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Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

by Kendare Blake (Goodreads Author), August Ross (Narrator)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 5,612 ratings · 1,290 reviews

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, pining for her. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare with the dead girl he f...more

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Published October 30th 2012 by AudioGO (first published August 7th 2012)

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Aug 27, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, pn-ghosts, 2012-publication, august, male-pov, hilarious, 2012-favorites, read-2012, deliciously-creepy, asian, horror

"It's probably going to be blood," Thomas says in a regretful tone that doesn't match the devious excitement in his eyes. "It's almost always about blood."

If your dead, ghostly girlfriend sacrificed herself for you, you'd hope she'd at least finally be at peace, right? But it turns out poor Anna is still a lost, unmoored soul, and Cas Lowood is still haunted by her face everywhere he goes. In this sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, which was one of my favorite books from 2011, Cas must find out w...more

240 likes · like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Anna and those who were unsure if the first book

Shelves: horror, 2012-release, young-adult, ghosts, tor, print-arc, 2-am-or-later, 2012-reads, 2012-favs, action-packed, awesome, best-characters, deserves-every-one-of-those-stars, i-didn-t-see-that-coming, i-loved-it, i-really-enjoyed-it, mind-blowing-good, male-pov, might-scare-me-shitless, oh-yeah-baby, omg-that-ending, original-and-creative, pure-win, so-glad-i-read-this, surprised-me, yeah-baby-5-stars

Dear Kendare,

In the words of my awesome co-blogger, Kat:

You saucy, saucy minx.

You knew exactly what you were doing here, didn't you? I'd bitched, moaned, and complained about Anna Dressed in Blood. I gave it 2.5 stars. I asked for more. You read my mind.

And you fucking gave it to me.

If anyone were to ask me why I continue on with series that didn't exactly impress me with book one, I'd have to direct them to Girl of Nightmares.

You get no complaints from me this time, Blake. This was brilliant....more

114 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2012 Giselle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, ebook, favorites

This is one example of a book I would read for the cover alone. Heck, slap this cover on a 9000 page Spanish history book, and I will read it ALL! Even though I don't know Spanish >.< Luckily, what's inside this cover is just as incredible as the outside and will leave you equally spellbound!

It was clear from the beginning that Anna was not going to be as big a character as in the first novel. I was a bit disappointed at first because Anna is fabulous and crazy, but I can assure you that h...more This is one example of a book I would read for the cover alone. Heck, slap this cover on a 9000 page Spanish history book, and I will read it ALL! Even though I don't know Spanish >.< Luckily, what's inside this cover is just as incredible as the outside and will leave you equally spellbound!

It was clear from the beginning that Anna was not going to be as big a character as in the first novel. I was a bit disappointed at first because Anna is fabulous and crazy, but I can assure you that her absence is filled so formidably that you will not be left with any longing for her. She's not completely absent either, she has her way of making herself present in the story. Cas, though, he's still there in his full glory. He's got a fabulous sense of humor and incredible charm that fill the pages yet again. His loyalty to his friends, the determination behind his wants; it's admirable and makes him a positively strong, enchanting character. He's definitely kept his place as my favorite YA male protagonist.

Along with Cas, comes the laughs. (This was a totally unintentional rhyme, I swear!) It's really one of my favorite aspects of this series: How Blake can easily blend in laugh-out-loud funny dialogue inside such a creepy, dark story is a great feat! It makes it not only scary, but just plain fun and entertaining, too.

“Every time I question him about the feasibility, he smiles at me like he's Yoda and I'm just a dumbass without the Force.”
-Quoted from the uncorrected proof.

Aiding him in his mischief, Carmel and Thomas are worthy of mention as two fantastic supporting characters that have just as much soul in this series as Cas himself. The group dynamic makes them a powerful trio and I was pleasantly surprised by the direction Blake takes them in this sequel.

In Anna Dressed in Blood, the plot was creepy and horrific. In Girl of Nightmares, it is turned up a notch. Although it may be a tad less creepy, I felt much more afraid in this one; it has a more serious, all encompassing tone. The vibe is more sinister and the scary parts are downright terrifying. Let's just say, things get pretty out-of-hand serious. I loved it. I've been a fan of horror my whole life and while I truly enjoyed the first book, I completely fell in love with its sequel!

