Rapunzel Untangled review!

 Hey guys! I was lucky enough to get an ARC from the lovely Cindy Bennett (Blog can be found here) of her newest book "Rapunzel Untangled" and now I'm even luckier to be participating in her blog hop! So sit back, relax, read my review, check out the other blog stops, and enter the giveaway contest for a copy of the book!




 

Here's the book blurb from the publisher:
Fab Fane Fannigan: Are you saying you live at GOTHEL MANSION??? The Gothel Mansion?

RG: My mother calls it Gothel Manor, so maybe that’s different?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, Rapunzel, there’s only one that I know of. It has to be the same. Are you telling me the truth here?

RG: Yes, of course. Is it weird that I live here?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, not weird, just . . . never mind. So you live in the tower?

RG: Uh, the tower? I don’t know. Is it a tower?

Fab Fane Flannigan: Yes, it is. I know where it is. I’ll be there Friday at 8.

Rapunzel sensed the difference in his tone. Something wasn’t right.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Rapunzel, promise me one thing.

RG: Okay.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Don’t Google your house.
　

Rapunzel is not your average teenager. For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

My review:

I received a copy of this book from Cindy Bennett a while back to do an endorsement for the back cover. I really didn't know what to expect when I picked it up. I knew it was a retelling of a fairytale and I knew I sure love the Rapunzel story so I figured it would be a light fun read and an overall enjoyable experience. Uh, hello? Complete understatement! This book was fabulous. I don't know what I expected but it totally went above and beyond my expectations. It was a modern retelling of the Rapunzel story and it seems like that wouldn't really throw you for a loop but there are so many twists and turns in this book that I wasn't expecting. It had romance (which I'm a sucker for), adventure, humor, and suspense. It was like reading the best of fifteen different genres all rolled into one perfect little Young Adult package! The characters were sweet and endearing, Rapunzel was charming and easy to like, and I may or may not have a slight crush on Fane now. Just don't tell anyone.  I loved Cindy's use of technology to really update this fairytale. It made it very different from any "typical fairytale retelling". It was fresh and very original. I give this book five stars! It's totally worth the read and you'll fall in love with the characters straight away! 

A Girl Trapped in a Mansion . . .

A Mysterious Old Woman . . .

The Boy Who Will Change Everything . . .

Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C Bennett


Fab
Fane Fannigan:
Are you saying you live at GOTHEL MANSION??? The
Gothel Mansion?


RG:
My mother calls it Gothel Manor, so maybe that’s different?



Fab Fane
Flannigan:
No, Rapunzel, there’s only one that I know of. It has to be the same. Are you telling me the truth here?



RG:
Yes, of course. Is it weird that I live here?



Fab Fane
Flannigan:
No, not weird, just . . . never mind. So you live in the tower?



RG:
Uh, the tower? I don’t know. Is it a tower?



Fab Fane
Flannigan:
Yes, it is. I know where it is. I’ll be there Friday at 8.



Rapunzel sensed
the difference in his tone. Something wasn’t right.




Fab Fane
Flannigan:
Rapunzel, promise me one thing.



RG: Okay.




Fab
Fane Flannigan:
Don’t Google your house.


Rapunzel is
not your average teenager. For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps
her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet
long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from
certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy
named Fane,
who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she
really is.

Filled with romance,
adventure, and mystery,
Rapunzel Untangled
is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and
friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

Rapunzel Untangled from Sweetwater Books February 12, 2013. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or at a bookstore near you!

Join the giveaway below for your chance to win one of many great prizes, including a Nook and an MP3 Player! (Domestic only. For international giveaway click here.) Nothing required to win other than signing in.

About the Author

  

Cindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She and her husband - who happens to be her high-school sweetheart - raised two sons and two daughters. She's now blessed with two daughters-in-law as well. She developed a love of writing in high school when a teacher introduced her to the joys of escaping reality for ten minutes each day in writing.

