins. Not only was he so much of a skeptic that he would laugh straight to Rapunzel's face whenever she told him her story, but then after only a week or two, (which is how I feel it was, since there weren't any indications as to how long they were together) and after making it clear to all that he did NOT want to settle down, have a family, or even have a steady girlfriend, he was announcing his undying love for her and asking her to run away with him. He really did grind my gears. His "happily ever after" caught me off guard though. I have to say, I wasn't expecting it, and thinking back, I really should have. Very good.
The big twist, I figured out early on, but was still happy to be proven right when it was revealed. That was a very good way to move the story along, and explain questions that popped up in the story along the way.
Overall, I am quite pleased with this book, and will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good young adult, fairytale re-telling.
June 30, 2013
THIS BOOK CONTAINS: Magic, Death, Dragons and Romance.
I was given a great opportunity to be part of the street team and review an arc of this amazing story. I love retellings and this one is no exception. I have always loved the story of Rapunzel and have probably watched the Disney show "Tangled" over a hundred times. I have several fairy tale books with different versions of Rapunzel and I have read them over many times. So I am very well versed in this particular story.
I can truly say that this book was very different. First off, Rapunzel is not locked in a tower and is able to go as she pleases. She just has to be back at night to light her candle so that the dragon knows she is still there. The dragon storyline didn't surprise me but I still enjoyed what K.C did with it.
Then you have Gretta, who is the witch in this story. She is very different in this than in other stories. She never forces Rapunzel to stay in the castle and she seems to try to care for her. I found her to be a very fascinating character. There was always an element of mystery around the witch and her motives. I loved the twist with Gretta, I was completely blown away by that twist to this part of the story. I never saw that coming!
I also, just want to take a moment and say how absolutely stunning this cover is. I can't imagine a more appropriate cover. I would be very sad to see this cover changed by a publisher. I hope that who ever publishes this book understands that the readers are already in love with this cover and decides to use it.
I will say that even though I love this story at times I felt a little lost. The flashbacks had me rereading at times so that I could understand what was going on. I am not sure if that was the story or me. It could be me because I am dealing with some family issues right now. I have been unable to concentrate as of late so I am curious to see if anyone else had the same problem.
Except for the problem with the flashbacks, I felt that this story was a fresh and extremely imaginative tale of a most beloved childhood favorite of mine. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves fairytale retellings or just wants to read something fresh and different. K.C. did a beautiful job and I can't wait to see this in print!
I was given a great opportunity to be part of the street team and review an arc of this amazing story. I love retellings and this one is no exception. I have always loved the story of Rapunzel and have probably watched the Disney show "Tangled" over a hundred times. I have several fairy tale books with different versions of Rapunzel and I have read them over many times. So I am very well versed in this particular story.
I can truly say that this book was very different. First off, Rapunzel is not locked in a tower and is able to go as she pleases. She just has to be back at night to light her candle so that the dragon knows she is still there. The dragon storyline didn't surprise me but I still enjoyed what K.C did with it.
Then you have Gretta, who is the witch in this story. She is very different in this than in other stories. She never forces Rapunzel to stay in the castle and she seems to try to care for her. I found her to be a very fascinating character. There was always an element of mystery around the witch and her motives. I loved the twist with Gretta, I was completely blown away by that twist to this part of the story. I never saw that coming!
I also, just want to take a moment and say how absolutely stunning this cover is. I can't imagine a more appropriate cover. I would be very sad to see this cover changed by a publisher. I hope that who ever publishes this book understands that the readers are already in love with this cover and decides to use it.
I will say that even though I love this story at times I felt a little lost. The flashbacks had me rereading at times so that I could understand what was going on. I am not sure if that was the story or me. It could be me because I am dealing with some family issues right now. I have been unable to concentrate as of late so I am curious to see if anyone else had the same problem.
Except for the problem with the flashbacks, I felt that this story was a fresh and extremely imaginative tale of a most beloved childhood favorite of mine. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves fairytale retellings or just wants to read something fresh and different. K.C. did a beautiful job and I can't wait to see this in print!
June 18, 2017
Rapunzel, as written in this book, is the whiniest immortal literature has seen since we first came across Louis in Interview with a vampire.
