Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)
User reviews
18 reviews with 5 stars
26 reviews
Overall rating
4.5
Plot
4.5(26)
Characters
4.5(26)
Writing Style
4.6(26)
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A(0)
Already have an account? Log in now or Create an account
Amazing!
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Anna Dressed in Blood was an amazing novel.
It had a great plot and intriguing characters. I liked Cas's humor, ghost hunting skills and his mom. Thomas was interesting and Anna was definitely unique and mesmerizing. And Tybalt was a very amusing cat.
I really liked this novel and am looking forward to reading the sequel.
It had a great plot and intriguing characters. I liked Cas's humor, ghost hunting skills and his mom. Thomas was interesting and Anna was definitely unique and mesmerizing. And Tybalt was a very amusing cat.
I really liked this novel and am looking forward to reading the sequel.
Epic
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Astounding!
Such a amazing story.
This book is so engaging and enthralling! It really grabs you and keeps you wanting more! The attention to detail is on target, not to mention the characters. I don't even know what to say there. They are captivating. The stereotypes they "fit under" get tossed out the window when it comes down to the nitty gritty. They really shocked me because I expected them to be meek and boo-hoo-y for what has happened, yet they don't.
I really don't know what else to say there. haha
I never wanted it to end honestly. It's the kind of book I would recommend to EVERYONE. No matter what kind of books they liked or don't like; I'd still say "You should still read it." lol
Ghosts, blood & guts, wicked murders, craziness, witches, and someone who "kills" the dead. Hey, what's not to like!?
If you aren't reading this book yet, I fully recommend it!
Such a amazing story.
This book is so engaging and enthralling! It really grabs you and keeps you wanting more! The attention to detail is on target, not to mention the characters. I don't even know what to say there. They are captivating. The stereotypes they "fit under" get tossed out the window when it comes down to the nitty gritty. They really shocked me because I expected them to be meek and boo-hoo-y for what has happened, yet they don't.
I really don't know what else to say there. haha
I never wanted it to end honestly. It's the kind of book I would recommend to EVERYONE. No matter what kind of books they liked or don't like; I'd still say "You should still read it." lol
Ghosts, blood & guts, wicked murders, craziness, witches, and someone who "kills" the dead. Hey, what's not to like!?
If you aren't reading this book yet, I fully recommend it!
One of the scariest books I've read
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
This book FREAKED ME OUT in the beginning. I was really scared,I had to see several episodes of South Park to stop looking in the dark corners of my room. :D
Was anyone thinking about Supernatural while reading this book? I was. It contains many of the same elements, and in many ways Cas is not unlike the Winchester brothers. He's funny and driven and talented and a damn fine person!
The secondary characters in this book:Thomas,Caramel,Will and Morfran are well developed characters. I love their quirks. I love their flaws. I love their fullness.
The plot worked until the focus shifted away from Anna about two-thirds through, which is a shame. You may think I am insane for saying this but the romance with Cas and Anna did nothing for me. Kendare should let them hook up in the second book and not in the first. I loose interest very fast that way. That is the only reason I give it 4 stars.
This was the best ghost story that has been written in years. It is the ghost story readers have been looking for but haven't been able to find. Creepy, scary, and will keep you up all night turning the pages! All in all, I am fascinated by Kendare's writing ability and I look forward to continuing this series. I can't wait to see what happens to Cas and Anna next!
Was anyone thinking about Supernatural while reading this book? I was. It contains many of the same elements, and in many ways Cas is not unlike the Winchester brothers. He's funny and driven and talented and a damn fine person!
The secondary characters in this book:Thomas,Caramel,Will and Morfran are well developed characters. I love their quirks. I love their flaws. I love their fullness.
The plot worked until the focus shifted away from Anna about two-thirds through, which is a shame. You may think I am insane for saying this but the romance with Cas and Anna did nothing for me. Kendare should let them hook up in the second book and not in the first. I loose interest very fast that way. That is the only reason I give it 4 stars.
This was the best ghost story that has been written in years. It is the ghost story readers have been looking for but haven't been able to find. Creepy, scary, and will keep you up all night turning the pages! All in all, I am fascinated by Kendare's writing ability and I look forward to continuing this series. I can't wait to see what happens to Cas and Anna next!
fakdhfsuh
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Loved it!
Good Points
Actually really good. Cas, somewhat ghostbuster, travels around to somewhat "help" ghosts cross over to the other side. Takes up this Anna case after what he heard she could do. In a way ends maturing, finally made some friends, and fell in love, who just happened to be Anna. He's stil dealing with his father death, still plotting revenge against the demon that killed him. Wasn't surprised at his decision at the end about what's going to happen to him.
Could have done w/out the cat scene, it was out there.
I will actually read the sequel and see where this journey takes Cas/Anna.
Could have done w/out the cat scene, it was out there.
I will actually read the sequel and see where this journey takes Cas/Anna.
Anna Dressed In Blood
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Anyone who really knows me, would know about my obsession with blood and dead girls. So it was no surprise that I would want to read this book as soon as I saw it. (And the cover, oh, the cover!) Whether I’d like it or not was an entirely different story. I’ll have you know, that I absolutely love Lenore. Poe’s Lenore and Dirge’s Lenore. But there are countless other books with dead girls that I can’t even care to remember them, they were that bad.
The thing with horror books is that they can be as scary as you want them to be. When watching a movie, you get a package deal of horrific images that may scare or be just meh, depending on your own spook-o-meter. But books give you the liberty of imagining those scary ghosts and creatures in any way you want to, providing just the base. My imagination is crazy. Parts of this book had me freaking out and seeing shadows around my room. The fact that I read in absolute darkness (on my Kindle) may have contributed to my fears.
To be honest, in hindsight, this book isn’t all that scary. It’s about a young guy who kills ghost who are out wreaking havoc and murdering people. And then he comes across Anna, who is the most vindictive, bloodiest ghost he has ever faced. Saying more would be giving out spoilers.
But I have to say, after Lish McBride’s Necromancer books, this is the only one that kept me up all night to finish it. I’ll be reading the sequel soon.
The thing with horror books is that they can be as scary as you want them to be. When watching a movie, you get a package deal of horrific images that may scare or be just meh, depending on your own spook-o-meter. But books give you the liberty of imagining those scary ghosts and creatures in any way you want to, providing just the base. My imagination is crazy. Parts of this book had me freaking out and seeing shadows around my room. The fact that I read in absolute darkness (on my Kindle) may have contributed to my fears.
To be honest, in hindsight, this book isn’t all that scary. It’s about a young guy who kills ghost who are out wreaking havoc and murdering people. And then he comes across Anna, who is the most vindictive, bloodiest ghost he has ever faced. Saying more would be giving out spoilers.
But I have to say, after Lish McBride’s Necromancer books, this is the only one that kept me up all night to finish it. I’ll be reading the sequel soon.
Anna Dressed in Blood
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
This book has one of the creepiest covers ever. I absolutely love it. This story sounds like it would be pretty creepy right? Well it is, in some parts at least but it's also very sweet and romantic as well. This is one of those books that I had to put down at night, solely due to the fact that reading ghost stories at night bothers me. I would however rush to pick it back up in the morning. This is a book that I won't be able to get out of my head for a while.
Just the first like of the description "Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story" was enough to draw my attention. I knew going in that this would probably end up being somewhat of a romance and it really did a great job of that by not taking over the entire storyline.
The ghost aspect was really refreshing, instead of the main character being afraid of ghosts or just being haunted by one, he actually sought them out to "kill" them. This really made the story interesting and the whole time I was wondering whether or not Cas would really be able to "kill" Anna.
The characters really helped make this book for me. Cas was an independent guy who wasn't part of mainstream society. He worked in the dark and kept himself distanced from people mainly because of what he did every night. He's actually a pretty sweet and caring person once Thomas and Carmel managed to get past his anti-social shell. Thomas was an interesting one. He was so shy and withdrawn yet he had this personality that just made me like him. Carmel seemed like such a snob in the beginning but as the story goes on we find out that she's actually much deeper than that. I loved Anna. Her story is so tragic and the things that she does are horrible. Yet there is so much humanity left inside of this girl who had everything taken away, she actually feels regret.
The story is emotional as well. There is the one scene where we finally learn Anna's whole story and believe me it's a sad one. I found myself getting upset and angry over the fate that she met and I kept rooting for her as the story progressed. The story had a shocking twist as well, I didn't see a lot of the things coming that happened and for that I was really happy, who wants a predictable ghost story anyway?
I absolutely loved Anna Dressed in Blood and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. If you like ghost stories then I definitely recommend checking this one out. Even if you aren't that big of a fan of ghost stories, I still recommend this, there are plenty of other aspects to this story like romance, mystery and suspense.
Just the first like of the description "Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story" was enough to draw my attention. I knew going in that this would probably end up being somewhat of a romance and it really did a great job of that by not taking over the entire storyline.
The ghost aspect was really refreshing, instead of the main character being afraid of ghosts or just being haunted by one, he actually sought them out to "kill" them. This really made the story interesting and the whole time I was wondering whether or not Cas would really be able to "kill" Anna.
The characters really helped make this book for me. Cas was an independent guy who wasn't part of mainstream society. He worked in the dark and kept himself distanced from people mainly because of what he did every night. He's actually a pretty sweet and caring person once Thomas and Carmel managed to get past his anti-social shell. Thomas was an interesting one. He was so shy and withdrawn yet he had this personality that just made me like him. Carmel seemed like such a snob in the beginning but as the story goes on we find out that she's actually much deeper than that. I loved Anna. Her story is so tragic and the things that she does are horrible. Yet there is so much humanity left inside of this girl who had everything taken away, she actually feels regret.
The story is emotional as well. There is the one scene where we finally learn Anna's whole story and believe me it's a sad one. I found myself getting upset and angry over the fate that she met and I kept rooting for her as the story progressed. The story had a shocking twist as well, I didn't see a lot of the things coming that happened and for that I was really happy, who wants a predictable ghost story anyway?
I absolutely loved Anna Dressed in Blood and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. If you like ghost stories then I definitely recommend checking this one out. Even if you aren't that big of a fan of ghost stories, I still recommend this, there are plenty of other aspects to this story like romance, mystery and suspense.
S
Sarah
Top 100 Reviewer
Anna Dressed in Blood
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
hope for Cas to find Anna.
Good Points
I loved the story. Kinda made me think of the TV show Supernatural at first but with a younger crowd. It was suspense filled and a love story all in one. Awesome.
This is some serious horror and voodoo!
(Updated: April 29, 2013)
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Creepy yes but tolerable. Thanks to magic of spells part
Good Points
Wow. I’m impressed! This has been a great terrifying experience of legacy, family, friendship, and love all in one. Cas + Anna + Thomas + Morfran = some serious voodoo:
While there’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer for vampires and Ghostbusters for ghosts (in a funny way) then there’s Cas (Cassius Lowood) for serious ghost hunting and killing, only 17 y/o but continues the legacy of his father after his father’s death from a ghost murder.
You might think what the heck? Can a ghost kill? Unfortunately I do believe bad souls might kill even in reality through hallucinations and accidents that will eventually happen to people because of their fears. I may not be so sure if there are ghost hunters ever around the world but this story felt so real despite the creepiness because of the stories behind the ghosts, their death and why they revenged so much that made them take other people’s lives. But then again, the ghosts lingering around and doing that is never right and that’s the reason Cas is here to defeat them.
Cas was only 7 years old when his father died and since then, he made the decision to take over and even hunt more ghosts than his father did to prove the ghosts that he’s come to be their better enemy.
Anna Dressed In Blood is written in first person where Cas narrates the whole thing. His points of view are almost all agreeable and I felt both his anger and grief of hunting ghosts for the sake of his dad and the rest of living.
Cas kills the vengeful ghosts through his father’s athame (a magical knife with spells to kill these ghosts and send them outside the earth) – I know killing souls seemed weird but I was touched by the way Cas fearlessly slayed numerous of ghosts to stop them from killing more innocent people. Cas cares for humanity and the last thing he’ll expect himself to suffer is seeing his own mother die from these ghosts and he’ll never let that happen. I loved his integrity of having to sacrifice friends and building relationships because of this job and I’m sure wherever his father is, he made him proud.
While there’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer for vampires and Ghostbusters for ghosts (in a funny way) then there’s Cas (Cassius Lowood) for serious ghost hunting and killing, only 17 y/o but continues the legacy of his father after his father’s death from a ghost murder.
You might think what the heck? Can a ghost kill? Unfortunately I do believe bad souls might kill even in reality through hallucinations and accidents that will eventually happen to people because of their fears. I may not be so sure if there are ghost hunters ever around the world but this story felt so real despite the creepiness because of the stories behind the ghosts, their death and why they revenged so much that made them take other people’s lives. But then again, the ghosts lingering around and doing that is never right and that’s the reason Cas is here to defeat them.
Cas was only 7 years old when his father died and since then, he made the decision to take over and even hunt more ghosts than his father did to prove the ghosts that he’s come to be their better enemy.
Anna Dressed In Blood is written in first person where Cas narrates the whole thing. His points of view are almost all agreeable and I felt both his anger and grief of hunting ghosts for the sake of his dad and the rest of living.
Cas kills the vengeful ghosts through his father’s athame (a magical knife with spells to kill these ghosts and send them outside the earth) – I know killing souls seemed weird but I was touched by the way Cas fearlessly slayed numerous of ghosts to stop them from killing more innocent people. Cas cares for humanity and the last thing he’ll expect himself to suffer is seeing his own mother die from these ghosts and he’ll never let that happen. I loved his integrity of having to sacrifice friends and building relationships because of this job and I’m sure wherever his father is, he made him proud.
Creepy and awesome
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
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....
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....
My Fave
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
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…
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…
D
Denice
Top 500 Reviewer
Latest Additions
GET A YABC BUTTON!
We have all sorts of YABC buttons for your website. Grab one here and link to YABC!