A new take on a timeless fairy tale. I found it interesting and would definitely recommend.

I would probably never have read this book if it wasn't for the cover. It drew my eye enough that I overlooked the sci-fi futuristic element of this particular re-telling of Beauty and the Beast and I am glad I did because this was an incredibly complex and well crafted story.
I was expecting a run of the mill re-telling but instead I got a rollercoaster of a thriller style romance between a girl forced to pretend she's a robotic version of herself and a man trapped inside a high-tech tower who is afraid of the outside world.
The science was a bit confusing at times but not enough to spoil the story and it did take a while to get going but once Alainn was living in the tower and interacting with Lor and then discovering her robotic lookalike Rosette was perhaps slightly flawed and potentially murderous, the pace really kicked off.
There were great secondary characters as well and the ethical dilemma of "what makes us human" was explored in a interesting way.

I picked up Ensnared because I love a good fairy tale retelling, and this happens to be a retelling of my favourite tale, Beauty and the Beast.

This particular retelling is set in the near future, but to say it's Beauty and the Beast with robots would not do it justice. Yes, there is a girl, stuck in a tower with a recluse, trying to save her father from prison, and yes, there are robots. But the story told in Ensnared is quite original itself, straying from the classic french tale a little. I didn't feel like I was re-reading the same ol' thing with different characters name thrown in. A lot of thought went into this retelling, and the final product turned out to be quite enjoyable.

The story starts off well, despite the pacing being a little off. The first half moves along slowly as the plot peaks rather late, while the final part tumbles forward at break neck speeds. But I rather enjoyed the slow build, as it helped Alainn and Lorccan's relationship grow at a believable pace, rather than having the insta-love trope that plagues similar stories. It also helped flesh out Alainn, making her a relatable, yet flawed character. While she did make some stupid decisions, I understood why she did, it wasn't just 'because, plot.'

The world building was lacking throughout, and I think it's the only thing that lets the novel down and could use some more work. All we know is that robots exist, but the how and why they work is never really delved into. And then there's little random things that don't really make sense. Characters live in a huge 'computer house' where all the walls, floors and ceilings are screens, but there's still a bunch of paper to work through. While we're focused on the romance, I guess it doesn't really matter, and it wouldn't be much of an issue, except things descend into robot shenanigans quickly and randomly at the end, and suddenly, you start to feel the lack of background here.

Overall, Ensnared was a good read, and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to readers who love fairy tales and/or robots, and even if they don't really like robots, I'd say give it a try anyway.

Alainn’s father is an inventor (just like old Maurice). He’s been commissioned to build an AI robot for Lorccan Garbhan (Beeeeaaaassst!). He designs Rose 76GF but is not able to hand her over within the deadline Mr. Garbhan has given. To prevent her father from being sent to prison, Alainn is convinced by Rose to take her place and act like a robot. What follows next is a heartwarming romance, meddling AI robots, and a story that will definitely make all the Beauty and the Best fans swoon.

As you may have already guessed, Alainn and Lorcann fall in love. Their romance has its sweet moments and is slow to pick up. A thing to appreciate in this story is that Alainn voluntarily takes up the robot’s place. There are no questions of Stockholm syndrome here, like in the original story. While there is no Lumiere or Cogsworth, there are other cute supporting characters like the monkey robot, Blue, and the meddling AI, Rosebud.

The world building wasn’t really impressive. The setting could have been explained a little bit better. How did this world come to be? Why and how did AI become the norm? It would have been better if this had been explained.

I really liked reading about Lorccan and Alainn and would’ve preferred it if the author focused on them alone. The plot also includes some conniving on the AI front, which I cannot delve into for fear of spoiling the book. But this scheming is introduced towards the last 30% of the book and I was increasingly getting annoyed with it. Lorccan and Alainn still remain the central theme but this plot should have been foreshadowed more clearly. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to read in spite of it being introduced late into the book. Another problem I had was with the tragic backstories of the main characters not being explained clearly enough.

Rating:

I love Beauty and the Beast. I may have a few problems with the book but I found the story very fast-paced and intriguing. I was not able to put the book down at all and for giving me such an experience, I’m giving it 4 stars!

