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A review by wordsofclover
Ensnared by Rita Stradling
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
When her gambling but brilliant father can't follow through on work he owns billionaire Lorcan Garbhan, Alainn Murphy ends up disguising herself as an AI robot to serve as Lorcan's own companion as he locks himself away in a tower from the rest of the world, with only robot servants as company. But as Alainn gets to know Lorcan, she realises she's not the monster she always believed him to be.
This is a slightly sci-fi esque retelling of Beauty and the Beast if it's not already obvious and think there are parts of this that worked really well. Lorcan's backstory with his germaphobic parents being the reason he doesn't leave his tower was interesting, though I do believe we could have had just that and not had him also reviled because of his scars. I would have liked Lorcan's germaphobia to have been resolved or at least some positive steps taken by the end of the book as it's clear he's been a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
The romance in this was sweet but I would have liked more to have been developed between Alainn and Lorcan other than it just feeling like they fell for each other simply because it was just the two of them in the tower. I also wasn't ยง00% on Lorcan's relationship with Shelby - he dumped her fairly quickly for a robot, and that's just plain weird.
The world building was fairly poor in this book and I couldn't figure out how there were such superb AIs and a world of automatons yet the bus service was poor, and Alainn and her family were living on scraps (yes their dad was a gambler but Alainn and Colby were full grown adults). I would have liked to know more about the rest of the city and how robots helped run it and the lives of ordinary people -not just the downtrodden like the Murphy's or ultra rich like Lorcan.
The pacing in this book also felt a bit off. I did enjoy the first half of the book but then the second half was a bit clunky, and I think it was a bit too long and dragged out (we honestly didn't need any of the Rose court scenes, and I could have done without the surprise twin pregnancy reveal too).
This is a slightly sci-fi esque retelling of Beauty and the Beast if it's not already obvious and think there are parts of this that worked really well. Lorcan's backstory with his germaphobic parents being the reason he doesn't leave his tower was interesting, though I do believe we could have had just that and not had him also reviled because of his scars. I would have liked Lorcan's germaphobia to have been resolved or at least some positive steps taken by the end of the book as it's clear he's been a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
The romance in this was sweet but I would have liked more to have been developed between Alainn and Lorcan other than it just feeling like they fell for each other simply because it was just the two of them in the tower. I also wasn't ยง00% on Lorcan's relationship with Shelby - he dumped her fairly quickly for a robot, and that's just plain weird.
The world building was fairly poor in this book and I couldn't figure out how there were such superb AIs and a world of automatons yet the bus service was poor, and Alainn and her family were living on scraps (yes their dad was a gambler but Alainn and Colby were full grown adults). I would have liked to know more about the rest of the city and how robots helped run it and the lives of ordinary people -not just the downtrodden like the Murphy's or ultra rich like Lorcan.
The pacing in this book also felt a bit off. I did enjoy the first half of the book but then the second half was a bit clunky, and I think it was a bit too long and dragged out (we honestly didn't need any of the Rose court scenes, and I could have done without the surprise twin pregnancy reveal too).
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent