I had a hard time following the lore. (Funny, I said the same thing about Cruel Beauty.) I couldn't keep the characters straight, but maybe this is because I really didn't understand their motivations.
There are bloodbounds, and forestborns, and a Devourer. The world is getting darker and darker. I don't understand any of it really. All is explained very quickly at the beginning and I guess I didn't pay enough attention. The main character, Rachelle, needs to find some magic sword to save the world. And she's protecting the king's illegitimate son, who has no hands. I don't understand how or why she's in this position.
Admittedly, high fantasy is not my favorite genre. But I do enjoy a good fairy tale retelling. I started to dread picking this up and would find things to do instead of reading. That's a definite indication to move on to something else.
I think the writing is clear enough, but the beginning seemed like a very quick information dump about the world. I needed to be refreshed again. After over a third of the book, there wasn't much tension building up - or maybe there was, but I didn't understand it.
Crimson Bound wasn't the book for me, but if you enjoyed Hodge's other books or are a huge fan of high fantasy, you might enjoy it.
Published by Balzer + Bray, May 5, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
166/448 pages
Rating: DNF
I'm a really big fan of fantasy so I think I'll enjoy this one more than you did. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but we all have our tastes. Enjoy your next read!
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