Tuesday 1 April 2014

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (Anna, #1)

13077542Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna (#1)
Published: 3rd July 2012
Source: Library
Goodreads 

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. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.


Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: 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.


Yet she spares Cas's life.


Going into this, I didn't know what to expect. I've never really read any horror or ghost books before but there's a first time for everything, right? This book was creepy and intense and sometimes really scary. I really enjoyed this book which came to me as a surprise because I had thought how on Earth do you love a horror?

I loved Cas's character! He was so bad ass yet caring and smart and so funny. He was really just refreshing to read about because I was expecting him to either be a) OMG you make me pee my pants but I will attack you anyway for no reason whatsoever or b) I am the king of all you ghosts so I will banish you to hell. His lines would just crack me up which is good as it acted as a comic relief for whatever was going on.

The descriptions used in this book just made the scene even creepier that it was before. To be honest, I was scared more of the descriptions in the scenes rather than the scene itself if you know what I mean. I don't even believe in ghosts but this book made me feel as if there was one watching me.

WARNING: IF YOU ARE SQUEEMISH, I ADVISE YOU PICK UP THIS BOOK WITH CAUTION AS SCENES MAY BE ... GRAPHIC(?)


I also really enjoyed the little A team Cas had formed in this book because they had all brought a new dynamic to the story. They all had their own good reason for helping Cas and they all acted realistically, not stereotypically.

In the end, I really loved this book and I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to be refreshed or you know, terrified. It's a great Hallowe'en read by the way!

5/5 stars!

Hagar Manssour

3 comments:

  1. I've been waiting on the library list forever for this book and I'm finally the next person in line! You don't know how thrilled I am to see this review. Whew! Just in time too!! Thanks for sharing you thoughts and review!! ;)
    Michelle ~ Book Hangovers Blabs Books

    ReplyDelete
  2. You got Candor for Divergent Week but for some reason your faction leader can't reach you through the email you gave. ;) Could you shoot me a wee email so I can pass it along? xD

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a low threshold for fear so thank you for pointing it out in this review! :) I think I'll probably give this book a miss then.

    By the way, thank you so much for nominating me for the Liebster Award. I''ve finally gone around to responding! :)

    ReplyDelete