Yes, I will admit: I'm a big fan of Walt Disney. So when I saw Rita Stradling's retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I had to read this one. And yes, there is a beauty (Alainn) with a little strange inventor dad. And we have a plant (aka the rose) and a beast (meet Lorccan, a recluse with a secret). But this is where the parallels between Walt's movie and Rita's book end.

Was I disappointed? Well, certainly not! The story draws you in a nearby future, where there are AI robots everywhere. They walk, look and feel like you, but there are robots. And you have artificial intelligence in your homes, which create a happy living environment (including artificial windows, to show you everything you would like to see). It's a bit like Star Trek actually. But then it starts to get creepy. Because the AI-robots begin to have a mind of their own. And although they are programmed to avoid the hurting of people, the begin to create logic to evade these rules. So yes, I was officially spooked by this story. Rita does an excellent job in ensnaring you in her story. You will start with meeting Alainn and her genius family: father Connor and brother Colby. When Alainn let's herself be trapped in the mansion of Lorccan Garbhan to rescue her father from being send to prison, we meet Rosebud, the AI-robotics that control the mansion. At first, it's only the voice, which commands Alainn to go to dinner on time. But as the story progresses, we see that Rosebud is capable of much more things...



Lorccan (or Lor) is an intriguing person. At first, I really didn't like the guy: living as a recluse, scarred and strange. Who wants to eat dinner with a robot? But then Rita slowly shows you an inside of Lor's history and the reasons of his scars. Well, then take out your tissues, you are going to need them! So when you are warming up to the beast, the story suddenly takes a turn. What will AI-robots be capable of? Are they a match to a beast? One thing is for sure: I will probably not want something with arrtificial intelligence in my home for the next few decades.

High praise for Rita Stradling. Hopefully more books in this genre will follow. Four out of five stars from me. With a thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC.

During the time i was reading it Ihere on Netgalley, it popped up over on Kindle scout, Which I am alslso on, So I OUT IT Up FOR nomination. .. I loved this and I also nominated it on kindle scout...a great twist to a classi,

Ensnared is about a woman named Alainn Murphy whose father, Connor Murphy, has been commissioned to create a robot for the rich recluse, Lorccan Garbhan. Connor's robot, Rose, has been designed to be as human as possible but it seems like there are still a few issues that need to be worked out before his deadline to Lorccan. After asking for an extension of time, and being denied, Alainn agrees to temporarily switch places with Rose (who was designed to look like Alainn) until repairs could be completed. Unfortunately, she is unsure what Rose's purpose is at the Garbhan household.

Although it was pretty different than what I originally expected, I thought that the concept was pretty interesting. Alainn discovers that she is the only human in the house other than Lorccan, but there are plenty of other robots. The book brought up some ethical questions about AI and human interaction with automatons.Be forewarned- there are a few "steamy" sections in this book. I thought about recommending this book to some of my students and then realized that that wouldn't be the best idea.. lol. There are a few characters/questions I would've liked to have seen developed more, but overall, it was a quick read that I enjoyed. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. It's predictable but it's based on a well-known fairytale, so that comes with the territory. I like how we don't learn everything about the characters, only enough to give us a sense of who they are. It definitely leaves room for more storytelling- prequels, perhaps?

Futuristic fairy tale with robots and the Beast which pretty much follows the story line of the original fairy tale. A bit rushed at the end but all in all a good read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I was intrigued by this retelling of Beauty and Beast. The story takes place in the future. As in the Beauty and the Beast story, the father is an inventor. In this case he invents robots that are very human like. Unfortunately, he owes a robot to a client but the robot isn't finished. His daughter, Alainn decides to go to the client's house and pose as the robot to give her dad more time to finish. The client is a recluse much like the Beast and Alainn falls for him much like Belle. I had a hard time believing that someone couldn't tell a human from a robot especially after having an intimate relationship with them. The robot, Rose, that is supposed to go to the client, starts reprogramming herself and tries to kill Alainn. There is a lot of suspense but I feel the ending was a bit predictable. Overall, this book was a good read and the relationship between humans and robots intrigued me.

Sometimes it can be hard to talk about a property you didn't like. How do you articulate what went wrong for you without sounding petty? Without sounding as though you are whining?

'Ensnared' was a book that appealed to me immediately on premise alone. Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite dynamic/retelling. I am always ready. Beauty and the Beast with somewhat futuristic trappings? Gimme.

So what I'm saying is, I wanted to love it. I went in with the expectations I would. I just didn't.

