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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Recensione: http://wefoundwonderlandinbooks.blogspot.it/2016/12/recensione-il-sentiero-del-bosco.html
So, I misread and thought this was a re-telling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story. Actually, what the synopsis-thingy says is that it is inspired. Not a re-telling! I must say though, it's pretty loosely inspired. Like, really really really loosely. Which was slightly disappointing only because nobody ever does retellings/inspirations based on LRRH (usually it's Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast or something). However, this is really a very nice novel on its own.
CRIMSON BOUND has a very unique world which I will attempt to explain but probably won't do it justice. The story centers on a teenaged girl named Rachelle, who is training to be a woodwife. A woodwife is a person who makes charms and simple things like that to ward against evil. In the world Rachelle lives in, there is this place called the Forest (with a capital F, mind you). It is both a physical location as well as a sort of evil force that is everywhere. For example, you could be standing in your living room and see glimpses of the Forest. Anyway, the Forest is home to all sorts of nasty creatures, woodspawn and forestborn and stuff, who go on a Great Hunt from time to time and basically hunt down humans for sport. The master of the Forest is called the Devourer, who has no real form (I guess the Devourer is the wolf from LRRH?)
When Rachelle was younger and being trained by her Aunt Leonie to become a woodwife, she accidentally strays from a forest path and becomes marked by the Forest. Once marked, a human has three days to kill another human. If you kill another human, you will live as a bloodbound (supernatural human) for a few years or so, then the Forest will claim you and you become a forestborn (non human, immortal Forest creature). If you don't kill someone in three days, well, then you die instead. Rachelle, in her desperate desire for survival, chooses to kill someone.
The current story takes place three years after Rachelle killed someone. She is a bloodbound, kept by the King. Usually humans want to kill bloodbounds but the King keeps some around because supernatural humans make excellent bodyguards and hey, when the time comes for them to be reclaimed by the Forest, the humans will kill the bloodbound then. In my opinion I am not sure that is the safest idea but whatever. Rachelle and another fellow bloodbound, Erec, work for the King, protecting humans from woodspawn and stuff.
Erec is completely resigned to his fate and actually looks forward to becoming an immortal being; if he has to work for a completely soulless evil creature, then so be it. Rachelle, on the other hand, is desperate to fight her destiny. She still carries immense guilt from having killed another human three years ago. Her only hope is to find the legendary sword, Joyeuse, one of two swords said to be able to defeat the Devourer. Furthermore, time is running out, as nights stretch longer and day time hours shrink. The Endless Night approaches. But it's all only legends, right?
Rachelle's quest to find Joyeuse is thrown in a loop though when the King assigns her to be the bodyguard for one of his (many) bastard sons, Armand. Armand is his current favourite, a teenage boy who was marked by the Forest but refused to kill another human being. Somehow, he survived and all he lost were his hands. Initially Rachelle hates Armand as she thinks he's totally lying about being marked and surviving -- that has NEVER happened before -- but she later realizes Armand is instrumental in locating Joyeuse.
This book's strengths: First of all, I think the story world is incredibly unique. I probably butchered my explanation of how the Forest works and you're thinking, "What the hell is she talking about?" but I love the Forest. I love how its sort of everywhere, and sort of isn't. It's an evil force and also a physical place. I just imagine an enchanted forest with creepy animals, monsters and twisted human creatures with antlers and stuff, blowing their horns and going on their hunts for humans. I like forests in general so maybe that's why I'm particularly fond of this concept, haha. Also, the whole idea of being marked and having to kill a person in 3 days or die yourself is pretty unique curse, in an angsty kind of way.
Another great strength of this book is the writing. Rosamund Hodge has a sort of whimsical/enchanted way of writing especially with the chapters explaining the Joyeuse legend (which is spread out throughout the novel). She's a great YA writer, I think, which is kind of rare 'cause there's a lot of shitty YA writers ...
And of course, I loved the plot of the story. It's kind of predictable and you kind of figure out very early on that, duh, the legends are all true (sorry if that spoils things for you, but it's kind of obvious to me), but I still wanted to see how it would all play out.
As for the characters, I think that's the weaker part of the novel. Okay, Rachelle and Armand are not particularly interesting characters. Rachelle is really angsty. Like, really really angsty. Which may be other people's cup of tea but it really wasn't mine. I get why she feels that way, but still. And Armand was just bleh. And for reasons I do not really understand, they fall in love. I hated how it was an AHA! lightbulb moment of realization too. Rachelle just goes, "Oh hey! I just realized I'm in love with you!" It was honestly kind of lame and I expected better, considering how the rest of the novel seems to be so awesome.
Oh and the one person I DO like -- Erec -- well, turns out I really shouldn't be liking him. Rachelle totally feels the same way, haha. I know, I know, Erec's totally evil and all that, but you gotta admire a guy who is utterly devoted to a girl. I mean, he never once turned on her (well, not completely anyway). Plus he's supposed to be swoon-worthy so of course I imagined Erec as the hottest guy ever. That's probably why he was my favourite.
Yeah, there's kind of a love triangle in this book, and a lot of people are burned out by love triangles in YA novels, but I think it was totally fine in this book. It's not forced like it is in some other books. Okay, well, it's a little teensy bit forced, but I thought it all fit the story nicely in this particularly book.
Anyway, I rambled long enough. Bottom line is, this is not really an LRRH book so if you want to read it ONLY because you think it's some sort of LRRH retelling, don't, because it's not. But if you want a good solid, YA fantasy novel, this is your ticket!
CRIMSON BOUND has a very unique world which I will attempt to explain but probably won't do it justice. The story centers on a teenaged girl named Rachelle, who is training to be a woodwife. A woodwife is a person who makes charms and simple things like that to ward against evil. In the world Rachelle lives in, there is this place called the Forest (with a capital F, mind you). It is both a physical location as well as a sort of evil force that is everywhere. For example, you could be standing in your living room and see glimpses of the Forest. Anyway, the Forest is home to all sorts of nasty creatures, woodspawn and forestborn and stuff, who go on a Great Hunt from time to time and basically hunt down humans for sport. The master of the Forest is called the Devourer, who has no real form (I guess the Devourer is the wolf from LRRH?)
When Rachelle was younger and being trained by her Aunt Leonie to become a woodwife, she accidentally strays from a forest path and becomes marked by the Forest. Once marked, a human has three days to kill another human. If you kill another human, you will live as a bloodbound (supernatural human) for a few years or so, then the Forest will claim you and you become a forestborn (non human, immortal Forest creature). If you don't kill someone in three days, well, then you die instead. Rachelle, in her desperate desire for survival, chooses to kill someone.
The current story takes place three years after Rachelle killed someone. She is a bloodbound, kept by the King. Usually humans want to kill bloodbounds but the King keeps some around because supernatural humans make excellent bodyguards and hey, when the time comes for them to be reclaimed by the Forest, the humans will kill the bloodbound then. In my opinion I am not sure that is the safest idea but whatever. Rachelle and another fellow bloodbound, Erec, work for the King, protecting humans from woodspawn and stuff.
Erec is completely resigned to his fate and actually looks forward to becoming an immortal being; if he has to work for a completely soulless evil creature, then so be it. Rachelle, on the other hand, is desperate to fight her destiny. She still carries immense guilt from having killed another human three years ago. Her only hope is to find the legendary sword, Joyeuse, one of two swords said to be able to defeat the Devourer. Furthermore, time is running out, as nights stretch longer and day time hours shrink. The Endless Night approaches. But it's all only legends, right?
Rachelle's quest to find Joyeuse is thrown in a loop though when the King assigns her to be the bodyguard for one of his (many) bastard sons, Armand. Armand is his current favourite, a teenage boy who was marked by the Forest but refused to kill another human being. Somehow, he survived and all he lost were his hands. Initially Rachelle hates Armand as she thinks he's totally lying about being marked and surviving -- that has NEVER happened before -- but she later realizes Armand is instrumental in locating Joyeuse.
This book's strengths: First of all, I think the story world is incredibly unique. I probably butchered my explanation of how the Forest works and you're thinking, "What the hell is she talking about?" but I love the Forest. I love how its sort of everywhere, and sort of isn't. It's an evil force and also a physical place. I just imagine an enchanted forest with creepy animals, monsters and twisted human creatures with antlers and stuff, blowing their horns and going on their hunts for humans. I like forests in general so maybe that's why I'm particularly fond of this concept, haha. Also, the whole idea of being marked and having to kill a person in 3 days or die yourself is pretty unique curse, in an angsty kind of way.
Another great strength of this book is the writing. Rosamund Hodge has a sort of whimsical/enchanted way of writing especially with the chapters explaining the Joyeuse legend (which is spread out throughout the novel). She's a great YA writer, I think, which is kind of rare 'cause there's a lot of shitty YA writers ...
And of course, I loved the plot of the story. It's kind of predictable and you kind of figure out very early on that, duh, the legends are all true (sorry if that spoils things for you, but it's kind of obvious to me), but I still wanted to see how it would all play out.
