Girl of Nightmares Review

Title: Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed In Blood #2)

Author: Kendare Blake

Date of Publication: August 7, 2012

Formats Available: Hardcover, E-Book

Synopsis: After Anna Korlov, the ghost he loves opens a door to hell taking the evil Obeahman with her Cas Lowood just can't move on. He keeps seeing disturbing images of Anna, bloody and tortured and she seems to be asking for his help. With the help of his friends Thomas and Carmel, Cas discovers that Anna is trapped in hell with the Obeahman and must suffer through his extreme torture. Now Cas is determined to go to England to see Gideon and the Order, the strange group that made the athame he uses to vanquish ghosts. However the price to hell is steep and Cas must be sure he's willing to pay the price once he gets there, or he just might not come back alive.

My Review:

I hadn't been a huge fan of Anna Dressed In Blood, while I thought it was a good book I couldn't really get into it so it fell a little flat for me. I was a bit nervous to read Girl of Nightmares for that same reason, I was afraid I still wouldn't be able to connect with the characters or get into the story. However, I quickly discovered that Girl of Nightmares was going to be nothing like Anna Dressed In Blood and I found myself falling in love with the story and the characters.

One thing I absolutely love about this series is the male narrator. It's so rare to find a book like this written completely from a male perspective. I love Cas as a main character, he's a great hero and reading from his point of view is a huge joy. His willingness to risk his life for those he cares about provides plenty of exciting and near death experiences, making me love his character all the more. One little quirk I missed was Cas's cussing habit, it was still there but just a little toned down from what I remember.

I loved being able to feel more connected with the characters in this novel. Originally I wasn't a big fan of either Thomas or Carmel but in this book I found myself really beginning to like them. I feel that this novel did more for character development than the first novel, showing new sides to each of the characters but still keeping them true to the personalities that were established in the first book.

The plot of Girl of Nightmares was much stronger than that of Anna Dressed In Blood, I feel like this novel had more action and character development and held my attention more so than the first novel. I genuinely cared about the characters and I was rooting for them every step of the way. The plot was fresh and entertaining; I will definitely be on the lookout for more of Blakes books in the future!

Fans of Anna Dressed in Blood will no doubt adore this novel and even those, who like me, wasn't particularly excited by Anna Dressed in Blood will find this novel a wonderful improvement. Anyone looking for a good ghost story will find one in the Anna Dressed in Blood series!

4/5