Anna Dressed in Bloodby Kendare Blake
Genre: Young Adult | Supernatural Thriller
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.
But she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
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.
But she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story . . .
"This city smells like smoke and things that rot in the summer. It's more haunted than I though it would be, an entire layer of activity just under the dirt: whispers behind peoples' laughter or movement that you shouldn't see in the corner of your eye. Most of the them are harmless -- sad little cold spots or groans in the dark. Blurry patches of white that only show up in a Polaroid. I have no business with them.
But somewhere out there s one that matters. Somewhere out there is one that I came for, one who is strong enough to squeeze the breath out of living throats.
I think of her again. Anna. Anna Dressed in Blood. I wonder what tricks she'll try. I wonder if she'll be clever. Will she float? Will she laugh or scream?
How will she try to kill me?"
[ Back-cover ]
Theseus Cassio: "I work in the dark, killing what should have stayed dead. If people knew what I was up to, they'd probably try to stop me. The idiots would take Casper's side, and then I have to kill Casper and them after Casper bit their throats out. I'm no superhero. If anything I'm Rorschach from Watchmen. I'm Grendel. I'm the survivor in Silent Hill." (pg. 22)
Cas hunts ghosts. Its a job that's been passed down in his family and on this new move to Canada, he is hunting one ghost in particular - Anna. This was an interesting read and though I highly enjoyed it during certain times (the spooky parts; especially the first time visiting Anna's house), there were other times that just were so-so for me and somewhat boring. I didn't really connect with some of the characters (example - Cas was quite cocky and not always in a good way) and, thus, it was hard for my to truly loss myself in the story since I wasn't a fan of the protagonist. Yet, the gore and scary factor of the story was fun and I would have loved more of it. So, if you're not afraid to read something dark that is all about what-goes-bump-in-the-night, check this out ---- you may be more of a fan than I.
Likes: This was surprisingly bloody and grim, something I was not at all expecting from a Young Adult story.
Dislikes: There was something about the story that was ultimately unappealing and drab for me, thus I don't think I'll be checking out book # 2 in this new series.
But somewhere out there s one that matters. Somewhere out there is one that I came for, one who is strong enough to squeeze the breath out of living throats.
I think of her again. Anna. Anna Dressed in Blood. I wonder what tricks she'll try. I wonder if she'll be clever. Will she float? Will she laugh or scream?
How will she try to kill me?"
[ Back-cover ]
Theseus Cassio: "I work in the dark, killing what should have stayed dead. If people knew what I was up to, they'd probably try to stop me. The idiots would take Casper's side, and then I have to kill Casper and them after Casper bit their throats out. I'm no superhero. If anything I'm Rorschach from Watchmen. I'm Grendel. I'm the survivor in Silent Hill." (pg. 22)
Cas hunts ghosts. Its a job that's been passed down in his family and on this new move to Canada, he is hunting one ghost in particular - Anna. This was an interesting read and though I highly enjoyed it during certain times (the spooky parts; especially the first time visiting Anna's house), there were other times that just were so-so for me and somewhat boring. I didn't really connect with some of the characters (example - Cas was quite cocky and not always in a good way) and, thus, it was hard for my to truly loss myself in the story since I wasn't a fan of the protagonist. Yet, the gore and scary factor of the story was fun and I would have loved more of it. So, if you're not afraid to read something dark that is all about what-goes-bump-in-the-night, check this out ---- you may be more of a fan than I.
Likes: This was surprisingly bloody and grim, something I was not at all expecting from a Young Adult story.
Dislikes: There was something about the story that was ultimately unappealing and drab for me, thus I don't think I'll be checking out book # 2 in this new series.
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