Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

ARC received by Tor Teen via ALA

Release Date:  On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say: A gritty tale of ghosts and gore

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.

“This place is the thing behind madness.  There is nothing good here.  Off the map.  If you eat frustration it chokes you.  This place exists in the wake of a scream.”  ARC, pg. 286

Grotesque and gorgeous, Kendare’s writing will drag you, kicking and screaming, into a world of ghouls and goblins; a world where evil lurks inside the shadows and death is only the beginning.  She will plunge you head first into her hell, and if you make your way out, there will be blood on your hands.  Kendare knows horror, and she doesn’t hold back—so prepare yourself for the ride of your life.

If you’ve read my review of Anna, then you know that I don’t do horror stories.  Nope.  Never.  You can paint a sign that says “Big wuss,” and point it at me, and I won’t take offense.  Because it’s the truth!  But, I took a chance on Anna, and I am so glad I did.  I loved her story, from the first meeting in the Victorian house all the way to hell.  Anna, in all her splendid gore, swept me away.  So, naturally, I went straight for the sequel, and I’m so glad I did!

While I didn’t like it as much as the first book (and I’ll explain why later), I still found myself loving this world.  I love how the world of the living and the world of the dead coexist side by side, like spoons in a drawer.  You can’t touch one without disturbing the other.  Cas understands this, but he is still willing to go to hell and back to save Anna.  And that is why I love him so much!

In GoN, you can see bits and pieces of Cas start to flake away as he falls deeper into despair over Anna.  He keeps seeing horrible visions of her, and all he wants to do is save her, like she saved him.  But, in order to do that, he must put the lives of himself and his friends in the crosshairs.  Cas is such a great hero, and I loved going on this quest with him.

And of course, you couldn’t have a great story without the Scooby gang—Thomas and Carmel.  We see Thomas break out of his mold in this book, coming to grips with his power, and learning to harness it for good.  Yet, he was still the same bashful, quirky guy that is such great comic relief.  I will admit, I got frustrated at times with Carmel in this book because I felt she was being selfish.  Now I completely understand her decisions, but I felt like she flaked when she should have been stronger.

Kendare’s writing was brilliant.  There were no loose ends, and no times when I felt like something was off.  Once I entered her world, I was caught up in it, and I could not put the book down.  I just had to know how it all ended!  I love Kendare’s writing style—I’ll call it grotesque poetry.  She knows exactly when the story needs a splash of blood and exactly when it needs a sympathetic word.  Have you ever read a quote and felt the need to close your eyes and just think on it because it was just so great?  I found myself doing that quite often (ex 1:  the quote I started the review with).  I’ll say it again, her writing style is brilliant.  BRILLIANT!

Okay…so, why did I like the first book better?  One word:  Anna.  This was the first series where my favorite character was the girl mc.  Usually, I love the guy and focus on him.  But, with this book, Anna was the star, and I was disappointed that she didn’t play a bigger role in this novel.  I wanted more scenes with her—even if they were gory because she made the passion and the fear and the danger come to life. 

I also had a slight disappointment with the ending.  It was a good ending, and I understanding why it had to end that way, but a part of me wanted something different.  I won’t tell you anything more; you’ll have to read for yourself!

So, I’ll leave you with a few more of my favorite quotes from the book:

“’We don’t have a choice,’ Thomas says.  ‘The clock ticks.  Caution’s become a luxury.” Pg 218

“But even now I feel the lake over my shoulder, sitting still and sinister as the yawning jaws of a trap.  I must prefer Superior, with her waves and rages.  She doesn’t keep her violence a secret.”  Pg 219  

“She crossed over death to call me.  I crossed through Hell to find her.”  Pg 326

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Published by Tor Teen

On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Sinister and Superb, A sucker-punch to awaken the world of YA!

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story... (don't you just love that...hehehe)

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.

One of our honorary sisters reviewed this over a year ago, but I loved it so much I wanted to share my thoughts, too!  Plus, since Girl of Nightmares just came out, many people are just now reading Anna!

So, I’ve been staring at this book for months now trying to work up the courage to read it.  And when  say months, I mean, at least six—but I always psyched myself and decided it was probably too scary for me.  So, when I finally picked this up to read, it was a big deal to me.  I mean a BIG DEAL!  Further explanation?  I don’t do horror.  Whenever I think I’m kick butt enough to watch a horror movie, I end up sleeping with EVERY light on for at least a week.  In fact, when I watched Silent Hill…that week turned into almost a month.  I don’t do scary.  So, I started reading Anna, completely sure that I would spend my nights lying flat on my back…with dozens of pillows surrounding me….with all the lights on….and with my glasses perched on my nose all night (just in case I heard and noise and needed to quickly scan the room)….and with a bat hiding snuggly under the bed (if I could brave myself enough to look under the bed).  AND?  Pleasant surprise!  Anna was amazing—scary at times, but not so much to warrant an all-night watch-for-the-unworldly-athon. 

The best thing about this book—it was the FIRST BOOK EVER where I liked the female main character better than the guy.  This is a big deal!  Big!  I’m usually swept away by the good boy with charming good looks and sweet smile, or fall head over heels for the bad boy whose arrogance rivals only a Greek god’s.  But, with this one, I immediately fell on the side of Team Anna.  She was so awesome!  The way Kendare described her was chilling, and her words wrenched me from the recliner and thrust me straight into that old Victorian where I felt like I was staring the “dark goddess” in the eyes.  Full of power and darkness, yet ridden with innocence and guilt; Anna was the kind of bad guy that you just can’t help root for.

Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t like Cas, I really enjoyed him, also.  Tough and arrogant, and completely at home in the other world, Cas will definitely leave you breathless at moments.  Cas has been left with the duty of sending murderous ghosts back where they belong, but there is a part of him that wonders about his destiny.  He struggles with everything he doesn’t know about the world on the other side.  I loved watching his journey of truth, and by the end of the book, though his journey is far from over, I felt like Cas had grown from a boy exacting revenge to a man seeking discover the truth about his powers.

Kendare did an amazing job creating the personalities of the minor characters, also.  You have 2 sidekicks in this Scooby gang—the quiet, nerdy boy with witchy powers (like Velma, only a dude), and the beautiful, always gets her way popular chick (we’ll call her the modern day Daphne).  Together with Cas and Anna, these two will provide the much needed comic relief from the terror of the book.

And what about the story itself?

It was full of twists and turns that (although some you could see coming), kept me on the edge of my seat.  The imagery was at times beautiful and poetic, while at other times, sinister and macabre.  There were definite gory parts, but surprisingly, they didn’t bother me.  In fact, they added to the sorrow of the story.  I mean, this is a horror story, but most of the time I either felt an unwavering sadness at how evil had caught so many in its net, and at other times, I was in awe—of the way Kendare put so much power into play.  Her world will melt from the page and come alive around you, and there will be times when you will wish it could stay that way!

Okay…so I will leave you with a few statements that you need to remember!

1.) This books is Ah-mazing!

2.) If you are scared to read this book, don’t be!  It’s worth the fear!

3.) Anna is freaking unbelievably awesome! 

4.) YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!

5.) My review of Girl of Nightmares (Book 2) will be up soon.  Although I didn’t like it as much as this one, it was still great.

6)….AND…AGAIN….You must read this book! 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Release Date: On the shelves since August 30th
Reviewed by: Honorary Sister Marylee
This sister says: Haunting (literally), suspenseful, extremely satisfying

Summary from Goodreads.com: 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. 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: 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.But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Awesome title: Check
Awesome cover: Check
Awesome premise: Check

I have been waiting for this book to come out for a while because of the list above and it did not disappoint. If you’re in the mood for a violent yet romantic story full of snark, interesting characters, mystery, and really fabulous writing then look no further.

Where do I even start on this book’s amazingness? How about with a personal confession? A serious flaw that I have when reading is that it is really difficult for me to connect with a male protagonist. (The Maze Runner trilogy, I am Number Four, Beautiful Chaos etc… I feel nada for the male characters of these books, and my feelings, or lack thereof, for the books suffer) The only books where I’ve ever truly loved and connected with a male lead are the Harry Potter books (Rowling is my Queen), Jude the Obscure, and The Reader. I truly love these books and I think my love for them is heightened because they achieve what no other books have for me. Romantic interests, secondary male characters, and novels with dual narrators I love, but if the story is led solely by a male character I usually lose interest, and I’m not sure if that’s a failure of the writers I’ve read, or in myself for not being open-hearted/minded enough to connect to someone of the opposite sex… All of that to say, Anna Dressed in Blood has joined the ranks of my male-protagonist loved books, because I LOVE and adore Cas.

He’s hunky, intelligent, funny, and he hunts ghosts… what more could you want? Oh, you want him to be romantic? Well don’t you worry, he becomes that as well too… eventually. I mean this sweet hunk of man has been through so much; his father’s gruesome death, a huge and extremely dangerous legacy he feels he must live up to, and the burden of keeping everyone at a distance so he can focus on his work; the result of which is never having had a true friend. Yet Cas remains a selfless protector for people against dangerous ghosts, and behind his bad@$$ exterior he has an exceptionally large heart. I love my boys beautifully broken, which Cas is, but he never comes off too angsty even though he has every right to be.

And Anna, oh my Anna. Who doesn’t love a girl who can (literally) rip a guy limb from limb? I know I do. And Carmel and Thomas were pleasant surprises as compelling, fleshed-out secondary characters. The way they work together with Cas helps him to learn exactly what friendship is and how important it can (and should) be.

The premise is rather simple. Cas kills murderous ghosts. Anna is a murderous ghost. Therefore, Cas tries to kill Anna. The thing is, Anna is unlike any ghost Cas has ever faced. No one knows how she died or what gives her the immense and invincible power that she uses to murder anyone who enters her house. That is until Cas enters her house. She won’t kill him and despite his skill he cannot kill her, so their encounters end in a kind of stalemate. And what if he shouldn’t kill her? Mystery, creepiness and gore abound in this novel that is as tightly fraught with suspense and action as it is with excellent character development, an incredible and original storyline, fantastic twists, and an ending that will blow you away.

As a warning, there is some language in the book. And I gotta say, that’s another thing I love about this novel. The language is realistic to the characters and situations in this story. I often think it’s “cheating” when an author uses “she cursed,” “he cursed under his breath” and things of that nature instead of just coming out with it. Teenagers and adults curse. Not all of them of course (and if you don’t good for you) but people (like Cas) who grow up around violence and even most kids that go to public school or watch movies above a PG rating do or are at least around it quite often. I love the fact that Ms. Blake stayed true to her characters and didn’t shy away from putting the actual curses in knowing that it would most likely cost her some readers. I felt that it added a layer of reality to the story and made it feel like Cas, Carmel, Thomas, Will, Chase, and Mike could be at your school and that Anna’s house could be in your backyard.

This book is really scary in parts, so if you’re spooked easily you might need a snuggle-buddy to keep from being scared of the things that go bump in the night, but I promise it’s worth it! The end of the book hints at more to come and I desperately hope it does because I for one cannot wait to read more on Cas and his journey.