Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake (Anna #2)

Title: Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

Author: Kendare Blake

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Teen

Synopsis/Summary (could be spoilery to people who haven't read the first book): It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Find the Book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

     First of all I want to talk about my concerns going into this book. Anna Dressed In Blood was a really, really good book, but I thought the ending was pretty much a closure. We didn't get a happily-ever-after ending, but everything was kind of resolved, there were no important mysteries left. So I was worry that Girl of Nightmares would just be a forced continuation of Anna Dressed In Blood, either with no connections with the first book or the plot was entirely forced out, but I see that those were wasteful concerns. Because Kendare Blake can always write a good story. Because I love everything about this series.

     The book started about half to almost one year after the events of Anna Dressed In Blood, Cas was still moaning over Anna, refusing to let her go. Then he started seeing Anna everywhere, but not the good kind, he was seeing her being tortured, killed and could do nothing to stop it, because Anna wasn't really there. I was a little hesitant going into the book because of the aforementioned reasons, and for the first 30 pages or so it really did seem like nothing would be going on. There were only vague expressions about "things are going to happen", "I feel that something big is going to happen", something like that. Then Anna appeared, and things really started going on.

     There are several things I like about the plot. For one, I like that the plot actually relates to the previous book, instead of just making up a bunch of events and throwing Anna into it. In this book we dived into the aftermaths of clearing the curse/link/connection of the athame with the Obeahman, while further expanding the paranormal world of the series.

     Secondly, I like that the plot has a really good climax. my heart wasn't actually beating fast while reading that, but I felt the urge to read, to keep going, even though the chapter had already ended, I just went on with the next chapter without pausing.

     Thirdly, love the butter sweet ending. I guess there would never be a happy ending for Cas and Anna, but I am glad about the way it ended.

     I have something to say about the writing too. This book was written from Cas' POV, first person. We got the somewhat scattered thoughts of Cas all the time. Sometimes I am a little annoyed by it, it seemed like he would miss out some detail when things happened, then suddenly sprang it back at your face a few paragraphs later. But I also love his humor, he never fails to crack me up, even if he wasn't trying. The writing doesn't really omit a scary feel to it, but then again, I feel that that was never the atmosphere Blake wanted. I think she was trying to craft a tragic love story with two very stubborn and hard-ass characters, so the feel should be grim, but the slight humor was a wonderful touch too. :)

 

    I think every book I've read that involves magic or paranormal powers is somehow always linked to Voodoo and Wicca and stuff. So there was no surprise there that this book also have Voodoo and some other way of magic in it. There were rituals and other stuff, so I could see that Blake did her research.

    Oh, I can't tell you how much I love all the characters in this series! Cas, Thomas, Carmel and Anna are such charming characters!

    I have developed a very deep case of love towards Thomas in this book. His setting was actually quite the basic side-kick type, faithful to the protagonist, possess some powers that are great asset to protagonist, etc. But I could really see his growth in this book. In book one, he was just the scrawny, annoying friend of Cas, but in this book I could see him being more brave, and of course, I could really see his loyalty to his friend when he stood by him through every crazy attempts to help Anna. He has definitely snatched a place in my heart. I might actually like him even more than Cas. But Cas was funnier ;P

    Some goes for Carmel, she was more fierce this time. A little shaken-up at the first half of the book, but she really came through later on, and was there when Cas needed her. I think she and Thomas make such a cute couple. They basically come from two different worlds, Thomas as the nerd/freak and Carmel as the queen bee, but they compliment each other so well. I love them!

    There is a new character introduced in this book, and that's Jestine. Jestine is another feisty female character created by Blake's awesomeness. I have some reserves about her, despite her actually being genuine and frank with Cas and the others. Maybe it's because there might be something going on between her and Cas? I don't know, I just couldn't really like her like I adore the other characters, but maybe she will grow on me, if we get another installment *hint, hint*.