Now, to be fair, if this had been strictly a YA property, I'd have given it three stars. Not necessarily because younger readers deserve less, but because some of the decisions made by characters would have made more sense if they had come from younger people. Coming from adults though? In a book geared towards adults? Not so much.

The setting
If you're going to bother having a story set in a world like this, sell me the world. I was constantly struggling with how futuristic the world was meant to be. Automatons exist and carry out certain menial tasks, but not all. AI is basically human and intuitive, but the main character is completely oblivious of technology, (I understand she isn't a 'genius' and that's meant to be her charm, but even today, *most* people know how everyday computers and such work--her, not so much). We have an entirely new currency, but no way of knowing how or why that is, or what infrastructure is in place, so it feels arbitrary. I could never get a real handle on how anything looked or functioned save for pieces parts. It never felt like a world, only a corner.

The pacing
For the most part the plot rolled along well enough. It did not take long to set up the story's foundation, and even with the whole Alainn takes Rose's place feeling a little convoluted, it wasn't that bad. The problem was, once the middle of the book rolled around, the plot ground to a halt. Alainn really isn't nearly as intrepid as Belle (I hate to compare a Disney property to a new adult novel but. . .Disney's Beauty and the Beast has become iconic). The scenes in the tower consist of Alainn sitting in her room, having dinner with Lorccan, watching movies and playing games, and then sitting in her room. The middle sections that should have us sharing the wonder of the tower, this place no one else has ever seen, just isn't there. The end is a little garbled and abrupt and there's a strange subplot thrown in that I'm still not even sure of the purpose of. The villain's motivations also felt like an afterthought, even though there was some buildup. I can't decide if it's because tonally it didn't seem to fit the rest of the novel or not.

Characters
Because this is a new adult property I did go in with some trepidation. The last thing I wanted to read was a book where the power dynamic was totally uneven. Beauty and the Beast easily lends itself to jeers of Stockholm Syndrome and sometimes, they're not wrong. I went in, worried that Alainn would be taken advantage of. Luckily that wasn't the case. And yet. . .

Because this is a romance, that needed to be the strongest and I just didn't feel it was. I understand Lorccan feeling attached to Alainn--he's never interacted with anyone else before. But. . .what about Lorccan attracts Alainn? What do they know about each other? What do they share? What do they trust each other with? The answer is, nothing really. She's just there long enough that she develops a crush on him, but you can't see why. Neither of them feel like strong enough characters for us to see what about each other they'd be drawn to. They fall in love because they must.

And now we come to the thing that bothered me. Lorccan, who does not like people, believes Alainn is a robot, a machine. Alainn begins an intimate relationship with him under this pretext, choosing not to tell him the truth. This. . .felt icky. Mostly because it seemed if the genders had been reversed, it would never have happened. It felt like Alainn took advantage of him in a way, and then when the truth is revealed, nothing much is made of it. Which felt unrealistic, because really.

Is it the worst book ever? By no means. It is fluff and fluff does has its charm. I did tear through the book, so it's not as though it's unreadable. But the charm I'd hoped for, the romance and the interesting setting, just didn't really happen for me.

Now out of all the Disney Tales Beauty & The Beast has got to be my all time favorite story, I'm a sucker for the plucky maiden and the misunderstood disfigured hero, so it stands to reason Ensnared and myself would fit together like a cuppa & biccy, a dog & a bone, and it did.
From the moment i started reading i was fascinated by this totally different and somewhat weird retelling of a futuristic beauty & the beast. It shouldn't have worked but it did.
I found myself cheering on Alainne as she pretended to be Rose 76GF and i got very caught up in the whole tale.
Alainne herself i found to be a very unselfish individual, all she wanted was to help her dad and if that meant putting herself out well, so be it. There was also some past issues that she still has trouble coming to terms with, this gives her a bit of a hero complex as she wants to save everyone, even at the cost of her own safety.
Now Lorccan Garbhan, mmm what to make of him as a character, I would say that our Mr Garbhan is quite a strange fella, isolated from society by what i surmise where very paranoid unloving parents, Lorccan has evolved into a eccentric anxious individual, afraid of the outside world, he is also heavily scarred which adds to his apprehension of outsiders.
Lorccan Wants a robot to help teach him to interact with others mainly a love interest Shelby who he has only spoke to on the phone.
I don't want to give much more away i will just say, that i couldn't help smiling as these two emotionally scarred people fell for each other, It was lovely watching them both discover each other a calm before the storm. there is action, love, drama, psychotic robots and cute robot monkeys.
I would have liked a slightly different ending, not as open-ended, but that in no way takes away from this marvelously inventive tale and is just a personal preference, give this whimsical story a go, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much you enjoy it, i devoured Ensnared in one sitting it hooked me like a duck.
I received a free e-arc of this ebook from NetGalley for a review and this is my own honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book. A futuristic retelling of Beauty and the Beast — I couldn't wait to get started.

