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nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Crimson Bound is a dark, gritty fairy tale, set in a world where darkness just may overcome the light. Fans of Cruel Beauty will not be disappointed in Hodge’s new book, which has the same dark tone and complex folklore (though the worlds and characters are not the same).
What I loved:
Rich worldbuilding.
Hodge certainly doesn’t skimp on the worldbuilding. She has a rich magical (and almost mythological) history for her world with very distinct elements such as the Devourer, who wants to spread darkness over the world. I loved the fantastical elements to this book – the literal knitting of spells, the progression from human to bloodbound to forestborn (and how that occurs), the creation of the weapons that were capable of defeating the Devourer – there were so many unique and elaborate elements to the folklore. And Hodge brought it all together beautifully.
Beautiful writing.
From the very beginning, I was captivated by Hodge’s lush storytelling. Even though the story was often dark and intense, the writing never felt heavy – it was often almost lyrical. Hodge has a gift for weaving dark and desolate circumstances using beautiful words.
The struggle for good.
Rachelle struggled to see herself as “good” after the choice that she made to become bloodbound – she sees no future for herself and has no sense of self-worth. I felt for her in this struggle, and I appreciated that the romance underscored this. Some people might call the romance in this book a love triangle, but I don’t think it really was. While Rachelle was definitely attracted to both Erec and Armand, only one of them interests her beyond that attraction. I thought that the juxtaposition of Rachelle’s darker, more carnal desires and her heart was displayed perfectly through the romance in the book and it reflected her struggle to stay human and not give in to the darker nature of the forestborn.
Twists that took me by surprise.
There were some twists in this book that really shocked me, and I loved them! The second half of the book was full of interesting surprises and some fantastic twists and turns. The suspense was high in this book – especially in the last quarter or so of the book – and I was never quite sure if the characters I had come to love were going to come out of the story alive!
The negatives:
Slow read (but not slow moving).
The only negative about this book is that it was a little bit of a slower read than is typical for me. It took me a while to get through this book – not because the pacing was slow, but just because it’s not the type of book you can zip through. The worldbuilding and the mythology in this book can sometimes be complicated, and the book takes your full attention. This is only a “sort of” negative for me – it means a slower read, but also, ultimately, a very satisfying read!
Just barely a take on Red Riding Hood.
This book was supposed to be inspired by Red Riding Hood, but it was very loosely inspired – I could see almost no connections, except for a couple of small ones at the very beginning. (There were also some whisperings of Hansel and Gretel inspirations in there, if I’m not mistaken). I feel like I need to go back and reread the original fairy tales, though, because I might be missing some of the references.
I so enjoyed this story! If you are a fan of darker fairy tales, I would definitely pick this book up! I give it 4.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Crimson Bound is a dark, gritty fairy tale, set in a world where darkness just may overcome the light. Fans of Cruel Beauty will not be disappointed in Hodge’s new book, which has the same dark tone and complex folklore (though the worlds and characters are not the same).
What I loved:
Rich worldbuilding.
Hodge certainly doesn’t skimp on the worldbuilding. She has a rich magical (and almost mythological) history for her world with very distinct elements such as the Devourer, who wants to spread darkness over the world. I loved the fantastical elements to this book – the literal knitting of spells, the progression from human to bloodbound to forestborn (and how that occurs), the creation of the weapons that were capable of defeating the Devourer – there were so many unique and elaborate elements to the folklore. And Hodge brought it all together beautifully.
Beautiful writing.
From the very beginning, I was captivated by Hodge’s lush storytelling. Even though the story was often dark and intense, the writing never felt heavy – it was often almost lyrical. Hodge has a gift for weaving dark and desolate circumstances using beautiful words.
The struggle for good.
Rachelle struggled to see herself as “good” after the choice that she made to become bloodbound – she sees no future for herself and has no sense of self-worth. I felt for her in this struggle, and I appreciated that the romance underscored this. Some people might call the romance in this book a love triangle, but I don’t think it really was. While Rachelle was definitely attracted to both Erec and Armand, only one of them interests her beyond that attraction. I thought that the juxtaposition of Rachelle’s darker, more carnal desires and her heart was displayed perfectly through the romance in the book and it reflected her struggle to stay human and not give in to the darker nature of the forestborn.
Twists that took me by surprise.
There were some twists in this book that really shocked me, and I loved them! The second half of the book was full of interesting surprises and some fantastic twists and turns. The suspense was high in this book – especially in the last quarter or so of the book – and I was never quite sure if the characters I had come to love were going to come out of the story alive!
