Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

RATING:

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.

*****

SCARY.

Anna Dressed in Blood could’ve been a 5, if not for the romance that felt forced and nonsense. Blake has great moves in terrifying readers; i held my breath more than once on separate occasions! Thrilling and maniacal, Anna Dressed in Blood is one of the most frightening YA books i’ve read so far.

Cas started out as strong in character, but when Anna came along, he appeared scatterbrained and incapable. Are guys really like that? Hmmm. LOL. Anyway, Cas is just an average male lead for me. He could’ve been great, but his character’s development became null in the end. Anna was so kick-ass on the first scene! Cold, ruthless, merciless. Then Cas started hanging out at her house, and there Anna began to show some emotions or what was left of it. She’s okay, i mean i loved her when she’s the “Queen of Death”, but the solidity of her character when she’s not the “Queen of Death” did not hold much for me. Perhaps i just want her to be at her baddest?

The horror aspect is fantastic. Voodoo magic has that air of mystery and fright that i don’t wanna dwell in the middle of the night. The romance part is negligible. Lemme just say that a relationship between a human and a ghost is just uncomprehensible to me.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a good halloween read. If you’re up for some jolly ‘ol scare, this book won’t disappoint. Well, just don’t mind the romance and you’ll be good.

#20 Off-the-Shelf Reading Challenge 2011

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.: maria :.

“giving up is the ultimate tragedy.”