This is a huge thumbs-up from me. Anna Dressed in Blood is a mix of horror, paranormal, YA teen romance, and pretty much everything else all wrapped into a delightfully original story.
Cas, our protagonist, is seventeen and possesses the extraordinarily rare ability to kill the dead…as in ghosts. His father was the same but was killed mysteriously when Cas was seven. Ten years later, Cas has once again moved to a new location for a new ghost with his mom. This time, he meets Anna, who haunts the house she was murdered in more than fifty years ago.
It’s good stuff, yep.
Couple of caveats with this one. There is cussing and a whole lot of gore. It’s a YA/Teen book, but I have a hard time believing it’s for anyone under sixteen simply because of those things. To me, it read as YAFA (Young Adult for Adults).
I really loved this one. The characters are richly drawn, the story unique and intriguing, the writing flows well and there is always something happening or about to happen. There is no navel-gazing here. Give this one a try if you’re in the mood for something a little bloody, but fun.
As always, I only put books in Read and Loved written by people I don’t know. I’m reviewing strictly as a reader.