When she's not writing, reading, or answering emails (notice there's no mention of cleaning, cooking, or anything remotely domestic), she can often be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home. (Yes, she rides a Harley.)

You can find Cindy at:  Blog    Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Video Blog 2: I'm a costume hoarder

 Following with tradition I've made another awful video blog! Enjoy the awkward!

The Alias review

Before I start my review, here's a summary of the book to give you an idea of what epicness it contains :)

After a long and difficult divorce, Jacey is sure the worst is over. But when the FBI reveals some disturbing information about her ex-husband, she is forced into hiding to protect herself and her son. In the process, she risks losing her identity, her future, and her heart. Thrilling and suspenseful, this novel is an edge-of-your-seat read.



 My review:

I read Mandi Tucker Slack's book "The Alias" last year (and re-read it in preparation for my review) and both times I was on the edge of my seat! I have to say that I loved this book! It felt a lot like a murder mystery to me, which I love. It had the same kind of pacing and the last few chapters were so intense that it was actually painful to go back to work after reading it on my lunch break. I HAD to know what happened! But sadly for you guys, I won't tell you what happened. So you'll just have to read the book. Ha! Her characters were so great and complex. They didn't feel like typical murder mystery/suspense types at all. I love how strong Jacey is. She's a single mother who's under a lot of stress (running from a psychopath will do that to you) and yet she keeps her cool and always thinks of her son first. How admirable is that? I think we need that in more books :) I love the strong female lead and I love that she can still find a way to be feminine and vulnerable. Such a complex dynamic! Absolutely wonderful read! I can't wait for the sequel "Tide Ever Rising" to come out!

Get your copy of The Alias on Amazon or Barnes and Noble!

And don't forget the sequel Tide Ever Rising on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

Video Blog 1

So folks, I decided to post a video blog to fill you in on everything coming up!

What ended up happening was a very awkward video... so... yeah.... enjoy the long pauses, dog interruptions, and general lack of eloquence.

Oh and a very flattering (ha!) thumbnail for my video :)

Nailing down a release date, Danny Ocean style.

Here we go guys. Are you ready for the madness of releasing another book? Because I'm sure not. Now here's the thing. This is kind of a sloppy release... we'll just say I've watched "Ocean's 13" a few too many times and now I want a Soft soft open before letting a bunch of grifters into my hotel/casino.

In other words (because really that was a horrible example) "Finding June" will not be released on all available platforms at the same time. Why? Do you ask... well... honestly it's pretty much just because I overestimated/underestimated how long certain platforms take and so now the release is going to be scattered all over the place. I'm nothing if not unprofessional.

So right now, at this very moment, it's available to purchase as an e-book on a site called Smashwords, which can be found here.

In the next day or so it should be available on Kindle and Nook and the second it is I'll be posting another incoherent blog post to let you all know!

THEN, hopefully in the next week or so it'll be available to purchase as a paperback on Amazon. Again, I'll annoy you with a blog post detailing this lovely semi-release once it's up and running!

In the meantime, guess who has a giveaway contest going on? Yep, me! So go enter the Goodreads giveaway and keep checking back for more info on the actual release date, other giveaways, and... well... with me who really knows what.

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          Finding June
     

     

          by Shannen Crane Camp
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends December 20, 2012.
         

         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         

     

   

   

      Enter to win

Until next time!

Shannen

Happy Thanksgiving! Cover Reveal :)

All right guys! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Or at least... the moment I've been waiting for, which is probably a more accurate statement. Here's the cover for my newest LDS YA Fiction book "Finding June" which should come out sometime in mid December (Just in time for Christmas *hint* *hint*). The cover was designed by the very lovely and very talented Jackie Hicken who also writes some amazing fairytale books that you guys should get on her case about publishing.

Also, for those of you who don't know about my June series, here's a brief synopsis :)

Hope you enjoy the cover as much as your Thanksgiving turkey and football!


