Book Title: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #2
Series: Anna #2
Date Started: August 26th 2013
Date Completed: August 28th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Adventure, Action
Rating: Five stars
Review:
I'm torn between wanting Blake to write more of the Anna novels because I need more of this genius; and then happy that she isn't wearing the story and characters so thin that they lose their charm and brilliance. Either way, I absolutely loved this book. I wasn't quite sure whether to give it four or five stars - but to be honest I couldn't pick anything out as negative in its purpose. It was amazing and I'm running out of words to describe how much I enjoyed reading it.
Girl of Nightmares takes place six months after the events of Anna Dressed in Blood. With Anna on the other side, Cas' thoughts are becoming increasingly guilty about what might have happened to her. And then when Anna starts appearing everywhere - almost as if she's haunting him - and starts crying for help, he knows he has to do something to get her out of wherever she is. But everyone is telling him it can't be done, and he's going to get himself killed trying. But after one successful contact with the ghost he loves reveals she may be in more danger than he suspected, Cas' friends realise there is really no stopping him in getting her back.
There's a simplistic kind of sophistication to Blake's writing. It is by no means the kind of elevated language you might find in a classic novel, but it's not your typical Young Adult level of writing either. I just really love it, and it flows so well you can read really quickly and still get every detail into your head. I also love Cas' narration. Apart from the fact that I've completely fallen for his character, he has this quirky, realistic attitude that brings out the personality so strongly in the writing that I actually feel like it's his internal monologue (and I don't find that with most books told in the 1st person).
The action is great, I just wish there was more of it. The description is good, the comparisons creating more of a personality around Cas. The dialogue is amazing and, and really fun to read. It's not necessarily funny, but there's a certain level of banter in it that makes it very entertaining to process.
I have to say, I wasn't scared as many times as I was in the previous book; I was glancing over my shoulders regularly for ages. But that was more of the fact that there were less situations that involved eerie events, since the plot had moved on to being more about the mystery and adventure side. Having said that, the creepy parts were definitely just that and the tension was built up amazingly well. One thing that I think a lot of other authors could learn from Blake is her ability to build up tension and create an atmosphere so naturally; she doesn't rush it, and really takes her time to make everything calm, and then start giving the reader little hints of something going wrong, before freaking them out with the punchline.
The main thing I love about Kendare Blake is her stories. Because they're so new and different from anything I've ever experienced. From TV, film, books, real life or anything, I can never predict exactly what's going to happen because I honestly haven't witnessed the story or twists before.
Girl of Nightmares goes through so many plot changes and the progress happens so quickly that I'd expect everything to get jumbled together or rushed a little bit, but nothing ever is. It's clearly been thought-through very well. We start at the beginning of the book with very little information back in Cas' house. We understand that something's wrong, since Cas isn't as quick in his ghost-hunting anymore, and Anna is appearing left right and centre with a selection of every injury known to man.
But read a hundred pages in and we've jumped to a completely different place on the map. We know more about what's happening and there's hope for what can be done. Another hundred pages and things are really heating up. By this time I was already completely hooked and I literally didn't put the book down for about two hours as I went to finish it. In a way I wish this was a longer book, because I just want more and more - but again I respect Blake's judgement of how much and what to include, because it ended up working perfectly.
Girl of Nightmares has very realistic characters that are unique takes on typical characters. I think they're all written amazingly well and I wish some of them were real.
Cas is one of my favourite protagonists ever. He's such a real person through the narration and the way he's presented. Even though you don't meet many people like him, his thoughts are easily believable and his empathy and anxiety to and for other people just add it that. Aside from the way Blake writes him, Cas is a really great guy. He really cares about his friends and family; he's amazingly intelligent; rebellious; cocky and filled with banter in a way that doesn't annoy everyone around you and then kick ass when it comes to the ghost action.
I also love Thomas. He obviously fills the typical 'geeky friend' role, but he's got a new twist to it. I keep thinking that he, Cas and Carmel are like the Harry Potter trio, with Thomas being Cas' under appreciated, but heroic, loyal and caring sidekick/best friend. I think he's a really great character and he works really well in the story.
