ARC Review: "Girl of Nightmares" by Kendare Blake (Anna Dressed in Blood #2)

Title: "Girl of Nightmares"
By: Kendare Blake
Publication: August 7, 2012 by Tor Teen
Genre: YA Paranormal
Format: Hardback
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: 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.

My Thoughts: First, I would like to say a GIGANTIC thank you to Tor Teen for sending me this early ARC copy! You guys are AWESOME!

Now, on to Girl of Nightmares... it was EPIC. Seriously, I loved it. It completely shocked me and spun my  world around. Blake writes characters that are so real, it's insane. I've become way too attached to Cas, Thomas, and Carmel. I just want to call one of them up to hang-out and go ghost hunting with. And the action! Holy crap! THE ACTION! Jam packed, never ending. I was constantly kept on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Of course, none of that compares to Blake's mad skills of horror. At one point, I actually slammed the book shut and said "No, no I can't read it. I can't." And scrambled up on to the couch with my boyfriend, feet firmly tucked behind me off the floor because I was so terrified. I've read Stephen King, and not once have I ever felt the chills from his books like I do with Blake's.

What I really loved about it, besides all of the above, was that it was a great follow-up to a first novel. Usually, we see some major slack in the world building when it comes to second books. But this is definitely not the case with Girl of Nightmares. If possible, there's even more world build up. The mythology behind Cas' heritage comes to light and it's definitely something I wouldn't mind learning more about. Not only that, but the characters are where they should be emotionally. They're not just magically over the fact that they sent a major badass ghost to hell and Anna with him. They're dealing with it throughout the entire novel, and it's wonderful because it shows how fantastic a writer Blake really is.

In the end, it wasn't what I expected, it took turns that were risky and I loved it all the more for it. This is definitely worth your time and money!

My Rating: