Review: "Crimson Bound" by Rosamund Hodge

“Cruel Beauty” was one of my favorite YA books of 2014 and I have been eagerly awaiting “Crimson Bound” since I read Rosamund Hodge’s first book almost a year ago. In “Crimson Bound”, Hodge twists and retells the story of Red Riding Hood. Rachelle was training to be an apprentice to her aunt until she wandered off the path in the forest and was marked as a Bloodbound by a Forestborn, leaving her with a choice: kill someone in three days or die herself. Rachelle chooses to live but it is a choice that haunts her still three years later. As her version of penance, Rachelle joins the King's Bloodbound guard and fights to protect the people from the creatures of the Great Forest, until she is assigned to protect the King's son, Armand. As Rachelle guards Armand, she is also trying to find two ancient swords that could help her prevent the Forestborn from causing an endless night to fall. To me “Crimson Bound” started a little slowly. Additionally, I was disappointed to see that a lot of the plot was taken up by a rather traditional love triangle. Rachelle seemed that she should be a stronger character than to not be able to make up her mind between two men. Hodge's writing, however, makes the story worth it. Although I felt the story moved slowly at first, it really picked up for about the last third and I did not see some of the twists coming. One of my favorite aspects of “Cruel Beauty” was Hodge's descriptions, and she still excels at this in “Crimson Bound”. The Great Forest is suitably atmospheric and terrifying and it is clear that Hodge got much of her inspiration for the court Rachelle must navigate from pre-Revolutionary France. All in all, Crimson Bound is a well plotted fairy tale retelling with plenty of twists and a strong heroine, though Rachelle's indecisiveness between Armand and Erec did take away from the story for me a bit. I would recommend “Crimson Bound” and I hope the Hodge continues with her retellings. Thank you Edelweiss for the Advanced Reader Copy.