To start off, this book was labeled as Young Adult, and would have to share that this is not a Young Adult, more in the New Adult category. The characters were lacking in likablilty and any sort of depth. I never was able to connect with any of the characters, they just had nothing there to connect with. Alainn, the main character, was all over the place, and it was difficult to even try to follow her train of thought. The premise for the book kept getting weirder and just didn't make sense. The AI technology was alright, but it was like trying to mesh two different worlds and yet never getting that accomplished. The cover art was amazing, the book was lacking in development and writing. I wanted to enjoy this book, but never got there. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

I thought I wouldn't enjoy this book as I started reading it, I even put it down a few times,but I'm so glad I carried on reading. The book is described as a near-future retelling of The Beauty and the Beast and it didn't disappoint. While some aspects of the relationship between Lor and Alainn (Rose/Jade) was a bit creepy to say the least, I found that it was also extremely relatable. You could imagine reacting in a similar way to a similar situation.

This book brought up a few topics around anxiety disorders, especially post traumatic disorders and I wish it had pressed more on spreading awareness underhandedly. The one aspect I really just didn't quite get used to was the third person narration, it got especially confusing when there were more than two people in the room and more than one gender.

Judging from the book's cover (gasp! I know) and the publisher's description, I was expecting some sort of romance element. I was surprised for a good portion of the book, wherein the main character's musings repeatedly stressed an avoidance of romance to the extent that it seemed to be the <i>author's</i> disposition, rather than an aspect of the story.

The leading lady, Alainn, instead pondered much upon the minds and emotional dysfunction of individuals involved in and driving the development of technology. I think I have come to a better understanding, by seeing the world through Alainn, of how my wife sees me and my love for technology. Of course I want a refrigerator I can talk to; Alainn helped me empathize with my wife, and see how a conversant fridge could be a little freaky.

But that was just the first part. Somewhere in the middle, the story line took a definite turn, in a manner similar to: "Story. Introspective musings. Story. Psychoanalysis. Story. Technology is freaky. Story story story. More psycoanaly--Oh ROMANCE! Oh, yes! Romance! Oh, oh oh oh! Sweet romance! Oh, um... ah, story. Technology is--More Romance! YES! Must have ro.... okay, story. But ROMANCE! Yes! No.... must psychoanalyze some mo--Must Romance!!! Yes!"

So all in all, a good romance story. The book was also a good reminder of Zen and motorcycle maintenance, in its own way. And it gets bonus points for holding the two main plot devices of Romance and Subservient Sentient Robotic Technology without any serious casualties.

I really, truly LOVED this take on Beauty and the Beast! I can't even be eloquent because I just finished and I'm completely floored. The twists and turns and surprises kept me hooked. It took me hours to get to sleep last night because I hadn't finished and couldn't figure out how things were going to be improved. One of my most favorite reads this year!

This book was great. I found it to be a really original take on Beauty and the Beast, and I thought the concept was extremely interesting with the execution of it quite skilled. I found Alainn to be a strong protagonist, though admittedly not too compelling - at least in my opinion. I didn't find myself laughing throughout this novel, but the sci-fi components interwoven with the fairytale retelling was intriguing enough that I didn't find myself caring too much. The sci-fi element to this novel was very intriguing, and I'd like to see more of this world from Stradling - perhaps further fairytale retellings?
Though I didn't find Alainn too compelling a protagonist, I did like her. She was likeable and very relatable - a fact that's largely attributed to her being presented as flawed and therefore more human. AI vs Humanity was an interesting factor in this novel, especially at its beginning where Alainne's survival was largely routed in her depending on the Rose AI's. I thought that the intensity of the novel could have been further drawn out in the beginning . Alainn's isolation in her predicament as a human pretending to be a robot for a potentially dangerous stranger could have been further highlighted to add to the atmosphere of the novel. While I was curious as to how it would turn out, I didn't ever feel Alainn to be in any danger, and I feel like in tweaking the atmosphere in those chapters the investment of the reader would be greatly increased.
Over all, I did really enjoy the novel - the conclusion was satisfying. I just wish the suspense in those early chapters could have been built up a little bit more. I'd love to read more from Stradling in the future.

I felt compelled to read this book when I saw it was loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. I am impatiently waiting for the new film so I thought that this could be my fix.

