Early Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge (ARC)

Title: Crimson Bound
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
An exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, from the author of Cruel Beauty.

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 a vain 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 the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

My Review

I really hate to leave a DNF review, as I did not finish the book, but I think it's important to talk about some of the issues that I had with Crimson Bound because that's what I personally look for in a review, in addition to whatever positive aspects that there may be.

I was very excited to read Crimson Bound because I loved Hodge's Cruel Beauty. As soon as I started the book, I was excited to follow Rachelle on her journey. She seemed to be a flawed and tough character like Nyx, but somewhere along the way, she lost me. I was unable to connect with her because she continuously wallowed in self-hatred (as far as I read). She reminded me a little of Katniss Everdeen, but not in a good way. Yes, Rachelle is a badass, but the wallowing... *sigh*

Early Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Title: The Glass Arrow
Author: Kristen Simmons
Publisher: Tor Teen (Macmillan)
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
Once there was a time when men and women lived as equals, when girl babies were valued, and women could belong only to themselves. But that was ten generations ago. Now women are property, to be sold and owned and bred, while a strict census keeps their numbers manageable and under control. The best any girl can hope for is to end up as some man’s forever wife, but most are simply sold and resold until they’re all used up.

Only in the wilderness, away from the city, can true freedom be found. Aya has spent her whole life in the mountains, looking out for her family and hiding from the world, until the day the Trackers finally catch her.

Stolen from her home, and being groomed for auction, Aya is desperate to escape her fate and return to her family, but her only allies are a loyal wolf she’s raised from a pup and a strange mute boy who may be her best hope for freedom...if she can truly trust him.

The Glass Arrow: a haunting, yet hopeful, new novel from Kristen Simmons, the author of the popular Article 5 trilogy.

My Review

Though Kristen Simmons debuted around the same time that I started blogging, I never read her books. (I tried to read as many 2012 debuts as possible.) I've always meant to read the Article 5 trilogy and would get distracted, but there was no way I could pass up reading The Glass Arrow. I haven't had a lot of luck with female suppression-themed dystopians since The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm so fascinated by that sub-genre that The Glass Arrow went straight to the front of the TBR as soon as I got approved for a galley.