Reviews tagging 'Death'

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

23 reviews

creolelitbelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-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

3.25

Entertaining but not a "good" book. When I read off my list to my husband, he described this book as "we have Buffy at home." Ironically, the author more recently released a trilogy set in the Buffyverse, which leads me to believe this was her fanfiction before she got permission to write true Buffy stories instead of pulling from late 90s/early 2000s tv shows for inspiration in this fanfic mashup. 

- MC named Cas, dad killed on a hunt, has special athame (SPN)
- kills ghosts
- has a source of information in New Orleans
- side character named WILL ROSENBERG
- references Buffy
- references the mystery machine from Scooby-Doo
- Gideon - father figure like SPN's Bobby who was friends with his dad, name from Elder on Charmed, is from London like Giles...
- Men of Power = Men of Letters (SPN)
- Thomas & Carmel = scoobies like Buffy
- Thomas = Willow (witch
- found Carmel's ex & his friend dead by a monster's hand
- Carmel = Cordelia
- Anna = Angel. Evil, saved, but still a ghost/supernatural creature
- Cas has prophetic dreams
- Cas hunts "the thing that killed dad"... SPN, anyone? 
- Carmel calls Cas "Buffy" to Thomas
 

Read this for a nostalgic fun foray back into shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Supernatural. I listened to the audiobook, and it is a good time, enough to convince me to check the adventures in the sequel. Do not expect a serious story with good writing. 

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ktdakotareads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5


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deb_is_reading's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

 
Positives: Depending on how you enjoy them, this mostly felt like a filler episode of Buffy or Supernatural. I did like this little Scooby Gang that has formed between our main characters. I liked their interactions, it felt natural.

Neg: I was waiting for more poignant moments regarding death and grief. I've started journaling and I liked to use quotes in the journal and it took me a while to find something that emotionally resonated with me. I expected more considering how popular and well liked this was when I was first entering the book space online.

Further thoughts: There's voodoo practices in this book, I'm not sure how well it was adapted, as I've never participated in the religion. It seemed to come out of nowhere imo.


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phoenixlovesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

This is my first read of the year, and I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with Anna and her story, and Anna & Cas were sweet together. I will 100% continue the duology and novella :)

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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alex_wordweaver's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

September pick for Amy McCaw's YA Book Club 2023.

I've had this on my tbr for the longest time, so I'm glad to have had an opportunity to read this with the book club and tune into to fellow readers thoughts real time.

I thought Anna Dressed in Blood was equal in atmosphere and horror. The ghost slaying themes were fascinating and uncomfortably eery, but sadly a solitary life.

I liked how focused Cas was as a main character and how serious he took reaping the ghosts of the dead from the land of the living, but it made me sad how much he distanced himself from his peers and how closed off he was from normal high school life/the future. I couldn't help but see that he did want to flock to people and "widen his circle" but there was that constant worry of being held back by others and the risking of innocent lives.

The romance was a bit too instant for me, but I think it unfurled quite tenderly and sweet, despite still not really getting how it happened.

Overall, this was a fantastic story!



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kryskross's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

2.0


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seilahuh's review against another edition

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3.5

at least, it's a paranormal romance. at most it's a story about two cursed teens, one dead, one alive, afflicted with bloodlust and hellbent on revenge. regardless, i loved it. it's unfortunate these feelings couldn't carry over to the sequel however...

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pippamillerxoxo_'s review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-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? No

4.0


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