Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendre Blake

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.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

3 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 August, 2017: Finished reading
  • 16 August, 2017: Reviewed