OMG!! I loved the storyline (I have nothing wrong with that) but there are a few things I have a problem with.1) To start off, the beginning was slow. It made it hard to get into the book. After you get through the first say 100 pages it gets so much better!2) *I don't know if you would count this as a spoiler but I'm just putting this here in case* Cas falls in love with Anna... like WHAT?! This annoyed me so much. They should make this a rule, a human should not be able to fall in love with a ghost! 3) Anna is a ghost, so why can she get cuts and bleed???? Come on... seriously?!

*3.8/5 hauuunting stars* Yes. Smashing. Youll be just like those four chaps in the movie. You know the one, with the oversized marshmallow.Anna Dressed in Blood was such a deliciously creepy read which sends shivers down your back and makes you wary of walking dark hallways of your home at night. Yet, it wasn't the 'scared out of your mind' type of story like those damned horror movies, it's still YA after all. Confession time: I HATE horror movies. I think they are stupid and drastic and I don't like to be scared out of my mind for days after. But I really enjoyed this book, it's more of a mix of paranormal with some horror aspects. It's very atmospheric story, haunting almost. Dont be afraid of the dark, Cas. But dont let them tell you that everything thats there in the dark is also there in the light. It isnt.The simple way this book was told makes it so easy to get through, you won't even notice and half of the book is already behind you. The storyline is greatly plotted and flows effortlesly. There are also some intriguing plot twist. Blake's storytelling simply pulls you in. At first, you might think that there's nothing impressive about the writing style, yet there's this quiet magic about it that can't be descibed. It's just so easy to read and pretty clever. Cas's voice actually sounds like a real teenage guy without him acting like an asshole. Over the course of my life I've been to lots of places. Shadowed places where things have gone wrong. Sinister places where things still are. I always hate the sunlit towns, full of newly built developments with double-car garages in shades of pale eggshell, surrounded by green lawns and dotted with laughing children. Those towns aren't any less haunted than the others. They're just better liars.The cast of characters was very likeable. (Including one incredibly realistic cat who, of course, thinks he's the master of the world.) I know some people didn't like Cas, the main character, because he's supposedly full of himself and thinks himself above normal teenagers and high school issues. But I disagree. I think he's realistic, flawed and the way he lives made him into the person he is now. And I don't think that he thinks of himself above normal teens, he's separating himself from them, because his life as a ghost hunter is just different and he constantly moves on from one place to another. That makes him independent, emotionally distanced, detached and brooding at times (and yes, maybe a bit of a misanthrope at the beginning). I don't know why, but Cas, his imperfect voice and sarcastic humor resonated with me perfectly.But hey, at least well have this strange story to tell, love and death and blood and daddy-issues. And holy crap, Im a psychiatrists wet dream. Smells like a Bob Marley concert in here.I was also quite fascinated with Anna. Her tortured character with dark past. Her self blame and hate. Uncontrollable fits of murderous rage yet certain delicacy. I feel like her character has even more potential than was shown to us and really hope that progression is made in the sequel. Truth be told, ghosts aren't really my idea of swoony love-interests, still Cas and Anna's relationship was slow and moving and made me hope for more. I can feel that photo of Anna staring at me from sixty years ago, and I cant help myself from wanting to protect her, wanting to save her from becoming what she already is. I watch this girl, struggling to escape, not just from Eliass grip, but from everything, from this stifling house, from this life like a weight around her shoulders, dragging her down and planting her in dirt.The ending makes me desperate to dive headfirst into the finale. Highly recommended for Supernatural fans.P.S. We need more YA books from male POVs asap.Anna, my strong, terrifying Anna.

I don't believe in ghosts. I don't believe in Ouji boards, aliens, loch ness monsters, abominable snowmen, poltergeists, republicans or any of that other stuff.My little brother makes me watch those ghost hunter documentaries (I'm using that term lightly) and tries to show me the DARN FACTS, DAMNIT KATE! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THEY'RE REAL?Funny how he believes in ghosts but not the continued statistical evidence that indicates women still suffer from inequality and, yes little brother, even in western society. *Cue eye roll*So keep that in mind when I say that this book scared the shit out of me.Nothing is less fun then getting up in the middle of a dark night to tend to your son. You're creeping through the halls thinking over and over in your head, "Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real. Fuck what was that?! Nothing, okay? That was nothing because ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real."It's not a perfect novel. Apart from the pants-shitting terror, there is Cas to deal with. A lot of other reviews cover how his head space is occasionally annoying to be in. For me, that just felt like realism because if I were a badass, devil-may-care, teenage ghost hunter (if they existed, little bro) then I'd probably be really smarmy and annoying too.What I really enjoyed was Anna and her relationship with Cas. Anna was like the girl next door. If the girl next door tore livers out of people to play hackey sack with, that is. She's this really lovely, murdersome, complicated ghost character. Although, I have to wonder how much she has to complain about really. I mean, sure, she's a dead horror-monster stuck in a house filled with the spiritual husks of her victims - but she died in a really awesome dress! And it even changes colour from white to red depending on how sadistically evil and murdery she feels at that time. Downside? I can't think of one.I enjoyed the writing, the cast of characters, the plot and the pacing. I enjoyed pretty much everything about this novel.I mean, who wouldn't want to spend the next two weeks pondering why the interrobang ever managed to fall out of popular use while roaming the dark halls of their house? "What the hell was that?!""Is it going to eat me?!""Will they hear me scream!?""Why'd I read that stupid, fucking book... shitamIgoingtodie!?" "When is the next one coming out?!"