Monday 23 July 2012

My review of Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake
Release Date:
July 5, 2012 (UK), August 30, 2011 (US)

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Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

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

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder 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: move, 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, but now stained red and dripping 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.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.


Anna Dressed in Blood is an exciting and terrifying novel that will leave readers breathless and prepared for more. Looking for a frightful summer read? Then pick up this book. 

Cas isn't a normal teenager. He has a job to hunt and kill the dead who still haunt at the place of their death. When Cas and his mum move to a new town, Cas has his mind set on a very famous ghost: Anna Dressed in Blood. He's only heard rumors and stories. Anna has killed every single person who has entered her home. So when Cas and his school mates visit the house Anna does something no ones expects. She spares his life.

I found this book really interesting and completely gripping. This book is told from a male's POV, which is great because YA fiction needs more of them. It's all one exciting and scary-as-hell roller-coaster. Get ready for blood, guts and a whole load of ghosts.

Cas is strong, determined and brave. I loved reading the scenes between him and Anna when they have the chance to talk to each other. His life is extremely intriguing and sad at the same time. He was not able to have a decent childhood due to the fact that he has the duty to kill ghosts. 

I loved the suspense, the mystery, the action, the romance and the characters. One thing I didn't like so much was the book started pretty slow and I was waiting for something exciting to happen 60 pages in. The book did get more interesting but it felt like the plot was going round in circles a bit. I would have liked to see more talking going on between Anna and Cas but I guess I'll have to wait for the sequel.

Overall, Anna Dressed in Blood is one of the most freakiest books I've ever read! It had me biting my nails and checking behind doors after I'd read it. A definite recommend. I can not wait to read Girl of Nightmares.
Rating

- A big thanks to Orchard books for sending me a review copy!

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for reminding me why I wanted to read this. Need to dig it out.

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  2. great review......i really need to get this book....

    Le' Grande Codex

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  3. This is one of my favorite books ever. I absolutely adored Cas. And Anna, actually. I can't wait for Girl of Nightmares. I have no doubt it will be as exceptional as this one, maybe even more so. Thanks for your review!

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  4. I really want to read this book! I've not read a lot of 'terrifying' stories but this one is a must for me. :) Great review! It is a shame that it was slow in the beginning though. I'm glad to hear that it picks up from there.

    Pam

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  5. Oh, I want to read this book so badly. At first, the cover is attracting me, it'd kinda dark but beautiful at the same time. And the story sounds great too. Reading your review, makes me can't wait to read it by myself.

    Great review.

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  6. Rebecca Hipworth24 July 2012 at 21:48

    This book sounds really good, I can't believe I haven't read it yet. :(

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  7. I super, super heart ghost stories - especially when they're actually scary (or creepy, that works, too). And I also tend to love (well done) male POV books . . . *and* I bought this ages ago and haven't read it, looks like I need to asap.

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  8. I was wondering about this book. I haven't read a good creepy ghost story. The last ghost story I've read was Glimmer, and it wasn't scary. Thanks for sharing your review. Now I have to go check it out.

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  9. Haha, I'm weary of this book because it's supposed to be so freaky! I don't like books that are freaky, but I promised myself that I'd give them another chance, and I think that I'll be doing that with this book since everyone seems to like it so much! Thank you for the review!

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  10. I have herd so much about this book, with its striking, stunning cover that seems to apear everywhere. I love the young-adult genre and find it so diverse and wide ranging, with such an array of different writing. Anna Dressed in Blood not only looks amazing but sounds it too, with a really facinating storyline hence i do not hesitate to add this to my to-read list.

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  11. I've read a lot of good reviews about this book, but by reading your review, I got to know it is written in a male POV - and I like that! <3
    More reasons for me to read this book, especially now that the sequel has come out =]]]

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  12. sound a good book...i think i will read anna :)

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  13. This book sounds really great. Thanks for this great review. :D

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  14. I'm getting rather curious about this book, have heard quite a few good things about it. Thanks for the recommendation, one thing I agree with you is that there are too few male POVs in YA. I am finding the female POVs a bit tedious now, as there's so (bloody!) many of them. I'll definitely check it out when my loooooong to-read list allows it! :P

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  16. I'm so glad you liked this book! Its one of my favorites and its just amazing! I loved your review for this book :)

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