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shelbyleigh_'s review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
durrareadsstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
"It was my job to kill her."
"Was it? Or was it your job to stop her?" She leans back from the table, cradling her coffee mug between her hands.
This book was good, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I wasn't shocked or that much impacted, but I have to say, it was pretty creepy and overall, a quick and fun read.
I think this is my first time reading horror. I really enjoyed the creepy parts, and it's got a little bit of humour too. Although, I do think the romance seems a little rushed? and I didn't feel connected to any characters. Plot-wise, it was okay. There was nothing that shocking
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Animal death and Sexual harassment
fabulousfox's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked the narrator voice and since the characters are in high school, it read as YA. Except for the very graphic gore and horror, which was fun and disturbing.
Minor: Animal death
weeziesbooks's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
Moderate: Gore and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death
Book mentions Indigenous things (burial mounds, Wendigo, etc.) in an anti-Indigenous way.catsy2022's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Rating: B-
Read for the Spooky Bitches BC for October 2020.
Reading the cover like "Spellbinding and romantic." Romantic? What the fuck?
Anna Dressed in Blood is a story with a pretty cool concept for YA horror; Theseus Cassio Lowood (Cas) is a ghost hunter who travels around the USA and Canada hunting ghosts who are causing problems for people. AKA killing them. His latest tip is Anna Dressed in Blood, a ghost who is rumoured to be tearing vagrants and homeless people apart if they wander into her house.
The pacing of the book was actually pretty great until the big bad was introduced. With 20 pages left we are expected to believe that the bad guy will be dealt with in that space. I liked the unravelling of the mystery and how it tied into Cas' past. I felt like that was a good way of bringing the mystery to the spotlight, though it does seem to be a common thing with YA to neatly deal with any outstanding drama in the first book (rather than let it simmer).
I liked the cover of the book, too. My copy had a red dress-wearing Anna rather than the white dress Anna. The fight scenes were also pretty good and the book is unreasonably gory for a YA. I liked that a lot.
But as for what I didn't like... personally I didn't really like Cas - I felt like his voice was pretty generic. I didn't think the other characters were particularly interesting except for Thomas. The book actually reminded me a lot of Sabrina the Teenaged Witch. Someone thrust into their "destiny" all alone (once Sab becomes a witch) but has experienced people to help them / cover their weak areas.
I also really felt like the romance was awful and kind of gross. It came out of nowhere and made the book so generic. I really came here for scares, but Anna tears 1 guy apart in front of everyone and as soon a she's a cute teenage girl again, all is forgiven and we can move on? It moved at fucking the speed of light and Cas even reflects at the end of the book that 2 months had passed. Alright, that's how teenagers are but...well who could've guessed.
Read it for a bingo square but this isn't one I would recommend.
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal death
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