Book Review: Girl of Nightmares (Anna, #2)

Title: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna (#2)
Published: 7th August 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Source: Library
Goodreads

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.


Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

I enjoyed this book, I really did, but it didn't meet the level of enjoyment I had reading Anna Dressed in Blood. I don't really know what it was, maybe it was the lack of Anna Korlov, but I did enjoy it.

The characters were hilarious yet kick-ass as ever. I laughed out loud so many times reading this - not recommended in public. I really liked the new characters we were introduced to, I think Jestine was my favourite of the newbies.

I loved how I couldn't really tell where the story was going or how the characters were going  to react. But I think my favourite thing about this book was how realistic the characters were, especially Carmel and Gideon. Nobody did anything that was unbelievably stupid, or unjustified, they all had realistic and believable reasons for their actions and I praise Ms Blake for that quality.

All in all, I enjoyed this book but not as much as I enjoyed the previous one. 4/5 stars!

Hagar Manssour

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

Title: 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