Crimson Bound

Author: Rosamund Hodge
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Fantasy, Re-telling, Romance
Release Date: May 5, 2015

Summary: 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.

Review: Actually a 3 1/2 star rating.

I've read Hodge's first and previous novel, Cruel Beauty, and totally fell in love with it. Needless to say, I was expecting no less from this one. Let me just say that Crimson Bound is one of those books that I didn't truly appreciate until I was reading the last page. Hodge has an absolutely incredible way with words. The world-building alone was fascinating! I will admit that I was not very familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood, which, I feel, is partially why I didn't quite like this book as much as I had hoped.

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this novel. Hodge has weaved in a beautiful and creative world around the original Little Red Riding Hood tale. I enjoyed Rachelle for the most part. There were times when I was a slightly annoyed with her but ended up liking her character and will power overall. I will admit, I actually wanted something to happen between and her "wolf" of sorts. I was hoping for more of a Darkling and Alina romance (from the Shadow and Bone/Grisha Trilogy), so I was a little disappointed that he wasn't as big a part of the story as I had originally hoped for.

Armand . . . Armand . . . Armand . . . I just never really knew what to think of him. I liked him. Then I didn't. Then I did. Then I didn't. So on and so forth. I was really just curious as to what  had actually happened to his hands rather than anything else. It was rough having to wait so long to find out the actual truth. By the end of the novel I was just kind of  . . . meh . . . when it came to Armand. Not as great of a love interest as I had wanted which is one of the reasons I didn't give this a higher rating.

I definitely think that I'm going to read this one again so that I may fully appreciate and understand what happened. An intriguing, beautifully written piece of work! One to read if you enjoy fairy tale retelling's with heavy fantasy.

Cruel Beauty

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: Re-telling, Romance

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Summary: Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him. With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people. But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love. 

Review: I first read Cruel Beauty shortly after it was released and just recently picked it up and re-read it and let me tell you, this book was just as mind-blowing the second time as it was the first. Beauty and the Beast is also one of my favorite fairy-tales and if you don't like it, well . . . I feel bad for you. Also:

Okay, so the previous gif doesn't really make any sense, but I really wanted to use it . . . and it has the  Beast in it so at least it is a little relevant! 

ANYWAY! Don't let the summary and other reviews fool you, this is not your traditional Beauty and the Beast re-telling. Cruel Beauty is darker than many of the books I've read recently. Hodge weaved together an incredible world that is utterly beautiful and fascinating yet one I'm glad I do not live in.
Nyx is an amazing main character; strong, smart, and at times, evil. I enjoyed the relationship between her and Ignifex. Reading about Nyx and how she evolves from a girl who's soul purpose was to destroy a man she had never met to caring for him and wanting to free him from a curse that has plagued him for over nine-hundred years = quite an amazing read!!

The beginning of the book started out a little slow for me but picked up after she arrived at her new home (approximately Chapter 4). Throughout the book I sometimes felt that more details would have been helpful which is saying something because I'm usually fine without them. I just couldn't get enough! The last 50 or so pages in the book had me confused for a while (especially the first time I read it). I won't spoil it, but I will say that I was definitely re-reading often to try and really grasp what was happening.
Definitely one to consider reading if you're a fan or re-tellings.