Review of Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Advance Review of Rosamund Hodge's Crimson Bound

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com/GoodReads.com:

An exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, from the author of Cruel Beauty.

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in a vain effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt from Crimson Bound:

The Forest was just like her dreams. The dark, tangled growth of trees, branches, and roots woven together. The cold air, pulsing with half-heard-laughter, that tasted of blood and smoke. The glint of a bonfire in the distance.

This was the Great Forest, the Forest of Dreams and Dreadful Night: the dark, primeval wood that had once covered all the world in the days before the sun and moon. She'd seen its phantom shadow a thousand times, haunting the streets of Rocamadour, blossoming around her when she met the forestborn in the wood near Aunt Leonie's cottage. She'd dreamed of it night after night.

She had never imagined that when she finally walked all the way inside, it would feel like home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This stand alone book from the author who brought us Cruel Beauty. Even though this is a stand alone novel, you can definitely tell that the same author wrote both and I do enjoy her writing style. I am just sad that I did not see more of the fairy tales that the book was based off of. Where Cruel Beauty is based on Beauty & the Beast (and you can really see B&B), Crimson Bound is based on Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl With No Hands. I had to look up the second story online to find out what it was about, because it was not a popular fairy tale that I read as a child. Where I can see bits of The Girls With No Hands inside of the book, ideas from Little Red Riding Hood are few and far between.

Now, if I were to completely separate the idea of this book being based on fairy tales from my mind, I would have enjoyed it much more. The Wild Hunt popped up in the story and that brings the book to a more Fantasy/Fair Folk aspect, which is not something I tend to read.

Having read her first book in the series (I'm calling it a series even though they are separate entities, seeing as how they have concentric covers and similar ideas), I did find this one a tad bit disappointing. Just read my review before you read the book so that you know not to think about Little Red Riding Hood when you are reading it, even though it says it twice in the synopsis.