Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

This is actually my second time reading Anna Dressed in Blood. The first time was before I really got into blogging and so I didn't write a review. This time, I chose it as the season opener for my student book club.

I love the feeling of this book. Blake doesn't shy away from amazingly brutal scenes and it engages the reader in a way that a more censored version never could. This novel is not for the faint of heart. There are some truly gruesome and horrific scenes. One of my favorites involves the first time we meet Anna - the ghost who changes everything. There is very little lead up. We stop only for a short visual description before Anna unleashes her terrifying power. Anna walks a tightrope in between all powerful evil goddess and sympathetic character who we root for. The author has done an incredible job of letting us see all of the facets of her character.

I enjoyed watching all of the missteps as Cas develops friendships for the first time ever. I found myself smiling or laughing each time he would lament how much easier it was the deal with the dead rather than the living. The characters of Cas, Anna, and Thomas are decently well developed and interesting but I never really get a feel for Carmel. She doesn't seem to add anything significant to the plot other than playing the girl in their Scooby Doo Gang.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a veritable "This Is How You Do It" when it comes to the balance between suspense and action. Blake does a wonderful job providing enough action to keep the plot moving very quickly while also allowing for some relationship building and character development.

I am a fan - reading everything Kendare Blake writes for the rest of her life.

What I Liked:
Amazingly, I managed to go into Anna Dressed in Blood knowing nothing whatsoever about the book, despite its immense popularity with my friends. All I knew was that it was a horror novel, but not even anything more than that. Oh, and that this series has badass covers. It’s so rare to get to read such a hyped book knowing nothing and I treasured the experience. Kendare Blake does horror and plot well. Anna Dressed in Blood isn’t the scariest thing I’ve ever read, but it did make me shudder at times.


Kendare Blake has a serious fascination with mythology. Both Antigoddess and Anna Dressed in Blood are steeped in it. I mean, hello, the main character’s name in Anna Dressed in Blood is Theseus Cassio. The fact that he loves his parents despite this puzzles me a bit, but whatever. I was thrown out of the book anytime his name came up, but the rest of the book is good enough to make that not matter so much. On top of that, though, there’s a lot of cool voodoo stuff in Anna Dressed in Blood.

The horror isn’t the constant shock of things coming at you. It’s more the gruesome sort, like the Saw franchise. If this were a movie, I still couldn’t watch it, but as a book it was totally fine. I’m actually a bit surprised they haven’t made a movie out of this, because it’s quite cinematic. Actually, that’s something I’d noticed about Kendare’s writing in Antigoddess, though I do think she’d gotten even better at it by that point. While I had a great sense of what all the horror aspects and settings were like, I had no read on the human characters at all.

It’s hard for me to really describe what worked for me in Anna Dressed in Blood. Though I saw the twist coming, I thought it was a good twist. This book was just highly entertaining. It’s got some weaknesses for sure, but it’s a debut. Considering that, it’s a really solid novel. My attention was held and I was always curious to find out what would happen next and if my theories were correct. I could have done without the animal death, but, considering the large human death toll, I suppose I can let that slide.

What Left Me Wanting More:
What left me cold, as though a ghost were sitting on my heart, were the romances. There are a couple of ships in here and neither of them did the slightest thing for me. I don’t quite unship them either, but there was a whole lot of non-caring to be had from me. Like, how often is it that I am wishing the kissing would stop and the plot could get on the road, at least in a book I actually enjoy? Hello, I am all about the kissing scenes, but not so much this time. I don’t really see a future for either couple, for very different reasons, and their connections aren’t sufficient for me to be invested anyway. It must be the lack of banter.

The Final Verdict:
Though I didn’t have a strong emotional tie to this one or give it one of my highest ratings, I’ve already purchased the sequel. It’s damn fun and I want more. Usually I reread favorites, but I could see wanting to reread these just for the ghostly mayhem.

What a stunning debut. Atmospheric, compelling, dark and dangerous with a narrator who is as captivating as the ghosts he hunts. I can't believe it took me so long to get around to reading this book. My only wish is that it was longer. I'm hoping the sequel (which I will be snatching up the second it's available) is longer. I particularly enjoyed the way Ms. Blake paints her scenes. I could vividly imagine all of it, and the ghosts scared the never-you-mind out of me just by walking onto the page. I also loved the relationship between Cas and his mom, with the thread of his dad's memory binding them together. This book is a delicious little nightmare, and I loved every second of it.