Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendra Blake
Publication Date: August 30th,2011
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: YA/Paranormal
Synopsis:
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay. When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.My Thoughts: This book was spectacularly creepy, I had so much fun reading it. I really need to get my hands on Girl of Nightmares!
I was delightfully surprised upon reading this book. It was way more spine chilling and graphic than I was expecting, and that made me very happy. It was very well written and I could easily create the scenes in my mind. Sometimes those scenes were pretty gory, but I found myself enjoying the gritty details and wanting more.
So as you know from the synopsis, Cas Lowood is a ghost hunter of sorts. He travels around and helps banish ghosts to who knows where. As long as they aren't here causing trouble anymore. It's a gift passed down from his father, who was killed on the job. The details of that hunt are hidden from him though and he's told not to try to find out what happened. But do you think that stops him? Cas swears one day he will get his revenge. His plans all kind of change for a little bit though when he meets a ghost that completely throws him for a loop, Anna.
As much as it is a little hard to imagine a romance between a living person and a dead one, Kendra totally pulls it off. They're romance is not in the foreground of the story, but it's there running alongside all the eerie, traumatic events that take place. Cas has never felt anything for the ghosts he's been asked to take care of. He has no idea how to handle the situation. And before he gets the chance to stop and try to figure out what to do, he gets thrown for an even bigger loop. I don't want to say what transpires, but new developpements bring even more confusion and terror and we're left devouring every page and craving more.
If you are into ghosts, I think you should definitely read this book! A lot of creepy ghost stories don't really cut it for me. Anna passed the bar though, I will definitely be watching out for more of Kendra Blakes work :).
The romance is the one part that I was a bit iffy about. It's just bizarre - ghosts and humans. Dunno. But I loooved Cas he's my favorite male protagonist! So happy you enjoyed this one too! Great review!
ReplyDeleteCas was a really great character, I very much enjoyed him :). Thank you so much for your compliments! :D
DeleteLOVED this book so much. In YA we have vampire-human romances and werewolf-human romances, etc. Why not ghosts Poor Cas. Just wait until you read the next book!
ReplyDeleteYou carry a strong point! hehe :). I am really excited to read the next installment, I'm sure it will be greatness! Thanks for stopping by :).
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