I know what you're thinking - how can you go wrong with that cover and that blurb? I thought that too. But despite the promise of the idea, it didn't live up to its potential.
But first, what was right about this book? Firstly, it really was an intriguing idea. What if Rapunzel were still alive, and if so - what would like be like for a fairytale character in the 21st century? How would she navigate relationships as an immortal - both with Greta with whom she is tied, and with new people she comes across in her life? How do Rapunzel and Greta navigate technology, social media, and *gasp* organise for Rapunzel's tower to be fitted with indoor plumbing? It's a fun idea, and I was looking forward to reading it.
So, what went wrong? For me, the book felt anchorless, and it drifted between time periods, that weren't at all distinct, with the same issues between Rapunzel and Greta being re-hashed. If Rapunzel had stopped getting her knickers in a twist, surely she could have managed to work out some solutions in the 250 odd years she had been alive?! It is not possible to avoid mentioning the plot holes, as there were parts of the story that just don't make sense even at a cursory glance.
Despite that, the author has a readable style, and some good ideas. Although this book wasn't as good as I'd hoped, I see enough in the author that I'd give her another chance.
Really though, fans of the Rapunzel story won't find anything better than Bitter Greens.
I know what you're thinking - how can you go wrong with that cover and that blurb? I thought that too. But despite the promise of the idea, it didn't live up to its potential.
But first, what was right about this book? Firstly, it really was an intriguing idea. What if Rapunzel were still alive, and if so - what would like be like for a fairytale character in the 21st century? How would she navigate relationships as an immortal - both with Greta with whom she is tied, and with new people she comes across in her life? How do Rapunzel and Greta navigate technology, social media, and *gasp* organise for Rapunzel's tower to be fitted with indoor plumbing? It's a fun idea, and I was looking forward to reading it.
So, what went wrong? For me, the book felt anchorless, and it drifted between time periods, that weren't at all distinct, with the same issues between Rapunzel and Greta being re-hashed. If Rapunzel had stopped getting her knickers in a twist, surely she could have managed to work out some solutions in the 250 odd years she had been alive?! It is not possible to avoid mentioning the plot holes, as there were parts of the story that just don't make sense even at a cursory glance.
Despite that, the author has a readable style, and some good ideas. Although this book wasn't as good as I'd hoped, I see enough in the author that I'd give her another chance.
Really though, fans of the Rapunzel story won't find anything better than Bitter Greens.
December 29, 2015
I was anxious to read My Name is Rapunzel for two reasons..First is because it's a fairytale retelling.I have a huge soft spot for these kind of stories and I've never read one that's based on Rapunzel's story.So I was really curious to read this book.The next reason is the cover.Well,just look at that cover,it was love at first sight for me when I saw it.
My Name is Rapunzel is a different kind of story than the usual stories of Rapunzel.It's not the "Rapunzel,Rapunzel,let down your hair" story and certainly not the story of Rapunzel and Eugene in Tangled.(I love that movie,by the way).
Anyway,back to the topic.Our heroine Rapunzel is a perfect example for characters who grow on you while you read the book.I love how her character develops,from a girl with a not so significant personality to the strong and great heroine I saw in the end.
Gretta was a great villain.K.C.Hilton has managed to portray her as an evil and cruel character,and she'll definitely become a villain you'll love to hate.
And my favourite character in the book is probably the dragon.And I am not kidding:)I loved the dragon's influence in the curse and its presence in the book.
I had a few problems with the book too.It felt like the story dragged a bit in the middle and I had a huge problem with following the timeline of the story.But those things aside,I enjoyed the book a lot.
Simply put,the book was a wonderful fantasy fairy tale retelling.It was a quick and interesting read complete with a great writing style and a sweet ending.
My Name is Rapunzel is a different kind of story than the usual stories of Rapunzel.It's not the "Rapunzel,Rapunzel,let down your hair" story and certainly not the story of Rapunzel and Eugene in Tangled.(I love that movie,by the way).
Anyway,back to the topic.Our heroine Rapunzel is a perfect example for characters who grow on you while you read the book.I love how her character develops,from a girl with a not so significant personality to the strong and great heroine I saw in the end.
