From the Bookshelf of YAholics Anonymous!…

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)

Kendare Blake

Start date: October 2, 2013

Finish date: October 31, 2013

Discussion: Group Read

Why we're reading this: Scavenger Hunt Winners' Pick…more
[close] Scavenger Hunt Winners' Pick

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 9 topics — 90 comments total

Group Read

December's Book of the Month: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
By Riya · 2 posts · 6 views

last updated Dec 06, 2014 07:58PM

December's Book of the Month: Where She Went by Gayle Forman
By Riya · 1 post · 6 views

last updated Dec 06, 2014 06:03PM

showing 10 of 11 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Feb 26, 2012 Annie Brewer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: recommend-to-everyone, fell-in-love-with-the-cover, unbelievable-male-leads, books-on-my-shelf, book-boyfriend, favorite-authors, 5-star-worthy, nook-books, unforgettable, irresistable-hot-guys

Fanfuckingtastic!!!!! Absolutely brilliant! Mind-blowing, edge of your seat intense. I devoured this book. The characters were incredible...especially Anna and Cas. Omg I loved it. MUST. GET. SEQUEL. NOW!!!

SYNOPSIS:

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 ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Renuka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, young-adult, romance, paranormal, thriller, cliff-hangers, reviewed, what-just-happened, my-fictional-boyfriends

Now, I’ve never really read much horror. In my mind, horror really has no place with the world of teen romance, and sparkly vampires, and dragons and faerie princesses. Uh, was I wrong? YES. So, so, so, wrong! This book is probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. The chilling details and descriptions that actually, yes really, kept me up at night just pulled me in. I was reading this during the Superbowl. Yeah. That’s how much I couldn’t put it down.

The Plot: Unbelievable. A gho Now, I’ve never really read much horror. In my mind, horror really has no place with the world of teen romance, and sparkly vampires, and dragons and faerie princesses. Uh, was I wrong? YES. So, so, so, wrong! This book is probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. The chilling details and descriptions that actually, yes really, kept me up at night just pulled me in. I was reading this during the Superbowl. Yeah. That’s how much I couldn’t put it down.

The Plot: Unbelievable. A ghost hunter who falls in love with one of his own intended victims. Plus a “thing” that eats people, running rampant through the town? Best thing ever. The summary on the back page was accurate and yet so much more. It describes the book as a boy meets girl, girl is dead and kills people type of story. Yes. A million times yes. The terror you feel as Cas combats these horrible things is real. Everything you’ve ever heard go bump in the multiplied by ten is this book. It is plain spooky. The plotline twists through bizarre voodoo and the athame (a ceremonial dagger people, look it up) gave me the willies. And yet, overall there was humor in this story. I laughed out loud even at the parts where I was hiding in my fantasy closet with a pretend blanket pulled over my head. You should read it for the plot alone really. But there is so much more to this story.

The Characters: Ahh. Each was written in so much depth. Each was so perfectly flawed (oxymoron, I know). Cas the hero, he was just such a great main character. Following his father’s footsteps doing good in the world. Forever alone, dragging his poor mother with him. Thomas and Carmel, the sidekicks, (well Carmel was slightly annoying but what book doesn’t have irritating people?) Morfran, the cranky grandpa figure who specializes in voodoo. Tybalt (I love the Shakespeare names by the way) the cat who sniffs out bad guys (I want one). And of course, love interest Anna Korlov. Damsel in distress she is not. She is a cursed, ravaged demon who transforms from a sprightly 16 year old into pure terror complete with hair that circles around her head, eyes that turn blacker than night, blood that turns black, and a dress dripping blood down her legs. Fantasy closet here I come. All were very caring, even Anna once you get past all the murders, and each had a very special role to play. Cas couldn’t have asked for a better team.

The Romance: So some might say, what a weird story? Where is the blathering idiot of a girl meeting the same old supernatural arrogant swine? How can a ghost hunter fall in love with the very ghost he’s hunting? Oh don’t forget, she killed 27 people. Puh-leeze. Don’t be ridiculous. This is a very classic case of forbidden love. Nobody can resist such a haunting love story. It’s beautiful and sad, and it’s impossible not to love Cas and Anna. Oh and Thomas and Carmel make a lovely addition of to the side. I was rooting for them too.

The Style: Again, I was experimenting with horror and I have to say I loved it. I guess I am a fan of extreme danger, and dead things, and well…undead things that I really wished stay dead. Not for people who scare easily and who can’t stand gruesome descriptions full of the gory uncensored violence. It was definitely plain grisly at some points. Proceed with caution. I know some people who would be deterred by the entire genre.