As for the ending: Perfection! True, immeasurable perfection!

An absolutely thrilling sequel that will render you speechless in awe, Girl of Nightmares is filled with compelling characters and spine-chilling events. Fans of Anna Dressed in Blood will not be disappointed!

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Jul 12, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thank-you-bea-or-ala, why-yes-i-ya

the problem is me.

i loved anna dressed in blood. loved it. i thought it was clever and spooky and funny with interesting characters and great action sequences.i thought it was beautiful and sad and striking.

i waited for this sequel with crazed anticipation. and then i saw it at ALA and i thought it was too good to be true and there were only two copies, and it was one of those gray area situations where i wasn't sure if it was for the taking or not, so i froze and i hemmed and hawed and finally...more

62 likes · like · see review

Aug 13, 2012 Mitch rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, at least I got closure. I feel like a shoulder devil waving my little pitchfork around saying all sorts of bad things again, sigh, but Girl of Nightmares is almost a complete letdown. I'm not the biggest fan of Anna Dressed in Blood, but Anna still managed to be dark and very disturbing when it needed to, this sequel doesn't even come close. Rather than stepping up her game, filling up this sequel with scenes even more visually haunting and memorably terrifying, Kendare Blake doubles down...more

22 likes · like · see review

Sep 07, 2012 Cas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts-spirits, horror, young-adults, the-beloved

Whoa, Final Cover? *drools* Love it!

Me:

supernatural dean gifs Pictures, Images and Photos

Anna, Cas & gang can't wait to see you guys again!
August. Come. Here. Now

Post-Reading
First of all, I didn't know this was actually the last book in the series. *cries*
Secondly, this book was a great way to end the series. I had to get used to the different tone and mood in this one. While Anna Dressed In Blood was mostly horror and bloodshed, Girl of Nightmares was mostly mystery and understanding the anthame's history. I still enjoyed the book, but...more

26 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2.5 stars - I absolutely LOVED the first book because I thought Blake did an incredible job writing a morbidly twisted yet hauntingly beautiful masterpiece. But before I read this one, a friend had asked me, "How much would you like Anna without the scary scenes? Just Cas doing stuff with Thomas and Carmel?" Apparently, not so much because this book just didn't do it for me, and except for the totally awesome end in the last four chapters, I spent a lot of time either being pissed off or bored....more

20 likes · like · see review

May 03, 2013 Zara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

My Reaction
Beginning:

Later

A Little While Later

100 pages to go

End

after reading this:

and this( OVER AND OVER AGAIN)

15 likes · like · see review

Aug 14, 2012 fяσzєη rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: covergasm, pretty-dress-on-the-cover, owned-ebooks, 2012-faves, amazing-authors, believable-romance, books-i-want-to-marry, badass-heroines, creatively-original, deserves-the-hype, faves, ghosts, heroes-i-adore, heroines-i-adore, made-me-smile, my-emotions-i-cannot, all-time-faves

This review is also available over at my blog.

_________________________

God, that cover is so fucking badass. I love how Anna's like "Come with me . . . " I would, in a heartbeat. I would also bring my copy of the first book and make her sign it.

I adored Anna Dressed in Blood. I loved everything about that book and ever since I finished it I've been waiting and waiting to get this sequel, and the wait was excruciating. But oh God, did it feel good to finally be able to buy it. I was expecting an...more

19 likes · like · see review

Aug 31, 2012 Gabby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OH MY GOD!!! the cover is soooooooo awesome *FAINTS*

oh Anna! why do you have to be so effing deadly and beautiful at the same time. :3

17 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2012 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: highly-anticipating-2012, cover-lust, failed-to-impress, all-the-right-choices, i-see-dead-people, magic, male-pov, ya, reviewed-in-2012