Carmel goes through stages of really annoying me, and then making me respect her. She went though both in this book, which is one of the reasons she actually seems so real. She reacts how I would predict a queen-bee that actually cares about other people outside the cliques; conflicted, which sometimes leads to her making the wrong decisions. (Although to be honest, I can't then see someone flying halfway across the world because the person they effectively broke up with went on a deadly mission with his best friend - I don't know, maybe that's just me.) But she does really annoy me sometimes, just because I don't like people like her. But that doesn't mean she wasn't written well.
I love Anna so much. She's such a great character. I wish she was as kick ass in this novel as she was in the first, but she was still awesome. I really believe that she cares about Cas, and Cas cares about her. I nearly had a hissy fit when someone almost got in between them. She's barely even in this book, but I still love her so much because she's a new kind of character and she's just so amazing to read. I want more heroines like Anna please.
Jestine really, really pissed me off. I really did not like her. I did not like her beyond what I expect the limits of the reader's dislike is meant to go. I understand she isn't supposed to be that great at first, but then you're supposed to start liking her. I didn't really (that was because of something that I can't say because of spoilers, but still). Near the end, it was slightly better, but I still wasn't that bothered when she got beat about a bit.
Gideon is not what I expected him to be. We do meet him (over the phone) in the previous book, but he was still very different in 'real life' than I had imagined previously. I'm not sure if that's positive or negative.
The pace was really fast for the whole book, but you were rarely aware of it. There are definitely slower parts, but they're usually important to the plot or just entertaining or interesting to read. Blake is really good at building up tension, too, without the audience honing in on it until it's too late. No pacing problems in my opinion - the only issue is you lose a lot of time when you can't seem to put the book down.
I would recommend Girl of Nightmares to everyone. It's so well written, and the story is so original I can't say I've ever read anything like it before. You need to read Anna Dressed in Blood first or it'll be harder to understand Cas' world, and there are some big important spoilers. It is scary, and it is creepy, but that's what makes it so good. I can't say how much I think everyone should go out and read this book (after the first one) because it's so great.
Image Source: http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/
9781408326121/girl-of-nightmares.jpg
I'm torn between wanting Blake to write more of the Anna novels because I need more of this genius; and then happy that she isn't wearing the story and characters so thin that they lose their charm and brilliance. Either way, I absolutely loved this book. I wasn't quite sure whether to give it four or five stars - but to be honest I couldn't pick anything out as negative in its purpose. It was amazing and I'm running out of words to describe how much I enjoyed reading it.
Girl of Nightmares takes place six months after the events of Anna Dressed in Blood. With Anna on the other side, Cas' thoughts are becoming increasingly guilty about what might have happened to her. And then when Anna starts appearing everywhere - almost as if she's haunting him - and starts crying for help, he knows he has to do something to get her out of wherever she is. But everyone is telling him it can't be done, and he's going to get himself killed trying. But after one successful contact with the ghost he loves reveals she may be in more danger than he suspected, Cas' friends realise there is really no stopping him in getting her back.
There's a simplistic kind of sophistication to Blake's writing. It is by no means the kind of elevated language you might find in a classic novel, but it's not your typical Young Adult level of writing either. I just really love it, and it flows so well you can read really quickly and still get every detail into your head. I also love Cas' narration. Apart from the fact that I've completely fallen for his character, he has this quirky, realistic attitude that brings out the personality so strongly in the writing that I actually feel like it's his internal monologue (and I don't find that with most books told in the 1st person).
The action is great, I just wish there was more of it. The description is good, the comparisons creating more of a personality around Cas. The dialogue is amazing and, and really fun to read. It's not necessarily funny, but there's a certain level of banter in it that makes it very entertaining to process.
I have to say, I wasn't scared as many times as I was in the previous book; I was glancing over my shoulders regularly for ages. But that was more of the fact that there were less situations that involved eerie events, since the plot had moved on to being more about the mystery and adventure side. Having said that, the creepy parts were definitely just that and the tension was built up amazingly well. One thing that I think a lot of other authors could learn from Blake is her ability to build up tension and create an atmosphere so naturally; she doesn't rush it, and really takes her time to make everything calm, and then start giving the reader little hints of something going wrong, before freaking them out with the punchline.
