Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake


Released: August 2011
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Horror - Ghost
Pages: 316
Buy: Amazon
Source: Around the World Book Tours


Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

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.


---
Here's something you may not know about me: I love a good ghost story. I may not read that many books anymore that revolve around ghosts, but growing up any sort of scary/ghost/legend story was my cup of tea. It's funny how after years and years of reading you forget how much you loved a certain genre. Anna Dressed In Blood was that wonderful reminder that I need more horror in my reading pile.

No doubt what made this book so appealing and freaking fantastic was the writing. You have this narrator, Cas, who is a complete kick-butt main character with a lot of snark, witty comebacks - ya know, my type of guy. But he also has all of these elements and layers a main character should have. He's brave, yet not. He has a great heart yet has trouble letting those in. For good reason considering what he does for a "living". The way everything is told through Cas, I could have seriously lived in his character forever. All the descriptions, action, and the SUSPENSE! Where has this author been hiding?! She writes a book how it should be read. No long dull fillers. No unnecessary crap you need to know. The plot is constantly moving, new clues are being brought to life, and somehow in the mix of the horror - she can throw in a genuine love story. Can we say genius? Cause I know I sure can.

Now that I've gushed on the amazingly awesome (I wish I could freaking write like that) author, let me discuss the horror part of this. I've read some people say they got scared reading this. I am a wuss. I will not deny it. I wouldn't go as far to say that I was scared during the story, but when I was reading this curled up in bed with my little book light, I would kind of peak around sometimes cause it did give me the heebee jeebees once in a while.

Let me take this back to the characters real quick. I already professed my love for Cas, but I need to point out how well Anna was written into this story as well. You would think a psycho murdering ghost was well...a psycho murdering ghost. Not in this story. Anna is terrifying, but she is so interesting. Her life. Why she is in that house. What Cas has to do to figure out her mystery will keep you glued until the end. When you get to the end, you'll want to go back.

♥amber