Entwined in Clean Reads

Jul 12, 2011 Jodi rated it really liked it

Any book with such luscious cover has to be wonderful. Entwined had some problems, but overall was a great read. The story of the twelve princesses coping with the loss of their mother and their shaky relationship with their distant father I felt was the crux and the heart of this novel. The dancing, the magic, and the romance were all secondary to this in my mind and it is that father/daughter relationship that brought tears to my eyes and made this story more than just another YA romance.

One o ...more

Like · see review

Nov 18, 2011 Becky rated it liked it

Shelves: favorites

I couldn't resist yet another princess story. It was fun and entertaining. Loved it! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2011 Marleah rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, fairy-tale, compass-book-rating

This was a good read. I love the fairytale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses so I am a pretty harsh critic when it comes to an author taking on this tale. HD did a pretty good job. There were a few things that just bugged me which is why I couldn't give it more than 3 stars.
1) The "romance" between Azalea and Mr. Bradford left much to be desired. In this 300+ page novel they are together a total of about 3 pages (added together) and half of it Mr. Bradford is under the false assumption that Azal This was a good read. I love the fairytale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses so I am a pretty harsh critic when it comes to an author taking on this tale. HD did a pretty good job. There were a few things that just bugged me which is why I couldn't give it more than 3 stars.
1) The "romance" between Azalea and Mr. Bradford left much to be desired. In this 300+ page novel they are together a total of about 3 pages (added together) and half of it Mr. Bradford is under the false assumption that Azalea is her younger sister, Bramble (what kind of name is that anyway?) Also, Mr. Bradford starts out as Lord Bradford, then it is Mr. Bradford, then Captain Bradford (make up your mind!) Also, why did he get to call Azalea by her first name and she's a princess, out ranks him and we never even get to know his first name! (I am probably nitpicking here, but it just bothered me!) Also, I just didn't feel the romance with those two.
2) The magic system was not fully developed. It was a little confusing at times with all the different types of magic, but none of them were fully explained. I loved the idea of The Keeper - very cool, but the ending just didn't do it for me. I thought the princesses resolved it way too easy. I felt that Mr./Lord/Captain Bradford should have had a more of a rescuing the damsel in distress role, although he DID enter the chaos with The Keeper at the end crashing through the ballroom window on a horse.
3) The continued references to R.B. throughout the novel. Maybe I missed something at the beginning, but I have no idea was this is - it definitely doesn't refer to a person.
4) The brief reference to a train and the several references to a cab. I'm sorry, but in my fairy tales there shouldn't be any modern types of transportation. Although the "cab" in this book was actually a horse drawn carriage, but still.

I loved several of the characters in this book, my favorite being Lord Eddie. There were several laugh out loud scenes in this book and he is in all of them. Bramble was fun too.
Overall, I really liked this book and if you like the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses give this one a whirl, I guarantee it will make you laugh, shake your head in exasperation, and roll your eyes.
...more

Like · see review

Jan 16, 2012 benebean rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, cleaness-granny-smiles, ya, not-recommended, female-protagonist, fairytale-princess, flibrary

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So there's a legendary uber uber evil king whose palace you now live in and it's common knowledge not all of his magic was undone. Then you meet a mysterious (but good looking) stranger, in a secret magic room. This stranger, who you always have an uneasy feeling about and who clearly is a magic-ed person later tells you he swore an oath drinking the blood of his lover to kill your ancestor who overthrew the uber uber evil king AND the story sounds exactly like the story of what the uber uber ev So there's a legendary uber uber evil king whose palace you now live in and it's common knowledge not all of his magic was undone. Then you meet a mysterious (but good looking) stranger, in a secret magic room. This stranger, who you always have an uneasy feeling about and who clearly is a magic-ed person later tells you he swore an oath drinking the blood of his lover to kill your ancestor who overthrew the uber uber evil king AND the story sounds exactly like the story of what the uber uber evil king did. On top of this, this mysterious (but good looking) stranger just stole a bunch of your stuff which, while it would be sorely missed, is not essential. Then he threatens never to let you have it back or dance in his secret room again (mind you, you can still dance anywhere else and will be allowed even encouraged to dance after the year of mourning your much loved mother is over).

So, what do you do?

.
.
.

promise to free him in exchange for your stuff back.

SERIOUSLY!?!?!

The further I get in the book the more I dislike the protagonists. I had some sympathy for them at the beginning of the story, but as the story progressed I saw them more and more as spoiled and self-indulgent. I am disturbed by the idea that obeying a parents' request to honor the, again reasonable, rules of mourning is something that the children should see as a huge gift they give to their father instead of something they just ought to do. Also, they continue to paint themselves as victims of their father's coldness, but when all is said and done, they just complain/disobey/create trouble until they get their way, like spoiled children. The only character I liked was the unintentionally emotionally abusive father who keeps struggling to relate to his children.

Finally, one of my pet peeves,(view spoiler)

The best part of this book is the cover which is admittedly beautiful. Overall I hated this prevalent notion that children always know best. I get that it's a cultural reaction to "parents always know best" because they don't always, but it is even LESS true that children always know best.

There were a number of good ideas, but the execution left me something between annoyed and hating most of the protagonists.
1.5 stars
...more

Like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Anna rated it really liked it

This was a creative re-telling of the 12 dancing princesses--there are several good YA books similar and this one uses more dancing imagery that becomes magical.

Like · see review

Jul 07, 2013 Jessica Plowman rated it really liked it

At first this book seemed much like princess of the midnight ball. I think it was a little more exciting and romantic. I really enjoyed it!

Like · see review

Apr 07, 2011 Marielle rated it liked it

this is really a 2.5 stars for me. It was cutesy, and I liked some of the characters, but towards the end I was a little cheesed out. Plus, the explanation about the magical elements were a little weak.

Like · see review

Dec 10, 2010 Shannon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: tween-young-adult, should-be-classics, 2012-read

The stor of the 12 Dancing Princesses...this was such a fun read. I really enjoyed the whole thing. It was well written and a fast read. I would love for my girls to get into these later on.

Like · see review