Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake
Pages: 332
Favourite Quotes: Again, Kendare Blake offers a series of favourites to me, and since I can hardly go and quote the whole book, I will provide you with a single quote that broke me apart, burned my individual bits to crisps and dunked them in to a solution of my tears. SPOILER WARNING (to see the quote, highlight the gap below):
"And then I let her go."
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live - not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now, he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong... these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.
Perhaps it was good that I had so much time to reflect on what I would say about this book. I assume you've read my review of Anna Dressed In Blood and are aware of how many feels I have over these characters, the story line and the author's writing. Well, multiply that by infinity and you have what this book made me feel. Yeah, you read that right. The first book tore me apart, but this one propelled my feels to another solar system. And despite all the time I had, I still don't know how to string 26 letters into a couple of paragraphs that could accurately describe the sobbing ball of emotions I morphed into during the read, let alone the book itself.
But I'm trying.
Girl of Nightmares is, true to its genre, a hauntingly striking sequel. I have read many conclusions or sequels to books that have left me unsatisfied and without closure. As you might have guessed, this book, despite ending with several loose ties, was not one of those books. In fact, it turned its ending into an art form. I have yet to encounter a book that pulls an ending off quite so well and effortlessly at that - giving the reader closure but yet in a way that haunts them for weeks to come. Kendare Blake has truly mastered writing, with her clever and spell binding words, as well as her ability to portray characters, their turmoils and relationships realistically. She writes to the level of real that you cannot help but wonder whether it is you that's actually fictional, as opposed to the characters.
Anna was largely absent for most of the book, yet the book is written in a way that gives that absence a presence more dominant than Cas, who narrates the entire book. And let's not get started on how she is portrayed when there - Kendare Blake manages to make her presence known in a game of double torture from victims Anna and Cas. To be honest, I don't even know who hurt more - Anna, who was literally on fire at one point, or Cas, who had to watch the ordeal helplessly. To give you an example, there is this: "In the sixth row of the theater, in the third chair in, Anna winks at me. Or maybe she just blinks. I can't tell. She's missing half her face." If there was any line that described Cas's desperation to what's happening, then this is it.
There was a fair share of heart wrenching sadness in this book, but we cannot forget the moments that turned my crying sob-ball into hysterical laughter. There was one moment in particular, where I lost my shit, " 'No way. Don't you get it, Cas?' He looks at me disgustedly. 'I ate the fucking gingersnaps.' " It was brilliant. Brilliant indeed. Believe me, when you get to that part, you'll be done. Just done.
And let's not forget the character development. When I say that this book was realistic, I meant it was realistic. These characters don't pretend they are superheroes. They know they can't do everything. They get scared. They show it, and sometimes, they give up for a bit. Because normal people do that. I feel that some authors forget to incorporate that humanity. Of course, not Kendare Blake. She's a master, remember?
This series is a must read. It doesn't matter if you don't read the genre or get scared easily, this book is a must read. Definitely one of my favorite series, from one of my favorite authors, with some of my favorite characters. There are so many things I want to tell you about this book, which I definitely can't because then I'd spoil the whole book, which, I imagine, wouldn't sit well with most of you or me. Either ways, read this beautiful masterpiece. Read it. Now.
And then join the sob fest.
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