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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
4.5 stars
It didn't quite have that intrigue and gut punch that Cruel Beauty had, but it was equally dark and edgy. The romance is much more toned down in a sense, but it's a beautiful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood- I adore Rachelle, who like Nyx has a bit of wickedness in her heart, and this book was gripping and well plotted.
However again, I'm impressed by the world building Rosamund Hodge does- with it's own magical background and legends, just like Cruel Beauty which just magnified the story and every sense, you are so absorbed into the world and you just can't seem to pull yourself out of it.
While it didn't quite live up to my standards of Cruel Beauty, I'm very pleased that Rosamund Hodge can still deliver dark and edgy with romance as a fairy-tale retelling so well. Overall, a great read.
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Before reading:
THAT COVER I'M CRYING
IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND IT LIKE KINDA MATCHES WITH CRUEL BEAUTY AND OMG WANT *grabby hands
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OMG OMG OMG OMG
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
"There are never any choices in the forest."
This one was so good and so fun. Full of lore, close to Fae and close to demons but - to me - it had a twist all it's own. and even though some of the plot points were easy to see early on, a few still caught me by surprise.
the adventure of the tale and the characters were really wonderfully done. I loved it.
This one was so good and so fun. Full of lore, close to Fae and close to demons but - to me - it had a twist all it's own. and even though some of the plot points were easy to see early on, a few still caught me by surprise.
the adventure of the tale and the characters were really wonderfully done. I loved it.
this book started a little slow. I felt it took too long to get the plot set. When I was half way through the book I do ally was able to be enraptured in the story.
Another well-done fairy tale remix! I didn't have a particular attachment to Little Red Riding Hood going into this one and really enjoyed what the author did with it. Also, some interesting twists and more complex inner lives of characters than is perhaps expected.
This review appears in full on What Am I Reading?
Rate: 1.75
This book was an absolute disappointment. I expected to like Crimson Bound since I loved Hodge's Cruel Beauty, but no such luck. I don't understand how Hodge can create an amazing retelling like Cruel Beauty, but each subsequent retelling (Gilded Ashes then Crimson Bound) be lesser in quality than the previous one. I understand that Crimson Bound is not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe so I shouldn't be comparing them too harshly, but the overall quality of the story shouldn't change so drastically from one retelling to another. I had picked up Crimson Bound simply because I had enjoyed Cruel Beauty so much. I now see the error of my actions and may need to reevaluate how I pick books.
Rachelle: I can summarize Rachelle in three sentences: "I deserve to die. I don't want to die. I will fight to my last breath to save the world." Rachelle may sound noble, but she's not. She plagued with guilt and survivor's remorse so she goes back and forth between declaring that she should die and whining that she doesn't want to die. If I could've entered the book, I would have killed her just to take her out of her misery. I can't think of any redeeming qualities Rachelle possesses and spent the majority of the book sighing and rolling my eyes because of all of her whining.
Romance: Not only was romance not needed in this book, but Hodge also executed it so poorly. Armand never did anything except be in the same room as Rachelle and yet she falls in love with him. How do you fall in love with someone you barely talk to? Even when Rachelle and Armand did talk, they didn't have conversations that held much substance so how could she fall in love with him.The other possible suitor for Rachelle was Erec. Erec is a womanizer who continuously flirts with Rachelle and even though she claims that she'll never fall for Erec's charms, she still sleeps with him after Armand "betrays" her. There was no true romance between any of the characters. Rachelle didn't truly have feelings for either guy, to Erec Rachelle was just a long waited conquest, and from Rachelle's POV, I couldn't tell how Armand felt about her. Hodge forces romance into the book and forces a Love-V, but she executes both poorly. The only part of the "romance" that made sense was Erec's conquest of Rachelle and it only made sense after a big reveal towards the end.
Little Red Riding Hood: Crimson Bound is supposed to be a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but the connections aren't too clear. I know retellings are supposed to weave the story a bit differently than the originally, but I think that if a retelling is successful then I can clearly see the connections between the two stories. Crimson Bound relates to Little Red Riding Hood in the very beginning and then it takes a turn never to make sense again.
* Rachelle's guard cloak is red so it's like she's wearing a red hood.
* Rachelle speaks to a stranger on her way to her Aunt's house and veers off the path.
Yeah, those are the only clear connections. Like there may be some other ways to connect the two stories, but it would be stretching a bit and would need a lot of explanation of the story, which would cause spoilers.
If you're on the fence about whether or not to read Crimson Bound, I'd say skip it. You're not missing much and there are better books you could be reading.
