I was really excited to read a futuristic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, this one had a few too many elements that made me feel a bit iffy, so I ended up not enjoying it much in the end.

To save her father from prison, Alainn Murphy takes the place of a robot that looks just like her, in the home of Lorccan Garbhan, a disfigured billionaire who has never been outside the tower he grew up in What she expects is a life of servitude, but that’s not what she ends up getting…

There were some things I did like, so let’s talk about those first. I liked most aspects of the near-future world, including the variety of different robots and AI. I also liked the villain of the piece (I won’t give too much away). I thought the character’s motivations were quite well done, but I did feel that the climax was a bit too drawn out.

The thing that bothered me the most about this story was that as the romance developed between the two main character, Lorcann still thought Alainn was a robot. Even when they start having sex. Even when he starts proposing to her. There was a point where Alainn’s brother says something about Lorcann’s subconscious knowing she was human even if he hadn’t consciously figured it out yet, but that wasn’t enough for me. This could have been explored really well, but instead, it was barely looked at, other than Alainn feeling guilty for continually finding reasons not to tell Lorcann the truth.

As I said before, I felt the climax was a bit too drawn out, and the same could be said for several sections. The book felt too long and there were sections were I was bored enough to consider not finishing. I think this book could have worked really well with a bit of tightening up and a deep exploration of the issues it brought up (and hey, I read an ARC, so for all I know, this did come out more in the final version), but as it was, this was definitely not what I hoped for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book for review.

What an interesting and totally different way to see this book. It's a version of beauty and the beast of sorts, but with AI everywhere. I absolutely hated her brother and the way her father is portrayed, but I understood the point. Overall a great book.

I received this book via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Feelings and thoughts are as follows. I would highly suggest you not read ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled.

The original publication date was for December 2017 and it was moved up to the end of May 2017, effectively throwing me off my review game. I haven't the SLIGHTEST idea why they would jump publication so quickly. But who am I to question?

My general feeling after reading this Beauty and the Beast retelling?

EHHH.....

OK. Let me explain. The premise sounded interesting. Beauty and the Beast retelling in the future where automatons (AKA robots with AI) exist?

SciFi + Fairy Tale SHOULD = EXCELLENT

...BUT IT DOES NOT, sadly.

[Instead, what we got is a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome (Alainn) and Agoraphobic/OCD cleanliness issues (Lor)…NEITHER of which are addressed. I have a lot of problems with presenting mental illness and history of emotional and physical abuse with absolutely NO ONE addressing these issues. Basically it read like this:
 
 
Character A suffered at the hands of his/her abusive father/mother/other and therefore has many psychological issues stemming from that abuse. Today Character A exhibits these following symptoms: X, Y, Z, etc.

Character B has a long history of emotional instability relating through a traumatic past experience, leading to the death of a close friend/relative/other. Character B is constantly manipulated by outside forces and suffers emotional/financial abuse from his/her parent.
Character A and Character B fall madly in love after being locked together in a tower with no other option for companionship.

They are separated.

Forces bring them back together.

Neither address their psychological issues.

The End.


When I requested this, I thought it was a YA novel. However, about 50% of the way through reading, I found out it was a New Adult novel. WHICH IS A big, BIG DIFFERENCE. I was not expecting the scene that followed. I felt it came out of absolutely nowhere. It didn’t jive with the story at that moment. It felt like the author just threw in the scene… and for what? I have noooooo idea.

All in all, this book wasn’t for me. It took me a long time to get into reading it, I couldn’t connect with the characters, lots of issues are never addressed…I could go on and on. (hide spoiler)]

My opinions are my own, and I respect that many will read this book and enjoy it thoroughly. I, sadly, did not.

--- 15.5/20 • 3.5/5 stars---

Beauty and the Beast is my favourite fairytale from my childhood and Ensnared sounds so very alike that I couldn’t ignore this book. The story has some weaknesses but I really enjoyed it anyway, due to the futurist and science fiction universe. It was pretty addictive.

Ensnared has its own universe, but the inspiration of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale is very well used. We can find details that sound familiar and it’s far from being unpleasant! Alainn goes to Garbhan’s tower to save her father like Belle goes to the Beast’s castle to save hers. Garbhan lives alone, scarred and scared, and this recluse life highly reminds us of the Beast’s own life. And, of course, there is love; the kind of powerful love that makes people stronger!