I thought that this book was very appropriate given the way technology is advancing at an alarming rate. After a fairly slow start I was positively hooked. I couldn’t stop reading and I even debated propping my eyes open with match sticks so I could finish the book.

This book is very clever in how it has taken the beauty and the beast romantic storyline and twisted it into a complex world of robots and artificial intelligence. It has something for every, beautiful romance and a blossoming relationship that was wonderful to read. But for a reader that needs more, there is a debate throughout the book about the dangers of AI. It was interesting to see the side of not just the humans but also the robots.

I loved the way that this book address a topical concern of our future but in a way that is gripping and addictive. The action and revelations in this book were nail biting and I couldn’t believe my eyes at the dramatic ending this book had. It was heart-stopping at times and I was completely submerged in this world of robots and love.

I think what is addictive in this book is that there were so many aspects to it. It wasn’t straightforward and there are a variety of characters whose story and personality contributes to the debate throughout this book.

I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in robots and a futuristic (not really too far in the future now) look at the world and of course, a beautiful love story. I’m not saying there aren’t a few flaws in this book but I overlooked them as I was so engrossed in the world and love story unfolding before me.

I love Beauty and the Beast since I was a kid, so I was so excited to read a retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Rita Stradling.

The story is set in a world where human lives with a robot side by side. I'm so fall into how amazing this book is because the plot is so convincing and has grow interest in me to know more what happen next. In order to released and saves her father from prison, Allain has been forced to disguised as a robot.

Each of the characters in Ensnared is very strong that make it more interesting with every of them has their own story especially with the psychopath of Rose which make me crazy about her, I'm so annoyed with her craziness.

All in all, I loved and enjoy this book so much and couldn't wait for it to be released so that I could own a physical copy of Ensnared.

I was first intrigued by the synopsis that it's similar to the Beauty and the Beast tale. My! What an engaging, strange, and wonderful story. Loved the heroine and the hero wasn't creepy nor did he try to take advantage of the heroine as one would think when it comes to an "enslavement" of some sorts. I felt genuine friendship and compassion between the two main characters. The "Roses" were odd but very interesting to read! Scary how robots could someday take over the world if we allow it!
The cover of the book is nice with the silhouette of a girl and the background looks like programs or computer chips. The title can throw you off a bit because it made me wonder who was being "ensnared" but after reading the story, I realized that almost all of the characters in the book had some sort of "ensnarement"..
I'd recommend this book if you're looking for some very fascinating take on robots in the future, romance, and great storytelling.

I really loved this book! It has way more depth than I was expecting, the characters are all dynamic, well-rounded, and all very interesting, with pasts and lives and personas each their own. The weaving of the futuristic sci-fi elements was very well-done. The romance was sexy and hot and beautifully rendered. As someone who traditionally does not enjoy romance, I totally dug this couple.
Check out my review on goodreads to learn more.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1915975041

This book grabbed my attention as soon as I read the blurb...I re-telling of the classic "Beauty & the Beast" with robots...yes please.
When I started this book, I was very quickly sucked in and excited to see how this was going to play out. As the story progress I kind of lost interest, simply put because I knew that no matter what Alainn & Lorcan were going to end up together. In my opinion, I found there to not be enough conflict surrounding the main couple...and for some reason that bothered me.
Overall, this was a fun read.

I didn't like this book from the beginning. The characters were obnoxious, the take on the beauty and the beast story was boring and the writing was mediocre. I had to push myself to finish it and even know I can't remember most of what happened, I only remember that I was bored and annoyed reading it.

I greatly enjoyed this book. The action started at the beginning and kept going through to the conclusion. The author is very good at weaving a classic tale into a futuristic scifi setting. The protagonists were intriguing and I wanted so much for the happy ending they received. Though some pieces of the story were underdeveloped I never lost interest in the story. Overall, this is a quick read that is delightful.