Rate: 1.75
This book was an absolute disappointment. I expected to like Crimson Bound since I loved Hodge's Cruel Beauty, but no such luck. I don't understand how Hodge can create an amazing retelling like Cruel Beauty, but each subsequent retelling (Gilded Ashes then Crimson Bound) be lesser in quality than the previous one. I understand that Crimson Bound is not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe so I shouldn't be comparing them too harshly, but the overall quality of the story shouldn't change so drastically from one retelling to another. I had picked up Crimson Bound simply because I had enjoyed Cruel Beauty so much. I now see the error of my actions and may need to reevaluate how I pick books.
Rachelle: I can summarize Rachelle in three sentences: "I deserve to die. I don't want to die. I will fight to my last breath to save the world." Rachelle may sound noble, but she's not. She plagued with guilt and survivor's remorse so she goes back and forth between declaring that she should die and whining that she doesn't want to die. If I could've entered the book, I would have killed her just to take her out of her misery. I can't think of any redeeming qualities Rachelle possesses and spent the majority of the book sighing and rolling my eyes because of all of her whining.
Romance: Not only was romance not needed in this book, but Hodge also executed it so poorly. Armand never did anything except be in the same room as Rachelle and yet she falls in love with him. How do you fall in love with someone you barely talk to? Even when Rachelle and Armand did talk, they didn't have conversations that held much substance so how could she fall in love with him.The other possible suitor for Rachelle was Erec. Erec is a womanizer who continuously flirts with Rachelle and even though she claims that she'll never fall for Erec's charms, she still sleeps with him after Armand "betrays" her. There was no true romance between any of the characters. Rachelle didn't truly have feelings for either guy, to Erec Rachelle was just a long waited conquest, and from Rachelle's POV, I couldn't tell how Armand felt about her. Hodge forces romance into the book and forces a Love-V, but she executes both poorly. The only part of the "romance" that made sense was Erec's conquest of Rachelle and it only made sense after a big reveal towards the end.
Little Red Riding Hood: Crimson Bound is supposed to be a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but the connections aren't too clear. I know retellings are supposed to weave the story a bit differently than the originally, but I think that if a retelling is successful then I can clearly see the connections between the two stories. Crimson Bound relates to Little Red Riding Hood in the very beginning and then it takes a turn never to make sense again.
* Rachelle's guard cloak is red so it's like she's wearing a red hood.
* Rachelle speaks to a stranger on her way to her Aunt's house and veers off the path.
Yeah, those are the only clear connections. Like there may be some other ways to connect the two stories, but it would be stretching a bit and would need a lot of explanation of the story, which would cause spoilers.
If you're on the fence about whether or not to read Crimson Bound, I'd say skip it. You're not missing much and there are better books you could be reading.
Gonna have a reading hangover after this one for sure!! The story is so unique and the writing is stunning. I loved every bit!!
Actual rating: 4.5
After enjoying Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, I couldn't help but request a review copy of this one, and when I was approved, I did a mental happy dance. I wanted to dive into it immediately, but school kept me busy. Now I finally had the time to read it, and oh my gosh, it was such an amazing read!
Crimson Bound was such a great sophomore novel for Rosamund Hodge. This one's so much better than Cruel Beauty, and I already enjoyed Cruel Beauty! The story was captivating and beautifully written, and I wasn't able to put the book down. I really connected with the characters too and I felt everything the characters were feeling even though there weren't scenes I could relate to, and I definitely felt all the feels!
The story was amazing and unique, and the world building was impeccable. Even though I'm new to fantasy, I was able to get everything more or less. There were unexpected twists - at least for me - and I was caught off guard in a good way.
There were things I didn't like though. First, the saying of the I love you seemed off to me. Maybe it's just me because it was already shown that they liked each other, but felt really off to me. Second, I didn't like how Rachelle kept repeating over and over again how she's evil and Amelie is innocent and how she has to save her. Lastly, I think this isn't anyone's fault, but I just don't like how this one is marketed as a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood because it's a misconception, and honestly, I was thrown off guard at first because I was expecting Little Red Riding Hood.
Overall, this one's an amazing novel, and really a lot better than Cruel Beauty. I definitely recommend this to those looking for a unique read.
If I could, I would actually give this book 3.5 stars. I loved the premise of the book and the execution was decent, but some parts of the fantasy world left more questions than answers. Certain scenes in the book were a little difficult to comprehend why/how certain things were happening, but clear explanations never came about. The main characters were very interesting, and the plot line created some amazing twists that I definitely didn't see coming. The first half of the book was a little hard to get into, but the second half of the book I couldn't read fast enough - very action packed.