The negatives:
Slow read (but not slow moving).
The only negative about this book is that it was a little bit of a slower read than is typical for me. It took me a while to get through this book – not because the pacing was slow, but just because it’s not the type of book you can zip through. The worldbuilding and the mythology in this book can sometimes be complicated, and the book takes your full attention. This is only a “sort of” negative for me – it means a slower read, but also, ultimately, a very satisfying read!
Just barely a take on Red Riding Hood.
This book was supposed to be inspired by Red Riding Hood, but it was very loosely inspired – I could see almost no connections, except for a couple of small ones at the very beginning. (There were also some whisperings of Hansel and Gretel inspirations in there, if I’m not mistaken). I feel like I need to go back and reread the original fairy tales, though, because I might be missing some of the references.
I so enjoyed this story! If you are a fan of darker fairy tales, I would definitely pick this book up! I give it 4.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
lamlab's review against another edition
1.0
Every time I've tried to read this, I fell asleep. Probably we're not a good match lol.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
An Crimson Bound stimmen die Details. Der Schreibstil ist düster-verspielt, die Welt ist französisch angehaucht, die Mythologie um den dunklen Wald ist gleichzeitig faszinierend und gefährlich. Es gibt eine Figur, die keine Hände hat und sehr positiv mit diesem Nachteil umgeht. Protagonistin Rachelle ist eine starke Kämpferin, die nicht gleichzeitig auch die perfekte Dame mimen kann (wobei sie natürlich trotzdem schön ist :P). Mit Lust wird realistisch umgegangen, da schlafen auch mal die Falschen miteinander und dann ist es halt so und keiner wird deshalb an den Pranger gestellt.
So wichtig Details auch sind, sie nützen nichts, wenn sie lose zwischen den Buchseiten umherflattern. Die Story kommt einfach nicht vom Fleck, zieht sich ewig und ist am Ende lange nicht so spannend wie die eingeschobenen Erzählungen um den Wald und die berüchtigten Geschwister Zisa und Tyr. Auch Rachelle wächst leider nie aus ihren Grundzügen hinaus. Sie ist keine rehäugige Pappnase, aber an Tiefe gewinnt sie auf über 400 Seiten nie.
So wichtig Details auch sind, sie nützen nichts, wenn sie lose zwischen den Buchseiten umherflattern. Die Story kommt einfach nicht vom Fleck, zieht sich ewig und ist am Ende lange nicht so spannend wie die eingeschobenen Erzählungen um den Wald und die berüchtigten Geschwister Zisa und Tyr. Auch Rachelle wächst leider nie aus ihren Grundzügen hinaus. Sie ist keine rehäugige Pappnase, aber an Tiefe gewinnt sie auf über 400 Seiten nie.
eforw's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
bookwormalley's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Title: Crimson Bound
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Page Count: 441
Time Length: 11Hrs 33Mins
Dates Read: 2/18-2/21
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Review: I'm not sure if this was due to the Audiobook or if it just wasn't the right time to read this book. I found the book to be all over the place with nothing really going on. I felt like the same task was being sought after over and over again, but progress was never made. I found the story lacking. I had no interest in any of the love interests.
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Page Count: 441
Time Length: 11Hrs 33Mins
Dates Read: 2/18-2/21
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Review: I'm not sure if this was due to the Audiobook or if it just wasn't the right time to read this book. I found the book to be all over the place with nothing really going on. I felt like the same task was being sought after over and over again, but progress was never made. I found the story lacking. I had no interest in any of the love interests.
amym84's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted at Vampire Book Club
At the age of fifteen Rachelle Brinon was apprenticing to become her village’s next woodwife. As such, her job would be to protect her village from the evils of the Forest by weaving charms. Wanting to be more proactive than the seemingly mundane task of weaving charms all day, Rachelle sets out to forever save the world from the threat of the Devourer (a force that would swallow the moon and the sun and plunge the world into eternal darkness).
In order to accomplish this, Rachelle needs to find the two legendary swords that can bring about permanent death for the Devourer. Being fifteen and naïve, Rachelle seeks out the forestborn—those who follow the Devourer and await his return—for answers. Because of her actions, Rachelle ends up becoming bloodbound, think of it as a precursor to turning into a forestborn. As such, in her mind, she’s damned.