Any book that is sold a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast is one that I will most likely be interested in. It is one of my favourite stories of all time and to see something that might bring a refreshing element, intrigues me.
Part of the description for the novel states "Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake. Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But something in her comes out wrong.To save her father from a five-year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place.'
I'm going to start off with the parts about the book I wasn't so keen on, that way the review can only get better as oppose to leaving it on a negative note. One thing I wasn't so keen on was the necessity of the backstory between Cara and Alainn. I didn't think it added anything or motivated Alainn's actions in anyway and it felt quite contrived and not necessary. I did like Greg's character however and as Alainn's friend thought he was a very good addition to the novel as a whole. I do also think it is unbelievable that Lorrcan fell in love with a robot. I do find it hard to imagine (even thought it was explained) that he didn't know she wasn't human in the first place. Also his issue with decontamination and going outside, I didn't find this was explained sufficiently.
I did however like this book for a couple of reasons: first being the characters. I did enjoy reading through Alainn's narrative as I thought she was interesting and 'realistic' as oppose to some characters you often read. Despite being younger as well, she didn't come across as being whiny or spoilt. So Alainn was an addition to the story. Another reason why I liked this book is due to the boundaries pushed within the story. I have never encountered a novel that deploys AI Intelligence in this way. These details were intricately woven into the stories plot and it was interesting to read about. It was a concept I hadn't read about before and the backstory behind why she has to go live with the 'Beast' due to the AI element is interesting. It was also just about the right length and the character development was good. Furthermore, the whole AI element did feel very 'real'
In order not to spoil anything I can't go in to too much detail but there was a mention of dialysis and a transplant that I didn't think was necessary in any way whatsoever, it also seemed very rushed. The book seems to go from 0-100 constantly. Coming from someone who has this issue within their family it could feel potentially insensitive. That is just my opinion however, it didn't affect my views on the book as a whole in anyway whatsoever, I did like the characters. It wasn't a massive issue just something I picked up on.

Final thoughts, if you like AI/Robotic elements within novels then this book is for you! Combined with a romantic element it does follow the traditional story of Beauty and the Beast very well, with a twist that makes if futuristic.
Although I received this through net galley, ALL opinions are always my own, I aim to be completely honest in every review I write.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of this book. I love "beauty and the beast" retellings. This was a good addition to the retelling genre but I did not feel that it did anything ground breaking. An interesting take on the classic story but also an odd retelling.

If you like to read about robots giving humans commands, then this is the book for you.

However, if you like to read stories with well-developed characters and plot, then stay away.

I hate ripping into these kinds of books. Obviously, these authors aren't well-known and are trying to make their mark on the writing world. That being said... yikes.

The premise of Ensnared was super intriguing. Even the cover pulled me in. With all of the "Beauty and the Beast" fervor circulating because of the new movie, it seemed like a great book with an interesting viewpoint.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

From the very first page, I knew I was in for a long ride. Alainn, the main "Belle" character in this saga, is driving to have a chat with the main "Beast" character, Lorccan. In frustration, she utters the word "crap," and the robotic computer voice tells her not to use profanity. Ok... Since when is "crap" a swear word? Already I could see that this character was going to be the "rebellious" and "unique" prototype heroine in most young adult stories. Problem is, this isn't a young adult story, something I was not aware of until halfway through the book.

Anyway, the plot is a bit flimsy - Alainn's dad is building a robot for Lorccan, but the robot has become sentient and doesn't want to go. Because the deadline is tomorrow and there is no time to build a replacement robot, Alainn goes in her place (since the robot was constructed to look just like her, what a coincidence!). This is such a bad plan, but I was willing to go with it because it seemed fun.

Finally, we meet the mysterious Lorccan - and find he's a pretty boring dude. Seriously. He's super into routine and never, ever leaves his tower. He seemingly has no interests or hobbies. I guess he works out a bit at his in-home gym and watches movies? Oh, and he's always wearing a suit, even though he lives alone and has never come into contact with another human being before. He has this sort of internet girlfriend, but that's never really explained. Basically, just think your typical nerd, but with some kind of not-so-ugly scar on his face.

I guess this is one of the reasons he can't tell that Alainn isn't a robot? Because I'm pretty sure any person would easily be able to establish that Alainn isn't a robot in one glance. But actually, maybe her lack of a personality is the key to this. While she has a little more humanity than Lorccan, she is still quite boring and underdeveloped. I mean, I guess she likes the outdoors, because she's constantly mentioning her job as some kind of park ranger rescue person? Oh, and her best friend was killed by bad guys one day a long time ago, and she feels bad about it, or something.