     I am giving this book 5 stars! The climax was so good that I couldn't take my eyes off the book! Kendare Blake did her magic again on this book and brought us an unforgettable and tragic love story with ghosts and kick-ass female characters! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, okay, maybe not kids under 13, but I am sure everyone 13 and up would enjoy this book! There's no steamy romance scenes, so younger YA readers could enjoy it too and even though this book has a ghost, it's not necessarily scary, a little bloody at times, but it's not the hide-under-your-bed kind of scary, so you should be able to enjoy this book! And need I remind you, it's almost Halloween! A ghost story is just what you need to get in the festive mood! So, go on, go to the nearest bookstore and buy the 2 books, you won't regret it ;)

Rating: 5 stars!

This book actually talks about the afterlife, so what do you think exists in the afterlife? Do you think there really are Heaven and Hell? If there is, how is it determined that you would enter Heaven or Hell? Judgment? Or by a lucky draw? ;) Tell me in the comments below, I <3 reading comments and chatting with you guys!

Review: Anna Dressed In Blood By Kendare Blake (Anna #1)

Title: Anna Dressed In Blood (Anna #1)

Author: Kendare Blake

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Teen

Synopsis/Summary: 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.

Find the Book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

     Anna Dressed In Blood is probably a perfect story to get into the Halloween mood. It had scary ghosts and a hero to save the day.

    The plot is well-planned. With some foreshadowing in the front, which sprang into a full-on climax in later part of the story. I love that kind of layout, that way I don't feel like I am being thrust into events after events just so the author can fill his/her book. The foreshadowing might not help me to prepare what was coming, but the show of planning that counts ;)

    This book is also pretty fast-paced. The story progressed way further than I expected, I actually thought some plots will be dragged to the next book in the series, but it hadn't. I like that, Blake didn't leave me hanging after reading this book, she gave me a sad and tragic closure, and I am very satisfied.

    Also, this is one of the recent books that the plot twists are surprising enough. Okay, technically, only one plot twist in this book managed to knock my socks off and have me shivering from the creepiness of it. But at least I know where the plot twist is! Some other books, if you have read some of my reviews, you will find that I often complain that a book lacked a shocking plot twist, but Anna Dressed In Blood delivered even that to me. How can I not love this book?

    The whole ghost-hunter concept might not be the most original one, but I like it. I like the alterations the Blake did too, like you have to kill the ghost again to banish it forever, it makes much more sense than sucking it into a vacuum :P I also like the setting in Thunder Bay. It sounded like a beautiful town with yellow and orange leaves piling up on the floor by Autumn, which was not at all what we had in Hong Kong, I would love to go there someday (And, I want to know if Anna's house does exist) :)

    Oh, I love the characters of this book, well, all except for a few d-bag that died along the story.

    Cas was so much fun to read. His no-nonsense tone with the occasional jokes are what I liked about the story. He was a good guy, a little too isolated maybe, but I am glad he changed throughout the story. He is also pretty protective of his loved ones, but I guess that's what happens when you lose your dad, you don't really want to lose anyone again, and I like him for it.

   Ah, Anna, I love her so much! So is strong yet fragile, and she can kick Cas' butt if she want ;) Anna had a tragic past, it was horrible what happened to her and I really felt for her. I do think she talked a bit too modern for her time of death. She didn't exactly say any slang or show any signs of knowing any pop culture references, but it's something about her tone that made me feel like she;s modern. Maybe she start up conversations before twisting people's head off :P Anyway, except for this minor complain, I love Anna!

    I would give this book 4.5 stars (round up to 5 stars). It's a very intriguing ghost story and is perfect for anyone looking for a ghost story. It's not very scary, there are some gruesome deaths, but other than that, it's actually more of a paranormal book than a horror book. I would recommend this to all YA readers or fans of paranormal stories, it's a light read with a very lovable ghost and ghost hunter, with the tragic ending, it will be sure to keep you interested for the less-than-enough 316 pages (I mean that I would want more Cas and Anna, not that the story didn't end well;) ).

I've been gushing about Anna Dressed In Blood for a few weeks now and the review's finally out! So, now's the perfect chance to tell me your opinion on the book. I know some of you don't think it was a good fit for you, and I wanna know why. So, tell me, what do you think about the book? Love it? Or hate it? What other good ghost story books are out there that you think I must read? Recommend some! Look forward to seeing you on the comments! ;)