Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

I liked Anna, the badass villain! I disliked though Anna, the ghost involved in an out of place romance and whose role changes drastically throughout the story! Could have been much better indeed! Still her backstory was amazing and the horror truly terrifying!

Oh… my God!!!

Oh my freaking God!!!

You have no idea but I’ve read this book almost in a single night. And what do I mean with “almost”?! I mean that I was in page 130-ish and finished the book in a night. Oh yeah baby! It was 6 in the morning when I finally closed the book and whispered (because I couldn’t scream): “WOW!!! That was AWESOME!!!”

Anyway, moving to the review which is being really difficult for me to write ‘cause I still can’t believe I’ve finished this book. But I’ll try, I promise I will.

So, Anna Dressed in Blood started as a very creepy story I just couldn’t read at night but couldn’t also stop reading. When I finished the first chapter, I was looking everywhere, terrified that a ghost would jump out of thin air and scared the hell out of me. It was such and just the perfect and smart way to introduce you to the book and its content I bow to Kendare Blake.

Cas Loowood’s job is killing the dead. Yah, you’ve read it right; he kills the dead. Basically, he hunts down those scary stories told by generations around the country about ghosts who are still walking among us killing people and finish the unfinished job: he sends the ghosts to where they belong, or where they should be. It’s in his blood; his father used to do it so he feels it’s his legacy to follow his footsteps. But, he also has a reason for killing the dead. He’s planning on re-murdering the man who, literally, ate his father.

Cas is sent off to Thunder Bay after a ghost known as Anna Dressed in Blood. And if I thought chapter one was creepy, I was wrong. His first encounter with the ghost of a young woman, whose death is a mystery, was something rather spine-chilling. Plus, the death of Mike was disturbing… a lot disturbing.

But I admit that the most disturbing bit of the book that had be cringing all over the place was Anna’s murderer. You see, Anna’s character wasn’t as evil as people in Thunder Bay thought. Sure she was a death goddess as Cas named her, but behind all of that was an innocent girl robbed of her innocence by her own mother. And that was revolting and frustrating. Knowing that Anna’s life has been miserable for quite a long time and when she finally takes a step forward to do something to change it, she’s murdered and cursed to remain in her house for all eternity by her own mother! That was simply cruel and had me wished for Cas to kill her mother (even though she’s already dead).

Cas character had me by my heart right in the beginning. I admit I have a thing for guys who hunts down the supernatural, and Cas is a troubled soul with a heavy heart full of sorrow. I just wanted to cuddle with him and let him take all of his secrets and pain off his chest. And then, he begins to have these strange feelings towards this killer ghost, Anna, and you find yourself happy for him ‘cause he found someone to talk to about his job. Yah, it sounds pretty lame but it’s a love which you want to end up good knowing it’s rather impossible. I mean, how can a ghost and a human be together in the end?!

Oh God, I really have to stop mumbling about this book. I absolutely loved it and the copy I have was lent to me by Carla from O Livro que Deu um Pum so I’m saving money to buy this for myself.

THANK YOU SWEETIE :)

This was a good scary book. But don’t go wandering around thinking this is a horror book. It does have some eerie scenes and some gorge and stuff but it turns into a soft romance. Okay, perhaps not that soft since ghosts are always creeping around. But it’s a good book to read in this time of the year with Halloween and everything happening.

Now, I need to have Girl of Nightmares, which is the sequel of this one ‘cause I need to know how the hell will Cas save Anna… like, right NOW!!!

This is definitely a different kind of read. I don’t think I’ve read many ghost stories but I like that this one is told from a male’s POV and that it’s about a ghost hunter and a ghost who obviously develop feelings for each other. How they meet and fall for each other is pretty interesting and definitely not a “love at first sight” kind of deal. What I was a bit disappointed with was that there wasn’t any of the eerie, creepy, scariness that I was expecting. People made it out to be this crazy, intense & chilling story, but it was kind of mild-mannered to me. Sure there were some vivid moments where Anna unleashed hell, and Kendare does a great job at writing details and painting a picture, I guess I was expecting more gore and horror.

Her characters were well-made and I was surprised at the significance of a few of them, but in a good way. I especially loved Carmel. She’s a fun character and you will definitely learn to love her. Anna was nice too, although there wasn’t much of her actual presence in the story as I would’ve liked until practically the end, but you still get to know the girl and see why she is the way she is. Cas was a great male lead and it was interesting being inside his head.

One thing I will also mention is this book is nothing like it seems. There is a darker mystery behind Cas’ past that plays into the story and Anna’s death was certainly a tragic one that left me shaking my head, going “WTH?!?! Seriously?!?”. But that was in a good way, like “Whoa, I can’t believe that happened!”, lol. You definitely haven’t seen anything like it before.

Anna was a great debut and I can’t wait for the sequel!

I can't wait to read the sequel to this!

Picture the scene of a horror movie, right before something is about to happen, and the creepy music goes silent. That is the feeling I got almost the entire length of this book. My hair was standing on end and I was on edge - jumping at any creaks or groans emitted in my apartment.

Anna is heartbreaking. And terrifying. There were definite moments where I forgot she was dead, and hoped for a future for her. Then Blake would shatter my heart and remind me that Anna was dead and that there was no hope. The scenes with her dripping blood were written so vividly, that I kept fearing that when I looked up from my book she would be hovering over me.

Cas was a strong protagonist, and I loved the slightly awkward moments between him and Thomas as their friendship grew. It was refreshing that Cas was honest about everything with everyone, instead of making stupid decisions which would end up coming back to haunt him later. I wish his thirst for vengeance for his father had been slightly stronger, and that it had been explained why his mother and Gideon reacted so strongly to his questions about his father's death - and the strange talisman he found at his murder site.

Thomas was a great supporting character - his awkward clumsiness was endearing, and being unnaturally brave made his actions that much more honourable. Carmel was also a refreshing supporting character. As the popular cheerleader-type, I expected a vapid airhead. She proved herself the complete opposite several times and I really enjoyed seeing her come into her own and prove her worth.

I did find the first half of the book was a little too slowly paced for me, as I didn't really understand Cas' attraction to Anna. I get that she is different then every other ghost he has faced, but other than curiosity over how she had gotten so strong, I didn't get why he would risk his life to ask her questions - questions that she kept refusing to answer.

Once the binding spell was completed, however, and we learn about Anna's sordid past, I couldn't get to the ending fast enough! Suspense and twists had me gripping the book until my knuckles went white. I won't get in to the ending - I don't want to inadvertently spoil anything - but I will say that the final scene at Cas' house will haunt my nightmares. I've got chills just thinking about it again.