Anna Dressed in Blood

by Kendre Blake

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 dagger, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local folklore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead - keeping annoying 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, and 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' life.

• ISBN10: 0765328658
• ISBN13: 9780765328656
• Publish Date: 30 August 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 2 August 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Charli G.]

I’d had this book on my radar for a while, but couldn’t seem to find a copy of it. Then I happened to be at the library in the YA section the other day, and lo and behold, it was in a display of Halloween-worthy books. So I snagged it up. I started it the night I got it and finished it a couple of days later because I only had time to read late at night. This is the kind of ghost story that will keep you interested.

Kendare Blake has woven a tale that is unlike any other ghost story. First, you have Cas. He’s a ghost-hunter. Sort of. He doesn’t hunt ghosts like you see on TV. He isn’t just trying to figure out if a place is haunted. He’s trying to remove the ghosts. But only certain ghosts. Only those that are dangerous. Ghosts that are angry about being dead, have turned evil, and are trying to or succeeding in harming humans. He gets it from his father.

Cas’s mother is a Wiccan. She cleans Cas’s athame used to “kill” ghosts. She makes herbal remedies, herbal protection spells, and works with candle makers to make “spell candles”. She’s sweet, worried for her son, and one tough mother.

Cas’s father is dead. He lost his life while trying to “kill” a ghost. He’s the reason Cas is doing this – he wants revenge. Not much else is known about Cas’s father, other than the fact that he had a network of friends who could help him out, who now help Cas out.

Mike, Will, and Chase are the school jocks and local bully/jerk squad. They’re seriously obnoxious and quite rude. I’d say more but I’d spoil the book if I did.

Carmel is the sweet girl that everyone likes – including Cas. He quickly makes friends with her and she will play a very important part in the story. Trust me, you’ll like her as much as everyone else does.

Thomas and Morfran. Thomas is a classmate of Cas’s and becomes one of his best friends. Morfran is Thomas’s grandfather. They’re both integral parts of the story. They’re witches and that’s all you really need to know right now.

Now for our second main character – Anna herself. Anna is a beautiful sixteen year old girl, who happens to have been murdered in 1958. She’s not the nicest of ghosts and has a habit of killing anyone who comes into her house. Except for some reason, Cas. She lets him go. Now Cas has to figure out why she let him live – and how to stop her from killing. And just when he thinks he has it all figured out, including her tragic past, another wrench is thrown into the mix.

I loved the writing in this book. It wasn’t flowery or pretty and it flowed well. The book kept me wondering what was coming next and was pretty fast paced. I was enthralled from the beginning. It does start off a bit slow, but it’s not terribly slow.

This one is perfect for spooky Halloween reading! Grab your favorite thunderstorm sounds playlist if there isn’t a real one going on, grab your favorite hot drink, a blanket, and settle in. You’re going to love this one.

I gave it five out of five stars because I just couldn’t imagine this book not being a five star read when I was finished with it. Plus, there is a sequel. I’m waiting for it to become available at my library.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating —> 4 stars !

(Just saying... the Supernatural vibes are strong with this one ! I couldn’t help but think of both that, and Buffy! Cas & the group he begrudgingly, and kind of accidentally, brings together are their own sort of tour de force, though 💙)

This is just really fun and playful and I enjoyed it a lot. What you see is what you get. Sometimes you just need a super simple, but still addictive and enjoyable read. That’s what this delivers, folks!

Solid, sometimes gory, sometimes scary, always entertaining and enjoyable, surprisingly lovely, & very lovable, F U N.

I just really love Kendare Blake’s writing; it always delivers just what you ordered, JUST how it appears on the menu when you chose it (or better 😊).

I really think this was great. A really fun & spooky read ! I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Definitely recommend!

[Readers sensitive to a bit of gore, violence, etc... this may be a little too much. Just saying. I’ve been reading scary stories since I could freakin read (scary stories to tell in the dark, anyone? & goosebumps! Sometimes even Fear Street as a super young kid & i’d tell my mom it was just Goosebumps lol)... so no big, but I realize I may have made light of some of the scares & how in depth they are described here, when they could be too much for someone else.
Again, just a little warning!]

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Anna Dressed in Blood is a ghost story, a love story, and a story about finding your tribe all at the same time.

I did not like it.

This book is fairly universally loved, so I know I am going against the grain in my opinion. The beginning of the book was really good, and early descriptions of Anna were beautifully gory. After that, though, it got a bit boring. There's a lot of driving back and forth, a lot of explaining things to people, and a lot of people waving knives around dramatically and not doing much. With a beginning that pummeled right into a pool of action, I was disappointed. The characters failed to evolve, and they trudged along contently followed Cas. Who they've known for about two weeks.