Overall I enjoyed this book, I liked the story and the characters there were jus a few things that I found bugging me.
Did Lor really not noice hat she was human? I know he had no human contact and that in this book roots are very advanced but I can imagine it would still be easy to tell. I Would also have liked a bit more of a backstory about how he became the way he was, I know that there was a slight telling of it but I think it would have been nice if he told the story to Alainn.
I liked Alainn as a character. She was strong and opinionated but again I would have liked either to know the whole story of why she distrusted the robots or not at all. I did get a hint of Stockholm syndrome though even though it is pointed out and ruled out in the book.
Rose completely freaked me out, which as a villain is a good thing. The whole AI concept at first I thought was a little bit too easy for things to go wrong but I liked where it ended up without being the usual kill all humans plan.
I would recommend this book but I'm not sure I would read it myself again.

I was excited to get this book to preview since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, and I really enjoy modern retellings. Sadly, my excitement began to wane...first because of the writing (which wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great, and I got distracted many times by the lack), and then by the shaky storyline, and finally, by the sex scenes. I mean, honestly, the sex scenes were just not even necessary AND they weren't written well. Double whammy.

I did finish the story, and it wasn't a total loss, so it gets three stars, but I feel I'm being generous.

Ensnared is a futuristic take on Beauty and the Beast. I would equate this book to the TV show Humans in the way it brings together AI with personality and the humans who are interacting with it.
In Ensnared Rose is an AI built with a conciousness for a man who lives in his tower, never leaving or interacting with the outside world. Unfortunately Rose feels her AI is better spent fixing the worlds problems, leaving the young woman Alainn whom Rose was modeled after to take her place. Using some clever technology Alainn passes as the AI and moves into the white tower. What follows is her trying not to get found out while learning about the man, Lor, stuck in his white tower.
The book is interesting in the way it tackles the fairy tale and makes it so much more than a normal retelling. The story goes outside of just the tower and those characters weaving others into the telling and making them part of the larger picture. While the AI, Alainn, and Lor are the main characters you find yourself growing attached too.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Beauty and the Beast, AI, some romance/sexual situations, and a want to look at the story a new way.

I received this book as an ARC copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book, it was a very readable page turner, well written with good characters. The main problem with the book was that the suspension of disbelief was a little much at times - Alainn's deception went on much longer than was believable and her rather dramatic back story could have been worked in a bit more convincingly. It would really benefit from some tightening up the links between plot threads. That said it was a fun read, light, well paced and entertaining.

I am a sucker for fairytale retellings, so when I saw this one, I was intrigued! “Ensnared” is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in the future where AI is becoming more common. Alainn’s father is an inventor who has been working on a Rose unit (which looks identical to Alainn) for an eccentric billionaire, Lorccan. The Rose unit has enough intelligence to fancy herself too important to do whatever it is Lorccan wants her to do- she can solve humanity’s problems! Rose and Alainn’s father (who also has a gambling addiction) decide to make a second Rose unit (Rosette) who will have less intelligence and be able to work for Lorccan, doing household chores or whatever it is he wants her for. However, Lorccan refuses to grant any extra time- and if they don’t deliver, Alainn’s father will go to jail for fraud.

Rose comes up with the solution- Alainn will pretend to be Rose for a few weeks until they can complete the Rosette unit. Wanting to keep her father out of prison, Alainn reluctantly agrees and Rose inserts some chips to make her detectable as AI. Upon arrival, Alainn discovers that all Lorccan wants her to do is have dinner with him- he has a weak immune system and has had no social interaction in person. Alainn begins to stir things up as she gets bored and her rescue seems distant. As Alainn and Lorccan spend more time together, other feelings begin to grow.

I was really glad this didn’t have a Stockholm element to it. Although Alainn is sent to Lorccan’s estate, it is by choice, and it seems like imprisonment/captor and prisoner scenario, which is a nice change from some of the Beauty and the Beast retellings. The beginning and first ¾ of the book is really strong and well done. The only thing I wondered about was how on earth he could not know she was not a robot- but as someone with limited social interaction, I am willing to buy it. The last ¼ of the book got a little stranger as things spiral out of control and we begin to learn more about Rose and her programming. There is also the story of Alainn and Cara which is alluded to and kind of explained, but not fully.