The main thing I love about Kendare Blake is her stories. Because they're so new and different from anything I've ever experienced. From TV, film, books, real life or anything, I can never predict exactly what's going to happen because I honestly haven't witnessed the story or twists before.
Girl of Nightmares goes through so many plot changes and the progress happens so quickly that I'd expect everything to get jumbled together or rushed a little bit, but nothing ever is. It's clearly been thought-through very well. We start at the beginning of the book with very little information back in Cas' house. We understand that something's wrong, since Cas isn't as quick in his ghost-hunting anymore, and Anna is appearing left right and centre with a selection of every injury known to man.
But read a hundred pages in and we've jumped to a completely different place on the map. We know more about what's happening and there's hope for what can be done. Another hundred pages and things are really heating up. By this time I was already completely hooked and I literally didn't put the book down for about two hours as I went to finish it. In a way I wish this was a longer book, because I just want more and more - but again I respect Blake's judgement of how much and what to include, because it ended up working perfectly.
Girl of Nightmares has very realistic characters that are unique takes on typical characters. I think they're all written amazingly well and I wish some of them were real.
Cas is one of my favourite protagonists ever. He's such a real person through the narration and the way he's presented. Even though you don't meet many people like him, his thoughts are easily believable and his empathy and anxiety to and for other people just add it that. Aside from the way Blake writes him, Cas is a really great guy. He really cares about his friends and family; he's amazingly intelligent; rebellious; cocky and filled with banter in a way that doesn't annoy everyone around you and then kick ass when it comes to the ghost action.
I also love Thomas. He obviously fills the typical 'geeky friend' role, but he's got a new twist to it. I keep thinking that he, Cas and Carmel are like the Harry Potter trio, with Thomas being Cas' under appreciated, but heroic, loyal and caring sidekick/best friend. I think he's a really great character and he works really well in the story.
Carmel goes through stages of really annoying me, and then making me respect her. She went though both in this book, which is one of the reasons she actually seems so real. She reacts how I would predict a queen-bee that actually cares about other people outside the cliques; conflicted, which sometimes leads to her making the wrong decisions. (Although to be honest, I can't then see someone flying halfway across the world because the person they effectively broke up with went on a deadly mission with his best friend - I don't know, maybe that's just me.) But she does really annoy me sometimes, just because I don't like people like her. But that doesn't mean she wasn't written well.
I love Anna so much. She's such a great character. I wish she was as kick ass in this novel as she was in the first, but she was still awesome. I really believe that she cares about Cas, and Cas cares about her. I nearly had a hissy fit when someone almost got in between them. She's barely even in this book, but I still love her so much because she's a new kind of character and she's just so amazing to read. I want more heroines like Anna please.
Jestine really, really pissed me off. I really did not like her. I did not like her beyond what I expect the limits of the reader's dislike is meant to go. I understand she isn't supposed to be that great at first, but then you're supposed to start liking her. I didn't really (that was because of something that I can't say because of spoilers, but still). Near the end, it was slightly better, but I still wasn't that bothered when she got beat about a bit.
Gideon is not what I expected him to be. We do meet him (over the phone) in the previous book, but he was still very different in 'real life' than I had imagined previously. I'm not sure if that's positive or negative.
The pace was really fast for the whole book, but you were rarely aware of it. There are definitely slower parts, but they're usually important to the plot or just entertaining or interesting to read. Blake is really good at building up tension, too, without the audience honing in on it until it's too late. No pacing problems in my opinion - the only issue is you lose a lot of time when you can't seem to put the book down.
I would recommend Girl of Nightmares to everyone. It's so well written, and the story is so original I can't say I've ever read anything like it before. You need to read Anna Dressed in Blood first or it'll be harder to understand Cas' world, and there are some big important spoilers. It is scary, and it is creepy, but that's what makes it so good. I can't say how much I think everyone should go out and read this book (after the first one) because it's so great.
Image Source: http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/
9781408326121/girl-of-nightmares.jpg
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