Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Title: Girl of Nightmares
(Anna Dressed in Blood #2)
Author: Kendare Blake
Summary:
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a
door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas
Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that
Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's
eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love
with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep
and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't
just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome
ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared
into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now.
Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.
Review:
So, I really enjoyed Anna Dressed in Blood. It was different
and awesome. But, something I noticed about both Book 1 and 2 is that Anna isn’t
really the main character. She is in the first book, but BARELY in this second book
at all. She really is only in his dreams until the very end…
Its not that I don’t like Cas. I do. He reminds me of Dean
from Supernatural, and I HEART Dean. But… don’t name a book, or a series, about
a character if that character isn’t even the main character at all.
Now that my little rant is over, I can say that I still did
like Girl of Nightmares.
There was action, and adventure. A quest to save Anna, a
crazy aunt, and a messed up cult. Everything that needs to be in a ghost story,
right?
I loved all of the characters. I mean, Blake just cant go
wrong with any of her characters. They all feel super thought out and legit. (I
kinda have a small crush on Thomas now. Haha)
Also, I have to say that the writing is near perfect. Dark and
sad, yet funny and sarcastic at the same time. I could be laughing, and then
the next page crying… well, not actually crying, but pretty close.
I liked this book, but it just wasn’t as good as the first
one. I don’t know what I feel was missing… Maybe like I said earlier, the lack
of Anna was disappointing. Or maybe it just didn’t have the ending that I wanted.
(not like you could ever have a happy ending when one of the love interests is
dead to begin with.)
Rating. 3.5 stars, but will round up.
Whoa. Been a while since I've dropped by. Let's see if I can rectify that...
ReplyDeleteI have to say, that cover art is pretty freakin' fantastic. It's overflowing with style -- and I'm a guy who can appreciate some stylish visuals. But art aside...
"But, something I noticed about both Book 1 and 2 is that Anna isn’t really the main character. She is in the first book, but BARELY in this second book at all. She really is only in his dreams until the very end…"
Interesting. I wonder if that's the point the author was going for? I mean, that's kind of how nightmares work -- dream about a monster and get scared, but don't see it in the real or dream world for ages...that is, until it suddenly pops up again years later when you least expect it. A sporadic appearance increases the effect -- paranoia, dread, a poignant and enduring image, the works. Granted I haven't read the book so I can't comment too securely, BUT I suppose if a story is going to deal in dreams, that's something to consider.
Or maybe Blake is just saving Anna for something further down the pipeline. Who's to say, really?
Well, mutterings aside, thanks for offering up another snappy review. It's certainly given me stuff to think about in my own endeavors...but then again, that's usually the case. (And you'd be surprised what can make me go into these little mental asides.)
Guess I'll have to start dropping by more often. Till next time, then, good luck on your end.