Review: Ensnared

Ensnared by Rita Stradling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cover: 4 out of 5 stars. Liked the silhouette with gears and such in the background.

Book: 3 out of 5 stars (I liked it)
Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney story and I love books telling this story in different ways. This story is more of a science fiction version in a time where robots and AI are a part of everyday life. The main character, Alainn, takes the place of an AI robot that is supposed to be the companion of a billionaire who never leaves his home or shows his face. Since it's a retelling, we pretty much know what's going to happen. They will fall in love against all odds.

I felt like there wasn't enough world building for me in this story. It's obviously in the future because of the robots and the technology in the tower where our "beast" lives, however, it doesn't say the time period or how the world came to this point of technology. The plot is predictable, as I mentioned, but there's some holes in some places (it's never made clear why they all need saving in Lorccan's house) and too much info in other places (Greg). I think that after a certain crucial moment in the story (trying not to put any spoilers), the story keeps going along when it should have just been wrapped up.

In regards to characters, I think there are a lot of characters and some of them just don't feel necessary to the story. The ones that are necessary, such as Alainn's dad, didn't get that much time. This kind of goes along with the last chapters of the book not really being necessary. It made a good effort to try and wrap up everyone's story, but not all of them needed to be wrapped up.

Having said all that, this was an easy read (I finished it in an afternoon) that kept my interest and I cared enough to keep reading to the end. The two main characters were likable and the AI robot aspect of it interesting. Though it had it's faults, I was still able to enjoy the story overall.

*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Challenges:
2017 Goodreads Challenge



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