Published by: Balzer+Bray, May 5th 2015
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling
Pages: 448
Format: Ebook
Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss
When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?
Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.
(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)
For the most part of this book, I was enjoying it but I wasn't in love with it. But now I've finished Crimson Bound, I seem to remember the same thing happening to me with Cruel Beauty. The thing about Rosamund Hodge is her stories creep up on me. I enjoy reading them, their fantasy elements, their wonderful worlds, and their effortlessly real characters, but it isn't until everything starts to go to pot and my heart is absolutely wrecked that I discover I love the story. There's a part in this book where Rachelle says she didn't realise she trusted Armand until that trust was broken. That's the way of this book for me.
Crimson Bound had all the wondrous torment I expected, the terrible and alluring magic, the twisty, painful plot, and the heart-pounding desperation. There are so many parts of this story that I enjoyed. I loved the clever inclusion of woodwife charms, how it was set in historical France and still had that high fantasy enchantment, how the Forest was a character in itself, how Rachelle was always yearning to be good even when she had the purest intentions of all of them. Throughout the pages of this book I felt despondency, soaring hope, staggering betrayal, hopelessness, aching love, and purest hate - and the effect is that I'm left reeling, confused, and satisfied all at the same time.
My reviews of Hodge's books are always founded more in emotions than any sort of rational criticism, and that speaks the most about how much I love these books, because even while I didn't love Crimson Bound for half of it, I fell deep by the end and I would now recommend it to literally everyone. To sum up my feelings in actual words: A flawless, taut, devastating story of hope and heroes and salvation.
Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world building ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★★
Yes, yes, yes and yes. All of the yesses, I just love how she makes unlike-able and flawed characters likeable. Because I freaking loved all of them. I didn't know how caught up I was in it (because the first couple of chapters I did struggle through, because confusion) but then with Armand, which I didn't see coming, though I should've, I was just holy shit. THIS. BOOK.
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