Nocturnal Book Reviews

Anna Dressed in Blood is a very very good horror story, one that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. It's tense, exhilarating and pretty dark.

Why on Earth then did you give this book lower rating? you might ask.

Truth is, I felt that with all the excellence of this novel, the love story was completely unnecessary. It's awkward at its best, developed under highly unlikely circumstances and it just doesn't stick.


Why would a boy who sees Anna as his target, who just witnessed the girl killing someone in the most gruesome fashion suddenly feel for this girl? I'm sorry, but no. Sympathy, pity, certain respect, fear... I can understand that. But love? That's pretty twisted.

Cas himself reminded me of Cassel Sharp from Holly Black's Curse Workers series. He likes to feel superior to his peers, detached from their worries, but in reality he is not that good at what he does. He manages to do it by sheer luck and perseverance, but not because of his skills and cunning. Hell, no. There are plenty of people around who really appreciate what he does and who help him all along the way.

The secondary characters though are really well done. I admire them for going against stereotypes. Carmel, especially. She is a beautiful blond cheerleader. Strong, not egocentric and very clever. She's got a really good heart and she falls not for Cas, the main character, but for his geeky mind-reading sidekick slash witch, Thomas. I thought it was awesome.

The scariest moment of this book? The cat dies. You do not kill the cat! *sobs* It's just so unbearably cruel. Kill humans instead. Pets are no-no, unless they are from The Pet Cemetery.

All in all, this is a fantastic read, full of suspense, and a very good murder mystery. Ditch the love story, and we'll have something truly great in the books to follow. I also hope to see more of Carmel and Thomas.