I really like Alainn. She’s a devoted daughter, sister, and friend, and she’s not the stupid-type. Alainn is clever –not the same intelligence that her father and brother possess, however she’s brave, loyal, and fierce. Following her adventures was delightful. On the other side, Garbhan is far more mysterious. Information about him are doled out in drops!

Unfortunately, the romance between them is not what I expected. I felt like it was written to be too perfect and in result, their relation felt very cold to me. There is no chemistry. I like them both, butI didn’t like them together. As the romance takes a big place in Ensnared, it took me some time to feel comfortable. The fact that Garbhan thinks Alainn is a robot may have been the reason why.

Luckily, there was something else that took a lot of place in Ensnared: robots and AI. And this, guys, I LOVED it! If you have seen and loved sci-fi movies about robots and AI, you’ll love that side of Ensnared. Even if I still have a lot of interrogations, I enjoyed meeting Rose 76GF, Rosebud, and strange little monkeys! It was a real pleasure to question myself every chapter about what’s real, what’s not, what’s bad, what’s good, and so on!

In conclusion, Ensnared may not have convinced me with its romance, but the universe definitively got me.

This is more adult soap opera-y/guilty pleasure spin on Beauty & the Beast tale set in 2026 where AI & robots are involved.

Alainn's father will go to jail due to not delivering an AI automaton on time, and since it is made in her image, an elaborate plan is concocted for Alainn to take the robot's place! So our "Beauty" is trapped in a "smart" tower with the snarky Voice in charge, with the mysterious unaware "Beast" Lorcann Garbhan.

You sympathize with Alainn form the very beginning (talk about selfish family, even the robot is selfish) & you root for the crazy plan to work. This is not the romance of misunderstandings you were expecting (even if it starts that way) but evolves into a who is conning who now drama & a rescue thriller!

Loved the mystery of Lorcann, why he needs an AI companion, his story. You can feel his crushing loneliness depicted even in his surroundings. The story is sweet, sad, cleverly bringing ingredients of the story we love into the technological age but being inventive enough to be its own story. There the book did well, I grinned and laughed with the situation.

When the story starts to become a thriller is where it gets into trouble, the change is too jarring IMO, too much is thrown into the story,even a conspiracy in the mix. Maybe the story needed more pages to breathe.

I also believe Lorcann should of realized earlier that she was human (especially the way their relationship evolved) no matter how deprived he was of human contact. But Lorcann & Alainn are so charming together you still want to find out what happens to them & you finish the book with a smile.

Although I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, all opinions remain my own.

This book was quite the ride. When I saw it was about an AI robot, I figured things wouldn't be going well for the humans. That's usually how it goes. What I didn't expect was how much I would learn to love the characters. The book seemed super weird at first. Man wants AI robot to be his company for dinner each night, that's it. But the man sits at a darkened end of the table, invisible to his company. Unseen, the stranger is more compelling then Alainn thought he would be.

I devoured this book in a day. Watching, waiting what was going to happen to Alainn kept me going. Then wondering what was going on kept me reading. My husband was amazed I finished this one so quickly.

Totally recommend this book to lovers of the sci-fi. It does have a few adult situations and does have a disclaimer. Not for young readers. A great one though. Pick it up!

A futuristic Beauty and the Beast retelling sounded right up my alley, and this book did not disappoint. In a world where cyborg technology and life like robotics are real, Alainn is the daughter of a tech designer who is struggling to fill an order and faces prison if he cannot supply the mysterious and demanding Lorccan with Rose, a companion robot within the specified time. While he has managed to make Rose, something about her is not quite right, and so to save her father Alinn agrees reluctantly to take her place and buy some time. Pretending to be a robot will be difficult enough, but it becomes impossible when she begins to develop feelings for her new "owner" and to make matters even more complicated he appears to return them.
While the story loosely follows the traditional tale, there are more than enough twists and turns to keep the reader entertained and some interesting ideas about what makes us human, and what it means to love. Aside from the human characters, I actually found the distinctive characterisation of some of the robots, particularly Rose , was really well done and added another dimension to the story. I could easily imagine this book appealing to fans of Melissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, but I would also recommend it for any fan of fairy tale retellings, and for those who like a little light science fiction in their books, without it becoming too overpowering.

Unique and interesting take on beauty and the beast. Easy reading. Could, or do, computers rule the world? Try it

Take Beauty and the Beast.... add in robots, AI technology and other sci-fi gadgetry...and you've got Ensnared.

