Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jmkvance
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
3.0
maybe closer to a 3.5
i have really mixed feelings about this book. i adore the strong, independent female characters this author creates. however, while creating those characters, there is also a lot of time and energy put into describing extravagant ball gowns and how exactly the men are handsome. this feels counter intuitive to me. not to say that strong, independent females can’t appreciate the beauty of clothing or men, but it does feel like far too many female character novels are written with excessive emphasis on clothing and men. if you’re trying to buck stereotypes by writing powerful, capable women, then it seems a shame to fall back on the same tired old men/clothing tropes. the world of the novel was fascinating, but it felt pretty undeveloped to me. it was as if the author had a clear idea of what the world was like, but had a hard time showing that idea to the readers. the characters were extremely nuanced, which i appreciate. no one was simple good or evil, which always makes the story more believable and relatable.
i have really mixed feelings about this book. i adore the strong, independent female characters this author creates. however, while creating those characters, there is also a lot of time and energy put into describing extravagant ball gowns and how exactly the men are handsome. this feels counter intuitive to me. not to say that strong, independent females can’t appreciate the beauty of clothing or men, but it does feel like far too many female character novels are written with excessive emphasis on clothing and men. if you’re trying to buck stereotypes by writing powerful, capable women, then it seems a shame to fall back on the same tired old men/clothing tropes. the world of the novel was fascinating, but it felt pretty undeveloped to me. it was as if the author had a clear idea of what the world was like, but had a hard time showing that idea to the readers. the characters were extremely nuanced, which i appreciate. no one was simple good or evil, which always makes the story more believable and relatable.