Anna Dressed in Blood

""This house is wrong. Once we're here we never leave. You shouldn't have come back."<br/><br/>Anna Dressed in Blood was my introduction to Kendare Blake's books, and I really enjoyed reading this one! A couple friends had said it was reminiscent of the early episodes of Supernatural, and I totally agree. <br/><br/>This book has a great opening, and it caught my attention right away. It did sort of lose steam for a bit in the middle, but it picked back up by the end. There were some good haunted house scenes. I had a lot of fun reading this one, and can't wait to read book 2! <br/><br/>CW - rape (off-page), abuse, animal cruelty"

"Impossible to put down. Love story and thriller smacked into one! "

"Absolutely amazing book "

"3.5 ⭐ <br/><br/>I had no idea what to expect from this one. I like going into books knowing little about the synopsis. I can't even remember where I got this recommendation from. I listened to this one via audiobook and the narrator did a decent job with the voices. Not the best but I still enjoyed it. I would probably recommend reading the physical copy. <br/><br/>I really enjoyed how creepy/scary the author made Anna and her house with it's grotesque description. However, the fact that the dead can talk took away the creepy/scary factor for me. Which I guess I understand for when the author is trying to make Anna a likeable character. I didn't particularly care for any of the female characters but I was intrigued by the premise and where the story was going. I was hoping Anna would have been unreliable and actually be the one doing the killings around town as a potential twist or have William for some reason do the killings with Cas' knife. But the fact that it was his dad's killer was an interesting plot twist to go on. I thought maybe in the second book we'd get introduced to hunting and killing his dad's killer and just focus on killing and sending Anna away in the first book. <br/><br/>I also didn't really like the romantic interest that was formed between Anna and Cas or the other two friends. Not all stories have to have a romantic interest and I think leaving it out would have been a bit better. <br/><br/>I did like Anna's background story and all of the scenes within her home to make the horror truly come to life. I get easily scared of paranormal activity and if the dead didn't talk I'd have endless nightmares on this one. <br/><br/>Even though I wish the story had gone in a different direction, I'm looking forward to seeing how the sequel turns out assuming it'll wrap up this series. <br/><br/>It gave me Lockwood and Co. Vibes but for adults... except I think I'd rather hangout with Lucy and the gang over these characters any day!"

"Ehh. Bored."

"Shout out to the 3 Book Girls podcast for recommending this book! They had a ghost themed episode and this book cropped up in the mix and got rave reviews. I was hesitant since it is YA and I don’t typically read a lot of this genre, but I’ve read some really fantastic YA this year so I figured why not. This did not disappoint! I’d label it light-weight horror, but apparently I don’t scare easily (I actually thought “The Shining” was kind of boring...the horror! Yes pun intended, obviously). It was fun book though and extremely fast paced. I raced through it and I actually like the ending enough that I might leave it there in my mind rather than read the sequel. Still deciding, but I loved the author and I’ve been meaning to check out her new series “Three Dark Crowns” so maybe I’ll give that a go next!"

"I have to say I really enjoyed this book Cas Lowood his friends and Anna. I felt so bad for Anna and for Cas. the story was fast paced, and I finished in 4 days."

"Creepy 💗"

"Loved this book when I read it and reread it in middle school. Considering rereading again to give a more accurate review. I just remember loving his mother and his childhood memories. Loved the twist. Found it very scary and dark.<br/><br/>Edit reread:<br/>I did not remember that romance subplot. Also who the hell let me read this at 11?"

"I was pretty excited about this one with all the hype about it before it released and after. I had sat on it for a while before finally buying my own copy and digging in. While I still enjoyed the story, I was a little let down because I had expected this hugely creepy, amazing story would unfold. Not so much creepy, though. Normally I'm not a fan of the creepy stuff, but I had gone into this one wanting it to be much more scary than it was.<br/><br/>The story was still really interesting, though. I enjoyed it and was still invested when I turned the last page. Cas is an interesting guy. Most YA books aren't narrated by a guy and I really liked the change of pace. I'm not sure I really ever liked Carmel and her crowd, but I did end up liking her by the end of the book.<br/><br/>Anna. This was what drew me in. While I wanted more scary ghostness from her, I still really liked her story. It's not pretty (obviously) and I hadn't seen it coming when we learn why she's haunting her house instead of having moved on.<br/><br/>I'm still glad I read it. I'm excited to read on and learn more about Cas and all stuff that was kept from him. It did leave off with lots of unanswered questions and one heck of a cliffhanger, but surprisingly, I was okay with that. It makes me eager to get my hands on the next one."