**A Delightful Read: "Crimson Bloom" by Rosamund Hodge**

"Crimson Bloom" is a captivating novel that has left me with a strong desire to read more of author Rosamund Hodge's works. The book tells the story of Rochelle, a complex and intriguing character who struggles with her dark past and the moral implications of her actions. As the follower of a villainous figure, Rochelle's innate nature is marked by an eternal tendency towards aggression and murder, making it difficult for her to control her powers. Throughout the book, Hodge masterfully explores this inner conflict, allowing readers to witness Rochelle's struggles with her own darkness.

One of the aspects that sets "Crimson Bloom" apart from other books in the fantasy genre is its focus on character development and backstory. Unlike many stories, which often rely on shallow characters, Hodge delves deep into Rochelle's history, revealing a rich and complex past that shapes her present. This meticulous attention to detail allows readers to become invested in the protagonist's journey, eager to uncover the secrets of her past and understand what drives her actions. The author's skillful handling of this narrative thread is a testament to Hodge's exceptional storytelling abilities.

Another aspect of "Crimson Bloom" that I appreciated was the author's restraint when it came to romantic relationships. While romance can be a vital component of any story, I found that Hodge handled it with finesse, avoiding clichés and overused tropes. The love triangle between Rochelle, Eric, and Armand is subtle yet effective, adding depth to the narrative without overshadowing the main plot. Each character brings their unique qualities to the table, making the romance feel organic and authentic. I was particularly impressed by Armand, who defies traditional notions of a perfect love interest with his quiet strength and vulnerability.

The female friendships in "Crimson Bloom" are also noteworthy, as Hodge skillfully portrays the complex bond between Rochelle and her best friend Amelie. Their relationship is warm, supportive, and genuine, providing a much-needed respite from the darkness that surrounds Rochelle. This portrayal of female friendship is both heartwarming and authentic, making it easy to become invested in their connection.

While "Crimson Bloom" has its share of strengths, I couldn't help but feel that the plot was somewhat simplistic at times. The author's world-building is exceptional, with a richly detailed setting that begs to be explored further. However, the narrative is largely static, with Rochelle and her allies stuck in one location for much of the book. This felt like an oversight, as there were many opportunities for action, adventure, and mystery to emerge from the story. Nevertheless, Hodge's skillful pacing and attention to detail help mitigate this criticism.

The author's writing style is undoubtedly one of the standout features of "Crimson Bloom". Her prose is evocative and engaging, with a unique ability to transport readers into the world she has created. The descriptions are vivid and immersive, making it easy to visualize the setting and characters in mind. Hodge's skill as a writer shines particularly in her handling of endings, which are always mind-blowing and beautifully crafted. Her ability to create an emotional resonance with readers is unparalleled, leaving me feeling invested in the story long after finishing the book.

In conclusion, "Crimson Bloom" is a captivating novel that has won my heart. While it may have some flaws, particularly with its simplistic plot, Hodge's exceptional writing and character development make up for these shortcomings. The book is an excellent choice for readers seeking something original and immersive, with well-crafted characters, a richly detailed world, and a beautifully written story. If you're looking to explore a new author or simply want to read something that will transport you into another world, I highly recommend "Crimson Bloom".

