Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 448
Readership: Young adult
Genres: fantasy
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 an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In 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.
Let me start out by getting my initial reaction off my chest: yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!!!! Ok. Now that that is over with, let me get into my actual feelings regarding Crimson Bound.
I had high expectations going in because Cruel Beauty was definitely in my top five reads of 2014 and those expectations were definitely met. Crimson had the same beautiful prose that Cruel Beauty had, the same plot twists and the same intricate characters.
Rachelle is our lead, and our morally-grey protagonist. She had to make a tough choice at a young age and she choose to stay alive. Now she fights for people while she thinks - knows - her soul is doomed for hell. She does it because maybe she can try to be a little less of the monster she thinks she is. Maybe some of the blood on her hands can be for the good of the people she protects.
I also loved the world of Crimson Bound. It was a high fantasy but with a light touch. We had all the makings of one with it's out of this world creatures, royalty, monsters, powers, the forest and the Forestborn of that very forest but it wasn't such a world that was hard to immerse yourself in like some of the worlds of high and epic fantasies are. It was easy to follow what was happening in that world and not have to stop and remind yourself of all the intricacies of it. Rosamund did a fantastic job of creating a wholly original world that was beautifully built and easy to follow.
I'll admit I wasn't a big fan of Armand at first and it took me a while to warm up to him. I just didn't get him, you know? I had a "I know this guy is going to be a big hit but I'm just not feeling it" kind of feeling but I realized about a hundred pages into his introduction, I liked him. I also loved Erec from the start, and through to the end amidst all the plot twists that came about. Erec my beautifully malicious little [bleep]. I really like it when you can love even the villains of a book. The best villains to me are the ones you can love right beside the protagonists.
Crimson Bound was packed to the rafters with action as well as the superb characters and character development. If you like a book with both, then this is definitely a great one to pick up. If you love beautifully written prose, this is definitely your book.
★★★★★ I LOVED IT *Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an ARC for review!!! Follow @HCCFrenzy on twitter and HarperCollinsCanada on Facebook!* PURCHASE (amazon) (amazon kindle) (the book depository) (chapters/indigo)
★★★★.5
I LOVED IT
*Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an ARC for review!!!
Follow @HCCFrenzy on twitter and HarperCollinsCanada on Facebook!*
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