Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
I feel like I'm on a good reading streak and I'm afraid it's going to end soon. lol Seriously, I loved how creepy this book was. Kendare Blake did not hold back, which is good. I think if she had held back on some of the more sinister or gruesome aspects the story would not have rung as true.
Cas comes to town with the intent to kill Anna, sending her wherever they end up going when he does so, and then move on. What he doesn't count on is letting people into his life and finding out there's more to Anna's story than your typical I-was-killed-and-now-I'm-angry ghost story. Her death was more unnatural and wrong than others, and it will take more than usual to get things done.
I love Cas and his attitude. It was exciting to me because every time I opened the book to read more I felt like I was right alongside him and his friends. I was the invisible one, who was rooting for them and helping them along, unbeknownst to them, of course. I yelled at them, I felt for them, I cried for them. I completely understood why Anna spared Cas his life; and I would have been angry at her if she hadn't. He wasn't your I-can-do-anything-hero. He's fallible and he knows his own strengths and his weaknesses. He doesn't act all stunned and hurt when he's not the one on top. He accepts it and does what he needs to do to move forward. And that involves something he's never done before - rely on others.
This story was so eerie and macabre at times. I can't wait to dive into the next book, Girl of Nightmares, as soon as I get my hands on it.
Smiles,
B
Smiles,
B
I loved this book as well. I think I liked the sequel even better! I agree about Cas, he is a great male protagonist! The creepiness in this book was awesome :)
ReplyDeleteAlise @ Readers In Wonderland
I just got the sequel last week in my mail, so I'm excited to get to it! Blake did a great job at making this book just creepy enough that I was going back for more every chance I got. :)
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