Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

By Kendare Blake

Release Date: August 30th, 2011

Number of Pages: 316

Format: Hardcover

Source: Bought

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Blurb from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

"I won't kill Anna tonight, not in front of all these people. I just want to be there. I want to feel her behind a window, watching, staring out at me, or maybe retreating deeper inside."

Anna Dressed in Blood is like a box of chocolates filled with different fillings that surprises you speechless. It is horrifying, thrilling, bloody, action-packed and doesn't find the need to spare you the gory details. It is one of the best horror-ghost books I've ever read including an awesome title and cover that scream: READ ME!

Cas is a ghost killer and his mother is a white witch. Cas kick butts and is one of the few types of character that is very, very confident of himself and his ghost killing skills. That is until her meets Anna Korlov who swats him like a fly and uses him like a punching bag. Anna Korlov is a 16 year old murdered ghost haunting her own house/boarding house and eviscerating anyone that steps into her threshold but surprisingly she spares Cas. Kendare Blake doesn't spare you details so beware of lots of gruesome scenes and elaborations. Allow your mind to wander beyond the realm of reality. Lol. You will find yourself cringing and horrified when Anna's backstory is revealed. Horror of horrors! I really didn't see that coming. I can't believe that Anna's murderer is that person.

Cas and his sidekicks are a very likable bunch aside from Carmel. I didn't really like her at all until towards the end. And I have no idea why. The romance between Cas and Anna is really sweet and sad. You can literally feel your heart twisting and squeezing for them but I'm glad that this isn't the end of their story. I'm really looking forward to the amazing titled sequel, Girl of Nightmares. Did you see the yet breathtaking cover for it???

Anna Dressed in Blood is an awesome must-read before bedtime. It creeps you out good.