Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

August 30, 2011
Tor Teen

Received from Publisher for an honest review

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. 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: 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.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.


My Review:
ANNA DRESSED IN Blood is a chilling and action-packed novel that will knock your socks off! I was completely blown away with the story! It's got a hot ghost slayer, killer ghosts, and scenes that will have you jumping out of your seat! I can't brag enough about ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD!

Cas is everything I could want in a protagonist--strong but not afraid to show a little weakness, bold, and willing to go to any lengths to save the world from the awful ghosts. The way he describes the ghosts chilled me to the bone. Thank goodness there is someone like Cas to kill these ghosts before they murder more people.

I give props to Blake for involving Cas's mom, and in a way his dad, in the story. Not many YA books have the parents be such a big part of the kids lives so it was very refreshing. Cas's mom is a bit cooky but she loves Cas so much and is willing to support him in his ghost killing. While Cas's dad is dead, Cas still feels a powerful connection to him and misses him like crazy. Cas's dad is the reason why he kills ghosts--his dad did it and in the end it got him killed.

Anna was not at all what I expected. I expected someone with no soul or conscience but Anna is much more complicated than that. Anna is a ghost that is like no other ghost he has encountered before. He feels bad for her when he learns what happened to her, but doesn't want to sympathize for her. Yet it isn't so easy as that. Anna brings a lot of complications to Cas's life!

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is a phenomenal YA debut that made me a fan of Blake. Her writing flows beautifully and her characters all have their own stories. If you haven't already read ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, you are sure missing out!

My Rating:

17 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm sooo glad you loved it, Bailey! It was definitely a knock-your-socks-off read. Great review!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I cannot wait till my copy comes! I used the rest of a GC to get this + 2 more :)
    Your review makes me very excited to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I won a copy. Just like Loretta I cannot wait :-)
    Great review!
    _yay_ @ BookthatThing

    ReplyDelete
  4. YAY! You loved this one too:) I adored how complicated Anna was, there was just no way to see her in black and white not matter how much I wanted to. She was all gray and it was hugely entertaining. Can't wait for more from Kendare! Awesome review Bailey:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this enthusiastic review Bailey! It sounds great, glad to know it really is too :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome! I have this one on it's way to me and your review has me really excited to read it! I'm happy to hear there are some parents (or A parent) involved. I'm always irritated at how parents are 'conveniently' otherwise occupied.
    I'll have to fit this one in as soon as I can!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just read this one recently and loved it. Glad to see you enjoyed it as well. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I completely agree! Anna Dressed in Blood was FANTASTIC! I really liked Anna's complexity, too--I had assumed she'd just be the villain, but she was so much more. Thanks for the review, Bailey! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know what you mean about a lot of YA books leaving out the parents, so I'm glad to hear that the main character actually has a relationship with his mother.

    I keep hearing great things about Anna Dressed in Blood. I'm tempted to run out and buy a copy now...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yay! Team Parents!

    I'm soooo ready to have my socks rocked off. This book is on it's way to me. Can't wait to read it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, so-so-so good! I loved this story. Loved these characters. Want more!!
    Mary @ BookSwarm

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is definitely on my TBR list! It sounds so awesome and a little different from the norm, which I love! Great review :0)

    Sarah @ The Book Life

    ReplyDelete
  13. I seriously need to read this ASAP. I've only heard amazing things about it. And I love the fact that the protagonist brave, but still weak and willing to do anything for the greater good. ACK!

    Must read, now!

    Thanks for the fabulous review, hon. :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great review! I am SO excited for this book! :)
    -Angel
    http://909reviews.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I really loved the story of Ana. It tore my heart out! Glad you liked the book!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Okay, I can't read your review because I have to write mine still, but I read it knocked your socks off and that's what it did to me too! I'm so glad you loved it as much as me!!

    Heather

    ReplyDelete
  17. I really like that there's a big parental presence in this one. Most YA books seem to have either absent parents or ones that don't really care about what their kids are up to.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and make sure to read everyone of them. I'd love to hear what you think!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

LinkWithin