Girl of Nightmares: review

Title: Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)
Author: Kendare Blake
Genres: horror, ghost, paranormal romance...ish.
Rating: 5 stars!
Source: bought
Summary: It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

There are spoilers from Anna Dressed in Blood below. To see my review of the first book, click here.

Girl of Nightmares was just as exciting as I hoped for! But, I am really glad it's only these two books, not some series or trilogy; I don't know why, it's just good this way.

I didn't really know what to expect, as far as the storyline goes. When we left Anna, she had dragged the evil monster, Obeahman down the drain of the underworld, but now we learn everything's not so peachy--even considering it's Hell.

What I liked most is the gore level is like a fourth as much present. Most of the book isn't actually as terrifying as the first one and I was able to read it at night and didn't resort to stomach clutching at any moment. Now, that's not to say it isn't creepy at all. There are plenty of moments that had my pulse racing and made me look over my shoulder; but it's more of a balance. 

Also, the whole mood of Girl of Nightmares is different. Anna Dressed in Blood had this terrifying girl-who-rips-people-apart factor, as well as numerous other boogeymen. In here, Cas is  now recovering from the loss of his dead girlfriend, so it's the guilt eating him up, and having to dealing with that odd depression and frustration. Now he's been having frequent dreams of her being gruesomely tortured in Hell. And all everyone wants to say to him is let her go, Cas, she's fine and moved on. Which, of course he is in no mood to do because it's simply not true.

I like Cas; he's very strong minded and cares a whole lot for the few people he lets through his shell. And his internal dialogue sounds true and makes me laugh. Thomas I still don't really get, but he kind of reminds me of my brother, the way he is described. His mind reading power is supercool!

For a while I was afraid Carmel was going to go away, but she proved true along the way and my worries disappeared. Though, we are introduced to Jestine, whom I rather despise. She's slightly underdeveloped, especially near the end, but that makes her more mysterious and suspicious like she's written to be. Safe to say, she has her own agenda.

The ending is tragic but inevitable the more I think about it. I am definitely not disappointed but I sure will miss Anna, and Cas and his friends a whole lot. Girl of Nightmares was an excellent ending to their stories.

Since reading this didn't fall on a Tuesday, here are some teasers I liked:

   "Are we lost? You'd admit it if we were lost, right?"

   Thomas smiles, maybe a bit nervously. "We're not lost. At least, not yet. They might have changed some of the roads around since the last time."

   "Who the hell are 'they'? Road construction squirrels? It doesn't even look like these things have been driven on for the last ten years." The trees are thick outside my window. The foliage has come back to fill in the winter spaces. We've taken too many turns now, and my sense of direction is shot. We could be going northsouth for all I know."

- page 88

   "I have to do this. I can't let her suffer there, without trying," I swallow hard and grit my teeth. "I love her."

   "She's dead."

   "That doesn't mean to me what it does to other people."

- pages 182

-Jane