I think this book really had a lot of potential, but the structuring was off and the characters a bit dull. The love story, revealed near the end of the book, felt entirely unnecessary and forced to me.

A lot of people will really enjoy this book, and there's no denying that we could use a few more good ghost stories. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

You can read a more detailed review of this book and others on my blog.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

YES. THIS. This is the book I’ve been waiting for the entire month of October.

There will always be more dead, and the dead will always kill.

I actually wasn’t expecting much out of a YA horror book. My skeptical brain said, “How bad can it be?” Two nights afterwards, I was still jumping an embarrassing foot back from anything unexpected when the house is dark. The cat. A sock in the floor. The door. A fart.

Cas, our ghost-slayer, is a cynical piece of work who seems to rather enjoy his job. He was definitely HUGELY influenced by the death of his father in the line of this duty. The origins of said duty are never fully explained…but I guess that would have taken a lot longer than the span of this format. Still, I would have enjoyed finding out! Anyway. He’s not your typical 17 year old, but he doesn’t rub it in the face of his classmates…at least not most of them. He’s rather cold and uncaring in the beginning, but throughout the story he really grows and develops into a much more feeling person by the end. No thanks to coming up against more powerful ghosts, which he is grudgingly forced to admit, he can’t take down alone. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with any of the side characters, but I really liked that he had to reach out of his comfort zone and take the risk of trusting other people.

Anna – yes, the one dressed in blood – I love her. I feel horribly sorry for her. I practically shook in my chair when reading the flashback scenes. Like holy shit. No one deserves what she went through. I liked that she took personal responsibility for everything she did after she became a ghost, even if it wasn’t truly all her fault. She was influenced…but it was still her hands that did it. I could see the attraction between Cas and Anna, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. I mean…she’s a GHOST. Even if she really appears corporeal at times. Come on, Cas. And I didn’t want her suddenly returned to life to make a happy ending because…yeah no.

The plot moves along quickly. I was a little shocked when I realized that Anna was NOT the ghost that killed Cas’ father (not a spoiler, as if you read the blurb carefully, it DOES say that…I just somehow did the old 2+2=5). Kendare Blake does an AMAZING job of dropping ALL the hints that you just KNOW are leading up to something HUGE…and then smacking you in the face with the truth you didn’t see coming. I sat with my jaw hanging open even as I mentally ran back through all the foreshadowing. Yep. There it was. I just…didn’t realize…yep. Total awesomesauce.

“Don’t be afraid of the dark, Cas. But don’t let them tell you that everything that’s there in the dark is also there in the light. It isn’t.”

The descriptions were amazing. Gory at times, but um, if you weren’t expecting that by the title…well, maybe you should look at the cover again. Just saying. I had chillbumps. I curled into a little ball and pulled my hoodie as far over my head as possible while still being able to see the book.

I swear I could hear the blood dripping from Anna’s dress. I felt the wind, the chill in the air…oh, right. I was also reading this as the weather was getting decidedly colder. BUT THIS IS WHY IT WAS SO AWESOME!! I was looking for a book that could make me feel like I did as a little kid, like Halloween wasn’t just costumes, but maybe something darker…maybe the veil really does grow thin on October 31st. Well. Mission completely fucking accomplished. My almost-30-year-old self no longer wants to go to bed alone.

5/5 stars. I immediately ordered the second one and HIGHLY recommend this one if you like creepy and young adult books.

[Stephanie]

I wasn't completely wowed by this book, but it's a good read if you're looking for: (a) blood, gore, and ghosts or (b) something akin to a YA version of Supernatural.

[Hillary]

http://www.adventuresinneverneverland.com/2014/03/17/anna-dressed-in-blood/

[boghunden]

Without knowing too much about this book, I was expecting one of these two things:
1) Cas would fall in love with Anna
2) Cas would try to kill Anna.
After reading 160 pages, none of the two had happened. In fact, nothing had happened yet! I was close to DNF it, but for some reason, I kept reading. I'm glad I did, because the second half of the book was okay. I just think it's unfortunate that you have to wait that long for something to actually happen. Especially because I got that Supernatural (show) feeling after reading the first few pages. This book really reminded me of one of the episodes, and of course, that raised my expectations.

The writing was like any other YA book. At some places, it worked really well, and in other pages, it was quite disturbing. I'd have liked to see more of the good writing in the last half of the book, when the actual action kicks in. That would've made it even better. Unfortunately, this made the book somewhat of a boring experience.

I haven't really read any ghost stories before, but this book helped me realize that maybe I should. It could've been more dark, I think, because it didn't really give me that creepy ghost story-feeling.

