Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
- Method of Obtaining: I checked this out from my local library.
- Published by: TOR Teen
- Release Date: 8/30/2011
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story…
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.
Reason for Reading:
- Honestly, I saw Cuddlebuggery’s review of the sequel and I knew I had to pick up this series.
I am somewhat ashamed of myself. Anna Dressed in Blood is such a guilty pleasure book – there’s nothing uplifting, educational, or literary in it, but oh my goodness did I enjoy it. Not only did I enjoy it, I devoured it.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a big fan of the whole ghost/romance thing. I mean, I just can’t get over the fact that the story is about a ghost – and if it’s solid then it must be a zombie. But Kendare Blake has a different set of rules for Cas’s world, and it worked for me. It worked well enough that I kept forgetting that the ghosts were actually ghosts – until they did something totally disgusting.
I’m pretty sensitive to horror, but aside from a few choice scenes in this book, I wasn’t really that bothered. What I admired was Kendare’s willingness to sacrifice people who should be sacrificed in order for the story to progress – it made things interesting, and always kept me on my toes. I was unable to guess where things would go, and that makes reading an adventure! (Now I’ll stop with the cheesiness, I promise.)
In all seriousness, although there were some things that were a little off-putting (Cas’s confidence for one), this was a thoroughly enjoyable, paranormal romp that held just the right mixture of adventure, romance, horror, and downright spookyness to make for a fun, light evening read.
Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!
See I love ghost/romance but I’m a total wimp and this book pretty well-satisfied me. Looking forward to checking out the sequel soon!