Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood, #2)

by Kendare Blake

Just you average boy-meets-girl, girl gets sucked into Hell story ... This is Kendare Blake's follow-up to the thrillingly creepy romance that was Anna Dressed in Blood.

Cas Lowood is no ordinary ghost hunter - he's in love with a dead girl.

Her name is Anna Korlov. Anna Dressed in Blood. The girl who sacrificed herself to save his life. Racked with guilt, Cas sets out to do what he does best - hunt a ghost. But this time his aim is not to kill. He must rescue Anna from the depths of Hell.

But Hell is also home to a creature Cas has battled before ...

PRAISE FOR ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD:
'Anna Dressed in Blood is a dark and intricate tale, with a hero who kills the dead but is half in love with death himself. By the end of the book, you will be too. Spellbinding and romantic.' Cassandra Clare, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mortal Instruments series

'It's the old boy-meets-girl story, if the boy is a wry, self-destructive ghost-hunter bent on avenging his father and the girl is a homicidal ghost trapped in a house full of everyone she's ever murdered. Needless to say, Cas and Anna are my new favorite twosome. When I got to the last page, I flipped back to the first.' Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Red Glove

• ISBN10: 1408326124
• ISBN13: 9781408326121
• Publish Date: 7 March 2013 (first published 1 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Orchard Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

So, I loved this! The ending was perfect in my opinion. I love a good, simply clean wrap up.

I definitely felt like it left room for another series in that universe, though, with the focus on new things that have come to light...

Kendare Blake, you hear me? 😁

Great end to a great duology. I really loved all of the paranormal aspects as well. The characters seemed to have grown up so much since the last book, and I love it. It was heart wrenching at times, but I loved it.

❤️

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

~*Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!*~

Girl of Nightmares is the sequel to the ever-so-popular [b:Anna Dressed in Blood|9378297|Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)|Kendare Blake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1398637405s/9378297.jpg|14261925], so be warned there may be SPOILERS for the first book! This review is also very short because books like this are hard to review without giving too much away and ruining the fun of the read for everyone.
----------
- Cas is back, and he’s just as moody and kind-of-sort-of angry as in the first book. He’s not as hell-bent (no pun intended) on revenge, but now he’s kind of mooning over the fact that Anna is gone…or is she? At first he thinks he’s going crazy as he starts to see her when he’s out ghost-hunting, but then he becomes convinced she is in some kind of trouble (more trouble than a usual trip to the afterlife would entail) as she always appears to be tortured when she appears. Yikes.

- Cas’s friends are more real in this book. At least, this time I actually remembered them, whereas when I started this one, I only had a vague recollection of there being other people involved somewhere…maybe that’s my fault, my memory is not the greatest. 😛 His mom is sweet and adorable and reading the scenes with the two of them kind of made my heart hurt. Like, what is it like to be able to be friends with your parents?

- Partway through, the book moves to England and I LOVED IT. It just made it that much more interesting even if they didn’t get to explore nearly as much as they should have because obviously they were trying to save Anna.

- Anna herself is only in this book in VERY short segments. I was a little bit disappointed by that but there was really no way to bring her into the story that would make sense.

- The descriptions succeeded in making me pull my covers up and make sure my doors were locked (not that locked doors would help me if there was a ghost after me…buuuuut you know). I love it when a book succeeds in raising the hairs on the back of my neck! Surely I’m not the only one that literally has that happen…not just a figure of speech here!

- The ending was…well, it was closure…and that’s about all I can say without spoiling it! My hat is off to Kendare Blake for ENDING THIS DUOLOGY right here. I can imagine it might have been tempting to extend it, with the popularity of Anna Dressed in Blood, but it felt really good to finish not only a book but an entire story.

Blog | Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram | Google+

[layawaydragon]

I LOVED the ending.

[Hillary]

I read the first book and with THAT ending, I just had to find out what happened after. So I squealed with glee when my hold at the library came up after what seemed like forever for this book. I tell ya, I am going to have to start reading more YA cause some of it is damn good books.

Anyway, the story continues right after book one ends so you gotta start with book one. This is in no way a stand-alone. I was anxious to get to the REAL story. I felt that some of what was in the book leading up to the climax was just filler but what do I know?