Closer to 3.5 stars.
To say that I'd been eagerly anticipating Girl of Nightmares would be an understatement of epic proportions. Anna Dressed in Blood is one of my favorite books and I simply HAD to learn Anna's fate as soon as possible. I had unreasonably high expectations, true, but for the most part, Kendare Blake came through.
In the sixth row of the theater, in the third chair in, Anna winks at me. Or maybe she just blinks. I can't tell. She's missing half of her face

A lot of my questions...more

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Jul 04, 2012 ♥Rachel♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, arc, signed-by-author

In Girl of Nightmares we pick up several months after Anna sacrificed herself to save Cas, Thomas and Carmel, by taking the Obeahman to Hell. Since then, Cas has been going through the motions of life and school. He follows up on ghost tips with Carmel and Thomas tagging along. The three of them now form a sort of ghost-busting team. However, Cas can't get Anna out of his head. Everyone has done research and they've consulted the spiritual community but they can't nail down what happened to Anna...more
In Girl of Nightmares we pick up several months after Anna sacrificed herself to save Cas, Thomas and Carmel, by taking the Obeahman to Hell. Since then, Cas has been going through the motions of life and school. He follows up on ghost tips with Carmel and Thomas tagging along. The three of them now form a sort of ghost-busting team. However, Cas can't get Anna out of his head. Everyone has done research and they've consulted the spiritual community but they can't nail down what happened to Anna. Suddenly, Cas starts hearing and seeing Anna all over the place: in the face of another student, through the laugh of another ghost, or just in the middle of his bedroom. If this is really Anna, it's not good because she doesn't appear to have gone to a peaceful place at all. Everyone says it's impossible, that she can't come back, so Cas doesn't know if it's his mind playing tricks on him. Cas sets out to find out if Anna really needs help, it's the least he can do for her now.

Overall I enjoyed the conclusion to this story but, in my opinion, it didn't live up to Anna Dressed In Blood. That being said, I still liked it. The creepy and spooky factor that was in Anna, was in this one too. Some of the ghost hunting scenes are spine tingling scary. While we still get our snarky wise-cracking Cas, I feel his personality was a little dampened by his depression over Anna, which I guess is understandable considering his situation. I loved the bits of Thomas and Carmel. These two opposites have a sweet romance that I found to be a highlight in this story. I also liked the new character Jestine, she was tough and bad-ass. The type of girl I love to read about. I think I would've enjoyed this even more if she was more of a prominent character earlier on. We're not even introduced to her until half-way through the story, which is a shame because I saw great potential with her and Cas.

One of the reasons I usually shy away from ghost/human romance stories is because, really, how can it end well? So while I felt the ending was fitting, it left me with bittersweet feelings.

You can read this review and more on
The Readers Den.
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18 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2013 Julianna Helms marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: bam-covers, own-arc, ala-12

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I GOT THIS AT ALA AND MET KENDARE AND SHE DOODLED IN MINE AND AND GEORGE R. R. MARTIN WAS NEXT TO HER SO I MET HIM TOO.

It was pretty much mind-blowingly AWESOME.

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 15, 2012 Layla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, genre-paranormal-fantasy-urban-sf, genre-young-adult, part-of-a-series, rating-3-stars, reviewed

My rating: 3.5/5 stars
First line: “I think I killed a girl who looked like this once.”
Favourite quote:“She crossed over death to call me. I crossed through Hell to find her.”
Song of choice: DNA(Blood Pressure) by The Kills

Let me introduce you to my perfect vision of Anna Korlov.

(c) AF on DeviantArt
*sigh* So pretty *gazes fondly*

Girl of Nightmares picks up six months after the ending of Anna Dressed in Blood. Cas can’t get over Anna’s crossing away and he’s still haunted by her sacrifice, so he...more

10 likes · like · see review

Oct 12, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Anna Dressed in Blood is one of my favorite reads. From cover to cover, I loved it all! Soooo needless to say, I could not wait to get my hands on Girl of Nightmares for more chills, chuckles, and horror filled adventures with Cas and the gang!

Our story picks up a few months after Anna. Cas, Thomas, and Carmel are fighting the good fight, hitting the high school halls, and trying to move on. The humor, chemistry, and eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere are captured once again with style and fun on...more
Anna Dressed in Blood is one of my favorite reads. From cover to cover, I loved it all! Soooo needless to say, I could not wait to get my hands on Girl of Nightmares for more chills, chuckles, and horror filled adventures with Cas and the gang!

Our story picks up a few months after Anna. Cas, Thomas, and Carmel are fighting the good fight, hitting the high school halls, and trying to move on. The humor, chemistry, and eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere are captured once again with style and fun on the page. But….yes, I’m getting my but out of the way right off the bat. Hehe…Cas felt a bit shallow to me in this outing. Playing the same notes over and over again. Don’t get me wrong though—I love his notes! :) Cas’s strength, sense of responsibility, and loyalty live and breathe in every move he makes. But as the pain, loss, and guilt of losing Anna eat at Cas--even though everyone wants him to move on, his focus remains on Anna and only Anna. Perhaps that is why he seemed, one dimensional to me. Haunted by dreams and sightings of Anna at night and in the light of day, Cas sets out with love and determination to find a way to rescue Anna from Hell. How can Cas move on when he can still see, hear, and feel his Anna? How can he let go? *sigh*

My favorite Kendare Blake skill is her ability to paint and capture spellbinding scenes and action. I mean a spine-tingling-someone-just-walked-over-my-grave type of feeling filled with suspense, power, and beauty that pulls me in with such force. From the smells and sounds to the air all around, certain scenes took my breath away with bloody beautiful horror! Whispering grass, crunch of gravel, eerie silence, echoes, blood, pain, rot, and more all add up to shivers, tingles, and willies galore! I swoon all over the place when I think back on the Iron Works scene or the Suicide Forest. YES! I said Suicide Forest! Haha….After the first book, I walked away with the biggest crush on Kendare Blake, well now I have to confess---I flat out love the woman! :D

And the humor! The right mix of humor and horror can be like peanut butter and chocolate for me. Addictive & tasty! Smiles and laughs tucked into the blood and scares made my heart oh-so very happy and this book a true treat to experience. Thomas brought out my smile and giggles the most though. His geeky ways paired with unwavering love and loyalty to Cas warmed my heart and stole the show. Hells-bells the little geek had me awww-ing all over the place! Plus he delivered the BEST lines…

Thomas’s response to--How are you?
”Groggy, and weak as a wet noodle. Plus, I think I may have forgotten a letter from the alphabet.” *giggles* Oh, Thomas!

Okay, okay…sorry I will end this gush-fest.

I do hope we get to see more of Cas and the gang. With the introduction of new blood, the possibilities for fun are endless! I might not have seen a new layer or side of Cas here, but I know there is SO much more to be seen. Family history, links to explore, and adventures to be had—like college! Can you imagine the havoc this bunch could cause on a college campus?

Btw…I didn’t even mention that cover yet. *whistles* Hello gorgeous! If you look at the cover in a certain light, Anna almost glows and jumps off the book.

Highly recommended read for any and all horror fans!

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Mar 24, 2012 Chandra Rooney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received an ARC of this from Rob at MacMillian.

Girl of Nightmares effing rocks. It's smart and funny and creepy. It's everything I loved about Anna Dressed in Blood without being just a repeat performance.

There was a moment when I was like "oh, c'mon, Cas" with regards to him just not getting something... but it has been established previously that it's a connection he has a hard time making. I was frustrated with the character but not with the book. That's an important distinction.

Girl of Nig...more

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 20, 2012 Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts, witches, most-anticipated, 5-stars, awesome, major-but-kicking, cute, loved

Loved it just as much as the first. I'm glad Anna's finally got the peace she deserves and finally feels at home- is somewhere she belongs.
And her and Cas will be together some day anyway. He can't live forever.

I mean she won't have a body for christ-sake what kinda life could they have had. No-one else can see her- well no-one normal anyhow.

