Thursday, August 30, 2012

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood, the ghost hunter, and friends are back in the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood.  Cas is missing Anna so much he thinks he is going crazy.  He is seeing her in unlikely places.  Images of Anna suffering in Hell are tormenting Cas, day and night, as she becomes his Girl of Nightmares.  His friends Thomas and Carmel try to get Cas to move on and live his life.  But Cas knows something is wrong with Anna and he feels her calling to him for help from the other side.

Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas and his friends could live. Cas knows that Anna needs help and he plans to return the favor and get her out of hell.  So he enlists the help of his friends and they travel to England to unlock the secrets of the athame and the old order who forged it, hoping to find a way to save Anna.

Blake has written a creative conclusion to Anna Dressed in Blood. Girl of Nightmares will keep you up late at night and have Anna entering your dreams at night.  Blake introduces Justine, a new teen character who challenges Cas.  Justine was a positive addition to the ghost hunting crew.

The scenes Blake creates are vivid and the characters are powerful and strong.  My favorite part of the book is when the crew cross through the suicide forest in Scotland.  I loved Carmel, who is a regular teen that is passionate about protecting the people she cares about and fights for the rights of others.  When I finished Girl of Nightmares, I went to sleep and dreamed about it.  I love it when a book enters your subconscious and takes you deeper into creative thought.

Girl of Nightmares is a nail biting, page turner, which will have you on the edge of your seat rooting for Cas and Anna.