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou're probably wondering Leonie why are you all Christmassy I'm not okay I'm matching the color scheme of this cover hello everyone it's me Leonie and today I'm going to be giving you a review on crimson bound by Rosamund Hodge it is a retelling of Riding Hood fantasy style and it is a standalone basically if I say that you you should already want to read this but it is very loosely based to be honest there were many similarities to the fairy tale retelling so you even if you don't like fairy tale reasons you could just read this as a fantasy story on its own definitely this story takes place in a fantasy world that is threatened to be destroyed by the great forest and this creature called the devourer and our main character Rochelle is the chosen one to be the one to kill the devour and destroy the great forest that probably sounds like your average fantasy story but actually at the beginning of this book our main character goes off into the great forest and it's basically almost killed by one of the defias followers and he gives her a choice either you die within three days or you kill someone within those three days and become a follower of the great forest and the devourer well let's just say that our main character does not die at the beginning of the book so basically throughout the entire book we follow our main character Rochelle as she is basically a follower of the villain in this story which is super cool and awesome and if that does not slightly interest you I don't know why when I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and Rosamund Hodge has definitely become one of my new favorite authors my entire review will be spoiler free so you can just watch all of it first thing I want to say is that Rosamund Hodge is just brilliant when it comes to creating unique and original world building and setting just like cruel Beauty this story takes place in a super unique fantasy country with a very interesting and different magic system that I have never read about anywhere before just the way everything works in this country with the great forest that is appearing at random places into the cities and the countries it's just very interesting and I had a lot of fun reading about that so original and I love original things another great thing that Rosamund Hodge just excels at is the characters our main character Michele is not very likable is very much an antihero because like I said she is a follower of to Finland that's worthy it's where a story takes off she is very bloodthirsty and struggles a lot with her powers because since she is the follower of the villain she has kind of like an eternal tendency towards aggression and murder and you see her struggling with that throughout the book this is one of those books that are not just interesting because you want to know what's going to happen in with the plot but you also just really want to know what happened in your main character's history what has happened in her past what is her background because there's a lot of mystery surrounding Rochelle and while reading this book you slowly get to know what has happened to her and how she has become this way and I always really like that there aren't many other characters in this book but the ones that are are again very interesting there are two love interests I wasn't very frustrated with this love triangle it wasn't too bad it was fine you know it could have been better without it but again after reading the ending I'm like oh yeah okay so one of her love interest is Eric who is kind of the captain of the guard when there's a lot of you know like witty banter between I which is always fun to read and then we have our other love interest ermand and he is also a very interesting character he's not like your cardboard cutout love interest he's very deep and and our Monge our love interest he's a little bit of a cooler kind of love interest because he has no hands yeah you heard that right our love interest has no hands they're both cut up like he has two little stumps I thought that was a very interesting I mean you know most of the time we are reading in why a book with a love interest it's just like perfect in every way and everything's like great about him but Armand was well he he doesn't have any hints but yes but you still like him yeah our mom is definitely going on my list of non cliche love interests another thing that I thought was great about this book is that we also get to see a very very nice you know female female friendship the friendship between our main character Rochelle and her best friend Amelie is very beautiful if this just was a very good friendship and I really enjoyed reading about it and I thought it was very touching even though I've talked a lot about the romance and a love triangle and and stuff this book is definitely not like focused mainly on the Romans it's just like I said there's a lot of fighting and cool stuff I do have something to say about this book and there's definitely Italy that I did not give this book five stars and that is because of the plot as in we have this amazing interesting world that Rose and Hodgins has created and there are so many interesting characters you know there are so many opportunities you could you could have done so many things with that but we're kind of stuck with this really simplistic plot and because of this plot we are constantly stuck at one place even though we had like an entire world to explore there were so many things where there could have been more action and more mystery I feel like if the plot would have been a little bit more complex the characters and the setting would be able to explore to their full extent but I with the plot that we have in this story everything kind of just fell a little bit flat I started reading it I was like whoa this is going to be like the best thing ever and then the first plot point happen and you're just like oh so this is what we're going to do for the rest of the book and then and at that point I was a little bit like oh okay I would have liked it if it was a little bit more complex but then again the ending totally made up for it just like real beauty personage is just really good at like creating like super mind-blowing beautiful endings it's the way Rosamund Hodge writes her endings it's as if she is like putting dreams in your mind like he's directly projecting the visions into your mind and it's so beautiful you get so sucked into it and I love that and I will buy anything that Rosamund Hodge writes even though the book does have its flaws it was still very good ensured I highly recommend this book especially if you want to read something very original and just you know like get yourself immersed in a beautiful world but if you don't want to commit to like an entire six books because it's it's a nicely rounded standalone it's super interesting characters great wheel building interesting romance also it's slightly creepy at times only the plot could have been a little bit better I wanted everyone to read Rosamund Hodge seriously this book is so under height and that was my review of crimson bombed by Rosamund Hodge I hope you enjoyed it happy reading and I will see you