I like Jestine, she's pretty and is a smart ass like Cas. Plus she'll be the wielder of a second Athame. It makes sense they be together. Yes I like Anna...more

8 likes · like · see review

Sep 09, 2012 Mindee Arnett added it · review of another edition

This book. Holy cow guys is it good. Seriously, probably the best sequel I have ever read. I loved ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD but I love this one even more. There were times when I was genuinely frightened, and trust me, this rarely happens. I cried at the end. It left me reeling and yet completely satisfied. I am completely in love with these characters and I could read a hundred stories about their adventures. Cas, Thomas, and Carmel are so vividly written they're real people to me. I wish we could...more

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Aditi (READioactive Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone!

Shelves: my-little-library, read-in-2012, best-of-2012, mock-printz-2013

Reviews & all that jazz : That READioactive Book Blog
description

Awesomeness Level of book -
description

Kirkus Reviews writes - Stephen King ought to start looking over his shoulder.
They write the truth.

Check out a chapter excerpt right here - Girl of Nightmares Chapter Excerpt

I simply Love Blake's female characters. They are more realistic than real life. Take Anna for instance, now if you forget that she has been dead for decades, her actions, intents and motivations are so natural. Isn't it true, when you are...more

6 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2012 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

See my original review on my blog: Cullens to Classics

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood #2) from Kendare Blake through a giveaway on her blog. A special thanks to Kendare for the opportunity to review her book!

Girl of Nightmares definitely breaks the 'book two curse' and, in my opinion, actually surpasses the first book in the series,Anna Dressed in Blood. Book one was amazing, but book two give us so much more depth (both in character development and...more See my original review on my blog: Cullens to Classics

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood #2) from Kendare Blake through a giveaway on her blog. A special thanks to Kendare for the opportunity to review her book!

Girl of Nightmares definitely breaks the 'book two curse' and, in my opinion, actually surpasses the first book in the series,Anna Dressed in Blood. Book one was amazing, but book two give us so much more depth (both in character development and sheer booky goodness!), more fright, more twists-and-turns, and more to love. Here are some things I learned while reading Girl of Nightmares:

1. The publisher is a genius with these covers!!! Though Kendare has said that this beautiful red cover will most likely only be on the ARCs and change for the release date, I'm sure it will be just as beautiful! Stunning artwork for both Anna and Girl of Nightmares!

2. If the Anna Dressed in Blood books are ever made into movies, I think I will be too chicken to see Kendare's chilling fantasy world come to life in anything but my imagination (especially in Girl of Nightmares! One word: FOREST!)

3. Girl of Nightmares feels a little more serious and desperate (for the characters), but Cas' trademark snark is still present and accounted for! :) The seriousness comes from being shown a broader picture of the world Cas lives in. It isn't all athames, witty comments, and beautiful, murderous ghosts.

4. I love Anna even more after reading this book. And Cas, oh Cas, he just keeps getting better and better! He is broken but strong, endearing but derisive, scared but determined. I fell in love with him all over again.

5. I'm serious about the scary part! I would have hidden behind a pillow, but Target was fresh out of the kind of cushions that hide me from the things that go bump in the book and still let me keep reading. Luckily, Cas' banter keeps it just light enough that you can't put it down, no matter how creeped out you are.

6. Carmel and Thomas continue to be two of my favorite "support" characters of all time(I quote support because while they are not the main characters, they play much more of a role than just support in both of these novels). I continue to love how Kendare takes our stereotypes and flips them on their heads (even when said heads aren't attached)!

7. I don't know if I can contain my love of this novel for four months before it comes out. I want to discuss it; I want to champion it; I WANT YOU TO READ IT!!!(less)

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May 04, 2012 Krys rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts-hauntings, young-adult, urban-dark-fantasy-paranormal, monster-hunting, first-person-narrative, english-setting, irish-scottish-setting, horror-thriller, read-in-2012, series-i-love, series, own

Anna Dressed in Blood was one of my favourite titles last year. Immediately after reading it I offered my Macmillan connection the limb of her choice for the follow up book, Girl of Nightmares. I was so excited to get this book last week, so much so it shot to the top of the queue (above daunting others). It was a two day read. There won't be a book 3, but I feel that there could be. And I want one. Boo.

