Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 448
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.
(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)
My Thoughts:
Here we have another dark fairy tale retelling. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.
I was utterly impressed with the amount of imagination and creativity that went into this story.
The characters in the story weren't simple, or even black and white. They were all complex and there was a lot of gray in here.
Rachelle (Little Red) thinks she knows what she is doing. Over estimating herself and a man she meets in the forest she ends up making a deadly mistake, one that would not only cost her, her life but that of another-one whom she loved dearly.
To atone Rachelle throws herself into training and killing evil creatures that come out of the dark forest. The Dark forest is getting stronger and eventually it will take over the kingdom and the world.
Regardless of Rachelle and the fact that she has become part of the forest and bound to an evil king that is trying to return, she fights herself constantly and the evil that is trying to overtake her.
I really liked Rachelle and her constant battle, however I am sad of some of her mistakes. It irritated me that she lasted so long and held out so long but ended up making some pretty stupid choices.
The romance was good and I really REALLY liked Armond and his story, I loved the mystery behind a lot of these characters and the twist Hodge took in regards to a few of the main characters.
Overall this is a very dark retelling and if you enjoy battling evil and fantasy then give this a go.
Sexual Content: moderate (PG-13, kissing, sexual tension, knowledge that 2 characters had sex)
Language: moderate
Violence: moderate (fantasy killings, talk of blood and gore, fighting)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
No comments:
Post a Comment