Entwined by Heather Dixon

Reviewed by Angie

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The High King was an evil man and a few times we read about how he tortured and killed people during his reign: tearing people apart starting with their thumbs and working his way through the rest of their body. Their body parts were then strewn about the city. It is also said that the High King captured their souls and kept them trapped. It is mentioned how many ways were used to kill the High King (poisoning, cutting off his head, burning, shooting with pistols). The High King drank a glass full of blood as an oath to kill the Captain General. The hand of the daughter of the Captain General was sent to him in a box.
Keeper is very cruel. He hurts one of the princesses by crushing her fingers, bending her fingers backwards and wrapping her wrists with ribbons that leave red welts. Several times he hits her, wraps his fingers around her neck, drags her and throws her against the floor and a wall. He also magically traps the other sisters in mirrors where it is very cold and they are not expected to live very long. One of the souls that the High King has trapped has had her lips sewn shut.
There are a few fighting scenes where people are punched, kicked, thrown up against walls or through windows. A man is shot with a pistol. The King goes to war, but very little is said about it other than a few men come back with minor injuries.

Sexual Content: Sisters talk and ask about what it is like to kiss and be kissed. Azalea wonders about Keeper and thinks “If he kisses as well as he danced..” A few tender, but fairly innocent kisses. Keeper ties Azalea’s wrists in a ribbon, holding her still and runs his lips up her neck, ready to kiss her.

Adult Themes: Azalea’s mother is ill and dies. The castle is then in mourning and many things are mentioned about what are appropriate and inappropriate things to do during a period of mourning. There is talk of the souls of people after their deaths. The King goes to war.

Synopsis
Azalea is the oldest of twelve daughters — twelve princesses —  who all love to dance. When their mother dies of a long illness, the entire castle is thrown into mourning which includes black dresses, windows drawn and solemn behavior. The princesses have a hard time with these new rules, especially the no dancing rule, but are able to find a way around it when a secret passage is found that leads to an enchanted pavilion with a host that allows them to dance all night. The host, Keeper, seems inviting and kind when the princesses first meet him, but he slowly begins to show his dark intentions. Azalea soon realizes that the Keeper likes to keep things and won’t stop until he gets what he wants.

The beginning of the book seemed a bit slow to me and I had a hard time getting into it, but once the story really started, I was hooked — staying up well into the night to find out the ending. This is a retelling of Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses and I liked seeing different ideas introduced into the story. I always enjoy a book that lets me escape into a new world and this was definitely one of those. Castles, princesses, kings, creepy bad guys, magic. It has all the elements that I think make a great story.
I also really liked that Azalea was so protective of her sisters and, in the end, her father. Even though there were times she was the ‘damsel in distress’, she was also a strong character that exhibited courage, loyalty and deep love for her family.
This book is suggested for 13 years and up and I agree. There are some definite creepy moments that I think would probably scare a younger set of readers, but I think teenagers (and adults) will just be delightfully spooked.