Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Pages: 316 (Hardcover)

Release date: August 30th 2011
Published by: Tor Teen

Summary: (Goodreads)

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered 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: track, 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, now stained red and dripping with 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.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Review:

Anna Dressed in Blood is the first horror book (that I’m aware of) that I have read. It follows the story of Thesius Cassio Lowood, better known as Cas, a young ghost hunter who travels with his mother around the world to kill ghosts that do harm to people.

This was the first horror book that I’m aware of that I’ve read because this has been the only book that gave me chills, goosebumps all over my body, made me look constantly over my shoulder to see if some strange something is lurking in my back, and ultimately because this has been the only book so far that screamed horror to me.

The first half of this book was really good. I loved Anna even though she scared me. She is vicious and barbaric. She wouldn’t think twice before she snaps your neck or rip you in half (literally) once you step into her house. The readers would get real curious as to why she spared Cas’s life.

The second half of the book though was a landslide. One wouldn’t think it real should there be rumors about ghosts that rip people in half and hide their bodies, but the first half of the book made it somewhat believable. However, the second half went over the top. First, how Anna was saved was very abrupt. Second, the romance was not believable. And third, I didn’t buy the underlying and ultimate conflict in the book.

Despite the disappointing parts though, Anna Dressed in Blood is a very quick read and will make for a very good read for the Halloween.

Mithee

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Title: A Monster Calls

Author: Patrick Ness

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Rating: 4-and-a-half stars


Conor O'Malley has nightmare and he's afraid the monster from his nightmare will come to him in real life and the nightmare turns into real. So when a monster shows up, he's not afraid at all. That until the monster interferes in his life and shows him what's hidden under his nightmare.

Patrick Ness did it again! That's the first thing I had in mind after I finished reading this book. In my opinion Patrick Ness is one of the authors who aren't only good at creating loveable and believable characters but also good at create engaging plot. A Monster Calls shows exactly a great author he is. It might be short but it's deep nonetheless. There are stories written for more than 300 pages and you can't still feel the connection with the characters and there are stories written only 100ish pages and you feel in love with the characters since the first chapter. A Monster Calls fall into the later.

Conor is a poor kid; his mother is sick and has been through many treatment with barely a result. I've experienced what he experiences in this book and it wasn't easy for me, who undoubtedly an adult and has many people supported me. Conor on the other hand, is alone and has to deal with all those stuffs by himself. He doesn't have friend at school because everyone pities him, and it doesn't help him at all. And that's why the monster comes to him. The monster comes to tell him a story and after that, Conor must tell him his story, the story in his nightmare.

It's great story with a great message. It's also beautifully written. It's a must read for anyone had experienced loss in his/her life.

Lynossa

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Title: The Stranger You Seek

Author: Amanda Kyle Williams

Publisher: Random House

Rating: Three-and-a-half stars

"The papers have called me a monster. You’ve either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished."


A letter was sent to police, taunting them, mocking them to capture the serial killer who has brutally murdered three people, at least, as far as they know. Keye Street, a recovering alcoholic addict ex-FBI profiler was asked by her long-time friend Rauser to help him solve the case, but then the murder acknowledged her and contacted her. It's one thing to get involved in a case but it's another thing to have it get into your life. Was is someone she knew? Will it draw her back to her addiction?


I'm a huge fan of serial killer stories, I've watched Criminal Minds, I've read Hannibal the Cannibal series, and planning on getting my hands on Mr.Ripley's series. When I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it, the blurb offered the things that I liked in serial killer stories. The story was written in first-person POV which sometimes can be annoyed but the annoyance is quite limited in here. Even though Keye Street is a selfish arrogant with a tendency to push herself to the limit, she's a reliable narrator and a good observant so I could imagine the situation quite well. The killings were described in details, although not to the point of gory so it's quite safe. Even though the story isn't as depth in profiling serial killer as I would like it to be, it was good and believable. There are a lot of things I knew already either from Criminal Minds or my simple googling session after watching the series, but there are things I didn't know as well and it was fun to read. Well, not exactly fun but you know what I mean.

I think fan of darker mystery, serial killer cases, Criminal Minds might enjoy this book.


Lynossa

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

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Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. It's been awhile since the last time we're participating but I just spot on several titles that interest me and I just need to spread the words about it!

Lynossa WoWs:

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Expected published date: 27th September 2011

Blurb (Goodreads):

 Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I've read many good review about this book and I almost pre-order it but then I decided I'll be patient and wait to see whether this is too heavy on romance or not.

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Expected published date: January 2012.

I've read in goodreads someone posted this about the book: "You know you're a bestselling author when the font size used on the book cover for your name is larger than that used for the actual title." LOL that's so funny even though it's not the final cover. Anyway, I'm so excited about this I decided to pre-order it! Yep, this is actually the first pre-order I made, I never bought any book before it's published, especially without knowing what the story will be! I guess most of the time I wanted to see other people's opinion first before I spend my money. Well, I hope it's worth every penny of it!
ps: I heard John Green will sign all pre-order book. I hope his hand will be okay after that!

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

Title: The Unwanteds

Author: Lisa McMann

Publisher: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster Imprint)

Rating: Two and a half stars

In the land of Quill, once in a year, thirteen years old kids must face Purge, to decide whether they're Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted. Alex Stowe is Unwanted while his twin brother Aaron is wanted. That meant Aaron will stay in the society and Alex will be sentenced to death. Or so he thought, until he and other Unwanted kids arrived in Artime where he was allowed to draw, spoke what was on his mind, and snacked in the middle of the night. But Alex missed his twin brother and wanted to contact him. Would he do it even though it might jeopardize Artime?

In the beginning, I was a bit annoyed because there's no explanation why the world turned out like that. For me good dystopian has to have a logical reason why the world became that way. But I decided to keep reading in case the explanation is located in the end of the story. It did have explanation, but it made me think this isn't supposed to be called as dystopian...

Anyway the plot was interesting and idea was great. basically the stoy is good enough to keep me reading until the end; the kids with creative traits were banished from tight and strick society? twins separated and must fight against one another? I'm on it. Plus the strange creatures are amazing as well, I like Simber a lot.

The characters, however aren't so interesting for me. Alex is okay, Lani is a bit bratty, Megan and Samheed a bit typical. Mr. Today also just okay, remind me a bit about Dumbledore but definitely not as awesome as him.The romance part was weird and it just didn't click at all; it felt a bit forced for me.

Then in some parts of the story there are several sub chapters where the narration voice shifted uncomfortably, at least for me. For example there's one that shifted from Alex to Samheed even to Mr. Today while it was supposed to be from Alex POV or another sub-chapter where the narration shifted from Alex to Samheed to Lani. Seriously, it's annoying and confusing. How Alex could possibly know what's Samheed or Mr Today's thought?

So overall the story is good and worthy to read although a bit predictable but the characters were just okay and narration was a bit annoying.

Lynossa

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann