Forever Obsession: Review: Crimson Bound

ISBN: 9780062224767
Pages: 441
Source: Own E-book

Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Initial Reaction:

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 hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as they become unexpected allies, they discover 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.

Holy smokes, this book surprised me on so many different levels. When I read Cruel Beauty back in 2014, I was so excited going into the book but it just got so confusing and I couldn't wrap my head around what was going on. For the simple reason, I avoided Crimson Bound for the longest time. I knew that it wasn't set in the same world as Cruel Beauty but the covers looked so similar so I decided to wait a bit. I honestly can't pinpoint what made me decide to pick up this book, but I was feeling a bit slumpy so I just started reading.

I think one of the reasons I ended up loving it so much is because it has a similar concept to Uprooted which was one my favorite books that I read in February. There's a big ominous forest being that is striking fear in the hearts of everyone. The forest has these people called the forestborn and they're basically immortal human shaped things who have given up their soul to the forest. They go around "marking" humans and that's what happens to Rachelle. She then has three days to decide if she's going to kill an innocent life or die and if she kills, she'll become a bloodbound.

In all your life, your only choice is the path of needles or the path of pins.”

I can't remember a bunch about Nyx from Cruel Beauty but I remember enough to know that Rachelle beats her as my favorite main character. Rachelle has trained to with her aunt to protect her village from the Forest and one small encounter alters her path forever. She ends up joining the king's army of bloodbounds and fights alongside his most trusted warrior Erec. For years, she been trying to figure out a way to defeat the Forest and her opportunity arises when she's given the job to guard Prince Armand who was infected by a forestborn but cut his hands off to prevent himself from killing. As much as she hates him, he helps her navigate the world of the court and magic.

“This is the human way, she thought. On the edge of destruction, at the end of all things, we still dance. And hope.”

I was expecting a bit of a love triangle but thankfully this one didn't overwhelm me. Erec and Rachelle have a relationship that's grounded on having each other's back in battle and Erec has been chasing Rachelle for years but she's never yielded because he's a bit of a womanizer. Armand on the other hand is someone she despises but he turns out to be the one who understands her struggle as a bloodbound the most. There were so many moments where I wasn't sure what was going to happen but at the end I ship her with Armand the most.

“If I'm damned, what's the point of pretending that I'm not?”

The ending - where do I even start with this? My heart was taken on one crazy roller coaster ride and I think I nearly had a heart attack. The crazy plotlines that emerge and begin to take place, the revelations that happen, the heart pounding battle scene, everything just flew full force at me. I think that's all I can say without giving away major spoilers but after reading it, I ran to my friend and just started incoherently blabbing.

Rosamund Hodge has definitely solidified herself as a writer whose books I will continue to keep an eye on after Crimson Bound. She has a wonderfully unique writing style and a beautiful talent for creating these beautiful worlds that is so incredibly enchanting and thrilling.