{Review} of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Horror
THEME: Ghost, Demons
RECEIVED: From Tor Teen (THANK YOU TOR)
AUTHORS BLOG: Kendare Blake's Site


BLURB:

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.

REVIEW:
I was immediately drawn to Anna Dressed in Blood because of the beautifully haunting cover art. I can’t help as a designer to love the eerie vibe and story that it tells just by looking at it. Kendare Blake writes a story the both captivated me with her characters and the creepy villains and background story she brought to life.

Anna Dressed in Blood follows Cas, he travels all over killing the dead. That may sound strange… how do you kill something that’s already dead? But with the ghost that Cas encounters they are every bit as real as you and me. When a story of a ghost who gruesomely kills young teens comes to Cas, he doesn’t hesitate to take the case. Little does he know how much this Anna Dressed in Blood with forever change his life and bring back the past that’s haunted him.

Cas is probably one of my favorite male leads. I for one don’t normally read novels where the main focus is a male, its usually a kick butt female. Cas has had a difficult past, taking his fathers place in ghost killing after a strong and powerful one took his life. He is drawn to the story of Anna and it almost turns into an addiction.

Anna, the story of Anna is horribly sad and when the mystery unfolds the reader will become just as fascinated with Anna’s story as Cas did. She was extremely creepy and I would never want to be in her presence when she’s angry. I loved how Blake unfolded Anna’s past and the darkness behind what she is.

Overall this story is full of action, romance and humor, but the eerie ghost and creepy settings that the characters put themselves in really make the story. I love the secondary characters that work with Cas to help him stop Anna. I highly recommend this novel to fans of horror, but also those who like paranormal romance, there is a hint of romance that made me excited to see what’s next with Anna Dressed in Blood.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult novel with some minor graphic and eerie scene that the reader might want to leave the light on when reading. Fans of Gretchen McNeil’s Possess and Michelle Hodkin’s The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer will absolutely love Anna Dressed in Blood.

View all my reviews