The plot completely believable, the world building is spectacular and the characters are fully fleshed out. I could relate to all of them. Well, expcet the popular girl. I was never popular in High School so I have no idea what that is like. I still felt that how she reacted was in tune to what I remember from how a popular girl would react.

I loved reading about how the other read books to try and understand the magic behind what they were doing. I would have LIKED to have more detail about the occult side of it but that may have made it a non-YA book. There was that one scene that actually sent shivers up my spine.  I am trying not to spoil it for those who have not read it yet. I know I am not doing a very good job at conveying my love for this book.

OMG, that scene where the "aunt" spirt comes and talks to them and feeds them snacks. She gives them a lot of info to go on for their quest but it turns out that she is dead. It was night time when I read that and I almost screamed. Can you imagine talking to someone then going to their bedroom and finding out they have been dead for a YEAR?!?

And the love story! I wonder if I know anyone that would come and rescue me from hell? I don't know if it was my fundamentalist Christian upbringing but I detected some religious overtones in this book. The whole you must shed blood and "die" to get someone out of hell. umm, remind you of anyone? cough

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! If you are a fan of YA horror you should get you a copy as soon as possible!



This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

"It's true what they say about answers only leading to more questions. There will always be more to find out, more to learn, more to do." (Cas Lowood)

All the answers that I was desperately asking for, finally got answered. That was definitely a one up from Anna Dressed in Blood. It made me happy! SO VERY HAPPY!!! As soon as the right questions about the athame and Cas's ghost-hunter origins started being ANSWERED, I wanted to give a whoop-de-doo. The best part is that Kendare Blake didn't just provide us with answers. She actually answered my questions by adding a new complication to the storyline.

This book takes place about six months after the events of the previous book. Cas Lowood starts to see Anna in his waking moments and his nightmares. She is always in pain. Cas feels as though Anna is trying to communicate with him, while others think that he is hallucinating. But all that Cas wants to do, is to bring Anna back to the world of living and he needs to find out how.

I loved that Girl of Nightmares didn't sugar-coat anything that happened in Anna Dressed in Blood. In fact everything that happened was 10 times worse. Cas is suffering the aftereffects of the events that occured in Anna Dressed in Blood. He keeps on seeing Anna and he starts to wonder if he is going psycho. Cas isn't the arrogant, I-know-everything-about-ghosts type of guy anymore and that was refreshing. It showed his growth as a character. However, he still retained his realistic outlook on life and his humor that I adored in Anna Dressed in Blood.

Cas might have been a cool character, but it was Carmel and Thomas who stood out for me. Thomas and Carmel are amazing friends to Cas, amazing characters and one of the cutest couples I have read about in a long time. Thomas is clumsy, but he is still powerful. Carmel is the queen-bee and while she's not a bad-ass fighter, she's one tough human being. Thomas and Carmel might be side-kicks, but they are the best and most realistic, quirky side-kicks that I have read about.

"I'm just saying it doesn't always have to be spirits and magic. Sometimes hauntings are in your mind. It doesn't make them less real." (Carmel Jones)

I was extremely glad that the romance between Cas and Anna took a back seat for most of the book. I didn't believe in their romance in Anna Dressed in Blood, but for some reason unknown to me, I wanted Cas and Anna's relationship to work. Even although, I was unable to think of anyway that it could work. But I actually wanted Cas and Anna to have a happily ever after and that's all that mattered.

Girl of Nightmares was a step up from Anna Dressed in Blood. It took the paranormal, blood, gore and ghosts and made it 10 times better. Questions were answered, characters developed and relationships took shape. However, the pacing in the middle was slow and problematic due to less action and ghostly grossness.

Two thing that I can say:
1)The stakes are higher than ever. It's basically do or die.
2)The ending of this duology is extremely satisfying

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review, and many more on my blog October Tune!

Warning, this review might have some minor spoilers for the first book in the series!

After reading Anna Dressed in Blood, I was both curious and not curious at all for the sequel. I wouldn't have minded if the story had ended with the first book, because to me it was a very good ending. But the story didn't end there. No, there was Girl of Nightmares, the second and last book of this series, where apparently Cas was going to try to rescue Anna from wherever she got dragged into.

