[Review] Anna dressed in Blood

German Cover

English Cover

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‘Anna dressed in Blood’
by Kendare Blake

Anna #1...

Synopsis:
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life. (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
I’ve not even read the first two chapters and I‘ve immediately known – YES, this is a book, which I’ll like and in the end it has turned out, that I was right. From the first pages on, I felt the same atmosphere, I’ve while watching the TV-series ‘Supernatural’ and also the language was similar to this show. What is fantastic for me, because I’m a huge fan of the series! Unfortunately, here there is missing the sexy brother, but I can live with that, because Cas is also not ugly, but exactly the contrary. Moreover, he is funny, charming, though a little bullheaded, but nevertheless he acts with caution, is cheeky and just refreshing!

Cas is in general a very likeable character, who though sometimes is a little bit arrogant about himself, when it comes to his specialty ->  killing ghosts, but the reader thereby also recognize a little his insecurity behind the cool facade.
Also Anna was an interesting character, who sometimes was also cruel and had a bad side in her, but she also has a good and disarming one, so that the read can’t divide her in ‘black and white’, but in grey shades.
It was like this also with almost every character in the book, that every figure showed their good and also weaker sides as well. As for example one of the characters later played the hero in the second row and he was a guy, who showed little courage at the beginning or Carmel, the blond beauty of the school, who later presents more than only her appearance.

In spite of the subject about ghosts and the creepy background, it is also really funny and is written very refreshing. The narrative view is from Cas, and I like it that once a guy is telling the story instead of a girl – and I’ve liked this much. Add to that the story was written in the present, which has fitted well to the plot and the tempo.
I find particularly the writing manner of Blake very easy, loosey-goosey and fast to read. It’s not overloaded, but contains nice approaches and descriptions of Cas’ feelings. Moreover, I think that the author writes the dialogues just great. I find some authors write them easier and other have more problems with dialogues. But Blake’s dialogues sounded absolutely natural and they always fits perfectly in the story. *great*

Up to now it sounds really great and now you probably ask yourselves, why the book hasn’t got five stars. This is due to the fact that the book has become weaker in the last third section. Not only by the plot, but unfortunately also by the characters. Anyhow Cas lost some of his spirit and also his connection with Anna wasn’t right. Though it was nice, but it was also too quick and also illogical.
The same happens with the famous ‚final battle‘, which got heightened till the end and then was solved too easily. Here for me the end was also over too quickly and too short. I would have wished for more information, because at the end, there were still some questions open.

Luckily there is still a second part, which I’ll read for sure and I hope that this will be published soon in German. In English you can already get the second part, so hopefully it won’t last long with the translation.

Cover:
It’s an absolutely brilliant cover, which has made me curious right from my first look. I think it doesn’t only looks great and special, but it also fits perfectly to the plot of the book! *top*

All in all:
I found this book really very entertaining, exciting and every now and then also creepy, but still within the scope for a YA book. The dialogues, characters and writing style were great and I like to recommend this book gladly, especially for fans of ‘Supernatural’

Rating:
4 of 5 points – (Great, Great, Great)
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A huge Thanks for the reviewer’s copy to:

© Random House

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Succession:

#1: Kendare Blake – Anna dressed in Blood »»
#2: Kendare Blake – Girl of Nightmares

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(© Kendare Blake)

About the author – Kendare Blake:
Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn’t make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.
(Source: http://kendareblake.com/bio.php)

Visit her Website »»

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[Review] White Horse

English Cover

German Cover

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‘White Horse’ by Alex Adams

White Horse #1
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Synopsis:
Thirty-year-old Zoe leads an ordinary life until the end of the world arrives. She is cleaning cages and floors at Pope Pharmaceuticals when the President of the United States announces that human beings are no longer a viable species. When Zoe realizes that everyone she loves is disappearing, she starts running. Scared and alone in a shockingly changed world, she embarks on a remarkable journey of survival and redemption. Along the way, Zoe comes to see that humans are not defined by their genetic code, but rather by their actions and choices. White Horse offers hope for a broken world, where love can lead to the most unexpected places.
(Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
The world is at the end and the people who are still alive, have either changed into monstrous beasts, or have lost all morality to save their own skin and to put off the fight against the omnipresent death. In the middle of this scenario the book begins and we follow the course of the tragic story with the help of the central character Zoey, who doesn’t only describe in the present how the world is destroyed, but also looks back to the time before the epidemic, before the war and before the downfall of humanity.
This happens mostly within the different chapters and thus is marked with a small heading (Then/ Now), so that the read don’t lose the orientation between the varying times, although the flashbacks into the past are also not written in a chronologically order and this got me confused sometimes. I don‘t know, whether others had also this problem or not, but at the beginning I had a hard time to follow the plot and I would have found it better, if at least a date would have been written at the flashbacks, to get a better overview of the events.

At the beginning of the book is an absolute chaos, not only in the destroyed world, but also for me as a reader and a big question mark stood here first of all. To be honest, I needed some time and chapters to understand the first relations, to form connection and to recognize a red thread. Although this is the case, nevertheless it was a great reading, full of tensions and ‘guessing game’ and I couldn’t stay away from book, because I just had to know how it goes on what happens next to Zoey on her way.

As you can see, Zoey is a character with whom I felt and for whom I worried throughout the book, because though Zoey is strong, grimly and aim-oriented to protect herself and the people in her surroundings and to get her to her goal, BUT still she tries to remain human, not to kill other if it can be avoided, and in spite of all cruel circumstances, tries to offer friendliness and helpfulness.
Which was amazing for me, because often I would have already giving up or have crept away in a cave, only by reading about the scenery and cruelty of some other people, because everything is simply so hopeless, desperate and somber. Moreover there are some scenes, which are really creepy and depressing and sad, so that sometimes I’ve just waited for some positive things, some small glimmers of hope.

Beside the plot and the great central figure, the writing manner of Adam was just wonderful and for me also like an own poetry. She has described everything very visually, put imagines in the reader’s head to grab Zoe’s feelings and to empathize, to feel and to see everything, as if the reader is a part of the story.
In my opinion this is partly good, but on the other side the book got too thick and the action thereby becomes also a little too slow, because of the detailed descriptions surroundings or the graphic representation and poetry of the sentences.
I think that is a personal preference and some will find it great and others won’t like it at all. I can’t choice between one of these two fractions, because I’m right in the middle, because I’ve loved her writing but also would have liked a little bit more actions and events and less descriptions.

Luckily for me, after all the sad things and strain, the end could again completely satisfy me and I was able to finish the book also with a good feeling. Otherwise I would have been – to tell the truth – a little bit mad. Because for what else we do everything in life and risk all, endure all adversities and hang on – just for love – and I think that is one of the basic messages of this book. And that in spite of everything, each of us is still able to decide how we care about others and whether we show humanity and cooperativeness, even if we receive none anymore ourselves.

German Cover:
For me the cover is succeeded brilliantly and it’s also one of the reasons, why the book has struck me. It tragically catches the plot and reflects perfectly the somber atmosphere.

All in all:
A book that leaves nobody cold and which pulls you into it from the first pages on, without a chance to escape. For me this one book would have been enough and hence, I’m really curious what the author has planned for the next installment. We’ll see what the future brings – I’m looking forward to it!

Rating:
4 of 5 points – (Great, Great, Great)
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Quotes:

Zoe: “When I awake, the world is still gone.”
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Zoe: “He reels me in, cups my face with both hands, and becomes my whole world. This is a kiss–maybe the last one we’ll ever know, so we stay there forever, warm and safe. When he pulls away, something is lost. I think it’s my heart.”
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Succession:

#  1:    Alex Adams – White Horse »»
#  2:    Alex Adams – Red Horse
#  3:    Alex Adams  – Untitled
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Success.

(© goodreads)

About the author – Alex Adams:
Alex Adams was born in New Zealand, raised in Greece and Australia, and currently lives in Oregon–which is a whole lot like New Zealand, minus those freaky-looking wetas. Her debut novel, White Horse (Emily Bestler Books/Atria) hits shelves April 17, 2012. Her fingers are crossed that the world won’t end before then. (Source: goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »»
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.A huge Thanks for the reviewer’s copy to:

© Piper

Snapshot: The Woman in Black

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Snapshots are short- reviews of my already read books, which should give a litte insight of how I liked the books, if I think it’s worth reading and for which taste it would fit.

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‘The Woman in Black’
by Susan Hill.

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(© goodreads)

I don’t know exactly where I should start. I’ve read it in the English original and although I never had problems with the English language in other books, here in this book it has been difficult for me. The writing style wasn’t liquid at all, but had many nested sentences with which I couldn’t make friends, although it has become better after some time.

Moreover it was particularly at the beginning that a lot of the story was told from the past, so things which had happened to this Arthur Kipps and he described them like he was looking back. I was never a fan of that and therefore I also didn’t like it here. But luckily this changed throughout the story and it thereby also become better and more interesting.

Parts of the plot weren’t really bad and at times I have also been frightened and at some pages I also was interested tensely and wanted to know what to happen next. But more often it was only a reading to finally finish the book.
I recognize the fact that I don’t like a book very much, if I start to look occasionally at the page numbers and calculate for me how much I still have to read. If I start like that than it’s not good – and unfortunately here it was like this for the most part.

Moreover the construction of the arc of suspense, when it really became creepy and scary, was stressed too much and then it simply flattened, without something really happened, and the ghostly situation just passed and then it was over. *very strange*

Also the end was for me – the only shocking thing in it – because the rest of it with the children and the approximate family background wasn’t hard to figure out by myself.

But the fact that it really ends like this – okay, I also kind of saw that coming – but what was hard is that it came so all of a sudden and was simply over afterwards. There happened something big and then the book just ended without any concluding sentence or a final chapter and I found this a little awkward. On top of that the book often dragged for me and hence it gets only two points.

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I’ve read this book for the ‘Book2Movie – Challenge’ 2012 !

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