(Anna # 1)
By: Kendare Blake
Pub. Date: August 30, 2011
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 316
Source: Bought
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.
Thesius Casio Lowood, who goes by Cas, has inherited his father skill of killing ghosts as well as his fathers Athame, the knife used to destroy those ghosts. Cas travels around
Due to a tip Cas receives, he decides that Anna will be the next ghost he "kills". Anna was such an interesting character. She was murdered in 1958 and since then she has brutally murdered every single person that enters her home. Even though Anna is terrifying, it's hard not to feel sad for her, especially when we learn the story on how she died. Cas and Anna had a very interesting connection. He's never met a ghost like her before and I loved watching the two of them grow close.
For the first time in Cas' hunting career, he has brought outsiders into the mix. He's never had friends before, so I liked how Thomas and
Anna Dressed in Blood is a fast paced and exciting read. I was completely captivated by the stories, the writing and the characters. It deserves all of the hype it has received and I can not not wait to see what Kendare Blake has in store for us next with Girl of Nightmares.
Other books in the series:
I've seen this book reviewed a couple of times, now, and the consensus seems to be: "freakin awesome!" So...I'll check it out. Thanks for the review! :D
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I have it on my Kindle, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. It sounds really amazing, too! If you're looking for another book in a male POV, try Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. I've heard good things about that book, and it's told in the boy's POV. It sounds so great, too, because I really want more books told in male perspectives!
ReplyDeleteEileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***
*drools* It sounds brilliant. I haven't read it yet but it's being published here in Australia now/soon so I'm hoping to get it in the mail next month ;) Very excited because I've heard nothing but good about it!! Great review - happy you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI adored this book so, so much! Can't wait for the sequel since the ending of this book was so cruel. hehe. Fab review!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how much I enjoyed this because I'm a huge wimp. But as it turns out I really like ghost stories so it worked for me and I'm excited for the sequel!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Kristina! I've been immensely curious about this series and am glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I've never been big into ghost stories, but I may give this one a chance after all :-)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting one. From the title it doesn't seem like one I'd normally think to read, but even so, I still think I'd enjoy it.
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