What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell Summary

What Once Was Mine is a Twisted Tale retelling of Rapunzel where the queen mistakenly drinks a potion from the Moondrop flower instead of the Sundrop flower. This error gives Princess Rapunzel silver hair with deadly magical powers rather than healing abilities. Locked in a tower for 18 years to protect the kingdom, Rapunzel eventually escapes with thieves Flynn Rider and Gina to discover the truth about her past and reclaim her identity.

Liz Braswell is a British-born American author best known for her New York Times bestselling Disney Twisted Tales series. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Egyptology and spent ten years producing video games before becoming a full-time writer. Braswell has written multiple Disney retellings including A Whole New World, Once Upon a Dream, and As Old as Time, along with The Nine Lives of Chloe King series, which was adapted into a television show.

What Once Was Mine is perfect for young adult readers who love Disney's Tangled but crave darker, more complex retellings. Fans of the Twisted Tales series, readers interested in stories about agency and self-discovery, and anyone who enjoys fairy tale reimaginations with emotional depth will appreciate this book. It's also ideal for those who want to explore themes of trauma, motherhood, and the power of choosing your own path beyond traditional happily-ever-afters.

What Once Was Mine receives mixed reviews but offers a creative twist worth exploring. Fans praise Braswell's reimagining of Rapunzel's powers, the exploration of Mother Gothel's character, and themes of agency and healing. Critics note pacing issues, departure from the original Tangled story, and the framing device with Daniella and Brendan. If you enjoy dark Disney retellings and character-driven narratives over action, this book delivers emotional complexity and fresh perspectives on a beloved tale.

What Once Was Mine fundamentally changes Rapunzel's story by replacing the healing Sundrop flower with the deadly Moondrop flower, giving her silver hair that kills instead of heals. Her parents lock her away intentionally for everyone's safety, making Mother Gothel a hired guardian rather than a kidnapper. The story adds a new character named Gina as Flynn's companion and includes a modern framing narrative about a brother comforting his cancer-stricken sister, creating deeper thematic layers about suffering and hope.

The Moondrop flower in What Once Was Mine symbolizes change, cycles, and feminine strength tied to lunar imagery rather than solar healing. It represents how a single mistake can alter destiny and how perceived "curses" can become sources of power. The moon's association with darkness, transformation, and the unconscious reflects Rapunzel's journey from seeing herself as a monster to embracing her agency. This inversion challenges the original tale's emphasis on passive healing with active, complex power.

What Once Was Mine explores trauma and self-acceptance as Rapunzel overcomes believing she's a monster. Key themes include motherhood examined through both Queen Arianna's grief and Mother Gothel's manipulation, agency versus passivity as Rapunzel chooses her own path, and the healing power of stories shown through the framing narrative. Forgiveness, commodification of magical beings, and redefining "happily ever after" as continuous growth rather than a fixed ending create emotional depth throughout the novel.

Gina is an original character created by Liz Braswell who serves as Flynn Rider's thieving partner and becomes Rapunzel's companion. She adds female friendship and solidarity to the narrative, giving Rapunzel another perspective beyond Flynn's romance. Gina represents independence and adventure, eventually finding her own path separate from the main romance. Her inclusion diversifies the story's relationships and emphasizes that Rapunzel's happily ever after involves multiple meaningful connections, not just romantic love.

In What Once Was Mine, Mother Gothel is a "goodwife" hired by the king and queen to care for dangerous Rapunzel rather than a kidnapper seeking eternal youth. This reframing complicates her villainy—she's both caretaker and manipulator, using psychological control instead of outright kidnapping. Her motivations remain selfish as she seeks to use Rapunzel's power, but the dynamic explores institutional complicity and how fear-based decisions enable abuse, making her character more nuanced than the original film.

The framing narrative features Brendan telling the Rapunzel story to his cancer-stricken sister Daniella in a modern hospital. This meta-narrative connects fairy tale magic to real-world suffering, showing how stories provide comfort, hope, and coping mechanisms during trauma. Daniella's insistence on hearing Rapunzel's tale differently reflects her need for agency in her own powerless situation. This structure emphasizes that stories transform and heal, making the novel's themes of survival and resilience resonate beyond fantasy into contemporary life.

Common criticisms of What Once Was Mine include excessive length and pacing problems that drag the middle sections. Many Tangled fans felt the departure from beloved characters' personalities was too extreme, particularly Flynn Rider's characterization. The framing narrative with Daniella and Brendan divided readers—some found it meaningful while others considered it unnecessary and intrusive. Additional complaints mention convoluted plot additions that didn't serve the core story and the book feeling overwritten compared to other Twisted Tales entries.

What Once Was Mine ranks among the more polarizing entries in the Twisted Tales series. While books like A Whole New World and Part of Your World stay closer to their source material, this Rapunzel retelling makes radical changes that alienate some fans but thrill others. Readers who enjoyed Braswell's previous work note this as some of her strongest character writing. Unlike faster-paced entries like Straight On Till Morning, this book prioritizes emotional depth and trauma exploration over action, making it better suited for character-focused readers.