As much as the ending could have been dragged out a little longer-I wanted to see Rachelle recover and I would have loved to know what had happened to the other characters-the ending leaves you content.My content rating: Mature YA (Characters have sex, though it's not shown Some violence) From where the story was headed, I was certainly ready for it. I wouldn’t have put it past Hodge to kill everyone off in the end.However, I think Hodge has morphed the concept, woven it into her story seamlessly as if it is a part of her world. The idea of having an invisible red thread attached to your finger is not a new concept as I have come across it in an array of folklore. The imagery is incredibly beautiful and highly visual.You will never see what is coming and what Hodge has in store for you. The action sequences are absolutely gorgeous, blurring the lines between the characters’ beliefs and what is right or wrong. Despite the storyline not competing well with Cruel Beauty, the book is still written very well.

It’s difficult to do that in just one page, let alone just one paragraph but she accomplishes this and so much more in the span of the book. The visual aspect of the forest is certainly to be expected from the amazing writer, Rosamund Hodge.

The woods take on a personality of its own.

I was back and forth with her from being annoyed to rooting for her. Her back story is interesting, enough to keep me going, but her doubts are maddening. This makes her reactions hard to connect and relate to. She’s a very curious character, a character who wholeheartedly believes she is doomed to hell.

Rachelle, our very own Red Riding Hood, is courageous and strong.Hodge took the dark side of the fairytale and transformed it into her own. The similarities are so far and few in between that Crimson Bound should be seen not as a retelling but as its own story. Give it to Rosamund Hodge and she throws a highly complicated tale back at you that barely resembles that of Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood is relatively simple tale.I expected Crimson Bound to be similar, in it being unique and gorgeous. I loved Cruel Beauty, where Hodge took a magnificent tale and made it entirely her own.

Despite my qualms about Red Riding Hood retellings in general, I had high expectations going into this one. The red cloak, Grandma, the wolf, the love triangle. Ever since Catherine Hardwick directed that movie, I’ve seen an overabundance of retellings of the story that are all too much alike. I’m not too fond of Red Riding Hood retellings.

After Cruel Beauty, I was expecting to be blown out of the water yet again.

Crimson bound