Darlene's Book Nook: Audiobook Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Audiobook Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

SERIES: Anna, Book #2
AUTHOR: Kendare Blake

NARRATOR: August Ross
PUBLISHER: AudioGO
PUBLICATION DATE: August 7, 2012

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 10 hrs and 3 mins
GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy/Paranormal, Horror

ISBN: 9780792788195

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 REVIEW:

I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own.

**There will be spoilers from the first book, Anna Dressed in Blood, so do not read this review if you haven’t already read the first in the series!

This book carries on from where we leave off in Anna Dressed in Blood. It has been approximately six months since Anna has gone to the Other Side with the Obeahman. Theseus Cassio Lowood ("Cas") starts to feel like he is losing his mind because he starts to see Anna everywhere. He believes that she is reaching out to him and that she needs his help. He is determined to find a way bring Anna back. A mysterious envelope arrives with a photo of Gideon and other men in red robes. He recognizes his athame in the photo but is stunned to see five more that look just like it. He discovers that the men are known as the Order of the Biodag Dubh, the ones who made the athame.

Cas and Thomas fly to London to see Gideon to get some answers. They meet Justine, who is being trained to fulfill the Order’s destiny. The Order says that Cas and his father did not uphold the Order’s legacy because they did not kill the ghosts indiscriminately. Rather, both Cas and his father use the athame only on the evil ghosts. They leave the harmless ones alone. This is not what the Order wants. They want the wielder of the athame to send back all the ghosts, harmless or not.

The Order advises Cas that there is a way to get to the Other Side but that it could cost him his life. He is not concerned with getting back. He only wants to free Anna so that she does not have to spend eternity with the Obeahman. He realizes his life will be at stake, but he feels that he must try.

The pace of Girl of Nightmares was a lot slower than its predecessor, Anna Dressed in Blood. I was expecting the same action-packed pace, but I was disappointed. There was a lot of dialogue and not a lot of action. The majority of the book focused on Cas trying to find a way to rescue Anna. It wasn’t until the last quarter that we really saw any action.

Another thing is that the characters frustrated me. Let’s start with Carmel. In Anna Dressed in Blood (“ADiB”), I really enjoyed how Carmel’s character developed from a bit of a shallow Valley Girl to someone who is a lot stronger than what appears on the surface. In Girl of Nightmares (“GoN”), Carmel broke Thomas’ heart and turned her back on both Thomas and Cas. I wanted to reach out and slap that girl! She makes up for it later, but still! And Cas, what happened to you? You were so strong and fierce, not afraid of anything in ADiB. I loved your warrior spirit, but you disappointed me in GoN.

**WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!

At the end of the book when the Obeahman is ripping Anna apart and then goes after Justine, Cas is just watching it all happen and not doing a thing! What was he thinking?! Why didn’t he take the opportunity to strike at the Obeahman while he was distracted with Anna and Cas? I thought that was the whole reason why the girls were throwing themselves at the mercy of the Obeahman to begin with...for a distraction. Argh! So frustrating! Speaking of Anna, I missed her in GoN. I know, she is referred to throughout the first three-quarters of the book, but I miss the action that Anna brought to the story in ADiB.

Overall, I still enjoyed the book though not as much as the first one. I am still a fan of the series and Blake, and I will quite happily read on if the series continues.

This narration by August Ross is an improvement over his narration for ADiB, particularly where the characterizations are concerned. However, Ross’s slow style of reading still makes for a choppy narration.

MY RATING: