Novel Review: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1) by Kendare Blake

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Paranormal Horror Romance

Publisher: Tor Teen Books (Tom Doherty Associates)

Release Date: 2011

Spoilers?: No.

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Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered 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. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, 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, now stained red and dripping with 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.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. It's eye-catching and very pretty, and definitely fitting for the book. I like that they pictures Anna, not any other part of the book, as it gives the right sense of what you're getting into.

Review:

I was a little afraid that this would be disappointing, or that it was would be very scary. It wasn’t either, but it was enjoyable.

First of all, I get freaked out very easily, but for some reason this didn’t really scare me, at least not until the last quarter of the book. I’m surprised it didn’t scare me more, but the violent ghost parts were well done.

I also didn’t realize that Cas was a guy when I first started reading, just to let you know. It read more like it later in the book.

I really liked Cas. He travels all the time to take care of ghosts, trying to get stronger to avenge his father. He lives with his mother, and has some contacts from his father and his own time traveling. Cas is a likeable guy. I liked his friends, too, and how they helped him.

And then there’s Anna. She’s dead, and is cursed, and for some reason forms a bond with Cas. Their romance was not searing off the pages or anything, it was subtle, but it was there. And their relationship was just nice, comforting, sweet, surprisingly. This made the ending rather upsetting.

It didn’t make sense for there to be a second book, because the ending seemed final, and it seemed fitting. But the more I think about it, the more I want to read more. I want a happy ending for Cas and Anna! And so now I’m really wanting to read the sequel.

The book was a little slow, but it was pretty easy to read, and I ended up really enjoying it. I look forward to reading the sequel when I get a chance.