To be honest, I was quite reluctant to read this book, mainly because of the 'romance' in the first one. I mean, he falls in love with a ghost, seriously? I know I'm not the biggest romance fan, but this kind of felt weird to me. I liked the rest of the book enough to not give it two stars, but the romance just ruined it for me. Still, I was curious for the rest of the story, so I got Girl of Nightmare.

The first half of the book, I was annoyed at Cas' determination to get Anna out of Hell. The girl is dead, let her be dead. She may not be in peace, but there is nothing you can do about it. I felt frustrated every time he ignored his friends' advice, his mother's advice, basically everyone's advice. I wanted to grab him by the shoulders, shake him and tell him to let her go. But of course, Cas did not let her go. He spend most of the book wanting to get her out of Hell, and he actually risked his life a couple of times because of this, and it just made me really angry. Sure, I get it, he's in love with her - but she's a ghost, she's been dead for decades, and she's in Hell. There is a very small change they will ever get together again.

During the second half of the book, things started to get more exciting, and I started to read with more pleasure. Carmel started acting really odd, and the guys were planning on opening a door to Hell to get Anna out. Seriously, these guys have probably never seen a Supernatural episode. BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA! Anyway, we got introduced to a new character - Jestine, whose name just sounded really odd to me (I mean, Jestine and Carmel for an English and American girl - but Anna for a Finnish girl - I don't hate the names, but I just thought it was funny). I didn't like Jessy - I am going to call her that - at first, because she felt like a complete show-off at first, but she kind of grew on me in the end.

When I got to the last couple of chapters, I started to feel really anxious, because there were only about fifty pages left, and nothing had really happened yet. I got more and more stressed, the more I read on, and the ending actually left me a bit.. yeah, well, unsatisfied I guess? I don't know, I just didn't like the way it ended, and I had kind of hoped for more closure. In the end, I think the characters started to grow on me more than usual, I even started to like Cas a bit more, but yeah I want to know more about them. Maybe a novella, Ms Blake? That would be really nice.

In the end, I liked Girl of Nightmare, but I wouldn't really call it one of my favourite reads of this year. If you're into horror stories, like Miss Peregrine's, I recommend this series to you - unless you're totally not into weird romances.

My opinion of this book in one gif:

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2013/10/girl-of-nightmares-by-kendare-blake.html
Girl Of Nightmares is the second installment in the Anna Dressed in Blood series. After Anna saved the lives of Cas, Thomas and Carmel, no one knows what happened to her, but Cas is determined to give Anna her happy ending. Sadly, Girl of Nightmares didn't live up to the hype for me, it was good, but not as poetic as the original. The original was mesmerising and almost magically, mixed with the horror and gore, it made for an incredible read. I think Anna's ending didn't need revisiting, but I can understand those readers that needed to know what had happened to her, and I'm in two minds whether I regret reading Girl Of Nightmares or not. It's only the storyline, not the actual writing. Kendare Blake is a master at creating a world where the reader is fully submerged, creative and unique. I'm really looking forward to her new release Anti Goddess, the premise sounds incredible.

[girlinthepages]

I'm glad I picked this sequel up because it's really what a sequel should be- focused on tying up loose ends from the previous book and finishing the story rather than presenting a bunch of new plot lines. Girl of Nightmares is a quick, fun read, just like it's predecessor, offering the same witty narrative and endearing characters as Anna Dressed in Blood .

The sequel follows the aftermath of Anna disappearing into (what is assumed to be but is really open to interpretation) "hell" with the ghost that killed Cas' father and has now become bound to his athame. This sequel provides an interesting, if still vague, backstory on the history of the athame and how it came into existence. Gideon's character is fleshed out more as well as Thomas' and Carmel's, though Carmel has a character arc that was somewhat irritating, unnecessary, and pretty cruel. A new central character is introduced, Jestine, who readers will either love or be irritated by- I was the latter.

Personally I did not find this book nor its prequel scary or disturbing, and I don't claim to be brave in the least when it comes to horror. I think that Cas' jaded character and unique narrative contribute to this factor(I personally love the fact that Blake includes honest swearing, as it's totally realistic and really convinces the reader that they are indeed hearing his internal monologue). I'm also glad that while the series has a creepy pretense, the author is not so focused on the need to make it absolutely terrifying or gory that the plot suffers. At times I did find that this story tended to drag toward the middle and end, especially before the climax (which was really only like introduced and wrapped up in the last 15 pages) but I was motivated enough by the overall series to get through it. And the ending- I've seen a lot of reviews freaking out about how the series ends, and though it becomes obvious a few paragraphs before it happens, I did not see it coming throughout reading the book (though looking back one realizes it was a strong possibility). I applaud Blake for writing an ending that goes against the normal YA-fiction formula, though it left me achingly curious about Cas' story after Girl of Nightmares.

