
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: May 5th, 2015
Format: eARC
Pages: 448
Source: Publisher


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.
I fell completely in love with Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge’s debut book, so I knew I needed Crimson Blood in my life. I mean, c’mon, a twist on Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl With No Hands? Yes, please. It’s not even that it’s a twist on fairytales that’s exciting, it’s more the fact that Hodge is the one wielding the pen. And she has once again shows her creativity with Crimson Bound.
This really is an interesting story that takes us on a fairly dark and twisted journey. I love the whole legend surrounding the Devourer, a powerful entity that has plunged the world into darkness once before, and now he’s set to return soon. This is definitely not something humans want to happen, because if it does, they become the hunted. On the other hand, the dark creatures of the Great Forest are very much looking forward to it. Rachelle, however, is determined to prevent it from happening.
Rachelle is a character I immediately liked. She doesn’t like what she has become, but she uses her skills to her advantage in order to protect people and find a way to defeat the Devourer. She’s pretty badass and snarky, so of course I was drawn to her. Even though she has a tougher exterior, she’s good to the core.
I do have to say the romance felt a bit odd and erratic to me at points. I completely understand all that went on and liked it, but I think the execution of it is what threw me. Ah, but I absolutely adore the banter and chemistry between Rachelle and Erec. Those flirty antagonistic relationships get me every time.
I also enjoyed the world-building. It’s rich and thorough, without over doing it. It didn’t cause my eyes to glaze over once, so bonus points for that (haha)!
Overall, I really liked Crimson Bound and look forward to whatever Rosamund Hodge writes next.
Oooh this one sounds like it’s a lot of fun with that antagonistic romance, badass snarky character and the witty banter! Great review Christy, I’m looking forward to this one!
“Those flirty antagonistic relationships get me every time.”
ME TO CHRISTY! I live for those types of relationships, they make me absurdly happy. I’m a little bummed the romance felt a bit erratic to you at times, but overall this was clearly a winner and I can’t wait to read it myself!
I did like this one, her writing is undeniably beautiful and dark but I still liked Cruel Beauty better.
I’m so glad to see you enjoyed this, Christy! I’m looking forward to listening to this one on audio. I love the sound of the MC and the world building. I have to say, I’m disappointed about the romance though. :/
Oh well! I’ll still pick it up and I hope I enjoy it.
Great review, Christy!
I still need to read Cruel Beauty and despite the romance feeling a little erratic it looks like I need to add this as well.
This one sounds pretty good. I don’t normally go for fairytale redo’s, but LRRH is a favorite. And that cover, omg. Perfect.
Lots of people are loving the sequel. I need to look up Girl with no Hands. I’m not familiar with that tale, sounds mighty intetesting
You liked this more than I. I struggled with Rachelle I couldn’t connect with her and I hated the romance. I liked the world and the creativity.
I really should start reading this series since I’ve mostly read good reviews of it. And I haven’t read a bad review of this book yet and I enjoy romances with banter and snark the most. I have the audiobook version of Cruel Beauty so I think I’ll definitely be listening to that next! 😀 Lovely review Christy!
I can deal with slightly erratic as long as the story on a whole is well done. Sounds like it here. I need to read more of her work.
Ahh I saw another review of this one the other day and was thinking it was a need.
Aaah, I really liked this read as well – I love the way the author Rosamund takes fairy tales & makes them all twisted and into something great. The romance was cute sometimes, but the love triangle annoyed me. I did love the plot though, glad you could enjoy it as well!
Seriously, why am I not on this bandwagon yet? I’m lagging behind. Sigh.
I fell in love with the author’s writing after this book. It was just so awesomely done and well-written. She has that sort of whimsical quality to her writing that you don’t see often, and it was interesting to feel that way in a fantasy book!
I’m happy to see you enjoyed this! I really loved the unique twists on the two fairy tales. Rachelle annoyed me a bit, but I loved the universe! Great review, Christy!
(I just posted my review of this too, if you’re interested!)
I agree it was a really nice one. It made me think a lot of Cruel Beauty on some aspects and I really enjoyed the whole story too. Great review!
I can do with odd romance as long as I get to gobble this amazingly dark story. I am so excited to read it. I hope to next weekend.
I Loved Cruel Beauty! I SO need to read this!
I remember I got Cruel Beauty b/c of your review, and I really enjoyed it. I’ve read a few mixed reviews about this one, but I’m glad you enjoy it, that means I probably will too. I already got Court of Thorns and Roses, maybe I’ll get this one next.
Thanks Christy.
I need to read Cruel Beauty…glad to know that this one is good too!
At first I decided to skip out on Cruel Beauty because of the mixed reviews I kept seeing pop everywhere but ever since Crimson Bound came out everyone been raving about this one AND cruel beauty…so clearly I made a mistake! Haha, I’m going to have to pick this one up! Lovely review!
I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this series. Things that stood out to me in your review was the rich world-building, and the banter and chemistry between Rachelle and Erec! Those relationships get to me every time too! Wonderful Review Christy!
I agree with you about the romance, Christy! I was a little thrown off by it, not because I wasn’t expecting it or didn’t want it to happen but I felt like it just came out of nowhere. Suddenly they had feelings for each other and I was like whaaaa? I did enjoy their banter though and thought they worked great together which was why in the end, I ended up letting go of my issues with their romance.
I thought Hodge did a great job with the novel as well and I cannot get enough of her imaginative worlds.
I am glad you enjoyed the book as much as I did, Christy!! 🙂