You know the drill, book lovers. If you haven’t read Anna Dressed in Blood yet then read that review here, and avoid this review like the plague!!! Got it? Okay, I’m trusting you…
Girl of Nightmares takes place months after Anna Dressed in Blood ended. Months since the ghost of Anna Korlov, a strong young woman cursed to be a bloody menace after death, opened a door to the afterlife in her basement to pull the evil spirit of the Obeahman though.
She sacrificed herself for Cas and his friends.
Though Carmel and Thomas try to tell him that moping and resisting moving on is not what Anna disappeared through that hole for, Cas can’t seem to stop himself. He misses her. And, impossibly, he loves her…
But when he starts to see Anna everywhere, always with dead eyes, always in some sort of agony, Cas becomes convinced that she’s trying to tell him something. And he’s worried that she’s not at peace.
Where exactly did she go?
The curse that Anna’s mother put on her forced her to become the monster that killed people for years after her murder – it wasn’t her fault. She doesn’t deserve to suffer forever – and if Anna is in Hell, well Cas is going to get her out.
No one, including his father’s longtime English friend Gideon, seems to think it’s possible…
But that’s never stopped Cas before.
I found Anna Dressed in Blood to be an original page-turner, and Girl of Nightmares excels that level of awesomeness and reaches a whole new level.
The ghosts and spirits are creepy – and the visits by the abnormal, constantly wounded Anna are spooky to say the least. Mix that in with Cas’s sharp, sarcastic wit as a narrator and his deep pain and grief and we get a fresh, non-angsty YA paranormal.
Girl of Nightmares has great friendship and mystery. I was engrossed, held in suspense, as we followed the plot of why the mute, scary Anna is haunting Cas. It’s like one of those super rare, excellent horror movies that isn’t pure stupidity and scantily clad girls but instead is intelligent and absorbing.
Implausibly romantic, fascinating twists and a brand new evolving plot that takes the story to London really propels Girl of Nightmares to heights of mythology and answers. Super frightening, nerve-wracking, and just CREEPY! Did I say that already? I’ll give you two words: Suicide Forest.
You’ve been warned.
Really, Girl of Nightmares is a heartbreaking, bloody, and a kind of brilliant finale!
One to remember, for sure. Read it with the lights on, though.
*Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Dec 31st, when the third annual Stand-Out Books of the Year list is posted with all kinds of great ideas for those brand new gift cards to hopefully got for Christmas!!!
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