Three years later, Rachelle ends up working for the King who has a group of bloodbound as his guard. She still hasn’t given up on her objective. When she’s tasked with personally guarding the King’s illegitimate son in order to keep him from starting a coup, she discovers he may be able to help her solve the riddle of the long lost swords.
Writing the summary of Crimson Bound and trying to put it in the most basic words possible with the limited review space, the story seems pretty straightforward and easy. Well, reading Crimson Bound, for me, was anything but. It had some great moments of clarity that especially come through easily with Rachelle and her search for the swords. Her end goal is pretty straight forward, but Crimson Bound is so peppered with myths, legends, and what is believed by some and what is believed by others, that it tends to get confusing at times.
The story is told third person from Rachelle’s point of view. The reader is so much in Rachelle’s head and honestly for the majority of the book that consists of her musings on how she is, or will become, evil and how essentially she is damned and doesn’t deserve to love or be loved. Because of this, the book doesn’t really grow those relationships the reader is supposed to believe in. It makes certain declarations that occur within the story seem very out-of-the-blue and random.
There comes a point well past the halfway mark in the book where Rachelle, still believing herself damned, turns into this really kick-ass female character. If we could have seen her throughout more of the story, I think I would be writing a different review. Rachelle had the capabilities from the start; it was just her self-doubt/hatred getting in the way of progress.
I believe Crimson Bound could have benefitted from being a series rather than a standalone (which at this point it is). I would have loved more time to understand the world and know it. I would have liked more development between the characters before feelings were made one way or another. I appreciated the unique twists that Rosamund Hodge includes and the imagery, the idea of it all. Despite my rather rocky road with Crimson Bound I would definitely look in to reading something else by Rosamund Hodge.
At the age of fifteen Rachelle Brinon was apprenticing to become her village’s next woodwife. As such, her job would be to protect her village from the evils of the Forest by weaving charms. Wanting to be more proactive than the seemingly mundane task of weaving charms all day, Rachelle sets out to forever save the world from the threat of the Devourer (a force that would swallow the moon and the sun and plunge the world into eternal darkness).
In order to accomplish this, Rachelle needs to find the two legendary swords that can bring about permanent death for the Devourer. Being fifteen and naïve, Rachelle seeks out the forestborn—those who follow the Devourer and await his return—for answers. Because of her actions, Rachelle ends up becoming bloodbound, think of it as a precursor to turning into a forestborn. As such, in her mind, she’s damned.
Three years later, Rachelle ends up working for the King who has a group of bloodbound as his guard. She still hasn’t given up on her objective. When she’s tasked with personally guarding the King’s illegitimate son in order to keep him from starting a coup, she discovers he may be able to help her solve the riddle of the long lost swords.
Writing the summary of Crimson Bound and trying to put it in the most basic words possible with the limited review space, the story seems pretty straightforward and easy. Well, reading Crimson Bound, for me, was anything but. It had some great moments of clarity that especially come through easily with Rachelle and her search for the swords. Her end goal is pretty straight forward, but Crimson Bound is so peppered with myths, legends, and what is believed by some and what is believed by others, that it tends to get confusing at times.
The story is told third person from Rachelle’s point of view. The reader is so much in Rachelle’s head and honestly for the majority of the book that consists of her musings on how she is, or will become, evil and how essentially she is damned and doesn’t deserve to love or be loved. Because of this, the book doesn’t really grow those relationships the reader is supposed to believe in. It makes certain declarations that occur within the story seem very out-of-the-blue and random.
There comes a point well past the halfway mark in the book where Rachelle, still believing herself damned, turns into this really kick-ass female character. If we could have seen her throughout more of the story, I think I would be writing a different review. Rachelle had the capabilities from the start; it was just her self-doubt/hatred getting in the way of progress.
I believe Crimson Bound could have benefitted from being a series rather than a standalone (which at this point it is). I would have loved more time to understand the world and know it. I would have liked more development between the characters before feelings were made one way or another. I appreciated the unique twists that Rosamund Hodge includes and the imagery, the idea of it all. Despite my rather rocky road with Crimson Bound I would definitely look in to reading something else by Rosamund Hodge.
barbtetnis's review against another edition
2.0
So much graphic violence. Quite appalling for a young adult book. Disappointed. Too long. Story dragged on.
ericaroseeberhart's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 at least, 4 at most. The half point is completely due to expectations not having been met, which is partially my own fault for interpreting an interview about this book in such a way. But it was entertaining and a generally good way to pass the time. I'm glad I had it with me to read.