A review by geldauran
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
5.0
Ahh, be still my heart. Apparently Rosamund Hodge as an author just gets me. She knows what I want, and she gives it to me. This book is lush, dark, romantic, hungry -- much like Cruel Beauty there is something here that is almost a fairy tale, almost a romance, almost- but it has just the right amount of teeth. This book feels to me the way "Howl" by Florence + The Machine does, something wicked and angsty and hungry and makes you want to run barefoot through a forest with your face painted in the blood of your enemies.
This book is being sold as a "Red Riding Hood" retelling, but its more of a mix between Red Riding Hood, The Girl with No Hands, The Milk White Doo or The Juniper Tree (or some other "Mother Killed Me, Father Ate Me" variant),with some original fantasy elements that take it away from a straight fairy tale retelling. And I love me some fairy tale elements in my books.
I don't want to talk too much about the plot, because I debate my ability to keep things spoiler-free, but suffice to say that I loved the mythology of this book- the forestborn, the bloodbound, the Great Forest, the Devourer, Zisa and Tyr-- I could roll around and luxuriate for days in fantasy worlds with this kind of world building. I also loved the characters. Right away I loved Rachelle, for being brave and foolish and stepping off the path. I loved her for choosing to live. And I loved Erec immediately and unabashedly, in the worst kind of way. I cannot apologize- imperious, flightly, unrepentant creatures will always win my heart. I unfortunately feel nothing more than lukewarm about Armand, and to be quite honest, I never felt the *spark* I think I was supposed to feel about Armand, which made Rachelle's interest in him a bit baffling to me. And so, though I reluctantly could not support the main relationship of the book, I got over it.
I don't really know what else to say. Fairy tales and fantasy and deadly girls with sharp smiles and sharper hearts *le sigh* I don't think this book will be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.
This book is being sold as a "Red Riding Hood" retelling, but its more of a mix between Red Riding Hood, The Girl with No Hands, The Milk White Doo or The Juniper Tree (or some other "Mother Killed Me, Father Ate Me" variant),with some original fantasy elements that take it away from a straight fairy tale retelling. And I love me some fairy tale elements in my books.
I don't want to talk too much about the plot, because I debate my ability to keep things spoiler-free, but suffice to say that I loved the mythology of this book- the forestborn, the bloodbound, the Great Forest, the Devourer, Zisa and Tyr-- I could roll around and luxuriate for days in fantasy worlds with this kind of world building. I also loved the characters. Right away I loved Rachelle, for being brave and foolish and stepping off the path. I loved her for choosing to live. And I loved Erec immediately and unabashedly, in the worst kind of way. I cannot apologize- imperious, flightly, unrepentant creatures will always win my heart. I unfortunately feel nothing more than lukewarm about Armand, and to be quite honest, I never felt the *spark* I think I was supposed to feel about Armand, which made Rachelle's interest in him a bit baffling to me. And so, though I reluctantly could not support the main relationship of the book, I got over it.
I don't really know what else to say. Fairy tales and fantasy and deadly girls with sharp smiles and sharper hearts *le sigh* I don't think this book will be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.