in another video good byeyou're probably wondering Leonie why are you all Christmassy I'm not okay I'm matching the color scheme of this cover hello everyone it's me Leonie and today I'm going to be giving you a review on crimson bound by Rosamund Hodge it is a retelling of Riding Hood fantasy style and it is a standalone basically if I say that you you should already want to read this but it is very loosely based to be honest there were many similarities to the fairy tale retelling so you even if you don't like fairy tale reasons you could just read this as a fantasy story on its own definitely this story takes place in a fantasy world that is threatened to be destroyed by the great forest and this creature called the devourer and our main character Rochelle is the chosen one to be the one to kill the devour and destroy the great forest that probably sounds like your average fantasy story but actually at the beginning of this book our main character goes off into the great forest and it's basically almost killed by one of the defias followers and he gives her a choice either you die within three days or you kill someone within those three days and become a follower of the great forest and the devourer well let's just say that our main character does not die at the beginning of the book so basically throughout the entire book we follow our main character Rochelle as she is basically a follower of the villain in this story which is super cool and awesome and if that does not slightly interest you I don't know why when I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and Rosamund Hodge has definitely become one of my new favorite authors my entire review will be spoiler free so you can just watch all of it first thing I want to say is that Rosamund Hodge is just brilliant when it comes to creating unique and original world building and setting just like cruel Beauty this story takes place in a super unique fantasy country with a very interesting and different magic system that I have never read about anywhere before just the way everything works in this country with the great forest that is appearing at random places into the cities and the countries it's just very interesting and I had a lot of fun reading about that so original and I love original things another great thing that Rosamund Hodge just excels at is the characters our main character Michele is not very likable is very much an antihero because like I said she is a follower of to Finland that's worthy it's where a story takes off she is very bloodthirsty and struggles a lot with her powers because since she is the follower of the villain she has kind of like an eternal tendency towards aggression and murder and you see her struggling with that throughout the book this is one of those books that are not just interesting because you want to know what's going to happen in with the plot but you also just really want to know what happened in your main character's history what has happened in her past what is her background because there's a lot of mystery surrounding Rochelle and while reading this book you slowly get to know what has happened to her and how she has become this way and I always really like that there aren't many other characters in this book but the ones that are are again very interesting there are two love interests I wasn't very frustrated with this love triangle it wasn't too bad it was fine you know it could have been better without it but again after reading the ending I'm like oh yeah okay so one of her love interest is Eric who is kind of the captain of the guard when there's a lot of you know like witty banter between I which is always fun to read and then we have our other love interest ermand and he is also a very interesting character he's not like your cardboard cutout love interest he's very deep and and our Monge our love interest he's a little bit of a cooler kind of love interest because he has no hands yeah you heard that right our love interest has no hands they're both cut up like he has two little stumps I thought that was a very interesting I mean you know most of the time we are reading in why a book with a love interest it's just like perfect in every way and everything's like great about him but Armand was well he he doesn't have any hints but yes but you still like him yeah our mom is definitely going on my list of non cliche love interests another thing that I thought was great about this book is that we also get to see a very very nice you know female female friendship the friendship between our main character Rochelle and her best friend Amelie is very beautiful if this just was a very good friendship and I really enjoyed reading about it and I thought it was very touching even though I've talked a lot about the romance and a love triangle and and stuff this book is definitely not like focused mainly on the Romans it's just like I said there's a lot of fighting and cool stuff I do have something to say about this book and there's definitely Italy that I did not give this book five stars and that is because of the plot as in we have this amazing interesting world that Rose and Hodgins has created and there are so many interesting characters you know there are so many opportunities you could you could have done so many things with that but we're kind of stuck with this really simplistic plot and because of this plot we are constantly stuck at one place even though we had like an entire world to explore there were so many things where there could have been more action and more mystery I feel like if the plot would have been a little bit more complex the characters and the setting would be able to explore to their full extent but I with the plot that we have in this story everything kind of just fell a little bit flat I started reading it I was like whoa this is going to be like the best thing ever and then the first plot point happen and you're just like oh so this is what we're going to do for the rest of the book and then and at that point I was a little bit like oh okay I would have liked it if it was a little bit more complex but then again the ending totally made up for it just like real beauty personage is just really good at like creating like super mind-blowing beautiful endings it's the way Rosamund Hodge writes her endings it's as if she is like putting dreams in your mind like he's directly projecting the visions into your mind and it's so beautiful you get so sucked into it and I love that and I will buy anything that Rosamund Hodge writes even though the book does have its flaws it was still very good ensured I highly recommend this book especially if you want to read something very original and just you know like get yourself immersed in a beautiful world but if you don't want to commit to like an entire six books because it's it's a nicely rounded standalone it's super interesting characters great wheel building interesting romance also it's slightly creepy at times only the plot could have been a little bit better I wanted everyone to read Rosamund Hodge seriously this book is so under height and that was my review of crimson bombed by Rosamund Hodge I hope you enjoyed it happy reading and I will see you in another video good bye\n"