Regardless, I think it was still a strong book and much better than I would have expected! I really loved their relationship and the build-up of it was more believable than I would have thought. Also, I laughed at the allusion to ‘Citizen Kane’ towards the end (won’t spoilt it but it was clever). It was just about the right length and character development was good. Please note that I received an ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is one of the first "new adult" books that I have read. Actually, I probably have read books that would fit in that genre before, but I haven't been cognizant of it.
This was a really interesting read! If you mixed Beauty and the Beast with robots and artificial intelligence, this is what you would get!
Stradling's characters were likable and well developed. I thought that she left out a few too many details about some of the characters though. For example, she could have given more explanation about Lor's situation and childhood; it just felt like there were a few holes. I also think it was weird that Shelly just went with it and didn't say anything to Lor about the weird choices he was making.

***SPOILER ALERT***
I also don't know if I totally believe that Lor wouldn't have figured out that Alainn wasn't AI...especially when they get REALLY close...
***

I think 20-somethings who enjoyed reading Twilight and Cinder will enjoy this book. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it!

Thanks for the advanced reader copy NetGalley!

It was kind of hard to get into this book in the beginning because it was so slow, but after the first few chapters the story picked up and I couldn't put it down until the end. I wasn't able to fully picture the scenes and characters in my mind and that frustrated and confused me at some parts because it would have made the story much better if I had more description to go on. All in all, it was a great story about love, secrets, family, friendship, and the dangers of creating a robot with artificial intelligence.

‘Ensnared’ is a fantastic re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. Perfect for fans of 'The Lunar Chronicles' by Marissa Meyer. It takes place in the near future, with slightly more advanced technology, including AI systems that run households and self-driving vehicles.

When Alainn’s genius father racks up serious debts between inventing robots and gambling, he takes a job from the wealthy recluse Lorccan, who is already happy with his work. Rosebud is the AI running his private tower home, a home where no human is welcome. When Alainn’s father and brother are unable to finish the new robot on time for Lorccan, the robot itself comes up with the idea for Alainn to take her place. Though Rose was modeled after Alainn and the two appear to be nearly identical, readers must employ a slight suspension of disbelief as Alainn joins Lorccan’s household without him realizing she is human.

As one might expect for a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, Lorccan, wealthy recluse that he is, is physically scarred. Turns out he commissioned the life-like robot, Rose, for the purpose of becoming more comfortable with others, so that he may eventually interact with real people, face-to-face. Even the AI running his solitary tower, Rosebud, encourages Alainn to interact with him; to save him.

‘Ensnared’ takes on a life of its own, advancing beyond the usual Beauty and the Beast narrative, as Rose-the-robot advances past her programming and acts increasingly independently to further her own agenda.

The connections between the characters in this story are sweet and touching. The robotics and technology are explained with enough detail to be believable. Though we are not treated to singing candelabras, there are some adorable robot monkeys to look forward to.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

***ARC provided in exchange for my honest review***

Ensnared is a futuristic retelling of the age old Beauty and the Beast story. (Insert applause here) The novel follows Alainna and her quest to save her family who is in the business of creating Artificial Intelligence (robots). As her father and brother immerse deeper into AI possibilities, they become more and more out of touch with reality and in a denial of sorts surrounding the dire situation her family soon may find themselves in. I initially described the setting as futuristic. I was left a little confused because the only things that seems advanced were the AI's themselves. The surrounding world felt pretty similar to the one we live in, with cars, and cell-phones, skiing, and snowboarding. Not much seemed to have evolved or advanced outside of these smart robots who do everything for humans.

Alainna the main character is entertaining and interesting to read about. She doesn't seem to excel in too much in this world overtaken by AI's other then being courageous and loyal, which leads to her making the ultimate sacrifice for her family. She willingly allows herself to be taken captive to appease the idiosyncrasies of an eccentric hermit.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Alianna and her 'captor' Mr Garbhan. He becomes a complex character with a story that was revealed with the perfect dose of suspense throughout the book. I immediately missed him when the focus was not his character and his world when the direction changed suddenly in the book.

There were many parts and plot twists in the book that on many accounts seemed to me to be pretty redundant. Either not fully developed, or just developed and covered too quickly, it lead to frustrating holes and backstories in the plot, that if only had been left out would have smoothed out the story line quite nicely.

I'm going to go out there and say that this is that cut away from the norm read I am always looking for. A futuristic sci-fi love story. There is not much that will disappoint with that. 3.5 stars!

***The book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***


I was pretty excited to start a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I've read one other retelling and absolutely loved it. And sadly it set the bar really higher than I expected. But that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy reading Ensnared.

