Halloween Read-A-Thon Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna # 1) by Kendare Blake

November 02, 2016

Halloween Read-A-Thon Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna # 1) by Kendare Blake

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. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: 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.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

Cas Lowood.. let's begin with the name. Cas. CAS.

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And he kills ghosts! As a huge fan of Supernatural, I say Bring it on!
I liked Cas a lot. Probably because he seemed so like Dean Winchester. I have only one complaint against Cas. He called Harry Potter a wimpy boy wizard! Well, flash news Cas, Harry Potter is NOT WIMPY! Okay? Okay..Other than that Cas was pretty much a great protagonist. He is a bit sassy and has some pretty great dialogues.

“You do know what we’re dealing with here, don’t you?” I ask. “She’s not just a ghost. She’s a hurricane. Overkill is fine by me.”

Anna Korlov... She makes for a really interesting ghost. I liked that she had a background story. One with a huge surprise and twist at that! I like how there is a reason for her being who she is. She is more than a ghost. She used to be a human with a story; a story that lives beyond her death.

I liked almost all the other characters. My favorites are Thomas and Carmel. Carmel seems like such a non-Queen Bee.

This book does not just have one plot. It has two equally important plots that come together in a spectacular manner! I loved the perfectly timed twists and surprises the authors throws at the readers. And also there is so much humor in this story.. in the unexpected places! That adds so much character to the plot and the characters as a whole. Personally I liked the first half of the novel more than the second half. The romance in the second half was a little unsettling. Don't get me wrong, I like both Anna and Cas but for some reason, a Ghost Hunter falling in love with a ghost doesn't feel real. Besides Anna kills everyone who enters her house but she lets Cas go? Doesn't that sound like insta-love to you?

This is the first time I've read a book by Kendare Blake and I have to say I love the writing style. Blake keeps up the steady flow of words. No boulders in that stream. I liked the imagery she created. I can imagine without difficulty the house, Anna and a lot other things from the book.