Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: ALA 2012
Rating: 
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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. – Source
Review:
Anna Dressed in Blood was fantastically spooky so I was very eager to get my read on with Kendare Blake’s sequel, Girl of Nightmares. It’s hard to say which book I liked more, but I can definitely say that Girl of Nightmares was just as creepy and fun as the first book.
First up: Cas, I missed you! Kendare Blake continued to write his character with such an authentic teenage boy voice. He’s snarky, dramatic, and he curses — A LOT. I’ve been in one of those weird reading funks again, but it was so easy to get caught up in Cas’s adventures because his character is so charismatic.
Along with Cas, Carmel and Thomas were great to see again. This trio continued to have several hilarious moments that had me laughing late into the night, but I also came to appreciate the depth of their friendship. They don’t deal with easy stuff and I really liked that Kendare Blake explored how difficult and straining that can be.
The main mystery of Girl of Nightmares was finding out where Anna went after the events in Anna Dressed in Blood. There is plenty of creepy between the two books, but I found Girl of Nightmares to be somewhat more unsettling because Cas deals with a lot of his fears internally. There are still several moments of “in your face” creepiness, though, so worry not if that’s what you’re looking forward to.
Finally, there’s the ending. Could Kendare Blake write a more brilliant conclusion? Maybe, but it’s hard to imagine because what she has already is so perfect. I’m going to miss these characters, but I am so in love with how their story wrapped. I’ll eagerly look forward to reading what Kendare Blake writes next.
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About Stephanie
Oh you tease… you tease, you tease, you tease. *makes grabby hands at book*
SO excited for this! I’ve been seeing some reviews for Anna around lately and it’s making me all the more excited for this, which… *looks at calendar* Ooh releases tomorrow! Score! Perfect timing with your post :D
I can’t wait to see what Cas Carmel and Thomas get up to and how they grow together. Especially interested in seeing how Cas is dealing with his ‘interal fears, as you say. And Anna… eeeep! I didn’t realise this was the final book, I think I just assume nowadays that everything is a trilogy haha. BRILLIANT review!
I was SO surprised to find that this was the last book too! I would definitely be up for more adventures with these characters but gah…the ending was brilliant as it was. I hope you love it when you read it!!
Never heard of this book or the first one, but the summary is definitely interesting! Will add to my neverending list! :D
Thanks for sharing!
I am pretty positive that you would LOVE it!! I think it’s the type of book(s) you would enjoy tons.
Aww, I soooo need to order a copy of this one – I loved the first book and am dying to get to this one, too. I’m glad you liked it and thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts with us. :)
Also, loooove the design. :)
Carina
I am so jazzed to read this! I have it pre-ordered and I haven’t been this excited in a long time.
Looking forward to reading Anna Dressed in Blood hopefully sometime soon, so I’m glad you liked the sequel a lot too! I’m all for “in-your-face” creepy. Also, I have a very good feeling I will be all for Cas, as well :)