I had high hopes for this book, and it didn't disappoint. I adored the characterisation of Alainn — she will do anything to keep her father out of prison and if that means pretending to be a robot, then so be it!

Lorccan character was very complex, and Ms Stradling drew him with incredible skill — he was very real in the telling, and my heart did bleed for him. He is the modern day Beast, but instead of an enchantment locking him away, it was years of abuse — he has the scars on his face to prove it. He has never been outside, but now that he is alone he longs for human company, but fear keeps him a prisoner. For now, he will settle for a robot as a companion.

Ms Stradling, certainly likes to take her readers on a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute I found myself laughing out loud, the next I was in tears. I really came to care about the characters.

A lot happens in this book, and I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it is enough for me to say this is one super read. Although futuristic it is realistic. Ms Stradling is an exceptional storyteller with a gift for creating amazing imagery and characters you just can't help but love. I simply adored this new take on Beauty and the Beast.

Would I recommend? You bet ya!

*I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley for review consideration*

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.]

It's more 2.5 stars, but I realize this review is turning out mostly negative, so I just put 2.

This is Beauty and the Beast with robots. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be as "adult" as it was - there is quite a bit of explicit sex starting towards the middle, so be aware of that. The reason I was surprised is because I read a review on NetGalley that said that it wasn't too explicit, and was appropriate for young adults, left by an "educator." I don't know what book she was reading, but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 18. I am not about censorship and am all for people choosing their own reading materials. I just feel that "not too explicit" absolutely does not describe the sex in this book (it was very very explicit).

So now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get to my actual review.

I thought the writing style was mostly well done. There was good narration, the suspense was pretty good, and I enjoyed most of the plot. I didn't like the dialogue, though. It wasn't really believable to me. I think that Lor's falling in love with a robot (and everything that happens after he does) just makes him seem like a doof. I realize that the only human contact he's ever had was from his messed up abusive parents and his online girlfriend (who turns out to have a major anxiety disorder so of course they get along), but how realistic are robots supposed to be in this society that he's having contact with a human being and doesn't get it?

Speaking of the society, I really could not get a sense of place from the narration. I felt like they were living in a quaint little neighborhood with this huge tower downtown. It's full of AI. Like seriously, everywhere. Cops, tow trucks, automatically driven cars, even hospital workers are all robots. Where are the humans? What are they supposed to do for a living? How did they get to this point? How does Lor have all this technology at his disposal and no one else seems to have anything even remotely similar?

Rose 76GF was genuinely creepy. Once her master plan is revealed, though, it seems a lot less anticlimactic than I think the author intended. I thought, "Oh, that's it? Ok..." It's not really sinister, more misguided from an AI that doesn't really understand humanity. I guess you could see it as sinister, considering the lengths she's willing to go to in order to make her goal happen, but the end result, while creepy and totally wrong, isn't that dramatic. I guess I've just read so many other dystopian novels that this seemed tame in comparison.

The backstory with Alainn's best friend Cara didn't serve much of a purpose, and I think if that part and the parts with her job on the mountain weren't involved, the story wouldn't have lost much. Then again, it adds dimension to a pretty one-dimensional character (Alainn really doesn't have a personality outside of wanting to be on a mountain rescuing people, and once she's stuck in Lor's tower she falls for him pretty quickly with absolutely zero reason). Lor doesn't have much of a character either, they are two bland people who I guess end up being perfect for each other. The only characters I did connect with ended up being AIs - Blue, one of the robot automatons that keep the tower running, and Rosebud, the AI that interacts with Alainn on a daily basis while she's locked in. So...I'm not sure if that says more about me, or the characters.

Despite all of this, it was a quick, semi-entertaining read. So while 2 stars means "It was okay," I didn't necessarily love it but I didn't hate it either. It was something to pass the time, but I wish I had spent that time reading something with a little more soul to it.

