ARC Review: ♥ Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge.. So Twisted

Crimson Bound
Rosamund Hodge

• Publisher: Balzer + Bray (May 5, 2015)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Genre: Mature YA, Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling
• Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
• Source: e-ARC was sent free of charge via Edelweiss. 
• Synopsis: 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?
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• Crimson Bound is the fairytale retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Rachelle is blood-bound to the king to defeat "evil" after a meeting gone wrong. She has no choice but to do as he says. Three years later, Rachelle serves the realm and she fights dangerous creatures. Then, the king gives her an order to protect and guard his son Armand, did I mention she absolutely despises him? Together, they must learn to trust each other when they cannot trust anyone around them. Now, they're forced to work together to hunt the legendary sword that could save their world and secrets are soon exposed.

• Is there anything Rosamund Hodge will not write that I won't like? I love fairytale retellings, but I also love how she makes them unique in their own way. She takes them to a whole new level by adding mythology and making a whole new twisted fairytale. Her Cruel Beauty was my favorite debut of 2014, so I was pretty excited to read her latest novel. I also adore the covers of her books, although, I did wish for a different cover. It does look repetitive to her previous book, and they're not part of a standalone series or anything. I did enjoy reading Crimson Bound, it has a twisted fairytale with almost everything I would want in a great read. 

• Rachelle is a badass heroine - she's almost like an anti-heroine, and a lot of women are similar to her in reality. Rachelle is strong, she can fight, although, she can be selfish as well. Rachelle is merciless, she can be vicious, but is also brave and courageous.  It's wonderful Rosamund creates imperfect characters. They all seem to have a darkness within them, which is quite realistic. No human being is that good, and they have flaws about them. She creates complex characters and turns them into something beautiful. The male interest in the book, Armand is appealing as well.. I don't want to speak too much of him without gushing. He's brave, confident and most of all a good guy. More male leads like him please! I loved the anti-hero Erec much more though, he is just brilliant and so evil.

• The romance was swoon worthy, although, the love triangle bothered me a bit. The story can work better without it. I wish there wasn't insta love though, I didn't expect that. It's alright if two male leads desire the same girl, but I would prefer the girl to not sway her feelings towards both guys. Choose one, and MOVE THE HELL ON. The romance as a whole is good though, it's swoon worthy and as a reader, I really wanted the two characters to reunite! I won't say who I was rooting for, but I did like both of the male interests. 

• The writing is pretty much addicting, there are literally so many perfect quotes in this book. Her writing is atmospheric which flows perfectly in lyrical ways. I did have trouble picking out which quote to use for my review without spoiling anything. The world building plot is wonderful, there are many twists and turns down the way! This book keeps you on your toes, I had to finish it one setting. The author does write complex fantasy, I'm a slow poke in that department. Sometimes I can't understand what's going on, but I still found this novel wonderful overall. The mythology part is what confused me, as it confused me in Cruel Beauty as well.  What bothered me the most is how Crimson Bound is so similar to Cruel Beauty, they have similar characters, a love triangle, and a similar plot almost. Even though, the novel does have it's flaws, it's a a good read overall. If you love twisted fairytales, then this one is for you. It sure isn't a cute, fluffy romance. I did love Cruel Beauty much more though.

                                             "Every day for the last three years, she had thought she deserved to die. 

                              She still didn’t want to. She wanted to live with every filthy desperate scrap of her heart."

"For a moment, she almost felt the wind of the Great Forest in her hair."

Recommended for fans of Red Riding Hood, and Cruel Beauty.

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 

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