I am a self-proclaimed mood reader.  I will enjoy a book ten times more if I pick it up with no agenda, other than wanting to read that specific book at that specific time.  ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD fell into my hands at the perfect moment: dead of winter, creepy story with an imaginative world and complex, intriguing characters.  I tore through the novel in less than two days (which for me, is pretty quick).  When a friend of mine put the sequel on my desk a few weeks ago, I was elated.

In GIRL OF NIGHTMARES, Cas and the clan return, a little bluer than usual.  After Anna’s disappearance into the dark depths of.. who-knows-where, Cas can’t help but feel a gaping whole, wondering where she may be.  Is she in limbo? In hell?  No matter what cheering-up method they attempt next, Thomas and Carmel cannot get Cas to leave thoughts of Anna behind.  Especially not now that he is claiming to see her and hear her voice more and more frequently.  It isn’t until Cas reveals that the athame hums in her apparent presence that the clan begins to panic.

GIRL OF NIGHTMARES was an enjoyable read, but for different reasons than ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD.  In the first book, I was so taken with Anna’s character, that the entire novel became a quest, while I attempted to figure out the source of Anna’s terrifying persona.  GIRL OF NIGHTMARES flows in a similar vein, only now the team must search for Anna’s current whereabouts.  What I enjoyed most about the novel was the development of secondary characters.  I began to like Carmel much more and Thomas went from the slightly annoying tag-along, to a valued and confident member of the ghost-hunting team.  The addition of a new character throws off the dynamic and shakes up the crew’s foundations.  I had a strong reaction to this new character.  I wonder if you all will too!

Though I didn’t find GIRL OF NIGHTMARES as creepy as ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, it did still stay true to the kick-ass characters of the first novel.  The ending wrapped up neatly enough that this could be the end of the Anna books, however, Cas just doesn’t seem finished yet.  Only time will tell!