But overall, if you have never read horror, this is the book to jump in with. Scary, thrilling, melancholy, poignant, humorous and dark. All great words to describe this read. I am so glad I picked it up and you will be too.
...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2012 Cassie rated it liked it

Shelves: own

I'm not usually a paranormal reader, but Anna Dressed in Blood received rave reviews. People kept saying how creepy and awesome it was, but I have to admit that I was disappointed.

Anna Dressed in Blood is the story of Cas. He makes a living of killing ghosts and sending them back to...wherever they belong. He doesn't really care about what happens to the ghosts, so long as the living are kept safe. It's a job that once belonged to his father, and ever since he died at the hands of a ghot, Cas in I'm not usually a paranormal reader, but Anna Dressed in Blood received rave reviews. People kept saying how creepy and awesome it was, but I have to admit that I was disappointed.

Anna Dressed in Blood is the story of Cas. He makes a living of killing ghosts and sending them back to...wherever they belong. He doesn't really care about what happens to the ghosts, so long as the living are kept safe. It's a job that once belonged to his father, and ever since he died at the hands of a ghot, Cas inherited this strange vocation.

It's a pretty unordinary life: move to a new town, find the ghost, kill the ghost, and move on to the next target. I had slight issues with his mother allowing her son to live this kind of life. Even a mother as strange as Cas's. Nevertheless, it's his job, and he's never had trouble killing ghosts before...

Until he meets Anna.

Anna Korlov died decades ago, but her spirit still lives int he house, killing any and every living soul that steps in. Cas enlists the help of a few friends from school to find information on Anna's past and her recent activities. And when Cas and Anna meet face to face, she proves to be a ruthless killing machine. Somehow, though, she spares Cas. And, in the days the follow, Cas is consumed with thoughts of the ghost girl.

Which leads me to my two biggest issues with Anna Dressed in Blood...

What makes Cas so SPECIAL that Anna spares his life? And how I am supposed to believe that Cas is "in love" with Anna? The romance lacked chemistry and spark, though others might disagree. Luckily, Anna Dressed in blood is not about the romance. It's about the mystery, the suspense, and a ghost with a tormented past. The characters were entertaining and the writing was funny and morbid enough to keep me engaged.

As for the ending, I have mixed feelings and a lot of questions. It was confusing, but at the same time refreshing. Kendare didn't go for a cliched ending, and for that, I thank her. Regardless of my rating, I AM eager to read Girl of Nightmares. Hopefully, it will resolve all my unanswered questions.
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2011 Chloe (Girl In The Woods Reviews) rated it really liked it

Detailed Review: Ok first off, this book was absolutely a fun and exciting read as well as unusual. I always loved ghost stories but this is totally new spin of ghost hunters/creepy killers. This story is told by 'Cas' who is known as Theseus Cassio Lowood. He is boy who avenges his father by taking his legacy of wielding a knife that is able to kill ghosts. Like the blurb says, his Mum is seriously a witch who brews stuff in the middle of the kitchen and a ghost sniffing cat. It starts off wher ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2012 Katie_la_geek rated it really liked it · review of another edition

For this review and more visit my blog

This book sat on my shelf for months before I finally got round to reading it. I had heard so much hype about it and hype I find quite off putting. I always build the book up to highly and generally end up disappointed. In the end Anna Dressed in Blood was not what I was expecting why is probably a good thing.

To be honest this book and I did not exactly get off to a good start. I found the first quarter to be quite boring and it dragged but as soon as Anna m For this review and more visit my blog

This book sat on my shelf for months before I finally got round to reading it. I had heard so much hype about it and hype I find quite off putting. I always build the book up to highly and generally end up disappointed. In the end Anna Dressed in Blood was not what I was expecting why is probably a good thing.

To be honest this book and I did not exactly get off to a good start. I found the first quarter to be quite boring and it dragged but as soon as Anna made an appearance all that changed. This story might be told from Cas’ point of view but the book belonged to Anna. She was by far the most exciting and interesting part of this book. I did like Cas quite a lot, he was brave and sweet. He has an awesome personality and a great sense of humour which I really enjoyed, but Anna stole the show.

Anna is both terrifying and lovable, her story bought tears to my eyes, and it was not hard to see why she was so angry and lost. I loved her protective streak, when things start to go wrong she is fierce and powerful.

Another thing a liked about this book is its refusal to hold back, it is really grim and gruesome. If you have a weak stomach or don’t like blood and guts then this is not the book for you, seriously stay far, far away. I do quite like blood and guts, I like to stray a little into the dark side so this worked for me.