As for the characters, I think that's the weaker part of the novel. Okay, Rachelle and Armand are not particularly interesting characters. Rachelle is really angsty. Like, really really angsty. Which may be other people's cup of tea but it really wasn't mine. I get why she feels that way, but still. And Armand was just bleh. And for reasons I do not really understand, they fall in love. I hated how it was an AHA! lightbulb moment of realization too. Rachelle just goes, "Oh hey! I just realized I'm in love with you!" It was honestly kind of lame and I expected better, considering how the rest of the novel seems to be so awesome.
Oh and the one person I DO like -- Erec -- well, turns out I really shouldn't be liking him. Rachelle totally feels the same way, haha. I know, I know, Erec's totally evil and all that, but you gotta admire a guy who is utterly devoted to a girl. I mean, he never once turned on her (well, not completely anyway). Plus he's supposed to be swoon-worthy so of course I imagined Erec as the hottest guy ever. That's probably why he was my favourite.
Yeah, there's kind of a love triangle in this book, and a lot of people are burned out by love triangles in YA novels, but I think it was totally fine in this book. It's not forced like it is in some other books. Okay, well, it's a little teensy bit forced, but I thought it all fit the story nicely in this particularly book.
Anyway, I rambled long enough. Bottom line is, this is not really an LRRH book so if you want to read it ONLY because you think it's some sort of LRRH retelling, don't, because it's not. But if you want a good solid, YA fantasy novel, this is your ticket!
genuinely surprised at how not into this I was. loved the main character but the romance took up so much of the book and it wasn't even EXCITING. so...
Wow! This story wove so many different stories into one book. The two most prominent fairytales that the author bases this story on are Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl Without Hands. There are also several biblical references in the story as well. Ultimately, this is a story of redemption. I really like how this author creates complex characters and gives them an unbelievable world to inhabit.
The heroine (anti-heroine) of the story is Rachelle who was training under her aunt to destroy the Devourer. The Devourer was bound by a twin boy and girl (sort of a strange reference to Hansel and Gretel). However, the Devourer is getting stronger and as he does, the Dark Forest and the creatures that inhabit it are getting stronger. Those who surrender to the Devourer become forest born and lose all humanity. Those who are touched by the forestborn are called bloodborn and must kill someone within three days of being touched or they will die. Rachelle loses her way in the forest and is beguiled by a forestborn. He touches her and Rachelle is forced to make an awful decision. Will she kill or be killed?
Rachelle basically makes the choice to live however, she must live with the consequences of her actions. She can never quite forgive herself for what she has done and yet she still has good intentions. She doesn't want to become a forestborn and wants to find a sword that will destroy the Devourer once and for all.
The story is complex and richly layered with symbolism. I don't think I would recommend this for younger readers. There is a lot of violence and disturbing fables in the story. There is also one point where the heroine sleeps with someone though the details aren't really given. If you like Throne of Glass, you will probably like this too.
The heroine (anti-heroine) of the story is Rachelle who was training under her aunt to destroy the Devourer. The Devourer was bound by a twin boy and girl (sort of a strange reference to Hansel and Gretel). However, the Devourer is getting stronger and as he does, the Dark Forest and the creatures that inhabit it are getting stronger. Those who surrender to the Devourer become forest born and lose all humanity. Those who are touched by the forestborn are called bloodborn and must kill someone within three days of being touched or they will die. Rachelle loses her way in the forest and is beguiled by a forestborn. He touches her and Rachelle is forced to make an awful decision. Will she kill or be killed?
Rachelle basically makes the choice to live however, she must live with the consequences of her actions. She can never quite forgive herself for what she has done and yet she still has good intentions. She doesn't want to become a forestborn and wants to find a sword that will destroy the Devourer once and for all.
The story is complex and richly layered with symbolism. I don't think I would recommend this for younger readers. There is a lot of violence and disturbing fables in the story. There is also one point where the heroine sleeps with someone though the details aren't really given. If you like Throne of Glass, you will probably like this too.
I was impressed with the creativity and complexity of this book. How she thought of this tale from Little Red Riding Hood is beyond me, but the twists and turns were quite enjoyable and it kept me engaged. I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars though because there were some significant parts that I felt should have been expanded a bit. I had to go back and reread to figure out what I'd missed. Other than that though, a good read.
*applauds*
I thought this was an okay book for the first couple hundred pages, but I knew it in my soul that this would be one of those books where you may not love it at first but everything would come together in the end in a satisfying way. And it did not disappoint!
The only reason that I did not mark this a 5/5 stars is because of the romance. Honestly, that was such a tiny portion of the book that it did not at all merit being the tagline or the main focus of the summary. Their relationship felt very slow-burn at first, which I was very excited about, but then, out of the blue, they were both saying they were in love. I liked them as a couple, but I really feel like it would have been better if it had remained consistent with the slow-burn.
