Very interesting story. I liked the characters. Looking forward to read about Colby.

Book Title: Ensnared
Author: Rita Stradling
Series: Stand-Alone
Genre: Modern Fairytale Retelling, Romance
Publisher: This is a Kindle Scout Book
Source: I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

⇝Add to Goodreads⇜



♪♫My Pick For Book Theme Song♫♪

Alive by Adelitas Way --This is for Alainn and Lorccan…I searched for awhile on the internet looking at all sorts of songs and then decided to listen to my own songs and found this one, I thought…this is perfect!!! This song actually makes me like this story a little more than I already did.

♫And I'll be hanging on every word you say to me.
Hanging on a feeling that I get,
'Cause you make me
Laugh a little louder,
Love a little harder.♫




⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜

Plot: 4.3/5
Characters: 4.5/5
The Feels: 4/5
Addictiveness: 5/5
Theme: 5/5
Flow: 3.8/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Book Cover: 5/5
Ending: 5/5 Cliffhanger: No

Will I read more from this Author? Yes, I would

OVERALL RATING: 4.2/5 STARS

⇝My Thoughts⇜

I, Robot meets Beauty and the Beast…I really liked this, is it without faults, no, but the faults did not take away from my overall enjoyment.

The writing starts out a little choppy, but evens itself out for the most part, about a 1/3 of the way through. At least I think it did…or I could have just adjusted to the style. I liked the futuristic aspect of this, it just doesn't always come off as believable. There are elements that transpire that seem over-the-top and hard to fathom but, ultimately the sweet love story of Alainn and Lorccan is what kept me reading. Plus, the oddly weird, but mostly likable assortment of supporting characters…especially the monkeys. I loved the monkeys!

⇝Sex Factor⇜ This is a Beauty and the Beast spin for the adult crowd, while it is explicit at times it's not overdone at all.

I loved this book, The human feel of the robots was well portrayed, although keeping that essential kernel of unhumanity was lost sometimes, with the robots showing too much emotion. The monkeys were probably my favourite characters in the whole book, but again, such a lot of emotion for robots. But maybe that is the way of the future? Then we will really have to beware...

It took me a while to give this rating. I started the book a couple of times, but was not enticed to read further. But I wanted to really read it to give an honest review.
Beauty and the Beast.. I love that story. So this retelling was really interesting to me. But I did not like the writing style and I was not sold on the romance. He believes her to be a robot... and does not care if she is real or not.

So this was a miss for me, but the book will not be published until the end of this year. So maybe there will be certain changes. The premise was very good actually, but the execution not so much.

A very unique book with lots of twists and turns look forward to more by the author

This is such a refreshing take on a classic story. A must read for enthusiasts of retold, classic fantasy stories.

Saying that it's a Beauty and the Beast retell is correct , but I would have to say it is just on the core part of the story. You know, leaving home to live with a complete stranger for the good of the father, something happening in the middle of the book (or story) to bring the stranger and the main character closer, them falling in love and then the climax where she leaves and then has to come back to rescue her former captor.

Yes, Ensnared was a retell in the most basic way and that is why I liked it.

The concept of a futuristic book where Robots can be created to be just like humans in almost all sense of what a human being is intriguing and when is done right, it makes for a great book.

I definitely had my doubts when I first requested this book because I'm not too fond of Beauty and the Beast and because is a retell, but I had to swallow my words and hatred toward retells one more time.

What I liked most about this books is how different it felt when I read it, the whole idea of bringing human like robots that can think and act for themselves and then override their own code to make themselves better was unexpected and fascinating.

The way the relationship between Alainn and Lorccan was like watching a couple of teenagers fall in love and it was really cute, because they have never really been in love and even though it could be childish it's still very cute and sometimes they are the best romances.

Then Rose created some expected, but unexpected drama that sort of throws you for a loop because once it happened it seemed impossible for things to go back to the way they used to.

So in conclusion, the story had an amazing plot, it's a dark and twisted Beauty and the Beast retell which is the best part and it has drama, tons and tons of drama that I love.

The only things I didn't like and the reasons it got a 4 out of 5 stars is because I was missing some backstory on how the world came to be what it was and why Lorccan had never left his castle, I mean it said that he was germophobic, but I just needed more.

Overall, Ensnared was a very amazing, surprisingly good read that makes you want to read more. Is captivating with a dark twist that makes for one great story.

Alainn Murphy is the daughter of a scientist who specializes in Artificial Intelligence, the downside is Mr. Connor Murphy has a gambling issue and has lost a considerable amount of money - have no fear Lorrcan Gorbhan has been funding him.. but soon the money stops and the only option is to send Alainn away or her father will be imprisoned...

Lorccan has many phobias and is locked away in his tower, but when Alainn Murphy is sent to him and he believes her to be an automaton, interesting things begin to happen.

This all sounds interesting, it's what ensnared me - ha - ha - ha... I made a punny. Beauty & The Beast retelling, romance, science fiction, automatons! In theory, it really would have been fantastic, too!

But, for me, there was no world building which is disappointing because I think a lot could have been done with the world. In fact, there literally is no world outside of the tower once Alainn is there and because there are no others to interact with it's really just reading back and forth between Lorrcan and Alainn, which would be alright if their development was strong but it wasn't. There isn't a lot of progressing, there isn't a lot of insight either. There are a lot of questions that arise that never really get answered.

The plot also comes to a halt halfway through the book and I mean it's basically finished by the halfway mark, yet the book continues on. I think if there was more of a world or at least deeper insight into the characters then it wouldn't have felt like everything came to that screeching halt.

It was a quick read, though. One I would recommend to anyone wanting to devour retellings!

So of course around this time of year (early 2017) Beauty and the Beast is all the rage, we are all attacking all sorts of retellings and snatching all the clips as soon as they come out.
This one however, manages to add a sci-fi twist to the story.
Yeah... I had to see what that was about.
The book contained a deeper message than is seen at first glance. It contained a lot of, "What makes us human?" and all that jazz.. Many things I felt like werent address and maybe shouldve, just as his behavior and well... The phobias that are attached to those behaviors.
I truly didnt feel the love as much as is attached to the original tale

There's a lot of problems with "Ensnared", which presented itself as being a potentially really wonderful retelling of one of the most popular fairytales. It doesn't turn out to be so, and this is primarily due to the fact that the writing feels very unedited and scattered, like someone drafted the story quickly and went to print with it right away. It lacks the polish and sharp edge that other YA novels have, retellings such as Meyer's "Cinder", for instance. The story and characters are also quite underdeveloped. Lorccan's role as the beast isn't very believable nor does it capture the reader's sympathy, for instance. His physical injury feels exaggerated while his health condition, which is much more interesting, doesn't receive the kind of attention it deserves. This is true for all the main characters in the novel.

In fact, I'd say that "Ensnared" doesn't quite know what it wants to be, and that the tagline of it being a near-future retelling of Beauty and the Beast is more of a marketing strategy than an appropriate descriptor of the book itself. There's so much going on, leaving the characters of Cara and Shelly feeling like vague ghosts in the novel, while the court scene at the end and the whole issue of whether AI is capable of developing its own conscience, as Rose's character demonstrates, makes this feel like an entirely different novel for a chunk of it.

I don't really have anything positive to say about this novel other than the fact that I managed to enjoy some parts of it. It was nice to be able to periodically sit down and focus on a book where one didn't have to think. Given how much this novel tries to showcase it's AI premise that isn't a good statement to make, but there were small glimmers in Alainn and Lorccan's relationship that, for short periods of time, made me happy. It's a rather light novel that might manage to bring one some light entertainment, but doesn't live up to its promise and grand statement.

The book was cute. Fun read, and quick read. I enjoyed it.

A retelling of Beauty and The Beast but set in the future. Yes please!!
Alainn will do almost anything to keep her father out of prison, even if that means taking the place of Rose, the robot created for mysterious recluse Lorccan. Will it be a tale as old as time?

Kinda.

The story, for me, is only very loosely based on Beauty and The Beast. Scarred loner with a tower, girl who wants to save her father and the Gaston who wants to break it all apart.
Alainn (pronounced I-LEAN apparently), isn't all that likeable. She's supposed to be the heroine of the story but I found myself disliking her the more the story progressed. Her moral path seemed to be all over the place and yet she's so innocent. Never having given herself to anyone since the first time way back when, spending time with her mother, saving people............ (hunting things).
Lorccan (LOR-CAN) or Lor is your typical mysterious loner. Scarred, brooding, standoffish but then suddenly changes his feelings when he realises he loves his robot that's not actually a robot. Your typical stereotypical Beast.
Rose, the Gaston of our story, is a quite good bad guy. With hints of Humans (TV series) and I Robot, this AI overcomes her ethics and wants to..... well I'm not 100% sure but I think destroy human feelings. Possibly take over human kind. It works.

The story was interesting and I did enjoy it having said that some of the more technical bits were a bit over my head and I think a little more detail into what Rose is planning to do wouldn't go a miss. It felt to rushed.
As a near future retelling of Beauty and The Beast goes I wouldn't say this is it. This was more using the very basic formula and basing a story around that. A nice idea but stubbles at the first hurdle as they say.

I love me some reimagined fantasy stories, but this one, while fun, was less than the awe-inspiring blurb promised it to be. Cute, but not hot; Smart, but not genius; fun, but not amazing - you get the point.

This book was strange. I feel like calling it a retelling of Beauty and the Beast is a bit of a stretch. If it was never mentioned in the synopsis I would never have seen much of a connection. The only thing this book and the original fairy tale have in common is a girl lives with a man she doesn't know. The line in the synopsis makes it sound like it's her choice to live in the tower, like it is in the fairy tale, when (and this isn't a spoiler since it happens really early on in the book) it's not really her choice, and she doesn't exactly have a great relationship with her father the way Belle does with her father.

The technology in this book was odd and poorly explained. I would have preferred if there was any kind of explanation on how the AI works, and how any kind of AI robot could pass as human for longer than 10 minutes. It was glossed over and makes this story much less Science Fiction and more Science Fantasy.

The romance was very, very strange to me. It felt very one-sided, and I never caught when either of them fell in love with the other. The handful of interactions they had were all the same, and nothing very meaningful happened between them. Any connection they formed wasn't anything that could classify as love. And I know this guy isn't used to being physically around people, but he's around enough AI Robots that he should have really noticed a difference between a robot and a human.

I am also kind of put off on the interpretation of mental illness in this book. The way it was portrayed was some odd mixture of the most extreme version of their illness, Mysophobia, and Agoraphobia. But only when it suited the story.

The part of this book that kind of made it better but didn't really line up with the Beauty and the Beast retelling. Which is why I believe that if this book hadn't stated that it was a retelling of my favorite fairy tale, but nothing was different about the book, I would like it a lot more.

Oh my gosh this book was so cute, especially the ending. I wasn't really that into the book in the beginning but once certain things started happening I just couldn't stop reading. This was a very cute and fast read and that's the only reason I'm giving it 3 stars. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't mind-blowing or anything. It was a cute contemporary read, plain and simple.

So this book is a robot retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I love reading retellings. This one just didn't start off in the most attention-grabbing way. I'm happy I kept reading, though, but some people won't just continue to read a book they cannot get into. This book is expected to come out on December 18th, 2017 and will be around 380 pages.

For a decent portion of the book, I really didn't like the main character too much. It wasn't until she had gotten situated into the tower and becoming comfortable that I started to like her. She was whiney in the beginning and I hate characters like that but in the end, she is incredibly selfless and I found that I really admired that in her. I ended up really liking her in the end and I wouldn't mind reading about her and Lor again. I will say that the romance between the start off slow and slowly built over time and to me, that made the book more realistic. There was no insta-love in this book and for that I was grateful.

I cannot say that I loved reading about robots and AI related things very much so I ended up skim reading most of that. It's not really the fault of the book, I just wish there had been a little less of that. I also love love love a good romance book and I was so happy that we got a little more about their lives after everything at the end of the book. Some books don't do that and it makes me really upset because I like reading about people in love. I think the ending is the main reason that I gave it a full three stars instead of my original 2.5-star estimate.

This book definitely has some sexual and detailed scenes but I don't believe that only those over 18 should read this novel. You know your own maturity and you know if you want to read a book I don't see anyone stopping you. Except maybe your parents but they might not mind. Basically, make the decision for yourself but know that this book has some, not many, but some, sexual scenes.

I think I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast as well as futuristic retellings with robots. I think this book is a good one to read when you are between books but it probably wouldn't help you get out of a book slump. There really isn't much more to say about this book but if you want a quick, cute read with the smallest bit of suspense that keeps you turning the pages towards the end then this book might be for you.

I started this book with a little bit of trepidation. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie and I am thrilled to see the live action remake that is coming out later this month. I was worried in the description of this story that the "adult" scenarios would be overpowering and unfortunate and would not be something that I enjoyed.

But, I found that I did enjoy this take on Beauty and the Beast. It is different enough that it doesn't need to be compared to the Disney version - or other versions that have come from it. BUT similar enough that it makes me smile to think about Alainn and how selfless she could be - while still thinking of herself very much.

The AI in the book gave it a very modern, dystopian feel which is a very real stress that many of us feel on a daily basis now.

One of the things that I wish the book had more of - and that was a new development - was the relationship between Alainn and Colby. As a sister to four brothers, I always find the connections between siblings the most interesting thing to read about - whether it mirrors my own relationships or not.

Their are adult experiences in this book - and while I think the book would have been complete without them, they were not gaudy or too superfluous, in my opinion.

Overall, a good and fun read for adult women that may have enjoyed Beauty and the Beast as a child.

Ensnared was such a wonderful twist on Beauty and the Beast. I couldn't put the book down. It was well written and imaginative. I was almost sad when I finished the book because I had come to love the characters so much. It reminded me a little of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, which made me love it even more since that series itself did not include a twist on Beauty and the Beast. I almost felt like this book belonged in that series. I can't wait to suggest it to my friends.

I'm a fan of Beauty and the Beast (but not the sugery Disney version) and I love a good sci-fi, but I wasn't sure at all, reading the synopsis of the book, if a future setting for the fairytale would work.
Yes, it does and very well. The book is a page turner and I totaly fell in love with the story.
If fact, I like the fresh take on an old tale so much, Ensnared was also my KindleScout favourite and of course, I voted for it and am currently holding my breath and hope the title will be selected.

-ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review-

So as soon as I saw in the description ‘A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast’ I was sold. Beauty and the Best being my favourite Disney film I was excited to start reading this!

This retelling takes place in a very Sci-Fi modern era including..wait for it… Robots!

Alainn Murphy the daughter of Connor Murphy is desperate to keep her father out of jail however her brother Colby just doesn’t seem all that bothered. Her father is an inventor who has been working on Rose, a robot who is human like and identical to Alainn for billionaire Lorccan. Rose isn’t ready in time to be sent to Lorccan so Rose comes up with a plan for Alainn to take her place but not all is as it seems.

I won’t say much more as it will just spoil the story line and give too much away.

I personally really enjoyed this, it has an interesting story line and the relationships between the characters. Very different from your average fairytale story!

With Ensnared we dive into the world of a new retold fairytale, this time with the story of Beauty and the Beast! The book provides more than one expects and moves the plot into an unspecified future in which artificial intelligence and robots belong to everyday life. Nevertheless, the scenery is not too far away and carries a touch of old-fashioned steampunk with squeaking screws and dripping oil jugs.

The Beauty in Ensnared is embodied by Alainn, the daughter of a slightly shrewd inventor. It's a little hard to get warm with her character, as she's too often used as a games ball, while she's not stupid. She could do better and yet she somehow decides not to. But she has such a crisp sense of humor. Both Alainn's father and her brother Colby belong to the kind of "crazy professor". They are so deeply sunken into their researches that they do not seem to be aware of their environment, and seem to be cold-hearted and selfish at the outset. The domestic work remains to Alainn alone and the care for her father finally leads her to send herself voluntarily as a substitute for the robot Rose in Lorccan's tower. Neither father nor brother protest in any way that Alainn wants to stand up for the mistakes of her father.

In addition to the already known elements of the original story, the author continues to add a bitter note to Ensnared. She happily removes the often criticized Stockholm syndrome of "Belle" and instead tells the story of two people, each one for himself, and ultimately both together, caught in their respective past and present. The characters have all suffered some form of mental or physical injury, many of whom have been struggling against their trauma for years. From my point of view, it has caught Lorccan, the beast, the worst. Rose 76GF, he had commissioned to learn how to talk to and deal with people, because he has led his life so far without human contact, trapped in his tower. The reasons are incredibly sad because they are often seen less dramatically than other things, but they bear witness to such a deep and profound breach of trust that I could not help feeling a certain protector's instinct. Anyway, there are many innovative ideas and changes to the template in Ensnared, but there are also things that felt morally wrong. The relationship between Lorccan and Alainn is at the same time sweet and sad, but at certain stages of development it is also just reprehensible when it comes to Alainn's behavior.

It was partly difficult to believe that one can mistake a person for a robot. Looking from far away perhaps possible, but as in the fairytale things between Lorccan and Alainn evolve over time to an emotional as well as physical closeness. At this point I had problems to believe that Lorccan would still mistake Alainn for a robot. It may be argued that Lorccan has no possibility of comparison because, apart from his parents, he has never actually faced a real person. Nevertheless, at some point one must compel oneself to close both eyes. There is also a little warning about the reading age: there are quite flowery sex scenes, which are tastefully implemented, but still do not belong in a children's hand.

Since I received this book in February and it’s not due before December, I hope that some deficiencies will be eradicated until release date. Because there are unnecessary length, narrative perspectives of marginal figures which added no value to the story. Here and there transitions felt brittle or slow paced and some questions stay unanswered. But there is so much potential in this young draft that it is already a moving story with unexpected turns. Besides, the whole part with Roses A.I. is creepy as hell when you are already kind of afraid of robots…

Conclusion: In the present version, Ensnared still has a few deficits, nevertheless I read it in less then two days. The scenario is fun, and the truths, which are gradually drawn out, add a pinch of grief that makes a story bittersweet. If you like fairytales, robots and artificial intelligence, you can’t make anything wrong with Ensnared and occasionally get a good laugh. So go on and read this book!