My problem with this book was the romance; I just couldn’t buy into it like a lot of people did. It all seemed a little stubborn and unrealistic. I struggled to believe that Cas could make peace with what Anna had done so quickly and easily, and didn’t understand why he never seemed to question the fact that he was in love with a ghost, it was just accepted. That was not the only thing I questioned, I would have liked more about how Anna got her powers and why she let Cas in the house and no one else.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a good book with great characters and an awesome ending. For the most part it impressed me but didn’t manage to blow me away. Still, I cannot wait to read the next and last book in the series.
...more

Like · see review

Oct 13, 2013 Autumn rated it really liked it

Shelves: y-a, series, addicted-to-ya-botm-2013, yaholics-anonymous-book-of-the-mont, caucasian-mc

Disorganized review time!!!

This might just be me being a brat, but the ending... I had to walk out of my room and put on some senseless dribble to keep myself from freaking out. Kendare Blake - NOT COOL. And this coming from a girl who isn't exactly fond of the perfect happy ending but darn it, I wanted one here. Humph!

Anyway, this is the closest I have ever come to reading a horror book. So much so, I'm not even sure if it falls into that category or just "creepy stuff". That winded up not even Disorganized review time!!!

This might just be me being a brat, but the ending... I had to walk out of my room and put on some senseless dribble to keep myself from freaking out. Kendare Blake - NOT COOL. And this coming from a girl who isn't exactly fond of the perfect happy ending but darn it, I wanted one here. Humph!

Anyway, this is the closest I have ever come to reading a horror book. So much so, I'm not even sure if it falls into that category or just "creepy stuff". That winded up not even being too absurdly creepy once I calmed myself down (I stay away from this stuff for a reason...). Although, I don't think I'll be planning any trips to Baton Rouge just in case. And I rambled again.

I read this as a group read, but had been interested in it before, just unsure as, well, ghosties, with blood and creepiness and all the possibilities and me. So, I kinda just avoided it and admired the cover from afar. Then I picked it up.

I looooovvveee the characters. All of them. Except Will, who just annoyed me, but I think he was supposed to do that. But from a critic stand point, loved him, too. Carmel was fantastic. She starts off as the popular girl, wasn't really sure where Blake was going with that and then she turns into this kick-ass girl I loved. And Thomas... I wanted to put him in a jar and carry him with me everywhere. He's so adorable! In a non-adorable kind of way. The put in a jar kind of adorable and take him out when it's a gloomy day adorable. Not that that makes sense. Basically, if Cas hadn't taken him as a sidekick, I would have. And his uncle, Morfran. Ha. That dude. Anna was grrreeaattt (Do NOT hear this being said by the frosted flakes tiger. it ruins my meaning entirely). And her at the end was awesome. Cas was pretty cool. I mean, somewhat typical, but it worked really well and I got him. Sometimes I want to hit protagonists like that. Not so with him.

There were a few rough writing spots and there were a couple of times where something was repeated necessarily that just irked me. Also. The house goes from two stories to four stories and that distracted me way too long. A minor copy-editing thing, but it's there. And confused me well beyond the normal. Also had me waving my arms in disgruntled manners as The Boy drove me to school.

Yes, this was one of those books. The books where I purposely have other people drive so that i can sit there, feet propped on the dashboard, eyes glued to the pages in front of me. At first, it wasn't that way due to me making myself jump at the slightest sound come nighttime, but then I was suddenly begging to be the passenger and ignoring people and sitting in the car while my mom picked up my groceries so that I could read by the light of the streetlights.

I loved the plot. The duo plot (not sure if that's an actual term) that wound around each other made me really happy. The Obeahman (creepy as hell, mainly because he kinda is a version of hell) and Anna and Cas and all of it wrapped up so nicely (minus the freaking heart-wrenching I am still ignoring the sadness ending).

I hear there's a second one and I am scared of it. But also curious. So we shall see if I venture back to see what else happens... ...more

Like · see review

Aug 18, 2011 Megan (The Book Babe) rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-on-my-site

please read my review at thebookbabesreads.blogspot.com

Like · see review

Jun 05, 2011 Melissa added it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, paranormal-dead-or-undead, haunting-tales, 2011-yachallenge, 2011-paranormalya, 2011

Jul 24, 2011 Diana ❀ ☺ marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-read-series

Aug 25, 2011 Justin marked it as to-read

Sep 14, 2011 Story_girl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal, page-turner, paranormal-romance, ghost-apparition-aliens-zombies, spirited-female-leads, paranormal-ya, read-in-2011

Oct 05, 2011 Lisa Redmond marked it as to-read

Dec 05, 2011 Scarlet rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, series, favorites, witches, my-recommendations, paranormal-romance, ghosts, books-that-need-to-become-movies, awesome-covers, books-i-own