Alainn Murphy is determined to keep her father out of prison. He was hired to create an ultra-advanced robot for a reclusive wealthy man and has been working on it for months. But the deadline has come and gone and the Rose project isn't finished. The project's backer, Lorccan Garbhan, has refused to extend the deadline or provide more funds. In his mind, Alainn's father has stolen from him, wasting his money on gambling instead of completing the robot he was hired to design. Alainn's brother and the family's AI robot are working to complete the project. To buy more time, they decide Alainn should enter Garbhan's household pretending to be the completed robot. Then when the project is actually completed, the new robot and Alainn will switch places and nobody will be the wiser.

But, the plan goes wrong. Horribly wrong. Not only is Alainn stuck pretending to be a robot, but she's falling in love with Lorccan.

I love the Beauty and the Beast story! When I saw this book listed as a futuristic retelling of the story, I knew I had to read it! In a lot of ways, the story does mirror the basics of Beauty and the Beast, but it just didn't have that magical feel of the more traditional story for me. The romance between the main characters fell a bit flat because Lorccan thinks she's a robot. When Alainn was unable to suppress her human reactions to things -- laughing, showing desire, needing food -- -how could he not have realized he was being tricked and that she wasn't a robot?

I didn't dislike the book -- I enjoyed reading it! The story line was really interesting -- I loved the sci-fi angle. The retelling is original and engaging. But the characters just fell a bit flat for me. I really didn't feel invested in the characters or their romantic situation. I think maybe if I wasn't such a big fan of the original story that I would have enjoyed this futuristic retelling a bit more.

This is a retelling aimed at adults. There are sexual scenes in this story and some language, so parental guidance is required before letting anyone under the age of 16 read this book.

To find out more about the author and her books, check out her website: http://ritastradling.wixsite.com/rita-stradling-books

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

For a retelling this was creative, but as a story it fell a little flat for me. It was ok but it just wasn't one of those books that I was like die hard to read. The characters were great as well was the story but side stories kept bogging the story down it just wasn't needed. I do think I will try another story from this author in the future as I did love the writing it was just parts of the story that just didn't work well of me.

While I greatly enjoyed the artificial intelligence, the ‘villain’, and the evolution of the retelling in Ensnared, the fundamental premise of their relationship kept me from connecting with their romance.

Let’s start with the positives shall we? In terms of this story as a retelling, I loved that Ensnared is a departure from the original. It not only take the elements of Beauty and the Beast and twists them, but it evolves them, not only into the future, but also in every aspect. For example, Alainn in the original is willing to sacrifice for her father, but in the retelling, not only does that character trait remain, but Alainn herself has a much more complicate backstory. Her relationship with her father is more complicated than love, but instead tied up with guilt and blame. Because of that, I found that Alainn was one of my favorite characters, second to the ‘villain’ of course, due to the unraveling of her past.

That brings me to my favorite character, the ‘villain’. There is little I can say here that would not give away the plot. So I will be as general as I can be. I loved the evolution of the ‘villains’ storyline. I put villain into quotations, because one of the strongest features of that character, is the debate about whether or not they are, indeed, a villain. Those with questionable morals, perhaps motivated by a desire to do good, are my absolute favorite. Because of this, and the sneaky convoluted way their plot is revealed to us, is why I enjoyed that character the most.

Robots and artificial intelligence is a huge part of this story. The whole premise is that Alainn must masquerade as a robot. The entire discussion surrounding this aspect, was incredibly fascinating. It became more so, when the question of nature versus nurture was brought up. There is one programmer who believes that robots cannot do ‘evil’, because they are much like a toaster. Another brings up that robots have far more advanced programming and have a ‘choice’ to do evil, unlike a toaster. Then they discuss, only for a mere second unfortunately, whether by nature robots are capable of those actions, or if by nurture and their surrounding human influence, they become capable. Incredibly interesting point, in my opinion.

Additionally, the artificial intelligence characters and robots were among my favorite characters. Even though they were robots, they gained such a life of their own. Rose, the robot Alainn is taking the place of, immediately took on a personality of her own and only became more fascinating as the story continues. That was the way all of my relationships with the robots were. Whether they had human characteristics or motivations, they were lifelike and compelling in a way that I found most of Alainn’s family not to be. It was extremely hard for me to empathize with her father because of his indecisiveness. Additionally, until I found out more about their family history, I really did not like her brother (although this changed once their pasts are revealed).

Now, I do have two major complaints. Firstly, their discussion of mental illness. Lorccan, the millionaire who has commissioned the robot, suffers from hypochondria. He is never actually diagnosed as such, but he refuses to leave the house because he is afraid of ‘contamination’ from the outside world. What strikes me the wrong way, is that this is never dealt with and the explanation for it is quite sinister. But to me it feels like a plot device, an explanation for his reclusiveness and scars and that does not sit well with me. It would have been much better if, by the end, there was a discussion of it. Additionally, he calls other people suffering from hypochondria ‘insane’ which merely damages the stigma surrounding mental health. (I do not want to spoil the plot, so I will not comment on their actions here, but I do feel that there needed to be more intervention sooner and merely displays the dangers of transferring your own fears to your children).

What impacts the plot entirely are my feelings regarding their relationship: Alainn and Lorccan. It gave me all sorts of strange feelings. First of all, I think from the early onset you can see, knowing the story it is retelling, that there will be a romance between them. Lorccan thinks that she is a robot, even though I think Alainn does an awful job of concealing this. While I have nothing against relations with a robot, from their conversations you can see that it’s not accepted by society. So even though we’re in the future, where robots are everywhere, even robot policemen, relations with robots are still taboo.

But it’s not even the nature of their relationship, robot and human, it’s the premise. First off, Alainn can only wear dresses around the house and that seems, to me, like sexualization of the robot. Especially since Alainn is not there for cleaning, but for company. Since Lorccan has never been outside, he is not aware of how to interact with humans or society conventions, like dinners. So Alainn is more or less there, as a robot, to teach him how to interact with humans. If that wasn’t backwards enough, she definitely seems like a training ground, a tester, and because of that, their relationship power dynamics seems unequal.

Essentially that is what it is. Lorccan, at any time, can have her removed or decommissioned. He can take all of the knowledge he has learned and use it however he wants. By not celebrating their relationship, it feels very much to me like the woman in the attic trope (she seems hidden away, a disposable secret of his). All in all, their relationship felt unequal while he believes that she is a robot.

In the end, I enjoyed reading this from an artificial intelligence stand point, and that area of the plot was increasingly interesting. But from a relationship perspective, I could not really buy into it. It felt unsettling and if there is going to be a relationship between them, I wanted it to be transparent and more equal (not that I’ve really read a story like this because, some would argue, there is a fundamental inequality that exists there, but I’ll leave that discussion for later).

When I first read the description for this book I knew I had to read it. A futuristic Beauty and the Beast retelling involving robots. How could I not? I am delighted to say that, for the most part, Ensnared did not disappoint.

This is a story that focuses on, for the sake of the retelling aspect, a beast in his tower. Afraid to go out into the world. Afraid to let anyone glance upon his face. But a life of solitude gets lonely, and to help him adjust to the idea of expanding his universe he commissions a beautiful, life like AI to be built for him. To live with him in his tower and to become his friend. Someone he can practice being real with. Someone he doesn't need to hide from.

Our futuristic Belle is actually to be an AI named Rose, but Rose has other plans. Sending in, instead, her creator's daughter Alainn, whom she was modeled after, to take her place. Alainn goes along with the plan thinking doing so she is protecting her family. She has no idea the insidious plans being made behind her back, no grasp on how completely this ruse will change her life.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stradling's story concept. It was a truly inventive twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. My only complaint was the author's inclusion of flagrant sex scenes. For near half the book it was clean and there was really nothing to deter me sharing this book with my 13 year old when I finished. Then things took a turn. The sex was not simply alluded to, it was very much the focus of several chapters. I honestly think the story would have worked just as well without this addition and would have allowed for a bigger marketability of the book. So, there you have it.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this review copy and opportunity.

Side note: I much prefer the cover on the ARC than the one that appears to be the final print option.

The characters were confusing and the story is very light.
Saying that it is a easy read.

The fault of me not liking this book lies entirely with myself. I love sci-fi. I love beauty and the beast. What could there possibly be not to love about Ensnared? It is unfortunate to say that I do not enjoy stories about robots-EVER. I couldn't finish Cinder by Marissa Meyer, I couldn't finish the robot version of cinderella-hec I don't even remember the book's name. And- I couldn't finish Ensnared.

