Monday, March 21, 2011

Review: Entwined

ENTWINED
Heather Dixon
Paranormal Young Adult
474 Pages
Greenwillow Books
Available March 29th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY
Princess Azalea and her eleven younger sisters love to dance. Their mother taught them a variety of dances and steps, and in the wake of her untimely death it's the only thing that helps them through their grief. Their father the King is dealing poorly with the loss of his wife and has been called off to war, seemingly glad to leave behind his twelve reminders of what is now lost to him.

Because the entire home is in mourning, the girls are made to wear black and forbidden from dancing for an entire year, but as their palace has a bit of magic pulsing through it, the girls find a secret passageway leading them through a silver forest and to a beautiful pavilion all set up for their dancing. In this passageway they meet Keeper, a man forced to live in this magical in-between world by the ancient High King, a man rumored to be able to trap souls after death.

While at first Keeper seems welcoming and the girls begin to deal with the pain of their loss, it soon becomes clear there is more to Keeper than a man just looking for a bit of company in his lonely existence. While Azalea has her suspicions, she's distracted from them by the return of her father, the anger over his treatment of her and her sisters prior to his departure rising to the surface. As father and daughters work to build a connection, and suitors for the three eldest daughters come calling, Keeper lies in wait, patiently biding his time before his true intentions can be known.

MY THOUGHTS
Full of sweetness and romance and positively radiating charm, Entwined is a story that appeals to us on a variety of levels, luring us in with a bit of humor and whimsy, but utterly enthralling us with its enchanting portrayal of sisterly affection and father/daughter relationships. Between these covers we find ourselves entangled in not only the day to day life of a family dealing with profound loss, but also in the mystery and allure of just a touch of magic–grounding us in the realism of family dynamics while simultaneously stirring our imaginations with fanciful possibilities. Reading this tale is like sitting down to a lush and savory meal where dishes that appeal to every part of our palettes are spread before us in offering, and we are tantalized with various flavors all at once, experiencing each one in rich detail and smiling soundly as we eagerly indulge.

Azalea is a young woman for whom we easily care as she is saddled with the burden of looking after her grieving younger sisters while also dealing with her responsibility as future queen, facing the prospect of a parliament-arranged marriage as opposed to one entered into with love. She admirably stands for all her sisters, boldly questioning and admonishing the King when he pushes his daughters away in bereavement, speaking her mind and heart even as the sharp pain of her own loss constantly pricks at her from all sides. When the house is left in a darkness to match the girls' wardrobes, Azalea assumes the responsibility of lifting the spirits of eleven impressionable young girls, helping them to remember and celebrate their mother through their shared love of dancing. She keeps all our hearts light enough to temporarily banish the encroaching darkness as we together recover from the painful absence of both parents and revel in the sometimes tenuous but always unbreakable bond between these sisters.

One of the more fascinating aspects of this tale is the various relationships between not only the girls, but also the girls and their father, as well as Azalea, Bramble, and Clover's individual relationships with potential husbands. Reading on as the King eventually begins to see the error of his ways and seeks to make amends for the deep and staggering pain his emotional and physical abandonment caused is an absolute pleasure. Each tentative step at forming a connection to his daughters when before he left such intricacies to his wife sends welcome warm shivers down our spines, that blissful heat seeming to flow back into him as though the pages themselves are a conduit between us, and we wish our wholehearted encouragement might give him the strength to fill the gaping hole left by the girls' mother with the laughter and smiles etched across twelve loving faces. Into the humorous and and complex familial bond Ms. Dixon also artfully weaves a subtle touch of romance, just enough to quicken our pulses and flush our cheeks, but not so much as to become the sole focus and take us away from the slowly healing relationship between father and daughters that has us so captivated.

Entwined is a cute story, not one full of action that has us gripping the pages white knuckled, but one that draws us in nonetheless, the subtle changes taking place in each individual character as they struggle with a very personal loss and attempt to remedy the monstrous tear in the fabric of their family a heartwarming drama we can't help but adore. Pick this one up if you enjoy a little magic in your reality, a little humor to alleviate your pain, and a little sweet giddiness to your romance.

