Tuesday 3 July 2012

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake


Girl of Nightmares (Anna, #2)




  Title: Girl of Nightmares 
  Author: Kendare Blake
  Publisher: Tor Teen
  Publication date: August 7th 2012
  My rating: 3 stars


 





In Girl of Nightmares we pick up several months after Anna sacrificed herself to save Cas, Thomas and Carmel, by taking the Obeahman to Hell. Since then, Cas has been going through the motions of life and school.  He follows up on ghost tips with Carmel and Thomas tagging along.  The three of them now form a sort of ghost-busting team.  However, Cas can't get Anna out of his head.  Everyone has done research and they've consulted the spiritual community but they can't nail down what happened to Anna.  Suddenly, Cas starts hearing and seeing Anna all over the place: in the face of another student, through the laugh of another ghost, or just in the middle of his bedroom.  If this is really Anna, it's not good because she doesn't appear to have gone to a peaceful place at all. Everyone says it's impossible, that she can't come back, so Cas doesn't know if it's his mind playing tricks on him.  Cas sets out to find out if Anna really needs help, it's the least he can do for her now.

Overall I enjoyed the conclusion to this story but, in my opinion, it didn't live up to Anna Dressed In Blood.  That being said, I still liked it.  The creepy and spooky factor that was in Anna, was in this one too.  Some of the ghost hunting scenes are spine tingling scary.  While we still get our snarky wise-cracking Cas, I feel his personality was a little dampened by his depression over Anna, which I guess is understandable considering his situation.  I loved the bits of Thomas and Carmel.  These two opposites have a sweet romance that I found to be a highlight in this story.   I also liked the new character Jestine, she was tough and bad-ass. The type of girl I love to read about.  I think I would've enjoyed this even more if she was more of a prominent character earlier on.  We're not even introduced to her until half-way through the story, which is a shame because I saw great potential with her and Cas. 

One of the reasons I usually shy away from ghost/human romance stories is because, really, how can it end well?   So while I felt the ending was fitting, it left me with bittersweet feelings.


 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so funny. I just posted my review for Anna Dressed In Blood today !
It's so sad that the book doesn't really live up to Anna. I don't know if I'll like Cas if he's so depressed. I really liked him for his sarcasm and humor in the first book, so I'll be a bit disappointed if he's not going to be like that anymore.
I can't wait to read about Carmel and Thomas too. Those two were fun ! :)
I'm glad you enjoyed the book in general, Rachel. :)

Unknown said...

I haven't read this series yet but I know that many people loved it. Oh well, I'm just not a fan of horror book. I can't even read scary passage without having other person near me LOL! I'm such a coward, I know. :P Anyway I'm glad that you fairly enjoyed it, although you think it's not as good as Anna Dressed in Blood.

Amazing review like usual, Rachel! <3

Rachel said...

:) Fantastic review Rachel! I am looking forward to meeting Jestine! I'm looking forward to this book so much so thanks for the review! Its a shame that it is not as incredible of ADIB but I'm glad it still was enjoyable.
I love how you mentioned ways Cal saw Anna!
Rachel <3!

Rachel said...

I meant Cas (ridiculous auto-correct)

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I think Cas' snarky personality was one of the main reasons I loved Anna Dressed in Blood. It's sad to hear it isn't all there in this book but, like you said, that is understandable given his feelings. I'm glad the spookiness is still good in this book! I can't wait to read it. Great review, Rachel! :)

Mimi Valentine said...

I'm fiercely protective with my love for Anna (because she was so awesome in book one and my heart broke with everything she did for Cas <3), so I'm kinda scared about meeting a new girl for his affections... but at the same time, I'm SO ecstatic that he'll have someone to help him get over his sorrows! It's a dilemma :') But I have to admit that being badass DOES give her extra brownie points LOL x)

Wonderful review, Rachel! <3 :)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Darn, I can't even imagine a really depressed Cass. It makes me want to run and hide. Anyway, I'm sorry this didn't quite live up to your expectations, Rachel. I preordered it and I can't wait to read it, if only to get some sense of closure. Plus, the cover was done by Nekro, that alone is reason enough to preorder.
Great review, lovely!

Unknown said...

Can't wait! Want to see how it ends!

Jenny said...

Okay, I tried to leave a comment earlier and for some reason it didn't want to let me. Boo!

I can't tell you how excited I am for this one Rachel, I adored Anna Dressed in Blood! I'm a little disappointed you didn't feel this one lived up to the first one, but overall I'm still looking forward to it. I'm nervous about the bittersweet ending, but like you said, it's probably fitting for a human/ghost love story:)

Rachel said...

@Rachel- That auto correct really gets me sometimes! I hope you enjoy this when you get to it, Rachel. It did wrap up the best way possible. :)

@Nick-Cas is still snarky and fun, just not as much as he was in Anna Dressed in Blood. Hopefully you'll like it better than me. :)

Rachel said...

@Sam & Maja, I think Cas still has some spunk, just not as much as in the first book. Hope you two like it better than me! I'll look out for your reviews. Maybe this was just me.

@Mimi-No worries. Jestine can't hold a candle to Cas's affections for Anna. I almost wished she did because she's alive and well, that could really work. :)

Lan said...

I'm way too scared of ghosts to start this series even though I'm completely dying to because everyone is so in love with it :( Anna sounds like a great character. Glad you enjoyed the second book. First books in series are always better for me anyway!

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

Damn, I didn't mean to read this, just skim it. I've read too much. I just started Anna Dressed in Blood today (only one chapter in) and I know "kind of" how it ends :( I didn't know there was only two books in this series.

Shane @ItchingforBooks said...

I haven't read the first one but i hear lots of good things about it. Great review, think i'll start the series.

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am glad to see I am not the only one feeling a bit left down, I thought the pacing was horribly slow and I really missed Anna. I also wished the relationship with Thomas and Carmel was a bit more defined. A good read but not as good as Anna :(

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