Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

Lately I’ve been on the hunt for unique YA reads that promises an interesting story. Anna Dressed in Blood filled those criteria, and skimming through, it seems to have gotten high ratings from my friends. And as an added bonus, it was on sale. So I was really happy that, for the most part, Kendare Blake delivered what I was looking for.

First off, I was really excited because Anna Dressed in Blood is narrated by a guy. The YA genre is heavily dominated by females, so this was a nice change. And I liked Cas as a protagonist. He was realistic, likabale, had an appropriately sardonic sense of humor, and was in general just a nice kid.

Blake’s cast of supporting characters was good, too. Cas had a couple of Harry Potter-style sidekicks who ended up dating, Cas’s mom was thankfully not an annoying dysfucntional YA parent, and everyone else was really interesting.
Now I was slightly disappointed in Anna herself, just because I was expecting some ferocious teen ghost or something, while in reality Anna was actually really sweet and shy and mopey. Of course, I can’t at all blame Blake for my misconception, and it really wasn’t a big deal in the long run.

I also really liked the world of ghost hunting that Kendare Blake created. The Wiccan and voodoo elements were really interesting for me, and I think the author explained them without sounding too info-dumpy. The spell the gang used in the middle of the book was pretty cool. I’m not well learned in magic or witchcraft, but it all seemed pretty realistic to me.

The big problem I had with Anna Dressed in Blood was the plot. If you take a knife and cut this book exactly down the middle, you will find two very different conflicts. The first half of the book is about Cas’s need to stop Anna from killing people/haunting her house. Halfway through, Blake almost entirely resolves that issue and then the book moves on to an issue having to do with Cas’s athame (ghost killing knife) and the person who killed his father.

In my opinion, it would have been better to split this book in half, flesh both sides out a bit more, and then present them as separate novels. There is nothing wrong with either of the two conflicts presented—they were well executed and not tediously boring, I just felt that having them both shoved together under one title isn’t the best plot construction choice.

Oh, and can I just briefly say that Malvina is the silliest bad guy name ever? Come on, it’s practically the same as Maleficent.

While not as creepy or gory as I was expecting, Anna Dressed in Blood is still a very good book. I enjoyed the storyline (even though it was bulky), and thought the characters and paranormal elements meshed together really well. Blake left things wide open for a sequel, and I’m definitely anticipating Girl of Nightmares. Bottom line: I recommend this to…well, anyone.

This is just your average boy meets girl, girl kills people story... Yes, you read right. Girl kills people as in minces them up. It was probably not a good idea to start this book at 10 at night...

Cas kills ghosts. He always has, and probably always will. He basically travels around the country, killing the nasties that go bump in the night and bother people. Bother, as in, kill them. Now, Cas, armed with his ghost-detector cat, his athame and his white-witch mother, has arrived in Thunder Bay to send off a particular nasty called Anna Korlov, more commonly known as Anna Dressed in Blood. It seems that Anna has been tearing, slicing, dicing, and basically mincing anyone who dares to venture into her house. Oh yes. Cas expects to dip in, hunt, and slip out, just as he's always done. But Anna is different. Anna is more powerful than any other ghost. And for some reason, he is the only person who has ever escaped her house alive.

CAS

Cas's real name is Theseus Cassio, and the story is told from his POV. At the start I thought that Cas was a bit conceited, and the girls were going a bit too googly-eyed at him,and he was a bit too proud of himself for my liking. There wasn't really any back story as to why only his family could use the athame, but I hope that we'll get some later in the series.

Okay, with the romance thing, seriously? I mean, Cas is going goo goo eyes over a dead girl? Yes, this is the girl who has black eyes, black veins running up and down her arms, a humongous neck wound that opens and makes her dress drip with blood, and who tears people in half? Okay, granted, she's not always like that, but still.

But the good thing is, at least Carmel and Cas didn't end up together. Thankyou, Blake, for not going down that much used, and very annoying path.

ANNA

A little bit of backstory before I go on (don't worry, nothing important shall be revealed). Anna Korlov died in 1958, while going to a dance in her beautiful little white dress. Her throat was slit from ear to ear, and it was rumoured that her dress was soaked in blood, so that it wasn't white any more.

Sadly, Anna stopped being a gory, bloody, tears-people-in-half monster about halfway through the book, although I did love those horror scenes. My favourite parts in this books were probably the horror scenes. They had me looking under my bed and ogling my window before I went to bed. But sadly, the horror factor from Anna really only lasted for when we first met her.

Oh Anna, why couldn't you remain really scary? What I really wanted you to do, at least for a little bit, was run around, tear some people up, and generally keep me awake for a couple of nights. Instead, you had to transform into a sad little girl who I couldn't help but feel sorry for, even if you did...

And it was never explained why you didn't want to hurt Cas. Why is this kid so special? Again, I hope more will be explained later.

But other than that, I really liked Anna. She is both a monster and an innocent girl, a killer and a victim, and you can never totally figure her out. She is a really lovely, murdersome, difficult-to-figure-out ghost character/love interest.

This is a really awesome, gory story that I would definitely recommend, as long as you aren't scared of the dark or anything like that... Now I shall go and hide under my covers for a bit....

Cover: One look at the cover and you’ll know that this book is about a ghost… Anna was pictured on the cover very beautifully…

Theseus Cassio:

Or Cas is the main protagonist in the story… The story is also told from his POV… At the start of the book I felt Cas was just using people for his interest… You can see it clearly at the first chapters of the story… His strategy was to ‘find the queen bee of the school’ and from there he can start his mission… I also felt that Cas is sometimes too proud of himself… I said this because in one of the scenes in the book, he even said to his ‘friend’ that he’s the only one who could use his father’s athame (he never tested this theory) and of course kill Anna… But maybe he only said that so he could get his athame back…

Anna Korlov:

Also known as Anna Dressed in Blood is a killer ghost... She’s a very powerful ghost and she seems a one-of-a-kind ghost… Cas really had a hard time figuring her out, he even had to use a spell to know how she got very powerful… Her story is a really sad one… Imagine doing something that you don’t even like! Forced to do something against your will while you’re there sitting at the back of your mind! You’ll understand it once you have read the story…

Story:

The story is overall a champion… The scenes were written beautifully and they will surely captivate you… I remember the scene where the Obeahman was coming down the stairs (that was really scary!)… I was really imagining it! You won’t regret buying this book…

Warning:

And lastly, this book contain swear words… They’re not really many but they are there…

Everybody has been ranting and raving about this book and after reading the summary about it, I knew it would intrigue me. It's supposed to be an ironic paranormal romance which made me slightly nervous because I honestly thought it would be cheesy and not my type of read. Don't get me wrong, contemporary and romance are great, but mixed with a paranormal plot, it just didn't sound too exciting.

I think the order of this book was very well written and it set up the story awesomely. It started out very action packed which I honestly didn't see coming. I didn't expect this ghost story to be gory at all, but this had some very disgusting aspects.

I can honestly say this book made me tear up at some parts. It makes you have hope for some characters. It makes you want to reach into the book and smack the hell out of the others. Point is, either way you felt about them, it still made you feel something. That's what I was hoping for in this book. It exceeded my expectations.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Published by Tor Teen
On Shelves Now
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say: Sinister and Superb, A sucker-punch to awaken the world of YA!

So, I’ve been staring at this book for months now trying to work up the courage to read it. And when say months, I mean, at least six—but I always psyched myself and decided it was probably too scary for me. So, when I finally picked this up to read, it was a big deal to me. I mean a BIG DEAL! Further explanation? I don’t do horror. Whenever I think I’m kick butt enough to watch a horror movie, I end up sleeping with EVERY light on for at least a week. In fact, when I watched Silent Hill…that week turned into almost a month. I don’t do scary. So, I started reading Anna, completely sure that I would spend my nights lying flat on my back…with dozens of pillows surrounding me….with all the lights on….and with my glasses perched on my nose all night (just in case I heard and noise and needed to quickly scan the room)….and with a bat hiding snuggly under the bed (if I could brave myself enough to look under the bed). AND? Pleasant surprise! Anna was amazing—scary at times, but not so much to warrant an all-night watch-for-the-unworldly-athon.

The best thing about this book—it was the FIRST BOOK EVER where I liked the female main character better than the guy. This is a big deal! Big! I’m usually swept away by the good boy with charming good looks and sweet smile, or fall head over heels for the bad boy whose arrogance rivals only a Greek god’s. But, with this one, I immediately fell on the side of Team Anna. She was so awesome! The way Kendare described her was chilling, and her words wrenched me from the recliner and thrust me straight into that old Victorian where I felt like I was staring the “dark goddess” in the eyes. Full of power and darkness, yet ridden with innocence and guilt; Anna was the kind of bad guy that you just can’t help root for.

Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t like Cas, I really enjoyed him, also. Tough and arrogant, and completely at home in the other world, Cas will definitely leave you breathless at moments. Cas has been left with the duty of sending murderous ghosts back where they belong, but there is a part of him that wonders about his destiny. He struggles with everything he doesn’t know about the world on the other side. I loved watching his journey of truth, and by the end of the book, though his journey is far from over, I felt like Cas had grown from a boy exacting revenge to a man seeking discover the truth about his powers.

Kendare did an amazing job creating the personalities of the minor characters, also. You have 2 sidekicks in this Scooby gang—the quiet, nerdy boy with witchy powers (like Velma, only a dude), and the beautiful, always gets her way popular chick (we’ll call her the modern day Daphne). Together with Cas and Anna, these two will provide the much needed comic relief from the terror of the book.

And what about the story itself?

It was full of twists and turns that (although some you could see coming), kept me on the edge of my seat. The imagery was at times beautiful and poetic, while at other times, sinister and macabre. There were definite gory parts, but surprisingly, they didn’t bother me. In fact, they added to the sorrow of the story. I mean, this is a horror story, but most of the time I either felt an unwavering sadness at how evil had caught so many in its net, and at other times, I was in awe—of the way Kendare put so much power into play. Her world will melt from the page and come alive around you, and there will be times when you will wish it could stay that way!

Okay…so I will leave you with a few statements that you need to remember!

1.) This books is Ah-mazing!
2.) If you are scared to read this book, don’t be! It’s worth the fear!
3.) Anna is freaking unbelievably awesome!
4.) YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!
5.) My review of Girl of Nightmares (Book 2) will be up soon. Although I didn’t like it as much as this one, it was still great.
6)….AND…AGAIN….You must read this book!

Number one thing I loved about Anna Dressed In Blood above anything else? Cas. Hands down, it's Cas. He is the best male character I've ever read! You know the brooding, mysterious boy that makes a debut in almost every novel? He is always the crush of the female character because he is so different. That boy? That's Cas. It's amazing to finally get to see things from that boy's point of view, and let me tell you, it's a pretty intense point of view. As a main character, Cas shows us what it is like to be the lone wolf. The person trying to keep others at bay to protect them. It's sensational!

I do admit that this book scared the pants off me for a bit. Let's be honest, this isn't a book for the faint of heart. In fact, if you're not a fan of slightly gory occurrences? This might not be for you. However if you are okay with some violence in your reading, then you'll love Kendare Blake's story. This is a darker story. One filled with grief, vengeance, and yet still the hope that there is something better out there. The multiple layers create something that is wholly immersive, and easy to read.

Anna Dressed In Blood moves at breakneck speed, and I promise you that if you pick it up you won't set it down until you've finished reading. The way that the characters all compliment one another, the way that just enough suspense gets placed in just the right places, it makes this a story that is massively addicted. In fact, by the time that I reached the end I wanted to throw the book across the room. Not because I didn't love it. Nay, because I wish I had more! I cannot wait.

Suffice it to say, if you couldn't tell from my above ramblings, this is a book that I just adored. Kendare Blake has taken all of the elements that I love in a good story and blended them together into something that is just too good to be true. I never thought I'd find myself enamored with a ghost, but there you have it. Blake has managed to do that for me. I don't doubt you'll feel the same way when you pick up a copy of this book. Anna Dressed In Blood is amazing.

Ghost stories aren’t usually my thing but I heard so many good things about ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, I had to decide for myself. Now, after reading it, I know why Kendare Blake has so many people talking about her book. She knows how to write a good story and knows how to keep her readers interested. For a book about ghosts, it’s not necessarily horror but it does have enough magic and action to keep you engaged in the story all the way to the end.

The first scene reminded me of the TV show, Supernatural. It’s where we met Cas, the narrator, as he was driving a Camaro, on the hunt to pick up a ghostly hitchhiker. After his father died at the hand of a ghost, Cas became obsessed with avenging his father’s death by trying to kill as many ghosts as possible. I found Cas a little arrogant and smug, since he thought he was one of the only one that could hunt and kill ghosts. He did have the advantage of possessing an athame, a special knife that enable him to kill ghosts, but that alone shouldn’t make him the only or best ghost killer. But overall, I think his smugness was part of his quirky charm and I really enjoyed reading a YA novel with a male’s point of view. We read so many YA paranormal novels with female point of views so I found it refreshing to have a different outlook. Especially since having a male narrator means not getting pestered with annoying girly and teenage… touchy-feely stuff. Also, I loved Cas’s no-nonsense character. He might have been a little distant when it came to making friend but to him, killings ghosts was more important. I found he explained himself quite well when he said, “I guess I never give too much thought to the living.”