Rita Stradling did a great job with the descriptive text throughout Ensnared. I felt as though I was in that tower and around the AIs. The characters were written well, I couldn't get enough of the budding romance between Alainn and Lorccan. The tragic history of Alainn and that also of Lorccan is what fuses a relationship between one another. The fears and wanting something more came off to the readers and formed a new appreciation for the characters.

As far as the story line was concerned, it was great. A bit of sci-fi but not too much. I would definitely read more from this author.

I love fairytale retellings and the premise of this book sounded so promising that I wanted to read it even though it was listed as a new adult title. I thought that I would just skip over the steamy bits if the rest was good. Well, the book has surpassed and disappointed my expectations at the same time. I will try to be as honest as possible without spoilers.

The first half was awesome. I loved every second of it and felt with Alainn and Lorccan on every page. It was funny and full of suspense. Then, the steamy stuff started and I hoped that the rest of the book would not continue like this - and, to my surprise, it didn't, but instead it returned to the story rather quickly. However, that's when it started to get confusing. I needed to pay a lot of attention not to miss a detail and some things just didn't really make a lot of sense. Although it did was better than the middle, the end was not as good as the beginning. And the final scene was just cheesy.

The futuristic setting and the theme of robots and AI as well as the first half of the book deserve 5 stars, in my opinion. Although the plot was not perfectly developed and the fact that Alainn passes for a robot wasn't that realistic, I didn't mind because I was so caught up in the story that I can easily forgive that. But because of the sudden and not well-prepared erotic scenes and the weak ending, I can only give 3 stars for the whole book.

I think it's still worth reading if you don't mind few erotic scenes and if you're just looking for a quick, romantic and amusing read. The characters are relatable and the style of writing is easily accessible. But it could have been a lot better and less confusing, and I'm sad that it didn't use its full potential.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

So seriously? Like what the fuck did I just read? Sure, there was a beauty, and a beast, but marketing this book as a modern retelling? Just, no. Do not let your six year old daughter read this book (and do not read this book to her). Stick with the original. The sex, for one, and the complicatedness that is a dude falling for and sleeping with a robot. Just, weird. I'm sorry, but I'm with Colby on this one. There was no way on some level he didn't know. And the end was totally rushed. He should be somewhat pissed for being deceived. Come on now. And that title? "Ensnared?" Did she get caught in barbed wire? Why is there not a picture of a robot in a dress on the front? Maybe with a cute robot monkey in the corner?

Now that all the negatives are out of the way, Alainn is a badass. Loved her. And Lorccan. Bless that kid and all the bad shit he went through. Glad he finally got a happy ending, and that Alainn snapped out of her funk. God also bless Cara and BA-ness. "Your brain is broken if you think I'm going to leave you here alone to die."

Loved the AI aspect as well. I was really reluctant at first, but I loved how Stradling took the important ethical concepts pertaining to the world of robotics and incorporated them into the story. Giving Rose all these ethical dilemmas made the story more realistic, and in a classic tale like Beauty and the Beast, all you want is to be able to link it to your life in some way.

"You live every day like you're challenging death to come find you, and other people live their days seeing death waiting for them everywhere." Or, you know, you can just live your life like you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak and Death'll never be able to find you. But I digress.

And Blue. Oh lord that adorable, human-understanding monkey. It was like the Wizard of Oz decided to make an appearance in Beauty and the Beast's story, and the monkeys got to be good for once. Nice. Also loved Colby and Shelly.

Overall, this was definitely an unique story. It probably doesn't even need the Beauty and the Beast connection. Someone could have fun figuring out how to market this book. Someone should maybe even consider making it into a movie.

"Your household says Alainn Murphy is Jade, and if you will not pay to save her, your household will- no matter the consequences."

What an intriguing re-telling of a story-book classic. What initially drew me to the books was the cover. Nicely done. The book draws you in from the beginning and doesn't let you go. I found myself drawn to the characters and feeling strong emotions for them. Even the AIs. I want to adopt Blue.

This story touches on so many areas that truely affect a persons ability to integrate into society. From human phobias, addictions, guilt, etc. to robots who want to and try to show emotion and other robots who learn to leave boundaries behind.

I very much enjoyed this book.

This starts off as a sort of twisted Beauty & The Beast but very quickly becomes an intriguing story in its own right. Alainn is a strong lead caught up in a very bizarre situation, and with a rich eccentric man. The use of robots dialled up the creep factor and were enough of a wild-card to ensure that this doesn't feel like a story we've all read before.