***Potential Spoiler Below***

I loved loved loved the Suicide Forest. It was the most clever thing I have read in a long time, especially in a YA fiction book. I loved the obvious influence from Dante's Inferno and the personalized take on the idea. I also love the way the meaning of the forest twists throughout the narrative, going from a peaceful place for people to end their lives to a place of seductive and vile beauty that seems to lure lost souls in and almost forcibly take them. This was probably the creepiest and most wonderfully written portion of the entire series.

***End of Potentially Spoiler-esque Information***

All in all I would give Girl of Nightmares a 3.5 out of 5, a series that I had enormous fun reading, whose premise I loved, yet I wasn't left with the feeling that the book was going to forever stick with me, or keep me up at night with its complexities. I am excited to see what else Kendare Blake produces in the world of fiction, and one thing I will take away from reading this series is Cas, who is hands down one of my favorite male protagonists in a YA series of all time.

[littleread1]

Good, but not as good as the first. We go from fantastic ghost story to conspiracy theories? Meh.

When I first read Anna Dressed in Blood, I loved it. It was great, beautiful, terrible, tragic, and hopeful all at once. I was so excited when I got gift cards for Christmas and knew Girl of Nightmares had to be one of the books I purchased. And I couldn't wait long to read it.

And it was good. Not great, like Anna, but good. Maybe it is because Anna doesn't really appear much. Maybe it is because there is a focus on the history of the atheme and the "cult" behind it. I don't know.

Cas and the gang however stay true to form. Ghost hunting, almost getting their butts kicked a time or two. Fighting, casting spells. Being stubborn and steadfast on finding a way to save Anna. I was rooting for them the whole time. I mean really everyone telling Cas to give up and she is where she is supposed to be while he is having those nightmares and daymares? Yeah, I don't think so. I would have been crazy in 2.5 seconds.

I did think they would have a tougher time getting to the point where they were ready to try and get Anna. A few more obstacles or something. Not that it was easy by any means, but the test they had to endure, while terrifying, seemed anti-climactic.

I just don't know. Did I like it? Definitely. Did I have issues with it? Yes. Would I suggest others read it? Absolutely, especially if you need some closure after Anna Dressed in Blood.

[Amanda]

Original review (10/22/2012): http://onabookbender.com/2012/10/22/review-girl-of-nightmares-by-kendare-blake

This is the end of Cas and Anna’s story, so you know that THINGS are going to HAPPEN. And they did. This is kind of one of those stories where you wonder how it could possibly end without ripping your heart out completely. And no, I won’t tell you anything about the ending (only that I think someone gets a better ending than someone else), so you’ll just have to read the book yourself. I actually kind of like that the ending both tied things up and left things open. But enough with the ending.

Cas goes through a lot more angst in this book. Whereas in the first book, Cas was fighting for his life (which is an important thing to do, I admit, and is nothing to sneeze at or make light of), in this book, he struggles with losing Anna and how to move on–or not move on, as the case may be. In that sense, going into this book expecting to get the same feelings and type of actions from the first book may lead to some disappointment. Cas’s fight here was internal. And when it wasn’t internal, it was justifying his feelings to others. Most of you know my feelings toward angst, but Cas’s never bothered me. I think his angst was justified, even when it seemed like he was stupid for continuing his quest and risking his life for a dead girl.

Girl of Nightmares expands our knowledge of Cas’s world a bit, and gives us some answers [that are often more confusing than not] about the athame and its purpose. We also meet new characters and acquaint ourselves with old ones. The new characters (or rather, one in particular) give us a particularly new insight into what Cas does as a ghost hunter and why he may not be as alone in the world as he thinks. But even then, we get a look at how Cas’s ghost hunting code of ethics (for lack of a better term) are in place for a reason.

If you read and loved Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares is a must-read, even only for the conclusion of Cas and Anna’s story. They needed it. You need it.