That is seriously the only complaint I have about this book, and I'm also planning to read Cruel Beauty soon because of how great this was. (Yes, I read them in the wrong order. No, it did not impact my enjoyment of this novel.)
Highly, highly recommend.
I thought this was an okay book for the first couple hundred pages, but I knew it in my soul that this would be one of those books where you may not love it at first but everything would come together in the end in a satisfying way. And it did not disappoint!
The only reason that I did not mark this a 5/5 stars is because of the romance. Honestly, that was such a tiny portion of the book that it did not at all merit being the tagline or the main focus of the summary. Their relationship felt very slow-burn at first, which I was very excited about, but then, out of the blue, they were both saying they were in love. I liked them as a couple, but I really feel like it would have been better if it had remained consistent with the slow-burn.
That is seriously the only complaint I have about this book, and I'm also planning to read Cruel Beauty soon because of how great this was. (Yes, I read them in the wrong order. No, it did not impact my enjoyment of this novel.)
Highly, highly recommend.
As much as I loved Cruel Beauty and fairytales I was definitely excited to read this book. I may disappoint by saying that it wasn’t quite as good as Cruel Beauty. Of course, this could be because I have a soft spot for Beauty and the Beast.
Let me start off by saying that Hodge still kills it with her beautiful world building, lush language and picture painting. Girl kills it. I even missed my train stop because I was so engrossed in it. Also, once again a beautiful embossed hardcover and jacket.
One of my only issues with Cruel Beauty was that I felt that some of her characters needed work, especially the second-level or background characters. Going into this book I felt that way but towards the end I changed my mind. I thought that Erec was multi-layered and so was his relationship with Rachelle. A mark of good character building (hello Orange is the New Black) is when the writer makes me change my mind more than once on how I feel about them. I definitely felt this way with Erec ad Rachelle. Towards the end you realize that Rachelle doesn’t always make the right decisions, that she’s flawed, and I love that. She’s human (well, not really). Without giving away too much, at one point she tells Amelie that she couldn’t have gone on without her, that she would have given in to the forest. And as a reader, I believed that.
A big gripe I had was the summary. This is compared as a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood…but it isn’t. At all. I think they may have taken this angle to sell more books, but she really doesn’t need it. The forest and perhaps her aunt’s cottage were the only similarities. Some parts were a bit trippy and filled with odd creatures that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland but overall this stands on its own. Not to mention the summary didn’t even include Erec, who was pretty important… I also enjoy reading her acknowledgements because she always lists inspirations.
Crimson Bound had less musings on humanity and life lessons than Cruel Beauty but here’s one quote I liked: “This is the human way, she thought. On the edge of destruction, at the end of all things, we still dance. And hope.” (Hodge, 383).
Overall, I recommend and will continue to read her beautiful books. Any thoughts?
https://bibliophiliareviews.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/review-crimson-bound-by-rosamund-hodge/
Let me start off by saying that Hodge still kills it with her beautiful world building, lush language and picture painting. Girl kills it. I even missed my train stop because I was so engrossed in it. Also, once again a beautiful embossed hardcover and jacket.
One of my only issues with Cruel Beauty was that I felt that some of her characters needed work, especially the second-level or background characters. Going into this book I felt that way but towards the end I changed my mind. I thought that Erec was multi-layered and so was his relationship with Rachelle. A mark of good character building (hello Orange is the New Black) is when the writer makes me change my mind more than once on how I feel about them. I definitely felt this way with Erec ad Rachelle. Towards the end you realize that Rachelle doesn’t always make the right decisions, that she’s flawed, and I love that. She’s human (well, not really). Without giving away too much, at one point she tells Amelie that she couldn’t have gone on without her, that she would have given in to the forest. And as a reader, I believed that.
A big gripe I had was the summary. This is compared as a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood…but it isn’t. At all. I think they may have taken this angle to sell more books, but she really doesn’t need it. The forest and perhaps her aunt’s cottage were the only similarities. Some parts were a bit trippy and filled with odd creatures that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland but overall this stands on its own. Not to mention the summary didn’t even include Erec, who was pretty important… I also enjoy reading her acknowledgements because she always lists inspirations.
Crimson Bound had less musings on humanity and life lessons than Cruel Beauty but here’s one quote I liked: “This is the human way, she thought. On the edge of destruction, at the end of all things, we still dance. And hope.” (Hodge, 383).
