-Anna Dressed In Blood
Written by Kendare Blake Book Review by Miranda Moses (Fraser) ISBN:978-0-7653-2867-0 Hello ghouls and ghosties we're back at it with book review number three for the Halloween Book Review Series of 2020! This is an older book published in Oct of 2011. So many of you may have already heard of it. But a consensus that I found amongst friends was that many knew of it but hadn't actually read it. Now, I am a BIG fan of Kendare Blake. She wrote the Three Dark Crowns series that I was so damn obsessed with people were honestly tired of hearing about it, lol. So I admit that I picked this up with a little bit of biased. However there is a clear writing difference between that series and this one. I just want to say that this book is a lot less complicated. Her other series has a LOT of names, history, and just in general background information. It makes for a slow beginning and sometimes a harder reading time if that isn't your speed. With Anna Dressed in Blood we pretty much jump immediately into the story and the action of it all. So for anyone who had that concern, I hope that puts it to rest. I also want to say that while I am putting this under YA it was a personal choice based off where I have seen it in book stores. But the author herself states this series is horror. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone wondering! The story revolves around some super fun named characters. Our main character is Cas but his full name is Theseus Cassio Lowood. Like what a name! I'm now in love with it. Adding to the baby name list, lol. His mother, who is a white witch, and their cat Tybalt. Cas has a knife he calls his Athame (which is a real ceremonial blade if you look into it) and it is bound to his bloodline. See he, his father, and their ancestors before him had a special gift. They are able to kill ghosts using this blade. Personally, being a fan of Kendare Blake I would honestly love more information on this blade, and it's creation. I could easily see her making small novels like she did for the TDC series where we get the history of it. They don't just kill any ghosts though. Harmless ones or ones with just enough energy to show up as orbs in photos are considered fine. But ghosts that died in a violent way tend to be the ones who stick around. They are the ones that relive their deaths.... by doing it to others. They are the ones that have to be put to rest. Ever since Ca's father passed away, from a ghost attack, he has taken up the blade and began the hunt himself. Because of this they are constantly moving from town to town letting Cas handle a ghost and then moving on. Consequently a name is given to Cas of ghost with a SERIOUS reputation. He becomes enthralled with this case and they move the small town of Thunder Bay. He has come here for one thing and one thing only. Anna Dressed in Blood. To get his information though Cas must go to high school like a normal student and ask around for information on this legend. Who else will spill their guts about it more than teens telling urban legends? Because of this he quickly finds himself with two friends, something he never imagined happening. Something he normally NEVER lets happen. Carmel Jones and Thomas Sabin. Like I said, super fun named characters. Thomas is the only one who ACTIVELY believes in Anna. Carmel believes it's just an urban legend. They say that Anna was on her way to a school dance when someone came up behind her and slit her throat from ear to ear. That she bled so much her white party dress was stained red. Hence Anna Dressed In Blood. And since her death she has ripped apart anyone who has stepped inside her home. Now, Cas is very confident in his abilities and how quickly he can dispose of Anna. But after seeing her kill and then being spared by her, he not only becomes less confident that he can kill her... but also more obsessed. He's dying to know more about her. Who she was, why can kill the way she can, what is binding her to this place? Why she spared him? And why he wants to just spend time with her... He knows there's more to Anna than just being a violent monster. He can see that she regrets every kill. That she is sentient and aware of her death but also the actions that she is doing. But it's clear she doesn't care for it. What Cas doesn't know is that time is running out on solving this mystery. A monster more horrifying than Anna is closing in on him in ways he can NEVER imagine. If he proves that he's not strong enough everyone he loves will be killed. Can Cas and his friends defeat this evil? In the end I couldn't put this book down. I read in about 3 days, might have been less if I didn't have a tiny terror to run after, lol. It was seriously so hard to put down. The characters were so likable and the story was so well written that you found yourself immersed in it. There were just enough plot twists to keep you guessing. I had some hunches that something was coming but I did NOT see what actually happening coming.... if that makes sense. There are some gruesome kills and topics described in this story. I mean its a guy who puts down ghosts who died violent deaths... and now kill people violently... yeah there's going to be some violence. But I thought it was all well written and easily gotten through. There was one scene that for whatever reason terrified me lmao and I can't tell you guys because it'll give it away! But let's just say reading this in the dark is not the best idea, *wink* And if you've read it feel free to reach out to me on any of our social network pages and I'll HAPPILY tell you what stupid thing scared me. Read on my fellow book worms. May we one day have Belle's library. And as always links to the author's pages can be found down below.
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