Gretta was a great villain.K.C.Hilton has managed to portray her as an evil and cruel character,and she'll definitely become a villain you'll love to hate.
And my favourite character in the book is probably the dragon.And I am not kidding:)I loved the dragon's influence in the curse and its presence in the book.
I had a few problems with the book too.It felt like the story dragged a bit in the middle and I had a huge problem with following the timeline of the story.But those things aside,I enjoyed the book a lot.
Simply put,the book was a wonderful fantasy fairy tale retelling.It was a quick and interesting read complete with a great writing style and a sweet ending.
July 3, 2014
Dear Readers;
Once Upon A Time there was a little girl, beautiful, sweet and smart little girl who had everything that would make her a princess yet she has a monster for an uncle who tried always to put her down and to deny her the right to dream; dreams,that's what he thought the fairy tales were all about until one day he found this book, the one with Rapunzel's confessions and he eventually learned the truth.He found out that Rapunzel was cursed with an eternal life, at first it seemed like a blessing to live for an eternity then it turned out to be a bliss; imagine that everyone around you that you care for start dying and you don't follow you just stay alive for years and years with noone but a witch by your side, then there's that dragon and the hero the one who helped dear Rapunzel to get her happy ending.
At the end he understood that fairy tales will always exist it's just up to the person to make her own happily ever after on her own and not to wait for it to come because if she does she can wait for 200 years with nothing but sorrow but when she decided to fight back maybe her happiness is just right on the other side of the door.
Yours
the meanest uncle ever
P.S:I will always be your hero little princess just keep your dreams growing and I'll make sure that one day you will achieve them.
Once Upon A Time there was a little girl, beautiful, sweet and smart little girl who had everything that would make her a princess yet she has a monster for an uncle who tried always to put her down and to deny her the right to dream; dreams,that's what he thought the fairy tales were all about until one day he found this book, the one with Rapunzel's confessions and he eventually learned the truth.He found out that Rapunzel was cursed with an eternal life, at first it seemed like a blessing to live for an eternity then it turned out to be a bliss; imagine that everyone around you that you care for start dying and you don't follow you just stay alive for years and years with noone but a witch by your side, then there's that dragon and the hero the one who helped dear Rapunzel to get her happy ending.
At the end he understood that fairy tales will always exist it's just up to the person to make her own happily ever after on her own and not to wait for it to come because if she does she can wait for 200 years with nothing but sorrow but when she decided to fight back maybe her happiness is just right on the other side of the door.
Yours
the meanest uncle ever
P.S:I will always be your hero little princess just keep your dreams growing and I'll make sure that one day you will achieve them.
December 16, 2013
Amazing Story! not a lot of Rapunzel stories out their and not one like this! for sure! K.C. Hilton is a true genius of writing! I loved every word of this book and couldn't put it down when I was reading it. The story was like a movie playing out in my head and I could see every scene and feel every heartache and sadness that poor Repunzel felt. I was captivated from the first word and I am sure all of you will be too!
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.
Rapunzel's tale is one of woe, of heartache, sadness, anger and pain. It is of betrayal, of love lost and eternal life suffered. but what can we do as no one knows that she sits upon her tower year after year hiding watching and waiting and suffering at the hands of the witch. No one Knows that she watched over every night by a very protective dragon who throws a tantrum if the light is not lit in her tower at dusk.For these are the secrets buried deep within her heart only now being revealed.
But is the world ready for these secrets or is she doing a horrible thing by revealing who she really is?
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.
Rapunzel's tale is one of woe, of heartache, sadness, anger and pain. It is of betrayal, of love lost and eternal life suffered. but what can we do as no one knows that she sits upon her tower year after year hiding watching and waiting and suffering at the hands of the witch. No one Knows that she watched over every night by a very protective dragon who throws a tantrum if the light is not lit in her tower at dusk.For these are the secrets buried deep within her heart only now being revealed.
But is the world ready for these secrets or is she doing a horrible thing by revealing who she really is?
Want to read
June 3, 2013"My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did."
What lies behind all the stories? What lies behind the tales and the myths, the princes and the dragons, the evil sorcerers and the destiny waiting for you? What lies behind the mask...?
