Ensnared: Beware this AI’s Gears

A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

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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. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.

Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.

[This novel contains adult situations and is only suitable for readers who are 18+]

New Adult / Romance / Science Fiction / Retellings
380 Pages
Expected Publication Date:  December 18th, 2017

About the Author:
Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.

Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

You can find and contact Rita here:
– Website
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads

Quick Reasons: this is terrifyingly realistic; LOVELOVELOVE the small nods to the original, interspersed with new ideas from Rita Stradling; entertaining, heart-wrenching, and horrifying all at once; there are some very mature themes and situations found in these pages; believable, complex, well-rounded characters

Huge, HUGE thanks to Rita Stradling and Lola’s Blog Tours for granting me free early access to this title in exchange for an honest review! This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this book.

First off–LOOK at the gorgeousness that is this cover! I mean seriously, I could not have imagined a prettier, more perfect cover for this book. I LOVELOVELOVE the inspiration that is so obviously drawn from the read (the gears and bolts and whatnot behind the silhouette–there’s obviously a tone of science fiction set here!) So just… A++ and two penguin feet WAY up for cover design, it’s what initially drew me to this book.

AND THEN! I found out! this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and you all know I flipped my silly penguin beak totally upside down and jumped all over this opportunity. Because…ugh, my favorite fairy tale. My favorite Disney movie. I need more retellings like this one in my life, on top of this, because seriously, Rita Stradling did BEAUTIFULLY with drawing inspiration from the original story while maintaining her own sense of creativity and unique voice. Seriously, guys, I haven’t read a retelling quite as lovely and original as this in a LONG time–Rita Stradling wins, in my book.

The characters are complex, well-rounded, and so true to the “originals” while being uniquely written I can’t even. Also, I just realized who this book’s Gaston is and OH MY PENGUINS I can’t believe I didn’t put that connection together in the middle of reading. Holy beaks, penguins, it’s just so fitting and…GAH! I will break off my little love-fest for a second, though, because I have a bit of a trigger warning. There are mentions of: abuse, possible rape, assault, attempted murder, and murder. While the scenes are not in any way explicit or overly detailed, keep this in mind while reading please, and keep yourselves safe if you’re triggered by these things in any way!

Overall, I had a HUGELY awesome time reading this book, and cannot wait to get my hands on more of Rita Stradling’s writing in the future! The characters are realistic and well-rounded, the moral implications are terrifying and inspiring in turn, and the personalities are spot-on and still brilliantly unique. I need more Beauty and the Beast retellings in my life, penguins–if you know of any good ones, please send titles my way! For now, I’m going to go blow the dust off my shoulders and try not to fall into a reading slump!