Taking the place of all those dishes and knick-knacks in the original tale is a robotic maid service called Rosebud. She is constantly ordering Alainn around and telling her what to do. In fact, I'd estimate that at least 50 percent of the book is her giving Alainn commands such as, "Alainn, please leave your room," or "Alainn, you must leave now if you don't want to be late." I get that she's a robot and it's her job to do stuff like this, but it got tiresome very quickly.

While Rosebud is a robot so it makes sense for her to talk in this robotic fashion, the humans were also written with very robotic dialogue as well. I don't know about you, but I generally don't say a person's name every time I direct a sentence to them. Especially if they're the only person in the room. Well, prepare to discover an entirely new method of dialogue, as these characters are constantly calling each other by name even though they're already in the middle of a conversation with each other. It's so unnatural that it made me just kind of skip some conversations.

Back to the plot. Alainn is ordered to eat dinner with Lorccan everyday. Nothing really happens at these dinners. However, before long, Alainn gets bored and starts asking Lorccan to play games and watch movies with her. Ok, makes sense - she is a human and humans get bored with sitting around a tower all day.

Here's where it gets stupid (if it wasn't stupid already). One day, they are watching a movie together. Lorccan starts massaging her, then suddenly, they are making out. WHOA. When did Netflix and chill with robots become a thing? Also, when did these guys start having romantic feelings towards each other AT ALL? There was no buildup and no chemistry whatsoever. Last thing I remember, Alainn said she could tolerate his presence. But I thought that was just because she was spending the rest of her time all alone locked in her room?

Anyway, Lorccan does come to his senses and puts an end to it. BUT, later that night...

Alainn hears him screaming in his nightmares (he does this a lot) and goes to investigate. She finds him naked and in a night terror. Creepy, but ok. Eventually she wakes him up, and... they start having sex. Whaattttt???

Yeah, remember that young adult vibe I was talking about earlier? That was completely shattered here. This wasn't some sensual yet tasteful love scene. This was straight out of an erotic novel, especially the vocabulary. All of a sudden, these characters go from simply tolerating each others' presence to being completely in love.

That's right - not only is this a gratuitous sex scene - it's the scene in which Alainn realizes she is in love with him. The two most boring and underdeveloped characters in literary history fall in love with each other with absolutely no warning or buildup... I guess it's kind of perfect, really. They were made for each other.

So whatever, these two Mary Sues are now happily having sex on every other page, but the plot must go forward, so the original robot (her name is Rose) Alainn replaced eventually stirs the pot. She gets Alainn out of the tower and sends in a replacement robot instead. All should seemingly be ok, BUT WAIT! It turns out that Rose is actually an evil robot bent on destroying the world!

I wish I was kidding.

A series of carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, and robot punching events later... Alainn and her father are in court to stop Rose from her evil, world-ending ways. That's right, this book takes yet another turn and becomes a courtroom drama. Hmm...

I won't share the ending, because if you ever do decide to read this trite work of art, I want there to be some surprise. But needless to say, the ending was just as dumb as the rest of the book. Ok, I'll tell you.

Alainn marries Lorccan and they live happily ever after in their tower (which he still never leaves). This makes total sense for her and I'm sure she'll never regret this decision considering she was talking the whole novel about how being outside in nature is her life. Oh, and she's pregnant with twins, because.

This was just... not a good book. There were really no redeeming factors. I'm giving it two stars out of generosity and because, while it was a trainwreck, it was at least an interesting trainwreck. It doesn't come out until December, but I would recommend you avoid it. Don't be tempted by the cool cover and plot description (or this super awesome trailer that definitely would have ensured I never read the book)!

Rating

2 out of 5 stars!

I am choosing not to publish a full review on this, only as I couldn't really connect with it, which is rare for me. It felt like there wasn't enough world building. I was also distracted by the names, which while easy to pronounce (that's not the problem)... they reminded me too much of another author's character names, specifically Elain and Lorcan from the two Sarah J. Maas series (Elain from ACOTAR and Lorcan from ToG). I know names can repeat themselves, but because the spelling of Lorcan was so closely tied, it seemed odd and I couldn't get past it. I think with one more draft it could be quite interesting - I do love Beauty and the Beast adaptations (clearly, as I did read A Court of Thorns and Roses.)

I DNF's around 40%, but will try again if the mood strikes me. I feel like it should be a really good read, and was promising at times, but perhaps I read it too close to other re-tellings that I preferred. And again... Lorccan... not a common name, so it still felt like it was borrowed from Ms. Maas.