But most importantly what do you do when you know what is hidding in the dark? There is only one thing left.
You keep it a secret...
What lies behind all the stories? What lies behind the tales and the myths, the princes and the dragons, the evil sorcerers and the destiny waiting for you? What lies behind the mask...?
But most importantly what do you do when you know what is hidding in the dark? There is only one thing left.
You keep it a secret...
December 10, 2013
I expected a lot from this book. I mean, look at its cover, look at its synopsis! I was expecting the launch of this book like crazy and when I saw it was out, I bought it at the next second!
Saying this, I think overexpectations were not good for the beginning of the story. I found it kind of boring (compared to what I expected) and I thought this was going to be (sadly), a 3 stars book.
However, once the expectations went down, I could fully enjoy the book, and I have to say it gets better and better and better! All dots connected and a very surprising plot - even though I guessed the thing of the dragon when I was at half of the book.
Very good, I have to say I couldn't put it down after the second part! I highly recommend it!
Saying this, I think overexpectations were not good for the beginning of the story. I found it kind of boring (compared to what I expected) and I thought this was going to be (sadly), a 3 stars book.
However, once the expectations went down, I could fully enjoy the book, and I have to say it gets better and better and better! All dots connected and a very surprising plot - even though I guessed the thing of the dragon when I was at half of the book.
Very good, I have to say I couldn't put it down after the second part! I highly recommend it!
October 14, 2015
A lovely escape into a grown up fairy tale ~
I thoroughly enjoyed MY NAME IS RAPUNZEL. Having enjoyed fairy tales as a child, mother and grandmother finally there is one just for me! I loved the goodness of the dragon and his strange relationship with Rapunzel. I enjoyed reading her through her many years, all the changes in time. I came to understand even immortality is not a blessing if you could not be with the one you loved. Thank you K.C. Hilton for a sweet story that allowed me to escape to the land of fairy tales again. I know I will be looking for more stories that you have written! I recommend this book to anyone who wants to believe once again, if only just for little while. Fairy tales can come true!
I thoroughly enjoyed MY NAME IS RAPUNZEL. Having enjoyed fairy tales as a child, mother and grandmother finally there is one just for me! I loved the goodness of the dragon and his strange relationship with Rapunzel. I enjoyed reading her through her many years, all the changes in time. I came to understand even immortality is not a blessing if you could not be with the one you loved. Thank you K.C. Hilton for a sweet story that allowed me to escape to the land of fairy tales again. I know I will be looking for more stories that you have written! I recommend this book to anyone who wants to believe once again, if only just for little while. Fairy tales can come true!
February 3, 2014
This book was definitely not what I was expecting. There was so much loss, so much heart break. I felt like my own heart was breaking. I was basically giving up on the thought that this fairytale would have a happy ending. This was a great book and I am so happy I finally got to read it. I love how this book ended and the message it gave. Everyone can have a fairytale ending, it just might not happen the way you plan. Never stop believing because just when you are about to give up, that's when you get your fairytale ending.
August 18, 2017
I'm sorry.
I really wanted to love this book, but it was awful.
Ridiculous prompt. Unlikable, one-dimensional characters and way too much exposition.
Large chunks of the book were repeats of things that had already happened. Like word for word repeats.
And the ending was very confusing and rushed.
Sorry. Do not recommend.
I really wanted to love this book, but it was awful.
Ridiculous prompt. Unlikable, one-dimensional characters and way too much exposition.
Large chunks of the book were repeats of things that had already happened. Like word for word repeats.
And the ending was very confusing and rushed.
Sorry. Do not recommend.
considering-reading
June 16, 2012I love everything involving Rapunzel. However, the intro does give me some doubts about its content. It seems that it will not be an "innocent" little retelling as I hope it to be. After reviews start coming in, we shall see. ;)
July 5, 2017
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
My favourite part was the part with Suzette. That really gave me the feels. And Anastasia was a b*tch.
Edit: actually I think my rating would be more like 3 stars. Even at the time I didn't really enjoy this.
My favourite part was the part with Suzette. That really gave me the feels. And Anastasia was a b*tch.
Edit: actually I think my rating would be more like 3 stars. Even at the time I didn't really enjoy this.
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