Revisit Rapunzel and Eugene from Disney’s Tangled as they race to protect a neighboring kingdom in this thrilling fantasy adventure penned by the New York Times bestselling author of Little Thieves.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Rootbound: A Tangled Novel By Margaret Owen, which is out now.
A cunning king. A devious princess. Best. Week. Ever.
Rapunzel knows nothing about her neighboring kingdom, Astera – and not just because she only left her tower a month ago. The famously reclusive island has limited its contact with outsiders for decades. So when a suspicious invitation arrives welcoming Rapunzel to the Asteran princess’s coming of age ceremony, and offering her a chance to be useful for the first time since she lost her healing powers, Rapunzel accepts – and unwittingly plunges herself and her companion, Eugene, into a tangled knot of political intrigue and magical secrets.
Eugene is just happy to get one last adventure with Rapunzel before his criminal background catches up with him and prevents their happy ending. Yet as they’re drawn further into the country’s problems, they uncover truths about Eugene’s parentage that point to deeper unrest in Astera, and suddenly the fate of their own kingdom, not just their personal dreams, is at stake.
Thrust into a power struggle between Astera’s beloved princess, Verette, its domineering king, Enver, and a mysterious secret society, Rapunzel and Eugene race to protect their home from an unsettlingly familiar threat and discover that the past can either hold them back, or help them blossom.
EXCERPT
When Eugene joins her at the bow, she’s outlined the caravel and is searching for the proper slate gray for the base layer of the hull. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she says as he leans against the railing next to her.
“Funny thing is, I’d probably sleep right through it if you were stomping,” he admits, rubbing his face. “Sneaking by might as well be an alarm bell. Everything okay?”
“I had a bad dream.” She finds her gray, but can’t make herself set it to paper just yet. “Can . . . can I ask you something?”
“Fire away.”
“Does it bother you that . . .” She swallows. “That if you hadn’t been rescued in time . . . that you almost . . .”
His hand brushes his throat, and she knows he understands.
“Yes,” Eugene allows. A layer of veneer strips off; Rapunzel enjoys his attempts at charm and bravado, but this is the Eugene she likes best. “But also—no. You don’t do things like rob the royal palace without knowing the risks. There’s no rush without them. And a month ago, my life was the only thing I really had to gamble.” His voice catches. “So now the gallows just remind me how much more I have to lose.”
Rapunzel stows her pastel stick as the ship crests a strong wave. Finding the words feels harder than picking the right blue. “It doesn’t feel right,” she says slowly. “You didn’t even get a trial. You were almost killed just for stealing a—an expensive hat that belonged to the wrong family. I know everyone loves my parents. It just scares me that I’m going to have that kind of power to hurt people. That I might make a mistake. Especially since I can’t . . . fix it anymore.”
Eugene’s hand catches hers, and she realizes she was picking at the ends of her hair again.
“I would like to remind you we’re on a ship to fix something right now,” he says, droll. “And the king and queen aren’t liked because they’re perfect. They’re liked because they try to take care of their people, not just rule over them. They’ve opened and funded schools, libraries, clinics . . . even my orphanage would have shut down without the royal grants. You’ve only known you’re a princess for a month. Maybe now is when you figure out what kind of princess you want to be.”
Rapunzel moves his hand to her cheek. “Is this still your dream, Eugene?”
For a moment, he looks—almost like he’s holding something back.
But maybe it’s the kick of the breeze, the shift of the dark, the echo of Gothel sneering Really, Rapunzel?
“All of it and more,” he says. Then he brings his lips to hers, and everything, even the doubt, fades away.