Standing up for what you believe in is hard for any teenager in the battleground known as high school. It's even harder in the world of Hollywood, which is where sixteen-year-old June Laurie dreams of being. Thanks to the constant training from her agent/grandmother and the support of her best friend Joseph, June is positive she's ready. But is an innocent little Mormon girl like June ever really ready to be cast as the love interest for the country's hottest star, Lukas Leighton? When June lands a role in Hollywood's most popular crime drama, Forensic Faculty, she finds herself caught off-guard by the fast-paced world of tabloids and paparazzi, and swept off her feet by her gorgeous co-star. Now June must decide what she's willing to give up to achieve the title of Hollywood starlet—or more importantly, what's too sacred to lose.

Tag, I'm It!- The Next Big Thing

I was tagged by author Cindy C. Bennett to discuss my WIP.
 
What is the working title of your book?
Sugar Coated (It's a trilogy along with "Rose Tinted" and "Silver Lined")

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A lot of different places actually. I was driving home from Idaho to Utah with The Husband one night and said "I love dystopian YA books. I wish I could write one." And he said, "Why don't you?" So the next three hours were spent with us throwing ideas around for a cool plot and by the end of the drive we'd come up with a trilogy! A lot has been added to the plot since then (Twists and turns!) but I'm just so excited to write a series where I can invent my own world with its own technology and social norms.

What genre does your book fall under?

Dystopian Young Adult Fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your charcters in a movie rendition?
Brynn would be played by Emily Browning since I modeled the character after her :) Eris would be played by Charlize Theron... she's good at being pretty and creepy all at once. Ty would be Xavier Samuel. Jonah would be played by Logan Lerman. And Amber and Bennett I wrote as my friends Amber and Whitney Bennett sooooo they could play themselves. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A perfectly contained world doesn't always equal safety for Brynn, whose constant nightmares hint at an unsavory truth about her reality.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm shopping it around right now at a few agents but I may still self-publish it.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
It took about three or four months to write it. Working full time is a beast when you're trying to write a book as well!

Blinding white lights flashed into life, revealing a room less cavernous and imposing than she had expected. Instead, the room with the white walls, ceilings, and floor was quite small; small enough for her to run from one end to the other without ever breaking a sweat. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and once they did, she still couldn’t be sure of what she was seeing. There seemed to be a complete lack of color in this small room, as if it had been drained right before her arrival and was shining more brightly because of its recent purge.

            Brynn blinked her eyes a few more times, trying to clear the spots that sprang into existence when the less-than-subtle lights had ignited. Now that she had a proper hold on her surroundings, she could see the impossibility of the room. There were no windows. There were no doors. There was no way in or out. So how had she gotten there?

            “We apologize for any inconvenience your death may cause you at this time,” said a smooth, soothing female voice over what Brynn could only describe as a loudspeaker. If the woman’s voice hadn’t been so calm and collected, it may have taken her less time to understand exactly what she was saying before the sickly sweet smell of sugar hit her nose; like cookies right out of the oven.

            This wasn’t just a room. It was a death chamber.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I would compare it to the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld and the Matched series by Ally Condie. Also I was playing A LOT of Portal when I wrote it so I'm pretty sure that video game crept in there a few times.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Loving dystopian YA WAY too much for my own good made me want to write this.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
It's set in a dystopian future on a planet where there's no such thing as money, politics, or hardship. It seems like it would be a pretty amazing place to live but when everything is handed to you there's also no progress or creativity and Brynn seems to be the only one in the world who's bothered by that... until she meets Jonah. It's full of adventure and lots of mystery (I love murder mysteries but I don't feel clever enough to write one so I made this book a little bit of a non-murder mystery) which unfortunately makes it difficult to describe. Too many twists!

Here's who I'm tagging:
Jolene Perry
Mandi Slack
Jackie Hicken
Jenni James

Misty Moncur

*Use this format for your post

*Answer the ten questions about your current WIP

*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop on over to meet them