Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

 

 

 

        

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered 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. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, 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, now stained red and dripping with 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.
Yet she spares Cas’s life.

This book is amazing, let me just say that I am glad I bought my own copy of this book. I won’t be sharing it with anyone…ever. The entire book is inked in red, it’s great, I love whoever decided to do that.

But I digress.

The story is downright addicting, I can’t seem to ever find any decent YA Horror books. This one is now my golden standard for that genre. There were scenes in the book where I was actually getting really paranoid, and I was sitting in broad daylight. It was creepy, suspenseful, gory, and absolutely horrifying. Usually it takes quite a bit to freak me out, and this book had me running to be in rooms full of light and people.

It’s fairly fast paced and action packed, it will certainly keep your attention through out. There’s also a few plot points that keep you guessing as well, I doubt you’ll see a few of them coming! You also get those “Holy shit that did not just happen!” moments as well. You’ll hate it and love it at the same time.The mythology of the book is very intriguing, it’s certainly my cup of tea, I did have a two minor problems with it though. The athame isn’t really explained and neither is our primary villain. (I won’t spoil that for you). I understand that they will both probably be made clear in the sequel “Girl of Nightmares”. So I’ll let it go. And the romance is also kind of annoying, I didn’t really enjoy it. I didn’t FEEL anything, I didn’t think “Oh they’re so cute” at all. It’s just….decent. It’s definitely subtly built though, so points for that, and it’s really in the background of everything else going on in the plot. Easy to ignore if you don’t enjoy it that much (like me).

The characters are all witty and extremely entertaining. I loved reading about everyone of them, I grew very attached. Which is how you know the book is awesome, when you care about each character.

• Cas (Our MC), is a teenage boy, therefore his head-space is a little annoying to read in but I don’t mind, it’s a pleasant change from always reading about teenage girl protagonists. He’s funny and knows his job well, which is killing ghosts of course. Cas is pretty badass, he develops quite a bit throughout the story, it was really great watching him grow as a character.
• Anna – is a complete badass, I LOVE her. I don’t think you can read this book and not love Anna. She’s terrifying, she’s charming, and she’s smart. I can’t really go as in depth as I want to about her character, without giving away spoilers. Saying she’s a badass should really sum it up though. Anna really develops, I think she develops even better than Cas did. I loved reading about her.
• Thomas & Carmel – two of Cas’s friends that are both endearing and amusing. They’re both undoubtedly loyal and brave as well, I don’t think Kendare Blake could have written a better pair of friends for Cas. Usually I don’t find myself caring for a lot of the secondary characters, but I loved both Thomas and Carmel, I really did.
• Tybalt – Cas and his mom’s cat. He’s awesome because: 1.) he’s a cat and 2.) he’s a cat with a very well written personality.

Overall I definitely recommend this book to fans of YA or fans of anything horror/paranormal. It’s a great book. Go read it now! And while you do that I’ll be anxiously, awaiting getting my hands on “Girl of Nightmares”.

Links: Goodreads / Amazon