Rating: 4/5

41 comments:

  1. I've been in love with this cover for a few months now, but I hadn't seen any reviews for it until now. Thank you for the review; I'm glad to hear it was a good read! :)

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  2. Of course sweet romances are welcoming but I'm more interested in the development of the relationship between the girls and father and what it means for their family.

    Pleasantly surprised by your review Jenny, being that it is one of the first I've read for the book.

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  3. The cover is gorgeous, but I dont know if the story attracts me at all =/

    Thanks for the review Jenny!

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  4. Wonderful review. I like that the relationship between Dad and daughter is an important part of these story. Sometimes it feels like family get left out. This has moved up my wishlist :)

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  5. Just like Missie your Review is the first I read from the book, although it is on my radar for quite some time already. But I have to say your review definitely grabbed me and I'll definitely put in on my list now!

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  6. I have to say I love the cover on Entwined. It really is beautiful. It sounds like it's going to be very moving as well as cute. Great review.

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  7. This sounds like a cute read. I love the cover! Beautiful! :)

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  8. I love that this one deals with family dynamics and relationships and am quite intrigued with that aspect of the story. A lovely review.

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  9. Stephanie - I really enjoyed it, it felt very different from some of the YA I'd been reading:)

    Missie - I loved the father/daughter and sister/sister relationships in this one, they had me laughing and tearing up at the same time:)

    Larissa - I love this cover:)

    Nic - The relationships in this one were fabulous, I liked that there was just a tiny bit of romance, but the majority of it was family-centered.

    Danny - Yay! Hope you like it:)

    Slowest - It was cute, I got through it really quickly and was smiling most of the way:)

    Leanna - I agree, this cover grabbed me instantly:)

    Jan - Loved that aspect, everything else was interesting, but that element makes it a book I would read again!

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  10. I love fairy tale re-tellings, this one sounds great. Once again, your review is so well written. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Lovely review. I love it when an author creates a family that is heartwarming and interesting to read about. I'm definitely even more excited for this one now.

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  12. The Twelve Dancing Princesses has long been a favorite of mine, retellings seems to be more and more creative. I hadn't paid much attention to ENTWINED, it just got lost in the surfeit of dress covers (unfair, I know, but there it is). This sounds like a charming book and I really like that the king is trying to repair his relationship with his children. I'll defiantly keep an eye out for this one.

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  13. Ohhh Im so glad this was a good one, Im looking forward to reading it. I love fun and light romance, I also love fairy tales re-told. Thanks for the (always lovely) review!!

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  14. Midnyte - I do too, and this one I thought was great:)

    Small - Thank you! This family was fantastic, I loved all of them:)

    Jennifer - I actually had no idea it was a re-telling until after I read it:) Loved the father/daughter relationships:)

    Tina - Can't wait to see what you think, I just thought it was sweet and heartwarming:)

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  15. Fantastic review, Jenny! This book is on my wishlist.I love re-tellings and Entwined sounds so good!

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  16. I love the sound of this one...Thanks for the honest review :D

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  17. I swear you have THE most poetic reviews! You should be syndicated, girl! While I'm really a plot girl when it comes to this sort of story, I love that it's very character and relationship-driven. I'll definitely need to give this one a go ;)

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  18. I can see why you liked it. I'll have a review for Entwined up soon but I read it last week and was a bit disappointed.

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  19. Misha - Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:)

    Lea - You're welcome, I was a big fan of this one:)

    Melissa - *blushes* Thank you:) The characters were the highlight for me (though that's usually the case), but plot moved quickly as well, so I thought it was an all around great read.

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  20. Cute is good :) Great review. Could be a book for me, and that cover is just so lovely

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  21. This sounds lovely and perfect. The character relationships sound great, and I totally adore all the things you described in the last sentence, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one even more now!