When I first saw Ensnared by Rita Stradling on Netgalley I was drawn in by the cover. There was a girl holding a rose with what, to me, looked like a microchip.
I was drawn to that cover. It made me think that this was a sci-fi rebelling of Beauty and the Beast, and everyone knows Beauty and the Beast is my jam!!!

This story started off differently than what I was expecting. I was thinking more along the lines of the original Beauty and the Beast story, but this was different in a good way. We meet Alainn trying to convince a man that her dad was building an AI robot to give them an extension for the robot, Rose 76GF to be finished. Oh yeah and Rose looks exactly like Alainn. The man, Mr. Garbhan, or Lorrcan, refuses to give them the extension.

This is where the story turns into Beauty and the Beast. Rose 76GH convinces Alainn to go with Lorrcan. Alainn isn't given any time to make a decision. Rose sends her. Over a period of time Alainn learns more and more about Lorrcan and starts to fall for him and he starts to fall for her. The only thing is, Alainn never tells Lor that she is human and not a robot.

Through out the story, I think that Lor started to realize that Alainn was human, but his subconscious and fears wouldn't allow him to believe it.

The ending of this story made my heart so full and I wish it wasn't over. I want to see the next chapter of Alainn and Lor's life together. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and it for sure deserved it. I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect to the story and I love that Rita staid pretty true to the design of the original Beauty and the Beast retelling.

This is a great book to read if you love fairytale retellings and if you really enjoyed Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles. I am interested in reading more from Rita and will definitely be buying a physical copy of this story when it is published on December 18, 2017.

I loved the idea of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but then with a futuristic twist. Beauty and the Beast was my favorite disney story growing up and other retellings of the story i always enjoyed, so i thought i would give this one a go to. I had high hopes for this book and it luckly didn't disapoint!

Alainn was just wonderfull, i adored her. She was really relatable, she wasn't a genius like her father and brother and just wanted to do her own thing but still protect her father from going to prison. When her robot double Rose makes a plan to send Alainn to Lorccan instead of herself, she makes it seem like it was Alainn her idea all along. Rose was so different from Alainn, it was really great to see them interact and see Rose her thoughts that were just so inhuman. As for Alainn, she really grew on me. In the beginning i wasn't sure if i liked her, but see changed so much in this story.. the character build was just amazing.

Lorccan was just so complex, he was brooding and dark.. but also caring. He grew to learn how to be with someone and it was just beautiful to see the lovestory that was Alainn and Lorccan evolve. It was really good how Rita build up this story, it wasn't an insta love you see so often.. it was sweet and beautiful seeing these two characters falling in love and Alainn and Lorccan's struggles.

What really suprised me was the level of adult scenes , i really didn't expect them when i went in to this book. They took me by suprise when i first read them, but i loved them really much. It just felt right to include that sort of content into this novel, into their love story. 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. I simply loved this fututistic take on Beauty and the Beast.

Would i recommend this book, YES! With that said, i just want to say that this was suprisingly good and i really fell in love with the characters. I want to give everyone the change the do the same, so if you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast.. go pick up this book as soon as it come out!

Alainn's father has good intentions. As a genius inventor, he is hired to create a robot for a picky client. This is a mistake. Rose, who looks like Alainn is not a robot pretending to be human but is much more.

To save her father from going to prison, Alainn takes Rose's place believing that her life will be nothing but serving the reclusive billionaire until a replacement is built. But nothing about this is as easy or black and white, Alainn hopes it to be.

*Short Review*

I don't really care for Beauty and the Beast. It is not one of those fairy tale movies that I actually feel is any good. However, I do love a good retelling of it. But this book wasn't a love for me. Creative but not a love.

I liked this book because it focuses technology to the fullest. Robots are the thing of now and the future and the idea of robots no longer following their program is something you see constantly in the movies. I appreciated this in book, although there were times I found it myself rolling my eyes because it was s stretch that she can pass for a robot.

What I didn't like about this book and what ultimately made me give it a low score was the fact that the author was trying too hard to make it real. Building the robot and having her not fulfill her intention that is real but having a human, who is loud, not that bright and emotional. The writing overall seemed really basic and although I really enjoyed the idea behind this story, nothing in me believes it was executed in its best form.

2 Pickles