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A review by davastewart
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
4.0
This is an interesting story, in large part because it builds an unusual world. I read a lot of fantasy and am all-too-familiar with the tropes of the genre, this one doesn't exactly break them, but it did take me somewhere unexpected. That could also be because of my own ideas and expectations of what "Great Forest" is.
In this story, there are several types of ... beings, I guess is the best word. There are regular humans, woodwives -- humans who weave charms, deal with herbs, dabble in sort of little magic -- bloodbound -- humans who have been marked by forestborn, and who must kill a human within three days of being marked and are therefore all murderers -- and the forestborn themselves -- bloodbound who have allowed the Great Forest to fully take them over and who have lost their human hearts and who are near-immortal.
The main character is Rachelle, a bloodbound who murdered her Aunt Leonie and is in service to the king. Rahelle's story is intertwined with a myth from her world, the story of Tyr and Zisa, a brother an sister who defeated the force of evil (called the Devourer) a thousand years before Rachelle lives.
The story has faults: I absolutely detested Armand, who is a central character and I didn't particularly enjoy the myth part of the book -- not to mention the amount of "blood seeping" that occurs. There is blood seeping from the bark of trees, blood seeping from between the walls of a cabin, etc. However, it's still well-written and original and I give it credit for those two things. I couldn't really predict what was happening because the whole setting was so odd and unexpected.
If you like stories that blur the lines between fantasy and horror (it's not at all scary, though) you might like this one. If you like stories that are just a bit different, you will probably like this one. If you like stories that have strong but extremely conflicted female main characters, you will probably like this one.
In this story, there are several types of ... beings, I guess is the best word. There are regular humans, woodwives -- humans who weave charms, deal with herbs, dabble in sort of little magic -- bloodbound -- humans who have been marked by forestborn, and who must kill a human within three days of being marked and are therefore all murderers -- and the forestborn themselves -- bloodbound who have allowed the Great Forest to fully take them over and who have lost their human hearts and who are near-immortal.
The main character is Rachelle, a bloodbound who murdered her Aunt Leonie and is in service to the king. Rahelle's story is intertwined with a myth from her world, the story of Tyr and Zisa, a brother an sister who defeated the force of evil (called the Devourer) a thousand years before Rachelle lives.
The story has faults: I absolutely detested Armand, who is a central character and I didn't particularly enjoy the myth part of the book -- not to mention the amount of "blood seeping" that occurs. There is blood seeping from the bark of trees, blood seeping from between the walls of a cabin, etc. However, it's still well-written and original and I give it credit for those two things. I couldn't really predict what was happening because the whole setting was so odd and unexpected.
If you like stories that blur the lines between fantasy and horror (it's not at all scary, though) you might like this one. If you like stories that are just a bit different, you will probably like this one. If you like stories that have strong but extremely conflicted female main characters, you will probably like this one.