Sci-Fi Romance ARC Review: Ensnared by Rita Stradling

Ensnared
by Rita Stradling

Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Age category: Adult
Expected Publication Date: TBD

Description:
A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

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.

My Review:
Ensnared is like Beauty and the Beast with AI robots tossed into the mix. To save her father from going to jail for fraud when Rose, the robot he built for Lorccan, refuses to go, Alainn pretends she’s the robot and goes in her place.

This was an intriguing read on many levels. First, there’s the new take on the classic fairy tale. Unlike in the original story, Alainn isn’t actually Lorccan’s prisoner. He has no clue she’s even human, thinking instead that she’s the amazingly realistic robot Alainn’s father built for him. I thought that made it easier to sympathize with him.

The story delves into several directions AI could take. The robots and AI in the story have drastically different levels of self-awareness and motivation. Some work towards the good of their owner, some for their own good, and some to shape their world in their own image. Some don’t seem to have any motivation at all. It was interesting, and also rather disturbing at times, just imagining robots that could seem so real they could be mistaken for alive, and vice versa.

I also thought the love story was rather sweet. Two people suffering from the trauma of their pasts finding healing in each other. It takes a long time for the love to develop, and in Lorccan’s case, he fights it hard, under the impression he’s falling for a thing, not a person. It gave the story a rather unique dynamic.

I didn’t really dislike anything about the story, but I must say I was surprised when the first intimate scene rolled around. I thought the scenes were well done, but very detailed, and I’d no idea the story was going to go there. That being said, I personally liked how it wasn’t just the act but the emotions that go with it, and I think folks who dig love scenes will probably like the ones in this book.

Overall, I loved this story. It’s a fun, fairytale retelling with a sci-fi twist. There’s a greater plot than just the love story, making this original despite its inspiration. Folks who like fairytales, romance, and sci-fi with a focus on AI will probably like this book.

I received the ARC of this book from the author via Lola’s Blog Tours.


You can find Ensnared on Goodreads

Watch the Book Trailer

 

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

Non-Book Review: Tweetdeck is Awesome!

Tweeting in TweetDeck

I like Twitter, but Tweetdeck is awesome.

I don't recall exactly how I found out about it, probably from another blog or a tweet. Basically it's Twitter, but on your terms. You customize how you want to interact with your account. I have all the posts responding to or liking my tweets, my messages, and my scheduled posts all on their own columns. The constant twitter feed, which I find overwhelming on the main site, is hidden off to the side.

And yes, the scheduled posts. When I first got on Twitter, I was all like, "I write and post all my Tweets real-time." That's fine and all, but when you're trying to manage a blog and share reviews and also post thoughtful and interesting Tweets consistently, it gets rather difficult. So yes, with Tweetdeck, I went to the dark side, as I thought of it at the time, and started scheduling things ahead of time, mostly links to my books and quotes from them.

Then about this time last year I got frisky and wrote out a slew of posts of all sorts. Not just for my books, but for some of my older non-review posts here on the blog, for things I've learned as an author, and for my take on healthy living and happiness. I wrote them all over the course of a week and then spent a weekend scheduling them to go out over the course of the rest of the year.

This experiment in scheduled Tweets actually ran out just last month. So now that it's over, was it worth it?

Yes, it was. Not only did I manage to be more present in Twitter, I got more engagement out of folks and more followers, because I wasn't just posting random stuff, I was posting regularly and according to a few pre-determined themes I thought folks would enjoy.

An unexpected bonus was the enjoyment I got out of seeing those posts come up and remembering when I wrote them. It was fun!

So, long story short. I found Tweetdeck. It's neat. I definitely recommend it to folks who like Twitter.

Go forth and Tweet!

New Release: Of the Trees by E.M. Fitch

I am so excited that OF THE TREES by E.M. Fitch releases today and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author E.M. Fitch, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $25 Fandango Gift Card, US Only courtesy of Month9Books. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

 

About The Book:

 

Title: OF THE TREES

Author: E.M. Fitch

Pub. Date: February 28, 2017

Publisher: Month9Books

Format: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 345

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | TBD | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play Books | Indiebound

Cassie and Laney fancy themselves amateur ghost hunters. When a carnival comes to town, Cassie embraces the chance to try something new.

Carnival workers watch the girls with a collective gaze that ignites in Laney a dark and dangerous fascination, leaving Cassie unnerved.

It's not just their age or the unsettling way they stare. There is something in the shifting of their skin and the way their features seem to change in the shadows.

Cassie can't shake this sickening feeling that there's more to the carnival than meets the eye.

When townspeople suddenly start dying and bloody warnings appear around town, Cassie is lured into a nightmare where trees whisper and strange, shape-shifting men haunt the backwoods she once hunted for ghosts with her best friend.

Then Laney goes missing, and only Cassie can get her back. But the creatures of the trees aren't simply going to hand Laney over to Cassie without getting something in return.