Girl of Nightmares picks up shortly where Anna ends. Cas is trying to get over the loss of A...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Becky rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, disappointing, fantasy, horror, nook, multi-dimensional, mystery-and-thrillers, romance, young-adult, reviewed, challenge-1010

Ugh. This will be a rant... Just warning you ahead of time.

Seriously, I'm pretty annoyed right now. I just finished Girl of Nightmares, and I'm really wondering why Kendare Blake went the New Moon direction with the story rather than the rather more interesting and meaningful and purposeful "Let's save my Dad" direction. Because she could have, easily, and it would have been a better story for it.

I mean, this duology had the potential to be amazing. Book one was almost there, but the stupid rom...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Max Cio rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: must-haves, books-that-ll-be-the-death-of-me-if

It was just . . . meh for me. Full review to come once I finish the exams.

Pre-Review
Oh my gosh.

The cover . . .

THE EQUATION

Anna + Cas + epic cover + my instability as is + anticipation =

The bad? I have to wait for five months.

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Miss rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: beautiful-cover, demon, disappointed, ghosts, horror, magic, paranormal-romance, young-adult

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 Archer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, thriller, not-bad, horror, fiction, urban-fantasy, easy-read

3.5 STARS!
Hey hey, and welcome to…

The Mighty Kingdom of Spoilers… YOU ARE THUSLY WARNED!

Now you may remember that I read Anna Dressed in Blood in the not too distant past. And now I am here to spin you a yarn of lost love (of the deceased), horror-ish, and mystic druidic orders.

I am of course talking about Anna’s return in Girl of Nightmares. So lets take a look at this. In the last book Anna sacrificed herself to destroy the Obeahman and save the day… And now it’s 4 months later, Ca...more 3.5 STARS!
Hey hey, and welcome to…

The Mighty Kingdom of Spoilers… YOU ARE THUSLY WARNED!

Now you may remember that I read Anna Dressed in Blood in the not too distant past. And now I am here to spin you a yarn of lost love (of the deceased), horror-ish, and mystic druidic orders.

I am of course talking about Anna’s return in Girl of Nightmares. So lets take a look at this. In the last book Anna sacrificed herself to destroy the Obeahman and save the day… And now it’s 4 months later, Cas is up, walking around and still whining and not a lot else seems to have actually happened.

This leads me to my first problem with this book. The severe case of second book syndrome. This reads less like a sequel and more like a lot of padding before the ultimately obvious ending. But I actually enjoyed it. It was a very easy read, that burned away all too quickly. I just tire of all the self absorbed ‘woe is me, life without Anna is unbearable’ bollocks.

As this book starts, Cas seems to be stagnating to me. He is very much stuck in a rut. He’s still in Thunder Bay, he’s still going to school, and he’s still spending his free time hunting the dead. Except now he’s that focused on the events of four months ago, and that is putting others at risk. Which, y’know, is not cool. So this sets up the book, a travelling tale of 3 young adults and a knife.

The writing remains at the very close to adult end of YA, lots of cussing, lots of violence, lots of creep and some hell dimensions. But interspersed with all of this is a lot of sarcasm and dark humour that preserves the eerie atmospheric tone of the novel. Despite the lots of little things that irked me about the book though, there were a lot of ideas that I quite liked. The nod to the old joke that every pub in Scotland is haunted, having been there a few times all the pubs I went to were reputed to be. The suicide forest, this is actually a very British Urban Myth and I heard a lot of variations on it growing up.

But all of the padding that led to the conclusion, in my mind was unnecessary. It just felt like a bit of a cash in. Don’t get me wrong, I want to read more of Cas’s stories, even if he is whiny and self absorbed and obsessed with a dead girl, BUT he is likeable enough, in the way that the Winchesters of Supernatural are likable to be honest.

But the fact remains that I wanted this to be more. I wanted it to be the next level in YA horror. I wanted it to push some boundaries and to be… I don’t know just more, better, stronger… and it wasn’t. But it was still an enjoyable read despite all of my grizzling and grumbling about it. I’d still read both books again and I would recommend them… Not for everyone but I would definitely give it a nod as probably the best YA Horror mini-series that I have read.

Happy reading.

Archer(less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Tanja (Tanychy) St. Delphi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, we-girls-like-to-read-together

Review posted at Ja čitam, a ti?

You've all already heard about Anna Dressed in the Blood (I really don't know how could someone miss it). The book was published last year and I had that chance to read it. I surprised even myself how much I loved it! Reading the blurb and whole that story seemed like the book was well...crazy. But as soon as you start you start to love it! Later I found out that there will be the sequel. I had mixed feeling about it, cause it's always tricky.

I should tell you fi

...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Scott Pilgrim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts, male-pov, paranormal, must-read-2012

Find this review & more at Scott Reads It
Pre-read: The cover is sick! I need this book now!
After Reading: That was alot better than Anna Dressed in Blood! I had a bit of doubt after reading Anna Dressed in Blood to read the sequel but I'm glad I did. Thank you Stephanie for recommending this book even if you didn't love Anna Dressed in Blood. Girl of Nightmares really improved on the faults of ADiB which a sequel should do but doesn't always do.
Girl of Nightmares is a book that once you sta...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Annabelle Marie Veronica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anna, ghosts, paranormal, gorgeous-cover, horror, best-books-in-the-world, blew-my-breath-away-amazing, cried-my-freaking-eyes-out, books-that-made-me-cry, i-love-a-guy-in-this-book, i-own, romance, favorites

*****FINAL RATING: 5.00 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Anna Dressed in Blood was the first book I ever gave a 5.00 rating too, and it seems fitting and perfect that Girl of Nightmares also receives that same rating. Like Anna, it completely and utterly blew me away. I laughed. I cried. I did every single stupid positive cliché that you can possible think of. And I loved every single freaking moment of it. Girl of Nightmares was seriously one of the most amazing books I've ever read and could not deserve its...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Wendy F rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, ghost, scary-thriller-creepy, young-adult, paranormal

Darn work for being so busy!

When I finished this book today at work I had so much to say about it. Now, I can't think of much to say at all.

(SLIGHT SPOILERS)

I know quite a few people who said that the beginning of this book was slower because it didn't contain much Anna, and this is true. Oddly enough, I really liked that though. I think the little snippets of Anna that we got were pretty darn creepy. It made sense that it was slowly driving Cas crazy, I mean those were some pretty horrible vis...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Zemira Warner rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts, gothic, horror, paranormal, won, i-own, yawn, youve-got-to-be-kidding-me, umm-no, just-kill-me-now, get-to-the-point-already

Thank you Anjana and Kendare for this awesome giveaway.

Won over at Kindle And Me.

What the hell was that ending? I had to read 170-180 bloody boring pages until there was an improvement with the story only to be stopped again because, surprise, surprise, nothing happened for the next hundred pages. It was all about waiting, sleeping, eating, washing dishes, that sort of things. Basically, the final confrontation with that dreadlock-wearing demon happened in the last 20 pages. And the ending was...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
We're you content with this book being the last in the series? SPOILERS	44	215	May 12, 2013 02:10pm
Which is better?	11	57	Apr 30, 2013 04:12am
Cast the movie	7	43	Apr 22, 2013 03:44am
didn't end the way you wanted it to	21	101	Feb 14, 2013 07:32am
Crazy for Young A...: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake → Start Date: January 2nd, 2013	49	44	Jan 04, 2013 06:30pm
What do you want to happen?	9	48	Nov 23, 2012 11:35am

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About Kendare Blake

I tire of writing these things in the third person. So. I write fiction, apparently mostly YA. I didn't know this, but like Stephen King says, writers are the last ones to know what it is they've written. My first novel,Sleepwalk Society is a college story. I guess it falls into that no man's land they call, "New Adult". Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are teen horror. My short fictio...more

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Quotes from Girl of Nightmares

“Every time I question him about the feasibility, he smiles at me like he's Yoda and I'm just a dumbass without the Force.” — 101 people liked it

“Jesus. I have become the thing they call the third wheel.” — 73 people liked it

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Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

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