Overall, I recommend and will continue to read her beautiful books. Any thoughts?
https://bibliophiliareviews.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/review-crimson-bound-by-rosamund-hodge/
Blend little red riding hood with the girl with no arms, add in a haunting refrain pulled straight from the juniper tree, set it in Versallies and you have this book. This is a spectacular retelling- the characters are great, I love the plot, and the story feels sharp and vital. Another truly brilliant work from Rosamund Hodges.
This was really bad. Don’t read it. All I need to say. Thanks. Bye.
* I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
I really don’t have many words for Crimson Bound, other than outstanding, amazing, and incredible. The world-building and characters were absolutely amazing, and I was sucked in from the beginning. This was such an interesting blend of two fairytales, what was wonderful was it didn’t feel like a re-telling of a fairytale. If the synopsis/author hadn’t mentioned what was inspired by, I never would’ve known. I think it can stand alone without any explanations, because the world building was incredible.
Rachelle. Oh my goodness where to start. She was never under any illusions about who she was and what she was capable of. She didn’t whine, make excuses, or sob uncontrollably over the twist her life had taken. She was strong, fierce, sensistive, kind, and cruel. She was a dichotomy wrapped up in a complicated package. She was unapologetic, and lived her life as best she could while knowing that she was a monster. I loved Rachelle and loved her ending it was just perfect for her. It was everything she had fought and sacrificed for and it was NOT happiness and rainbows but it was perfect for this character.
Armand was also a great character. He was so good at heart, and had an inner strength that was honestly amazing. I was horrified at what ended up happening to him. And even more horrified once the reader was filled in on the who and why. It was just frankly horrific, and the fact that he didn’t trust Rachelle made sense. It was hard to understand why he didn’t trust her, because the reader is so much inside Rachelle’s head that it’s easy to forget that she hadn’t told him her plans and what she was plotting. There were bits that felt clunky. Where the story felt like it was dragging, and that was disappointment because the rest of the book was so fantastic.
The story of Tyr and Zisa was quite frankly amazing. It is what sets this book apart from other retellings. It’s why I think they need to drop the whole “inspired by” thing. No one cares, and quite frankly Rosamund Hodge put her own incredibly unique spin on it. It was unrecognizable from the original fairytale. I loved it. It was dark, sinister, but beautiful in tone. There was always hope. Rachelle felt like a tiny speck of grey in the blackness that the Devourer was trying to create. It was incredible.
Initially I was going to give this 4 out of 5 stars because of the clunky bits, but after writing the review I’m going to give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. It was incredible and if you love dark stories with perfectly, not perfect endings then this is the book for you.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2015/05/crimson-bound-by-rosamund-hodge.html*
I really don’t have many words for Crimson Bound, other than outstanding, amazing, and incredible. The world-building and characters were absolutely amazing, and I was sucked in from the beginning. This was such an interesting blend of two fairytales, what was wonderful was it didn’t feel like a re-telling of a fairytale. If the synopsis/author hadn’t mentioned what was inspired by, I never would’ve known. I think it can stand alone without any explanations, because the world building was incredible.
Rachelle. Oh my goodness where to start. She was never under any illusions about who she was and what she was capable of. She didn’t whine, make excuses, or sob uncontrollably over the twist her life had taken. She was strong, fierce, sensistive, kind, and cruel. She was a dichotomy wrapped up in a complicated package. She was unapologetic, and lived her life as best she could while knowing that she was a monster. I loved Rachelle and loved her ending it was just perfect for her. It was everything she had fought and sacrificed for and it was NOT happiness and rainbows but it was perfect for this character.
Armand was also a great character. He was so good at heart, and had an inner strength that was honestly amazing. I was horrified at what ended up happening to him. And even more horrified once the reader was filled in on the who and why. It was just frankly horrific, and the fact that he didn’t trust Rachelle made sense. It was hard to understand why he didn’t trust her, because the reader is so much inside Rachelle’s head that it’s easy to forget that she hadn’t told him her plans and what she was plotting. There were bits that felt clunky. Where the story felt like it was dragging, and that was disappointment because the rest of the book was so fantastic.
The story of Tyr and Zisa was quite frankly amazing. It is what sets this book apart from other retellings. It’s why I think they need to drop the whole “inspired by” thing. No one cares, and quite frankly Rosamund Hodge put her own incredibly unique spin on it. It was unrecognizable from the original fairytale. I loved it. It was dark, sinister, but beautiful in tone. There was always hope. Rachelle felt like a tiny speck of grey in the blackness that the Devourer was trying to create. It was incredible.
Initially I was going to give this 4 out of 5 stars because of the clunky bits, but after writing the review I’m going to give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. It was incredible and if you love dark stories with perfectly, not perfect endings then this is the book for you.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2015/05/crimson-bound-by-rosamund-hodge.html*