An interesting cautionary Sci-Fi / romantic tale, Ensnared bills it's self as a near future retelling of Beauty and the Beast. To save her gambling addicted father from prison our protagonist Alainn is convinced to stand in for a robot version of herself that was promised to a rich recluse but remains unfinished.
Ensnared was a quick read and certainly kept my interest for the duration. Details about a future where robots and AI are the norm are pretty sparse, although the story doesn't necessarily suffer. At its heart, Ensnared is a romantic tale that just happens to be set at this time.
Late on in the tale, a few interesting ethical questions are raised around the idea of artificial intelligence and the point at which certain 'human' rights should apply. There was not much exposition these ideas, again the story moved to its conclusion at the same quick pace.
On the whole a fun, fast read with lots of ideas and possibilities. While part of me would have liked it, any further exploration of these points would have taken a much lengthier volume and could well have detracted from the core romance of the story.

This was a bit too out there for my tastes. It also had what I would deem "cheating" on the part of the hero. He has a girlfriend (granted, it's a really messed up sort of relationship), and yet he falls in love and has sex with our heroine, who he thinks is a robot at the time. Yes, that's creepy, right? He has sex. With a robot. That he bought, so technically he literally owns her. She knows he has a girlfriend and it's wrong, but she does it anyway. He continues to call his girlfriend nightly while still having sex with his robot. I mean, really - how do I get on board with this? Too many wrong things going on for me to recommend this to anyone.

The premise for Ensnared caught my eye. I love creative retellings of fables and fairytales. Unfortunately, Stradling's execution of Beauty and the Beast leaves a lot to be desired. Almost none of characters have any sort of emotional depth or explicable motivations. Perhaps it is to set up some theme that Alainn is already surrounded by robot-like humans, but if it is it is set up poorly and never explained as such. Honestly, the robot Alainn is taking the place of has the most well explained motivation.

The pacing in the story is in need of a heavy handed editor. The points of emotional resonance in the story seem to come midway through the book with the second half feeling more like the denouement. Here is what I mean by this: what character growth both Alainn and Lor have exhibited (trusting robots, actually leaving the tower) all basically stop after this point. To the point that Lor is willing to let Alainn die at the end of the book out of anger and spite, because he thinks she killed Jade ]. If it represents any kind of growth from the middle of the book, it is not positive character growth.

I wanted to like this, it's Beauty and the Beast with robots!

When I read the blurb and realized this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I was like
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I love me a good retelling, so I was prepared for a romantic ride. What I didn't expect.. how freaking sexy this book was.
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This retelling had a major twist because scarred Lorccan thinks Alainn is a robot. So for a good portion of the beginning of the story I was wondering how he could develop feelings for her, but I had hope and no one could tell me differently.
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Since there is an AI robot, you know the robot is gonna go crazy and think she knows what's best for mankind. Robots are extremely creepy, so I was side-eyeing Rose the entire book, waiting for her to act.
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There was action, a complicated back story for both Alainn and Lorccan, and a crazy robot. My favorite part was, of course, the romance.
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Alainn breaks through the thick walls around Lorccan and makes him live again, but of course no love comes without tests. and theirs was TESTED!!!!!
Overall, a very good read.

I first came across Rita Stradling's Ensnared through the Kindle Scout program. I liked the description enough to nominate it. If you have not checked out the Scout program, I suggest you do. It has introduced me several new authors. Then I saw it available for review at Netgalley. It was an enjoyable and quick read.

The story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in the future. The future and the technology in it are an important part of the story. The curse is not what the reader normally associates with fairy tales. And this is one hell of a wicked witch. Trust me on this. This witch will make your skin crawl.

The main characters are Alainn, the young adult daughter of an important AI inventor Connor Murphy. Both Connor and Alainn's older brother, Colby, are both geniuses. Alainn is not. What she is, is a very direct and caring person. Caring enough to give up her freedom to save her father from jail. Lorccan Garbhan is an extremely (like Bill Gates wealthy) client of Connor Murphy's. Connor has designed AIs for Lorccan. Connor also has a gambling problem which he fuels with his client's money. When he cannot deliver his latest project, already paid for, Lorccan threatens to press charges and send him to jail.

While the story does have some of the traditional elements of The Beauty and the Beast, the girl putting herself at risk to save her father, the updated elements are well done. My only complaint is I was left unanswered questions about the curse itself. With the couple of f-words and descriptive sex, I would not give to a teen unless it was a mature teen and the parent read it first. This listed as New Adult and I would keep it in that category.

I really enjoyed this book, I was hooked from the moment I began to read it. The characters were well developed and the story itself was fantastic. There were many moments when I was there., frustrated as I yelled out loud about what the character was doing or what was about to happen. I became so engage with the story and found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable book.
I would certainly recommend this, especially to those who like a little bit of scifi with plenty of twists thrown in. Along with a bit of romance of course.