After the hitchhiker, Cas moved on to a bigger challenge, and we finally learn about Anna dressed in blood. Who is literally dressed in blood. If I had to describe Anna in one word, I would say Awesome! (A second word, however, would be bipolar). She's unlike any ghost I've ever read about and she scared me to death, at first. Unlike Cas, she wasn’t necessarily vengeful but had murderous tendencies because she was more or less grieving the loss of her life. I won’t reveal more about her because I don’t want to ruin Anna’s story but I do want to mention that the imagery used to describe Anna was absolutely wonderful.

Some of my favorite parts in the book were seeing the relationship between Thomas and Carmel develop (Cas’s friends and sidekicks). Thomas is more or less an awkward geek and Carmel is the prom queen socialite. The unlikeliness of this relationship happening in real life made it that much more enjoyable to read about. Thomas is also the comic relief in the story, while Carmel is more the voice of reason.

One thing’s for sure—Kendare Blake keeps you guessing until the very end of the book. She’s a great story-teller and she has me wanting to read more about Anna and Cas’s lives. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read YA paranormal novels, and I’m not just saying that because Kendare Blake chose a Canadian city as the setting for her book. According to the author, only two books are planned for the series.

ISBN: 9781408320723
Publisher: Macmillan
Pages: 369

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.

Although I didn’t like the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anna Dressed In Blood! Cas Lowood was one of my favourite character as, after the death of his father, Cas not only takes on the responsibility of continuing his father’s ghost hunting business, but also the responsibility of protecting himself & his mother from unearthly creatures. He tries successfully to balance his paranormal activities with maintaining the pretence that he is just an average teenager, that is until he meets Anna Dressed In Blood, when his father’s paranormal history finally catches up with him. Anna was also one of my favourite characters, as I loved reading about how she became the notorious, Anna Dressed In Blood, and how what happened during her short life triggered the events that would affect the whole community for the subsequent decades during her “afterlife”. Anna was also one of my favourite characters because of her quick wit, and sharp tongue. I love the cover of Anna Dressed In Blood! It portrays Anna, and the events surrounding her in the book perfectly. I would definitely recommend this book!

I’m feeling kind of wishy-washy about Anna Dressed in Blood. On the one hand, I really loved the story itself with all the little side-stories and ghosties, but on the other, something about it just didn’t quite work for me.

Let’s talk characters first. None of them really jumped out and grabbed me with either a great like or dislike. I liked Anna and Thomas a good bit, but that’s about it. Everyone else just fell kind of flat for me, which is actually okay since I’m more of a story girl.

Now for the writing. Sometimes the pop-culture references just got to be a bit much for me. Especially when I couldn’t understand them. They petered out towards the end, so I appreciated that.
Sometimes I felt like I was thrust into the middle of a conversation where everyone else knew what was going on and I was left in the dark. I really don’t like feeling like I have to play catch-up. I don’t need things spelled out for me, I’m pretty good at putting the pieces together myself, but sometimes it felt like the characters were holding some of the pieces hostage from me.
Also, this could just be because the book I finished before this was over 500 pages, but it felt like it was moving a little too quickly at times.

Now that I’ve got all that out of my system, let’s talk the good stuff.

I really enjoyed the story. It’s very rare that I come across a ghost story in YA that’s actually more than face-value horror (such as R.L. Stine), but Anna Dressed in Blood certainly has more going for it. I mean, we’ve got Cas working through his “I’m a lone ranger” complex; a little relationship building with side characters; a ghost that’s evil, but also maybe not; and scary undefined evil character from Cas’s past. That may sound like a lot, but Blake really makes it all work for the story.
I love that Anna actually has a personality and isn’t just all “Kill everybody!”
The Nusthell: Though the characters weren’t my favorite and the story seemed to move too quickly at times, I really did enjoy it overall. Blake has woven a ghost story that’ll have you shivering under your covers, but unable to put the book down because you simply must find out what happens next. This isn’t some shallow “ghost kills people, good guy kills bad ghosts” story either. There’s a real story with history and emotions that’ll completely draw you in.

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