Complete Anna Series

Cas travels the world, hunting ghosts as his father did before him. Before a ghost ended his life. Cas has yet to face the being who took his father away. But each successful hunt brings him closer to avenging him. Until Cas faces Anna Dressed in Blood. A ghost who murders any who steps foot into her house. But something is different about Anna. She’s powerful, deadly, and yet, she saves his life. While the locals simply want Anna erased, Cas isn’t so sure it’s the best action. As he begins to research Anna’s untimely end, he’ll uncover more than just the tragedy of her life.

Anna Dressed in Blood held the possibility of dark supernatural horror. The cover alone lured me in with promise, not to mention the murderous ghosts and a boy who hunts them. However, aside from a few scenes of gore and the presence of ghosts, this fell short of meeting the title of a horror novel. The suspense and apprehension that come with a horror story were missing. Foreshadowing is a key element, luring the readers into fearing what comes next or building a sense of dread in them. But there was no foreshadowing. There was an element of mystery surrounding Anna’s death, but there wasn’t enough struggle to uncover it.

I also did not connect well with the characters or relationships. Cas was overdramatic, playing a bit too far into the bad boy trope. There was also a focus on romantic relationships which took away from ghost hunting. The sporadic behavior of the antagonists felt disjointed and only served to move the plot along. It would have also been nice to see the supernatural elements in more of an antagonistic light instead of rival teenagers. Not to mention the dialogue and use of language were more suited for a young adult fiction novel vs a horror novel. While I understand this is geared for young adults, I needed better world-building and a solid foundation for all of this to stand on.

Anna’s character was the most interesting, and her story truly was tragic. I wish more time had been spent with her. The relationship building felt cluttered like it didn’t quite fit with the story. I would have liked to see the lore and rumors surrounding Anna built on. Give readers more of a tease before revealing the ghost, then don’t hold back from her abilities. Weave in and out of the story, making it the central focus. There was even plenty of opportunity to add in the emotional background from Cas’ own tragic past to layer in remorse and sympathy. But it missed the mark.

If you’re a reader looking to dip your toes into horror, then I would suggest trying Anna Dressed in Blood. It’s not immersive in the way most horror novels are, and if you are unsure of the genre, it would be a good starting point. However, if you enjoy novels with spine-tingling writing and hardcore suspense, this won’t be the book for you.

There was a lot of hype around this book, so its a good thing it wasn't terrible. But it wasn't tremendous either. It was good, clean fun - quick-paced, likable characters, punchy action. Not really memorable though, and aside from one instance, not really scary. Three stars feels a little mean, but four just doesn't seem justified.

I think my favorite part of this was all the horror references, but this is YA, so pretty much all of them are called out, which was a little disappointing. I'm a big kid, I know my horror, I like to be able to spot the references to Poltergeist, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Exorcist, The Shining etc on my own, thanks. But that's what I get for hanging out in this shelf so much.

I don't think I've read from the perspective of a modern teenage boy in....checks read list ok, just about never, so this was refreshing. Cas is smart, witty and admirable. The set of friends he develops is a unique one - a queen bee who isn't vilified and acidic, but rather revered for the value of her social skills; the awkward psychic who proves himself to be a capable witch and rather heroic as well; and then there's the frenemy, Will, who is smart enough to recognize trouble when he sees but not enough to get out of the way when he should. They're interesting, and well-drawn and they're played off Cas really well.

I didn't really get why he loved Anna though. But I never really get why anyone loves anyone, so maybe I should stop complaining about this. But you figure, she's dead, that should shut off the inclinations towards potential love interest. I suppose its like that time I developed a crush on a flamboyantly gay friend, and knowing he was gay only allowed my brain to tuck my sad sad crush into a hidden corner of my mind, showing up every once in a while to make me blush and leave me confused. Parts are parts, I guess, regardless of orientation and apparently, even if you're dead. So they love each other, and they're interactions and affectoin were really cute, but it didn't have much draw other than that.

Speaking of deadness, the lore in this is skimmed over at best, probably in order to maintain the pacing. The whole time I was wondering what the hell an athame is but was too lazy or too into it to bother Googling it. The ghosts are American Horror Story ghosts - fully corporeal, but either locked in a state of mind or place - which I typically can't stand. It kind of ruins the creepy vibe when the ghost can help the main character's mother unpack the car. Likewise, a lot of the horror elements didn't shock or scare or even unsettle me, and for the record, I am not completely desensitized, Rick Yancey frequently makes me jaw drop. A lot of it seemed way too similar to popular scare tropes used in movies and TV these days, like a ghost's flickering image (guys, seriously, that worked in The Ring because she manifested through a videotape, it doesn't really make sense in other instances).

So it was fun, and I'll read the sequel because Cas might be fun to see angst-ridden and pining for his dead girlfriend, but its really not anything extraordinary.

Another spooky story for October! On first glance, this one is very similar to Rin Chupeco's The Girl From The Well, but the plot is actually quite different. It's still human boy, murderous ghost girl, but here the girl is bound to her house and forced to murder whoever comes inside. Unraveling the WHY is a major part of the plot.

I'd say this one is actually less creepy than The Girl From The Well, though one of the evil things Cas encounters is VERY creepy. Both of these were just about the right amount of spooky for me. I'm actually REALLY disappointed that the sequel is proving very difficult to get my hands on! I had to request it through Marina, my statewide lending program, so I'm not sure when it will arrive. But I NEEEEEEED to know what happens to Cas and Anna after this book ends!

I think I liked the relationship between boy and ghost better in Girl From The Well; you could clearly see the draw for the ghost, and the connection between them. Not so much here; Cas is trying to kill Anna, but then they become fascinated with each other for...some reason? Anna isn't compelled to kill Cas, and that's never explained, and seems to be her main source of fascination with the boy.

Another major difference is that while Tark in Girl From The Well is rather isolationist and creeps out his peers, Cas seems to attract his peers, and quickly finds friends wherever he goes. He's typically used them as contacts in the past, not really valuing them as friends, but that changes with the events of this book, as he actually comes to know a couple of the kids at his new school and value their friendship. He even puts up with their jokes about being Ghostbusters and who would be which character, which is kind of hilarious.

Both stories are great; I'd say this one is slightly more light-hearted than Girl From The Well, but only slightly. There's still lots of creepy ghosts, life-or-death situations, gory deaths of side characters, and curses. It's another great spooky October book for scaredy-cats like me!

You can find all my reviews and more at Goddess in the Stacks.