Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Ren has been sheltered all her life but now she's branching out to go to college. But even with this new adventure, her parents insist she comes back to the homestead on weekends and won't let her tell anyone where she lives. It's been like this all her life and she never thought it was odd. Until she meets Fitz, and goes on a cross country adventure with him to investigate some DNA results she got from her class at school. Along the way she has many firsts, including finding herself attracted to Fitz. But her parents won't have any of it and find her only to drag her back home. But turns out there's more to her parents and her life than she could have ever imagined.
I love Christina Lauren and all their books. Of course I needed a chance to read this one and see what it was about. It's very different from their usual romance. If you're looking for a typical Lauren book, this won't be it. But it's a cute story. It's a reimagining of a modern day Rapunzel story. And it's dual POV, which I love in a romantic story.
Ren is oddly sheltered, having grown up home schooled with parents who insisted they be totally self-sufficient on their homestead. College is a totally different animal for her. One where she learns there's more to life than only what her parents have presented. She's a naive character but at the same time has fairly good instincts about people. I think this is what saves her character for me. Because while she's been sheltered all her life, she still managed to walk away with a good head on her shoulders.
Fitz is damaged goods. Or at least that's what he believes. He doesn't like to let anyone in and doesn't like for people to know about his past. He's determined to graduate and make something of himself, and seek revenge all at the same time. He didn't need Ren in his life to change how he feels about his plan, but there she is. And, while he comes across as locked up, he really just needed the right person in his life to help him open up and see what he can truly make of himself.
I kind of figured out the underlying plot line early on. Something never sat right for me with Ren's parents. They were odd and still insisting on sheltering her at the age of 22 seemed very off to me. The romance is definitely part of the story, but it's really not the main plot line. If you're looking for the usual spice that accompanies Lauren's books, you won't find it here. You'll find some light romance and attraction. But the book truly reads more like a YA book. The main plot is really Ren coming into herself and learning what she needs to do to be an independent woman.
If you're looking for a cute fast reading romantic adventure a la Disney style with a bit of a mysterious twist, jump into this one.