 

About the Author: 
 

E.M. Fitch is an author who loves scary stories, chocolate, and tall trees. When not dreaming up new ways to torture characters, she is usually corralling her four children or thinking of ways to tire them out so she can get an hour of peace at night. She lives in Connecticut, surrounded by chaos, which she manages (somewhat successfully) with her husband, Marc.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $25 Fandango Gift Card, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


More books by this author:

Series

 

Anthologies

Dystopian Review: The List by Patricia Forde

The List
by Patricia Forde

Genre: YA, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Eco Fiction, Science Fiction

Publication Date: August 1st 2017 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Original Title: The Wordsmith, published April 16, 2015

Description:
Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver for tweens in this gripping story about the power of words and the dangers of censorship.

In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.

On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.

My Review:
The List is set in a post-apocalyptic future where the ice caps have melted and flooded the world. A small colony has formed where a group called the Green Warriors had identified a place the flooding would not likely touch. Called Ark, the main town is under the control of Noa, a man who blames the disaster on words, on people talking each other into believing there was nothing to the science that predicted the flood.

So, one, this book is very much a story warning against censorship, not only of words, but of culture, the arts, and human nature. But two, it’s also about climate change and a commentary on politicizing the science around it to the point that real threats are disregarded. I thought these elements were both interesting and rather frightening.

Still, the entire story is told from the perspective of a child, just into her teens, who loses her guardian and assumes a massive responsibility all in the same day. A girl who discovers everything she thought was normal and right was actually a lie. It’s a pretty exciting read, actually, but there are some poignant tragedies fed by the brutality and lack of empathy of those who are supposed to lead and protect Ark.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s a gripping and thought provoking read with a decent amount of action and good pacing. I’d recommend it to folks who like dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and stories that feature young protagonists.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

Add to your shelf on Goodreads.

Hardcover is available for pre-order on Amazon.

About the Author:
Patricia Forde lives in the County Galway, in the wet of Ireland. She has published five books for children in the Irish language and has written two plays, as well as several television drama series for children and teenagers. She has worked as a writer on both English and Irish language soap operas. In another life, she was a primary school teacher and the artistic director of Galway Arts Festival. The List is her first novel.

Author Links:
Goodreads Patricia's Author Profile

Superhero Spoof Review: The Adventures of Technicality Man by Jessica Meats

The Adventures of Technicality Man
by Jessica Meats

Genre: Superheroes, General Humor, Literature and Fiction

Publication Date: December 19, 2016

Description:
Everyone knows how the stories are supposed to go. The good guys win in the end, the hero ends up with the designated love interest, and the plucky band of misfits pulls together to save the world.
But what happens when a villain targets the nature of stories themselves? All the tropes that the heroes have come to rely on are under threat.

Technicality Man and his trusty companion Continuity Leopard must join forces with a group of minor heroes to save the day. They won’t let any barrier stop them. Not even the fourth wall.

My Review:
Ah, The Adventures of Technicality Man, a book I picked up on NetGalley due to the comic bookish cover and the satirical and corny description.

It was pretty much what I expected, but also not completely so, basically a play on comic book heroes and stories in general. The good guys and the bad guys play their parts, all with clever and highly descriptive names: Technicality Man, Origami Man, Chesty Cough Girl, to name a few. And yeah, their powers are exactly what their names imply. The girl is hilarious, her superpower is to appear highly contagious, which scares off guards and minions.

The other characters, besides the named heroes and villains, are several named cats who are responsible for all normal story conventions. Their names, of course, have everything to do with the elements of the story they control. I thought they were a bit clever and got a kick out of how the heroes knew when one was around or, in one case, summoned one to help them.

It’s not a terribly deep story, but it is amusing. I got through it in a few days, so there’s enough to entertain, but it is short enough to finish in a sitting in an afternoon. Good for a laugh or two if you’re familiar with comic book or hero stories and are game for a laugh or two at their expense.

Overall, I liked the story. It was amusing, clever in places, and light. I’d recommend it to folks who enjoy stories that poke fun at common themes by using those themes in the most obvious of ways. Good stuff.

I received the review copy of this book from NetGalley.

Interested? Add The Adventures of Technicality Man to your shelf on Goodreads.

About the Author:

 

 

Born in the United Kingdom, Jessica Meats is the author of a number of a number of intriguing science fiction books including the Code Name Omega series, the Shadows of Tomorrow series, and Child of the Hive. She also contributed a short story, Reading Between the Lines, to the MCB Quarterly magazine's 5th quarterly anthology.

 

Adding to all that, she has an active blog where she posts reviews, writing advice, and other bookish topics. Definitely worth a look.

 

Author Links:

Blog http://plot-twister.co.uk
Twitter @jessicameats

Amazon Jessica's Author Page

Goodreads Jessica's Author Profile

 

Fiction books by this Author: