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alicelt's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, and Death
onlyongracexm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book was pretty awesome. I’ve never really read horror before. What I really like was all the descriptive language used to describe the imagery of the characters and the settings. The first half is the good part, it was very suspenseful. It kept you thinking and questioning. However, I like the smooth transition from one plot to the next (maybe too smooth, Anna’s freedom was anticlimactic).
I came to this comparison as I was finishing, this book reminds me of the anime, Sword Art Online. It starts out good, but then it swirls itself down the drain. We can compare Cas to Asuka. They’re both super badasses in the beginning, but then turn into lovesick cliches in the end. The relationship between Anna and Cas is cool and all, but I honestly think it’s creepy for a dead person and an alive person to “get together” and this story would’ve went much better without it.
I came to this comparison as I was finishing, this book reminds me of the anime, Sword Art Online. It starts out good, but then it swirls itself down the drain. We can compare Cas to Asuka. They’re both super badasses in the beginning, but then turn into lovesick cliches in the end. The relationship between Anna and Cas is cool and all, but I honestly think it’s creepy for a dead person and an alive person to “get together” and this story would’ve went much better without it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
siobhanward's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a fairly solid read. I think I would have liked it more if I’d read it as a teenager. Some of the language was a bit awkward/forced sounding, but there were definitely creepy vibes throughout and I didn’t feel the plot was too overdone (I’ve definitely read my share of paranormal YA and some of it gets really repetitive).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal death
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