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  22. Awwww, I love that ending paragraph - a huge fan of parallelism, I am! I'll have to put this on the TBR list for when I want 'sweet' read. I've been searching for something to rattle me lately and am coming up short, but this sounds like a great one for when I need a little smiley boost!

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  23. This has a beautiful cover and it seems to be a fairy tale retelling, but I'm not sure. I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Jenny. I look forward to reading it!

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  24. Blodeuedd - Cute is good, I'm always a fan of cute:)

    Ashley - LOVED the characters in this one, trying to keep track of their alphabetical and horticulture inspired names was tricky, but I adored all of them:)

    Linds - Thank you much:) This would be a good one for one of those days where you just want to be happy and entertained!

    Rummanah - It is a fairy tale retelling - the 12 Dancing Princesses. I was not familiar with that story before reading, but I really liked this book!

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  25. I am sooo glad you liked this. I've been really excited about this one, but I haven't heard too much about it yet, so I was nervous. But I definitely think I'm going to be picking this one up!

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  26. Beautiful review! I love the cover for this book, but was uncertain about what it was really about until now. Sounds like a fun read, and I can't wait to check it out. :)

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  27. You rarely see a sweet romance in YA. I have cover love for this book and I'm so glad that it looks like the story matches. Oh yes... I will need to pick this one up.

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  28. While I love me some cute/ sweet romance, I also love me some action and adventure... And without this having that white-knuckle gripping action? Well, I dunno if this will be for me (I will put it at the bottom of my TBR pile).
    Thanks for the great review Jenny!

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  29. This one sounds really cute. I'm especially drawn to books that have strong family related plots. Since I'm an only child, I love books that focus on siblings. 11 sisters would be so cool (actually it might not be that great). And I like the idea of the changing/healing relationship with their father.

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  30. You know, it's not very often that I crave this type of book with a sweet romance and low action but when I do, it's nice to read one that is well done. So maybe I'll check this one out sometime! Thanks for the review :)

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  31. I want to frame this cover, it is beautiful. Glad to hear the story is good too.

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  32. I wish I could write my reviews like you! This book sounds really good! I love how you describe that it's like sitting down to a lush and savory meal. Could you be my mentor in review writing? LOL Fab review as always!

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  33. Great review! I glad that it is good. I have read reviews and all have good things to say about this book. I will definitely pick this book up.

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  34. Your second to last paragraph about relationships blew me away :)

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  35. Liz - Hope you like it! It was just a fun read I thought:)

    Kat - Thank you! I love the cover as well and was really pleased with the story overall.

    Melissa - True. And the romance was such a minor part, it was more about the family which I really liked.

    Avery - I usually like a fast pace, but there was something really interesting about all the different character relationships with this one that made it good:)

    Alison - The 12 sisters in this one were hilarious, especially Bramble, that girl had a mouth on her and I'm always a fan of those types of characters:)

    Aylee - Hope you give this one a try!

    Tiah - Me too, I love it:)

    Julie - Why thank you:) Sometimes I sit here and stare at the screen and nothing comes to me, so I might not be the best mentor;)

    Savy - Thanks! Looking forward to your thoughts on it:)

    Juju - Thank you! The relationships made this book for me:)

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  36. I've been trying to decide if I want to buy this book based off only seeing the cover...I might have to pick this one up now! I always love great relationships in books! Fantastic review!

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  37. I love the cover and fairy tale retellings so I had this one on my wishlist. I've been wondering how it is though and am glad to see that it's definitely worth reading. Thanks for the review, Jenny!

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  38. I do the same thing. I try to write everything down on paper first. But then I still stare at the screen. Not good a feeling for a writer. The blinking cursor of death! LOL

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  39. Great review! I'm really looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler, so I'm hoping this version will be just as good.

    Also, if I could have the dress on this cover, plus the dress from the cover of Wither, I think I would be all set!

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  40. This one has been on my to-read list for a while now. I'm glad to see you enjoyed it! I'm excited for it. :D

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  41. Wow, powerful review Jenny! I am intrigued with the whole premise of this story - a mixture of romance, histfic, and magic combined. I will definitely be looking into this one!

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