Publishing Date: August 30th, 2011
Page Count: 316
Source: Bought from Barnes & Noble
Format: Hardcover
Description from Goodreads.com:
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 out 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.
Review:
When i first saw the cover of Anna Dressed in Blood i knew i had to read it, because it was so pretty and spooky, and the cover did not disappoint. Anna Dressed in Blood was a fantastic read. It was beautiful and creepy just like its cover.
I really enjoyed the characters in the novel. They were all very well formed and didn't disappoint me at all. Cas's character is of a boy who has had to grow up and act older than he really is since his father has died. He has had to take on the responsibility of being the man of the house, but also to take over the family business... Vanquishing ghosts that kill people. What i really loved about Cas is that yes, he is tough and didn't need help, but you soon get to see the real side of Cas when he is having nightmares and trying to figure out how to kill Anna. He is tough, but he still is just a kid and needs friendship and help sometimes. It was good to see some humility to him. Anna did not disappoint either, she was extremely scary. I would not want to be caught alive in her house.
I think Kendare Blake did an amazing job with this story. She did not disappoint on the scare factor of the book. I really thought that what was going to happen was that it was going to seem scary, but then just turn into a love story and then happily ever after. I am so happy that that isn't what happened. Anna was definitely extremely scary and intense in the beginning and then slowly feelings started to form. It wasn't an overnight feeling, which i really appreciated. The ending is phenomenal. I was so scared and grossed out, and especially heart broken and sad, almost to tears, over one of the small characters in the ending stages, and then was sad for Cas in the end as well.
Overall:
Anna Dressed in Blood was amazing. I couldn't put it down after chapter three. I don't know if when i first started reading it if it was cause i was tired or what, but i feel like i could have finished it a little sooner if i wouldn't have stopped at chapter three and went to bed. The characters that Kendare created were all amazing and did not disappoint in the least. I was so happy that it was actually a very creepy and scary book and wasn't just a little creepy with a lot of fluffy love bits. I also really loved that the feelings and emotions that developed in the book weren't overnight, but progressed and turned into something really beautiful. Overall, amazing. So happy i bought this beautiful novel!!
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 5/5
*Book image and description are from Goodreads.com. The image and description are linked to web page. This novel was bought with my own money*