So, I cannot fully say who would like Ensnared, but I for one felt like this was a 50 shades of soft erotica wanna be trying to prance around as beauty and the beast. BUT HEY, IF THAT"S YOUR THING, NO JUDGEMENT. The writing in and of itself was acceptable.

I will read any Beauty and the Beast retellings so I was really excited when I received an ARC of Ensnared. I haven't read a futuristic Beauty and the Beast retelling and the synopsis sounded really interesting to me.

The main character Alainn takes the place of Rose, an AI her father built for Mr. Garbhan. When I was reading the synopsis, I assumed that Mr. Garbhan, or Lorrcan as Alainn comes to know him, knew that a human was taking the place of the AI he was expecting. Very early in the book we find out that he does not know and this seems a bit hard to pull off to me. Of course, the author finds a way to incorporate all of a humans needs into something that an AI also needs to do. I found this a bit off. I also found it a bit off that Lorrcan sees nothing wrong with having a sexual relationship with an AI. I'm sorry that is just not my thing, I find it to be kind of odd. And the fact that he thinks an AI would also behave the same way when in an intimate situation, was also kind of hard to believe.

I had high hopes for this book but I just didn't really like it. There were too many things that were just too weird to me to actually get invested in the main characters and enjoy the story. Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC.

I'm a HUGE fan of fairytale retellings, but I did not enjoy this one that much. It was all to much to the surface, not much depth...
I did not like the MC.. It just didn't work for me, don't know...

While waiting for Rita Stradling to complete her Dakota Kekoa trilogy I thought I'd pick this book up to hold me over. It sounded interesting...a sci-fi retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Yes please! While it was creative and unlike anything I've read before, it still didn't live up to how much I've love her other books. I know, I know. I shouldn't be comparing apples and oranges but I can't help, OK?

This story closely follows the overall message of Beauty and the Beast but takes place in a futuristic society. It's centered around Alainn, who is sent to the home of a recluse named Lorccan. The catch? She has to pose as one of her father's robots, the Rose 76GF. You see, her father, while completely brilliant, is a gambler and cheater who has gotten both of them into trouble. The whole question is what will Lorccan do when he realizes that she isn't actually a robot, but a living breathing human?

I was entertained while reading this book and read through it quite quickly. However, it didn't really flow, parts were uneven and there were a lot of parts that either didn't add up or caused confusion. The insertion of random minor characters was completely unnecessary. That said, I did really like the two main characters. They were deeply flawed but funny and interesting. The setting made it really standout! I have no clue how Stradling came up with it but if it wasn't advertised as a Beauty and the Beast retelling I could have easily read it as completely original in every sense of the word.

Overall, Ensnared is a book that I'm glad that I had a chance to read. It demonstrates the amazing amounts of creativity Stradling possesses, she truly had a talent with taking things and turning them on their heads. However, it felt a bit rushed and uneven. A few more edits or clarifications here and there would definitely improve its readability.

Ensnared was an odd odd book. It was intriguing enough to keep me reading to the end, but it wasn’t entirely believable for me. It has an interesting premise that I thought could be really promising but it very much fell flat for me.

First some good things. I liked that the Artificial Intelligence had enough differences in personality that I could quickly tell the difference between Rosebud, Rose, and Rosette. I liked that Alainn was independent, and that we actually get to see her without the catty step-sisters, but instead a decent big brother. I also liked the sci-fi feel of the world. Aside from that though I just didn’t feel the rest of the book.

I didn’t understand Rose’s motivations, and I didn’t understand Lorcan and his weird desire to stay inside. This poor guy was abused by his parents, and falls in love with the first slightly human thing he interacts with. Granted she was human, but she’s really the only person he’s ever met “in real life”. It was weird, and then he spends all this time trying to make the actual robot love him. Then everything is magically better, even though he still refuses to go outside. I just couldn’t buy into it, especially because Alainn does nothing to get him therapy and help. It’s kind of like “Oh well, we just accept him as it is, even if that leaves him in torment.” Unfortunately with all of those plot issues, I can only give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Calling this a Beauty and the Beast retelling doesn't give it enough credit. While there's a vague similarity in the overall storyline, this book is so much more than just that.
Alainn's father creates robots with AI. To pay off his gambling debts he has to hand over his Rose model but she has overwritten her own programming and persuades Alainn to go in her place and pretend to be a robot in order to give her father more time to fix things. The first half is good but it is in the second half that it gets really exciting.