By Rosamund Hodge - Crimson Bound (2015-05-20) [Hardcover] Hardcover – 1900

Rose Hodge's "Crimson Bound" was an absolute must for me after I finished her "Cruel Beauty" novel earlier in the year. I was not disappointed with her second novel, and I was very pleased that the "payoff" of the novel was quite different from "Cruel Beauty", in which I appreciated the T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis references, and the very satisfying story which I already knew, although I didn't know *this version*. While "Crimson Bound" purports to be a retelling of the Red Riding Hood tale, it does so in a way that is not obvious, and folds many layers into the tale. (To my mind, this is good, because when I hear "Little Red Riding Hood", I don't exactly jump and go "YESSSS!")While the elements of the Red Riding Hood story are there, it's nothing like the tale we know from our childhood. An innocent girl goes into the woods, meets danger, there is devouring, etc. But it also has elements of other fairy tales (the Girl with No Hands), and elements of very effective horror, as well as romance and lots of fighting, with some gore. Frankly, it's exactly what I wanted when I tried to pick up Gail Carriger's (utterly atrocious) novels. As other reviewers have discussed the plot, I'd like to mention ... everything else.Everyone mentions the world-building she does in the novel, and indeed it is noteworthy. Too many fantasy novels seem to be either a re-hashing of Tolkein, or full of so many superlatives it's difficult to keep track of what level of awesome we're surpassing now. Rose, on the other hand, builds a complex world-within-a-world, as she also weaves a story-within-her-story. There was a bit of a learning curve (as I found with "Cruel Beauty" as well), but once I was able to keep track of forestborn/blood-bound and a few other things, I was able to pick up the pace, to say nothing of when the story itself began to pick up.I adore the way religion is used in this novel. A few reviewers mentioned being confused by the religion - no doubt it's because, as a Catholic, I recognize many of the more obscure concepts and references. For example, the Dayspring is clearly a Christ-figure, whose title is drawn from the O antiphons, which one would recognize from the many verses of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". One of these is "O Come Thou Dayspring from on High". I was also fascinated how the description of the bloodbound slowly becoming a forestborn by becoming more and more like the Devourer was very much an inversion on Augustine's description on how consuming the Eucharist makes the believer more like Christ. There were many deeply Catholic elements that I very much appreciated, without the book being too predictable. In fact, I was a little surprised at the skepticism of religion and belief in general that was presented at first. Certainly it never at any point felt like preaching.The French(ish) setting was also just gorgeous. Lavishness of decoration and description and courts that harkened back to Marie Antoinette (especially the salon) etc I found very pleasing.I haven't seen much like the friendship between Rachelle and Amélie, and the importance it held for Rachelle. I understood instinctually and exactly what she was talking about in every facet of that relationship, and how Amélie's painting of her face was a special kind of intimacy (I use the word in the non-romantic sense), but was so necessary for Rachelle as a *human* and as a person, a part of her that couldn't have been filled up by either Erec or Armand. It struck me as quite a beautiful little detail.There were only minor things I didn't love, some of which I give a pass because it's YA fiction -- the "bad boy" of Erec (who, although he doesn't fall 100% along the lines of the typical character, was that way most of the time, anyway). Some of the prose was a bit repetitive in places ("but she was a bloodbound, and being a bloodbound meant ________" etc). And while there was a lot that needed to happen at the end, I felt like some bits were a bit too short and others were drawn-out. I was also a little unsure of the urgency of the timeline, as the forest had been manifesting since the beginning of the book, so for a reader it sort of felt ... normal, rather than the shocking occurrence it was supposed to be. And one or two times when the forest manifested, it also didn't feel like as big a deal as it ought to have been.Notwithstanding these MINOR criticisms, I highly recommend this book for the originality of the world, the pacing of the plot overall, the lyrical quality of the prose, and the complexity of most of the characters. I recommend it *even more highly* to any Catholic, as it seems to me there is a wealth of riches in this book for those who have the key.

I hated this. I would have given it 1 star if it weren't for the last 25% of the book, which was original and fit into more of what I expected from the story. The best way I've been able to describe the writing is clumsy, there are a lot of passages that are just awkward and don't fit in or make any sense whatsoever. There are also several times where the story includes things that don't work into the world and are thinly applied. There is no world-building at all, so I could be wrong about these things, but they completely removed me from the story. I don't know that I'm pick up this author's books in the future. Cruel Beauty was pretty enjoyable for me, but left me confused a lot of the time, but this book was just nonsensical and a waste of time.