This was somewhat of a mixed experience, but it could be due to the reading slump I'm currently finding myself in. Unfortunately, this wasn't the book to get me out of my slump.

Wow. That was scary. Seriously, this stuff really freaks me out. I was sitting there wondering how the author managed to write something so good and scary without freaking out?... Maybe I'm just extra sensitive to this stuff.

I liked this book, I had pretty high hopes for it though and it didn't quite meet my expectations. The whole romance thing with a ghost kind of really didn't work for me, it freaked me out and wonder how it would even be plausible.

I will definitely be reading book two!

Miss Book Reviews

[girlinthepages]

I had SUCH high high hopes for this book. I'd patiently waited all semester until I had time to really sit down and read it. I was literally jumping for joy when I found it at my local library on the first try.

However...

Now, it's not that it was bad. I devoured it in less than 24 hours (it's slimmer than I expected) and can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. But I was expecting so much MORE. MORE horror, MORE fear, MORE complex of a story and way MORE of a believable romance.

I loved all of the back story on ghosts, especially hearing about Cas' past conquests and his childhood growing up with a ghost-hunting father and a Wiccan mother. I loved hearing about all of the ghosts' stories, about the humanity behind the hauntings. I devoured these background stories, especially Anna's, because they gave so much more life (no pun intended) to the actual ghosts Cas came into contact with.

But. Oh, there's the qualifier. I was really and truly disappointed how religion was so misappropriated in this book. As a religious studies major who just spent this past semester extensively studying voodoo, it was beyond infuriating seeing it stereotyped so negatively in the book. Yes, there are mal-practitioners of Voodoo, but the book completely managed to neglect the fact that Voodoo is a RELIGION, a widely practiced one at that, and a majority of it is used for purposes of healing rituals. Not too mention Wiccan was treated as more "magic" than an actual religion as well, though I don't have the extensive background in Wiccan to call out whether is was misappropriated or not. Overall, I was disappointed to see that there was no qualifying statement in the book that Voodoo is not a malicious practice in a majority of circumstances and that it is a widely, and positively, practiced faith to many of Afro-Haitian-Carribean descent. So it would have been nice to see the author not take such as Western, Orientalizing view of religious traditions alternative to the typical white, Northern American because it is misappropriating an entire religion and culture.

ANYWAYS...

If you're still reading, and my rant didn't scare you away, Cas was an extremely refreshing character to read because a) he's a male protagonist in YA fiction and b) his serious and no-nonsense attitude don't make for the annoyingly average teenage heartthrob male character. True, I loved Cas, but I loved him for his complexity, his self-imposed isolation that he's aware of and doesn't brood over, his determination, and his realism (his statements and internal monologue may seem cocky and arrogant, be he's really just honest to the point where it makes most people uncomfortable. He doesn't play games).

I DO wish the romantic element had been more developed, because reading this it's like BOOM one day the protagonist goes from morbid interest to complete obsession with the love interest with little believable development. But I can forgive this because honestly the pretense of the entire novel, with all of it's ghost-hunting, rich backstories, and paranormal activity make this a book I'd have loved to read even without a romance.

I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/10/24/review-anna-dressed-in-blood-by-kendare-blake/

It is fascinating the way something as simple as choosing present tense over past tense can affect a story. The use of present tense somehow made the story a little more creepy as though the future is unknown and not at all certain of a favorable outcome, and Cas’s narration seem so very real, as though we were observing over his shoulder rather than being a disconnected reader.

For some reason, books don’t creep me out and scare me as much as TV or movies. I walked to the neighbors and back at night after starting Anna Dressed in Blood and was somehow not any more scared than usual (seriously, the woods at night are creepy). But there is a definite scary feel to Anna Dressed in Blood that has you thinking about ghosts a little differently and watching everything just a little bit closer.

I really enjoyed Cas. I got the whole teenage boy vibe from his narration, low on the emotional angst (which is always a nice break) and moderate on the swearing. And though there was swearing, I always felt that it was appropriate for Cas and whatever situation he was in. It was never overused, and for a 17 year old boy, I expect some swearing.

Anna is such a conflicting and horrifying character. She is unusual, even for Cas’s world. Both Cas and Anna seem to be inexplicably drawn toward each other. What makes Anna such a fantastic character is the dichotomy of her actions as a ghost and the tragedy of her death.

I thought the ending wrapped up pretty quickly, maybe too quickly, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story. For as much as we experienced in Anna Dressed in Blood, and how much I came to know — and like — Cas, I also realized that, upon finishing, there was still a lot we don’t know. I am definitely looking forward to Girl of Nightmares, though the thought of waiting another year is not appealing.

Originally read: 10/14/2011--10/15/2011
Reread (audiobook): 8/31/2012