Ensnared

This was a genuine surprise as far as what many assume and expect from a “creature smut” kind of a book.

We start off strong with learning about our main character Ketahn, a “vrix” that is similar to spiders. There's a sense of the world and the politics amongst other Vrix and we quickly learn that the Queen Vrix has been desiring for Ketahn to mate with her, deeming him the only acceptable vrix to give her offspring. This fact becomes the core of the plot and tension in this.

Ketahn comes from a family of Vrix weavers, but when the Queen took reign he was essentially forced to become a Warrior Vrix instead. The reasoning behind this as we learn plays into the “why” he refuses the Queen's advances. But now, he's meant to protect and provide for all the others. He's off to go into the “Tangle” a jungly mess of an area filled with various and harmful creatures and predators, to find food and other offerings for the village. This is when Ivy comes in.

Ivy is awakened in her Cryochamber and immediately Ketahn is completely consumed by her, never having been around humans before (obviously). There's a language barrier but you can still understand what Ivy is communicating, a lot of it written out like phonetically so us as readers can figure out what's happening. And it doesn't take long before the language barrier isn't even a trouble between them. Both of them being “quick learners”

The story progresses with us learning that Ivy was space traveling to live in a new colony and planet. A rash decision on her part after experiencing some horrible things back on ‘Earth'. She quickly takes to Ketahn, understanding that he's her only sense of hope in survival. Ketahn also aptly aware of this wastes no time in teaching her how to hunt, fish, weave things like baskets, start fires...

While the writing is decent, and I appreciate the world we're being immersed in, I struggled to find the attraction between the two of them. And I had no issues with him being a spider, lol. They take on a relationship that's like, Teacher and Student. Parent and Child. Sometimes even Child and Child. Both having so much to learn and overcome in their differences. There's the moments that's supposed to make me feel giddy and excited, waiting for the love to blossom but Ketahn too suddenly felt like a sweet old man to me. He's apparently very fast and strong but something in his written demeanor I felt like the way some action scenes went or his way amongst other Vrix couldn't solidify Ketahn as some strong warrior type who could save Ivy and himself but more easily breakable and unsteady. Me unintentionally starting to see Ketahn as sweet and frailer and that his age could suddenly catch up to him causing his demise, took away any desire I had to see him in a relationship with Ivy.

Ivy is sweet and simple. I couldn't turn off my critical brain when reading however at a certain point and I got lost in the idea that she only started romantic emotions towards Ketahn as he was her only savior on a strange alien planet. Outside of that, the relationship felt neither rushed or too slow.

This is me taking a creature romance book too seriously so I'll end my review here lol. It was nice but overall not quite what I was looking for, so I don't think I'll be continuing the series.