I would have loved to see some more world-building. The story is very contained to its characters and the world around them seems fascinating. I was disappointed we didn't see more of it.

The story centers around Alainn who compared to her brother Colby and even her somewhat crazed father, is perfectly average. While her brother and father share a genius genetic that seems to pass her she prefers to be on the fresh powder in the mountains. Although she is beautiful she is haunted by the death of her friend after they were kidnapped a number of years ago. This becomes very important with crazed fathers terrifying AI robot Rose76GF but I digress. Aliann’s father is to be sent to prison if he does not hand over Rose to Lorccan (the guy who paid for her creation) since Rose refuses to go she convinces Alainn to pretend to be rose until Rosette (another AI model) can be made and then Alainn and Rosette can be switched. Needless to say this kind of goes parallel to the original Beauty and the Beast plot we all know and love. Alainn goes to the tower of Lorccan to save her fathers life during which time they fall in love (input scenes not suitable for children here) Rose is the mastermind behind some elaborate plan to kill Lorccan to save the masses (Ok Rose is probably the Gaston) Aliann saves Lorcann, he saves her, The End.
AND CAN I JUST SAY I was, and still am unsure how to feel about the (input scenes not suitable for children here). I mean he didn’t know Alainn was human… he thought she was an AI (whose name became Jade over Rose76GF). Sooooooo I was happy for Alainn but sorta creeped out by Lorcann here.

The Down and Dirty – The Review
Overall I really enjoyed Ensnared. As with most works there are areas for improvement but in this case the good makes those minor details irrelevant. I will say however the ending could have offered a bit more closure. Although the ending did not “leave you hanging” (I do not have any hopes for a sequel) it did however feel very abrupt and left open.
Ensnared was a quick read for me because once I got started I couldn’t stop and for me those are the best kind. The ones where you are fully vested and immersed in the lives of the characters you are exploring. The story line moved fast and slow in all the right places and made for a very nice pace throughout.
I would best describe this as Romantic Fairytale Twist with a Sci-fi Adventure and would recommend for anyone who can’t get enough YA, loves Fairytale Twists, and even general Sci-Fi buffs.

The score
Characters – 5. They were well thought out and really believable.
Plot – 4. I am going 4 simply because of the ending and the amount of “How?” and “Why?” I had throughout
Addiction Level – I should have made this an infinite number. I could not put it down! I was late to my Psych Class because I got sucked in whilst in the school parking lot. Either way this is definitely a 5

Since most places do not offer a 4.5 rating I am going to rate it as an overall 5. It was really well written and even with the ending issue I still enjoyed it.

I love the idea of this book far more than the execution. While it was well written and had an interesting premise, it lacked in several other areas to much to overlook. The basic story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beauty with a futuristic, sort of I-robot, vibe to it. I enjoyed the main story points and the romance. The romance in this version is better than most retelling because Lorccan, the “beast”, isn’t actually the captor. This make the relationship more consensual and less creepy. I also like Alainn for the most part however I found that I missed the book loving aspect of Belle though. That is such an integral part of that character in every retelling I have ever read that to leave it out felt wrong somehow.
The problems that I found with the book were issues of pacing, a lack of world building and extraneous characters. The relationship between Lorccan and Alainn was slow and then very suddenly sped up. It felt unnatural between them. They were so hesitant before that the quick build up felt off.
The world in which this story takes place is barely explained at all. It seems to be just the same as the world we live in today. Except there are AI robots that apparently can pass for human in nearly every aspect. In addition Alainn’s dad and brother apparently make these robots in their garage. What kind of world is it where a man can just make a robot with Artificial intelligence in his garage? There really should have been a significant amount of time spent explaining the world and a brief history of how the robots developed would also have been nice.
There were several side stories that could have been entirely left out. The story of Alainn’s job and Greg felt like it was just tossed into the book. It jarred me out of the story and I found it boring so I barely read that section. In addition the story of Alainn’s friend Cara wasn’t necessary either. While it seemed to be used to give reason’s for Alainn’s behavior I felt like it wasn’t needed and she would have behaved the same way without that backstory.
There was a little talk towards the end about ethics and the humanity of the robots but it wasn’t fleshed out much. There is something there that could have brought a lot more depth to the story but was glossed over and too simply and neatly resolved.
This book is an enjoyable enough read and might be right for some people but it wasn’t the story for me.