Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Genre: Horror (YA)
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Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
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. 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: 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.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas’s life. Summary from Dust Jacket
I’ve never read a ghost story before. And, now having read one, I have no idea why. This was a fun adventure, one I’m looking forward to repeating.
This story was so unique. I didn’t expect anything that happened to happen. Although, since this was my first experience with this type of story, I’m not really sure what I was expecting. All I know is that I loved all the unexpected twists and turns.
I loved Blake’s writing. It was so descriptive. I also loved the characters’ personalities. They all had distinct ones and I loved the humor they brought into such a serious story. I particularly liked that the story was written from Cas’s point-of-view. I don’t read many male points-of-view and it was a refreshing change.
I absolutely loved all the pop culture references Blake had in Anna Dressed in Blood. It brought back my own memories of experiencing them throughout my life. It helped me relate to the characters better. I just hope this doesn’t date the novel in the future because I think this is one that many generations could enjoy.
I look forward to reading more books by Blake. And, I especially look forward to Anna Dressed in Blood‘s sequel to find out what happens next.
Content Warning
There’s a lot of swearing in this book and a lot of it is the use of the F-word. I didn’t particularly care for it, but I loved the story so much that I was able to look past it and still enjoy it.
About Jenni Elyse
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I loved this one too. Cas’s POV was great. And I loved that they had a positive “popular” girl character.
I loved that too. I also loved that Cas’s mom wasn’t absent or that Thomas’s grandpa wasn’t. It’s nice to see parents involved in their kids’ lives. I forgot to mention that, oh well.
At least it’s hear in the comments, lol.
Welcome to the world of ghosts! You picked a great one to begin with. If you like historicals, try the Revenant. Not too ghostly, but a nice balance.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll definitely put that on my TBR list.
I’ve just gotten this one. I dumped everything else and read it in two days… And I loved it. With capitals, even. Which is kind of bad, because it’s made me a junie of a genre that’s not so cultivated (horror paranormal slash romance? Hard to come by!)
Anyway, I’m super glad you liked it!
Ron
Ha! I know what you mean. It is definitely not a genre that I’ve come across before. I hope there are many more stories in this genre. It will be fun to explore this genre more.
Wow, Jenni! You finished this one so fast! Now I know it must be good!
Ha! Yeah. I didn’t want to put it down. It was so good! I hope you like it.
Excellent Jenni! I may just have to read this…. You always get me hooked into amazing books!
I think you’d enjoy it. It’s so much fun! I can’t wait to read others like it.
I loved this too! I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I picked it up but it totally blew me away. There was so much more depth to the story (with Anna’s backstory and Cas’s knife) than I was expecting. Can’t wait for the sequel
Oh, I know. There was some awesome back story there! I loved it! It was great to read.
Hey Jenni,
I loved this one, too!!! Like you said, I loved Cas’s POV, really loved the characters and the story just seemed so fresh for some reason. It was actually my favorite read of 2011, and I’m so happy you enjoyed it
Hope you have a great week,
Ninja Girl
It really did seem fresh. It was fun and I loved how different it was from anything I’ve ever read. It was fantastic!
Excellent review! I’m glad you liked this one. I really appreciated Cas’ character, and loved his view of the world. Can’t wait to read Girl of Nightmares!
His view was great. I loved all his snarky comments/thoughts. It was great.
I’m happy you liked the book! I wasn’t sure what I would think of it, since it’s *way* outside of the genres I usually read. But I agree with all your points. Especially the humor. And I didn’t realize there was going to be a sequel.
I didn’t realize there was going to be a sequel either until I started to see all the cover reveals. I’m really excited for it!