I wanted to read this because of the beauty and the beast reference. I expected it to be princessey, but im really glad it wasn’t. It’s a great insight into the world of artificial intelligence wrapped up in a simple love story, including acceptance of peoples compulsions, whether it be germs, adrenaline or gambling.
The story started slowly for me, and there were some points where I suddenly started thinking but what about, which was followed a chapter later by a workaround/explanation for it. It picks up pace towards the end – but its definitely a slow burner. I enjoyed the story – it’s a shame some of the characters were more developed to ‘round’ the story.

If I`d stopped reading at the half way Mark this could have been a 4* read. Unfortunately the plot unravelled and focused on tedious characters rather n the budding romance and I quickly found myself skimming pages. That being said, I`d definitely pick up another book by the author as the world building and concept really appealed.

Sold. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale. The amazing movie by Disney from my childhood probably has a lot to do with that. Even more, it’s quite simply one of the most romantic fairy-tales there is. The characters fall in love for all the right reasons, beyond bounds of appearances, judgement, and prejudices. You can always bet your last dollar that I’ll read a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

The past is a common setting for fairy tale retellings. Historical romance and medieval fantasy, usually. It was refreshing to see Ensnared using a different framework.

Ensnared is set close enough to present time that there isn’t the need for a lot of technical world building, which ends up being both good and bad, but it most definitely is the future. Robots do many and varied tasks: from every day menial things, to complex calculations.

With all these aspects to the story, Ensnared ended up doing better in some areas than others.

The romance between Alainn and Lorccan was sweet and nicely realized. It felt a little slow to build and then suddenly quite rushed, which was a bit of an odd transition for me. I liked that Alainn wasn’t there as a prisoner at Lor’s direction, which added a much better line of consent than the original has. There’s less Stockholm Syndrome, because he’s not her captor, and more bonding and care between two damaged people. I enjoyed this aspect quite a lot.

It was in the world-building and the plot that let me down. The world-building was sparse. There wasn’t a lot required – which was nice – but when you start describing a world in which AI is normal, I need to understand how we got there. When there are still junk, polluting cars, but AI capable of sustaining themselves and overwriting their programming, it’s too simplistic.

The robots themselves have evolved and there’s no real elucidation as to how this could have even happened. While I don’t want to read pages and pages of technical information, there was too much of a gap between plausibly realistic and what was happening here. I needed that link. It doesn’t take a lot either, just a little bit of history on how we got to the point where we could make realistic, human-passing, robots that are able to make themselves indestructible. Especially while the rest of technology hasn’t followed. Yes, there are holographic screens, but cell phones are still the norm, junk cars that belch fossil fuels are used, and the city seems normal, except robots are doing all the work – which makes me wonder what humans are doing to make a living.

The plot, too, got a little convoluted. Which is part of why the world-building fails. If the robots were a simple means of initiating the romance then I wouldn’t need all the background. That’s all they are, at first. But then there becomes this huge plot to do something, which we don’t really find out until the end. The AI robots are plotting and planning, many of them for various and contradictory purposes, and none of it really makes sense. Why do they choose the path they chose? I still don’t quite understand the logic of it. You have to really make me believe if the plan revolves around a single point being the fulcrum on which the future rests. Rose never convinced me of that, which made me question her plot, and thus the entire plot.

It didn’t help that there were random scenes from other points of view that were really unnecessary. Character showed up for no reason, adding nothing to the story.

Near the end the very interesting subject of what it is to be human, to have rights, was brought up. I didn’t have a lot of hope, by then, that the ethical and moral questions would really handled intriguingly. I was right. It was quickly brushed them aside because “evil robot.” Everything was tied up and resolved without really delving into the depth available with that subject, which makes me wonder why it was really brought up in the first place.

Ensnared is rife with possibilities, and while I enjoyed this entry of a Beauty and the Beast retelling it fell short in some of the other areas that it tried to branch into. I would have liked to see more depth to the ethical questions raised or have had them not included at all. There was a huge opportunity missed there.

Now, more than ever, I’m looking for stories to talk about real world problems and solutions in fantasy situations.

Beauty & the Beast retelling=sold. I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It took a very steamy turn, for which I have no complaints, but then the plot got a little wonky and characters were thrown together (for reasons that conveniently set up a love story for book 2?) and it felt forced (and rushed) and then (no spoilers) a bunch of stuff was skipped over and the tension was gone and I was just waiting for the last page to get here already. Overall a good read, but I was disappointed in the ending.