Earlier this year I read Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge's first novel, and absolutely loved it! When I saw that she was writing a new book, I decided I'd probably have to buy it, even though I'm not a huge fan of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale. Hodge has such a unique style of storytelling that's always dark but somehow hopeful and it's amazing! That carries over into Crimson Bound, which is not just based on the fairytale of Red Riding Hood, but also on the story of The Girl Without Hands, which I'd never heard of. What she weaved together from those two tales was something truly unique.---Characters---Rachelle is the main character in Crimson Bound. At age 15 she was marked by one of the creatures of the Great Forest - the forestborn. When a person is marked they have to kill someone within three days or die. Since Rachelle is 18 in this story, it's safe to say she chose the first option. Now, though, she is a bloodbound and it's only a matter of time before she joins the evil in the Great Forest. Through some kind of loophole, she works for the king, which buys her time before she loses her heart and goes into the Forest.Because she's... well, a murderer, Rachelle may not immediately be the most likable character. But I found myself sympathizing with her from the very beginning of the book and really enjoyed her as a character. She has super awesome powers because she's not entirely human anymore and is kind of a badass. It seems like a lot of people hated Rachelle for a certain physical decision she made with a certain man, but honestly? It didn't seem that shocking and it really wasn't that unbelievable. That's not to say it was morally okay, but she's part evil-forest-being so I'm not sure it's fair to hold her to human moral standards. Given the situation she was in and her background, I'm willing to forgive her one mistake.Another one of the king's bloodbound is Eric - and he's the one in charge. Rachelle has been fighting alongside him for three years and they have a kind of attraction that she's never fully given into. But Eric is persistent throughout the book and he has a mean sarcasm streak. I actually kind of liked him for most of the book... until he turned into one of the most repulsive characters I've ever encountered. Even then though, I found myself sympathizing with him and could never fully hate him.Of course, this wouldn't be a YA novel without a love triangle and the other love interest is Armand, a man who parades himself around the kingdom as a saint who has met the forestborn and lived. At first he comes off as kind of an arrogant jerk, but as the book goes on and more is revealed about his past, I found myself liking him more and more. This is a book where I actually felt the love triangle worked and I enjoyed it.I could go on and on about all of the secondary characters who took this story to the next level, but we might be here all day, so I'll just move on.---Setting---Sometimes certain authors are able to write about their world in a way that makes me feel like I'm watching on a TV screen and can see every single thing as it's being described. That is how Rosamund Hodge writes. I loved every time she moved to a new location because every single one was described in such detail that I almost felt like I was there.My favorite location was definitely the Great Forest. Despite the fact that it's supposed to be super scary I felt like it was just beautifully detailed and I almost kind of wished I could have tagged along with Rachelle just to see it in person! I also really enjoyed reading about all of the different places in the chateau. Reading about how the Forest manifested itself at different places inside made me feel like I was in Jumanji!I do wish there was a little more explained about the relation of the Great Forest to the rest of the world - maybe a map? I felt a little disoriented when they went from one place to another and struggled to understand where exactly they were geographically. But I feel like that's a pretty minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.---Plot---Like I've already said, Rosamund Hodge has presented another brilliant story in Crimson Bound. Despite its being based on two fairytales it's completely original. Honestly, I haven't read The Girl Without Hands, so I can't make any fair comparisons there. There's certainly someone without hands in the book! I did make a few connections between Crimson Bound and Little Red Riding Hood, but I don't feel that it was really a main focus. I actually liked that though!I loved all of the unique backstory and magical lore presented in Crimson Bound! That was one of the things I really enjoyed about Cruel Beauty too - having to really think about everything I was being told and putting all the pieces together. I really felt Rachelle's race to beat the Devourer and really think the whole story was just really well done.There was also a plot twist. Like, a HUGE plot twist! I didn't see it coming at all and when it actually happened I turned back and reread it probably three times to make sure I read it right. I just kind of sat there with my mouth hanging open for a few minutes, said "No way," and then finally moved on. Basically, it was brilliant.---In Closing---Rosamund Hodge is amazing. That's all. She's a brilliant writer with some incredible ideas that make me stare at the closed book and wonder where in the world she comes up with these stories. But I'm so glad she's done it again! I'm a little disappointed that there don't seem to be anymore fairytale retellings on the docket. However, she is releasing a Romeo and Juliet retelling next year and that's high on my TBR list!

I felt slightly cheated by the synopsis of this novel. It was marketed as a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood", when in reality, the only link between this and the classic fairy tale was the prologue setting being in the woods.I know in interviews the author has stated that the novel also had a hint of Grimm's "The Girl Without Hands", and I think the novel shares more in common with the latter, but since that tale isn't very well known, the novel wouldn't have sold very well. I loved the length of the novel ( that was a vast improvement over her first novel), but I felt that Rachelle was overly cruel to Armand simply for the sake of selling copies. An emphasis on its marketed source material would have been much more enjoyable.