First off I have to say I am really excited to review this book because I was really excited to read it!
Without further ado....Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake!
Summary:
Theseus Cassio Lowood, a.k.a. Cas, kills ghosts. It's not a hobby; it's a job. He goes around the country carrying on the family tradition of slaying unwanted spirits, particularly the violent ones. Cas and his mother travel to find these ghosts based on tips and once the job is done they pack up and move on to the next job. But Cas's newest job isn't as simple as all his other cases. Anna Korlov is known as Anna Dressed in Blood and the citizens of Thunder Bay steer clear of the home she resides in...and for good reason. The rumors of what Anna is capable of are horrific and Cas is there to stop her from killing any more people. At a back to school party Cas meets characters who will be allies through the rest of the book- Carmel, Will, and Thomas. At the end of the party Cas gets to see Anna at work with Cas's bully but it's then he sees Anna is unlike any ghost he'd ever encountered because she made the exception not to kill him and also knows that she's dead. Cas has the hard task ahead of him in trying to figure out how to kill her, but his feelings soften toward her as the book progresses and he thinks maybe she can be spared, but Will wants revenge for his dead friend. But before Cas can think about what more can or should be done with Anna an evil being from his past arrives threatening him and also wanting Anna dead. The end of the book ends in a climatic showdown between evil and possibly evil turned good and leaves the reader craving more!
Review:
I was really excited about this book when I first heard about it coming out. I've always loved ghosts and ghost stories so I knew this would be right up my ally. What really intrigued me was I hadn't read a YA book like this before where ghosts were the paranormal creature. That aspect made this book stand out for me. I'm not saying ghosts aren't prominent in other books, but for me this was my first real ghost exposure in YA.
My favorite aspect of the book was Anna's back story. When Anna Dressed in Blood is first introduced and I got the little bit about her being murdered on the way to the dance I wanted to know more. It really got intriguing when Cas realizes she isn't like the other ghosts in that she remembers how she died and knows that she's dead. I was in shock when the ritual Cas, Thomas, Carmel, and Will did revealed what had happened leading up to her death and the circumstances behind why she died. It was very unexpected. But after learning what had happened I felt I understood her more and felt more sympathy for her. So in the end, when she did what she did (and I won't mention what since I don't want to spoil it), I was rooting for her despite knowing every horrible thing she'd done before. Anna is a great character and I'm hoping there are sequels so she can come back. It's set up either way where it could be a sequel or stand alone but if I had to choose I'd want sequels!
One thing I'd really like to see/know more of in the future (hopefully in sequels!) would be Cas's athame. It became such a pivotal element by the end of the book I'm dying to know more about it. At first it was just a unique knife that belonged to Cas's father and now Cas which can slay ghosts only by their hands but at the end when the twist happens the knife becomes way more than a knife. It may sound silly, but I'd be interested in the back story of the knife! Where it came from, how it was forged, etc.
I loved how average, non-magical people made a difference. Thomas is a witch and has powers and Cas has the power to kill ghosts but I really liked that, even though Cas didn't want to get Carmel and Will involved, they were able to help especially in the ritual to bind Anna in the circle so she could be contained. I like the idea that average people can help out and make a difference despite it maybe not being in an environment or situation they're used to. I also like the fact Carmel breaks the stereotypical mold that she is originally set up as- popular girl, homecoming queen, high maintenance. She willingly and eagerly interacts with those outside her social circle, she goes along with the whole magic and ghost thing which probably would be frowned upon, and she genuinely cares what happens to people, especially Thomas and Cas. The way she became a round character with depth appealed to me.
The one down side I have with the book, and it's not a huge one, is that the book is first person POV from a male perspective. Just as a personal preference I prefer either third person or first person POV from a female perspective. And that preference is simply for the fact I feel I can relate better to the characters that way. But the same way that this book was new in terms of featuring ghosts, it's fairly new for me in terms of reading from a male perspective. I've read one or two books before from the male perspective and it wasn't so bad, and like those, this wasn't a huge issue for me. I do greatly enjoy Cas as a character and am eager to see more. While I'm not a huge fan of male POV's, it does make this book stand out since most of YA (at least that I've read) are from the female POV's and I like that. These days, especially in YA, a book has to stand out in one way or another and the fact this book deals with ghosts and is from a male POV it definitely does and for that I was interested.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories, paranormal YA, and anyone who is seeking something a little different in the YA book realm. I enjoyed it and am excited at the possibility of sequels!
