Crimson Bound is the second of Rosamund Hodge’s fairy tale inspired novels, though they aren’t sequels. This one is very loosely based on Red Riding Hood. Rachelle was the innocent young girl in the forest. The Big Bad Wolf is a creature called a forestborn. He charms her into letting down her cloak, a cloak with defensive charms sewn into it. The creature then marks her.
Once marked, you must kill someone within three days or you die. After you kill someone, you become a bloodbound. Bloodbounds have super strength and speed, but one day will succumb to the forest and your humanity will burn away and you become a forestborn.
Rachelle killed her beloved aunt to become a bloodbound. She was so overcome by guilt that she left to enlist in the King’s army of bloodbounds. She is something of a badass and sees to it that out of control bloodbounds don’t hurt the normal people.
The main action of the book comes when Rachelle is assigned to protect the King’s son (Not the Prince, because he is illegitimate). Armand is rumored to be a saint because he was marked by a forestborn and never killed anyone. He somehow survived, though the forestborn cut off his hands. Rachelle dislikes him and doesn’t believe his story.
Eventually the pair grow close. Impending doom can do that. The forestborn who marked Rachelle reveals that soon the Devourer will awaken. The Devourer is an ancient very bad guy who controls the forestborn. The only hope to stop it is a sword made from bone, and the only one who can help Rachelle find it is Armand.
I was a big fan of this book. It was a really complex story, and I liked being able to spot the little details from different fairy tales. A strong female character is definitely a bonus.
You can read my full review here.
