‘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."

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.

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.

Truly amazing! I couldn't put it down! This slow reader almost finished it on one day!

I have a thing for retellings of fairy tales, and when they combine genres and time periods, well, just like "Cinder," you have my attention!

Stradling wove a really intricate tale in my opinion, and did it well. We're dealing with technology, a little sci fi, a little magic/fantasy, and of course, Beauty and the Beast.

Everything I need out of a story was here...stakes, a blossoming romance that felt real and not forced, and an ending that resonates and didn't feel contrived. Loved the book!

Alainn's father is a genius inventor and has used Alainn's body as the template for his newest AI- Rose. She talks like Alainn and walks like Alainn, but there's always something disconcerting about looking her in the eye. Something was just wrong.

To save her father from a prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose's place in the household of the man who bought her.
Alainn comes to believe that her fate is sealed as a servant for this reculive billionaire, but as time goes on she'll realize that nothing is as it seems.

I started reading this book last night, and I couldn't put it down. I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley, and I am so thrilled I get to review it! Ensnared is Beauty and the Beast with an AI twist. As a character, Alainn is the perfect mix of archetype and modern nuance. Alainn and Lor are also so much more interesting than the typical Beauty and Beast archetypes. It's fairly clear from the beginning that Alainn + Lor = Beauty + Beast, but they're both given interesting and plausible backgrounds that really makes the story work on a modern level.

The main characters are great, but I really wish there had been more character development for secondary characters, like Alainn's brother and father. They're both essential to the plot line, but they're given almost no backstory. Their interactions with Alainn in the beginning of the story are fairly bizarre and leave a lot of unanswered questions. For instance, the brother in the beginning of the book does not act like the same brother at the end of the book. And there's probably a very good reason for that, like his sister has been missing for months. But that's never really addressed. By the end of the book, Alainn's father is basically just forgotten and a lot of his plot points are unresolved.

There were also a few moments that felt rushed, and could definitely use some fleshing out. Most of the last 50 pages or so really felt like they could use some more character interactions or developments. I think there need to be more scenes with Lor and Alainn, and maybe something with Lor, Alainn, and Alainn's family. I also really, really want some resolution between Alainn and her father. I want her to stand up for herself, and I want them to address all the ways he's horribly let her down as a parent.

I really enjoyed this book. I love Alainn and Lor and I especially love Blue, the German AI monkey. I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend, preferably to be read on a cold winter's night with a glass of wine.

Three and a half from me
I spotted this futuristic reselling of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale and just couldn't resist. Yet it has to be said that it's the artificial intelligence part of the story that dominates here. If you have read Asimov or even seen the movie I, Robot then you will be all too aware of the very real concerns many have concerning the future applications of robotics. Whilst this is no "judgement day" it does tap into that very primitive fear in our hind brains .
So back to the story and indeed the romance. Alainn is the daughter of a genius inventor who unfortunately is both a gambler and a coward. Without giving away too much detail it's Alainn that goes to the home of Lorccan and pretends to be her fathers creation Rose 76GF. Lorccan is a scarred and hypercondriac man who just wants what's normal and he intends to learn how to interact using Rose 76GF. The problem is though Alainn is all too real and fears her humanity will give her away but what if there's an even greater betrayal coming?
So it's a sweet little romance and yes it sticks with the idea that Beauty saves the Beast. Yet for this reader it was overshadowed by the AI components of the story, particularly the second half of the book. It did seem inconsistent at times and the world building whilst somewhat futuristic just wasn't fleshed out enough for this reader. Also if brutally honest there are characters mentioned here from co workers to old friends that really didn't add much to the story and confused it somewhat.
What does work beautifully is Alainn. She's a flawed individual , not exactly with a death wish but clearly not someone who places great value on her own life. Although I have to say with a family as selfish as hers I'm not really that surprised! This leads me to Lorccan who has had a truly nightmarish upbringing which made me very sympathetic towards him although I do take exception to his love interest if I can call her that but to say more would be to say too much!
So my final thoughts are it's not perfect and when it comes to Lorccan I'm still left with unanswered questions. It is a fanciful piece and perhaps a little too far fetched but there are moments that really piqued my interest and if you enjoy imagining what the future holds as technology gathers pace this unusual romance might end up on your book shelf!
This voluntary take is of an advance reader arc from Netgalley and is my honest opinion

This book started so well, and then it just flopped. The whole robot thing just didn't do it for me. I don't think this is a retelling of Beauty and The Beast at all. It was more like a robotic thriller. Just didn't work for me.

I picked up this because it sounded kinda like The Lunar Chronicles. And because I love Beauty and the Beast stories. But to start off I would have probably given this book two stars or less if it hadn't been for the last half (or quarter) of the book. The writing style of this book was juvenile, "holy crap" was used a lot and it reminded me of a 50 Shades of Grey quote "holy cow", I've read way better.

Next there were so many unanswered questions or just things that weren't fully explained. The world building was low grade; I realize we're in the future but there is only brief talk about how the world operates and how the robots/androids are used as well as what kind of jobs humans have. Also are we in the city? In the suburbs? In the country? I had to use my imagination and common sense for location purposes because nothing was really explained. Alainn's father, Connor Murphy, was going to jail for 5 years for stealing money from Lorccan (or something like that) but when did he steal money from him? He built Rose for him and was going to deliver her; so that's just not explained in depth. I would have loved to learn more of Lorccan's background instead of the little bit we are given for the plot. My last grievance I'll talk about is that Stradling kept pointing out how Alainn was not as smart as her father, brother or Rose and didn't illustrated enough how Alainn was still smarter than the average person.

Now on to the bright side; this is one of the few books I've read where they actually talk about about a woman's period. The end was very action packed and I enjoyed it very much. I liked the romance between Lorccan and Alainn a lot; it wasn't a Stockholm syndrome kind of thing.

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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