John Hennessy's Blog - Posts Tagged "ghosts"

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Anna Dressed in Blood ***This Review contains spoilers***

They say 'don't judge a book by its cover' and that is so true, but what is also true that 'Anna Dressed In Blood' has one of the most strikingly awesome and at the same time, hauntingly beautiful covers that I've ever seen.

One thing writers have to do is make their star character as real as they can - so that you feel, what they feel. Another thing that is needed is a character to play off against, that is at least as interesting as the character of the title.

In this aspect, Kendare Blake has succeeded and then some. Anna is a truly terrifying ghost, but she's made more real to me not by her interactions with those she ***SPOILER ALERT*** ultimately kills (and who didn't cheer a lot when Mike got his comeuppance? Maybe I shouldn't be happy about that, but I was, as Cas says so honestly later in the book 'Mike was a d*ck').

The gore factor is rather high in this book, but that's okay - there is no need to spare readers of the 'gory details' because from the off, this book is about killing, and lots of it.

If the mystical story of the athame had not been so well built up, I am not sure I could 'buy' the fact it sends ghosts back to the nether world....but again, all the key points are told so well, you are just carried along with the story.

All the characters have a purpose, but it's Cas, our hero, and Anna - yes - our heroine - an anti-heroine' if you like, but still, the kind of girl I like :)

So Anna rips a few people apart and blood drips from her body, and she's got weird veins...also her dry clean bill must be horrendous - but she comes across as terrifying and yet you just can't fail to be attracted to her.

I totally buy the feelings Cas has for her, because they are two sides of the same coin - Anna kills because she can't help it - Cas kills because he simply has to. In both cases, it's in their blood.

This is not a 'young' YA book. I expect it would hit a 15 even an 18 certificate if it ever appeared in UK cinemas.

Thankfully, Kendare Blake has crafted a wicked tale that is not a case of 'Ooh! It's a ghost!' - no - the scares are more clever than that, and I honestly didn't see the twist until the end...which made the book even better.

It's such a pleasure to read a book that works on every single level - great story, believeable characters - and you will be rooting for Thomas, Carmel, and Cas's mom for different reasons to how you feel about Anna and Cas.

What will live with me is the vivid description of Anna. She's got her back to you on the cover, and be glad for that wise decision by the creator of the cover, because having read the book, you will be in no doubt what Anna looks like, and I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep without Anna's devilish stare pervading my sleep just before REM kicks in.

Kayako from The Grudge? Anna is MUCH more scary than that!

Bravo to Kendare Blake - I wait with great anticipation for 'Girl of Nightmares' in June 2013.







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Autumn is coming, friends. For some of you, you'll already be there. Summers are short in the UK, which is why those of us who live here write. A lot.

I have one copy - an international giveaway for my first fiction novel, Dark Winter.

If you don't enter, you can't win!
http://johnhennessybooks.blogspot.co....

See what others say about it on Amazon:-
http://johnhennessybooks.blogspot.co....

Good luck if you enter!

Book Two, Dark Winter: Crescent Moon is out October 1st.

Hi everyone. It's almost one year to the day that my first fiction book was released. Over the last twelve months, I have had reviews and comments from some of you, support from all of you. Others hosted my books on their blog. It takes time to do that, so I am grateful to you. Others still would take time to post a review and then private message me with their thoughts.

Some of you have become not just a support to me, but great friends as well. I would be happy to count you amongst my real friends, because I believe your support has extended beyond the book reading.

Some of you will know of the difficulties I have had in the last six months or so. For your support and counsel, I'm very appreciative.

Inbetween the release of the first fiction book, Dark Winter: The Wicca Circle, I released the fantasy epic Stormling and today, the paperback of Dark Winter: Crescent Moon, has landed on Amazon.

But here's some other stats about the last six months:-

Ice bucket challenge - 1
Cups of tea 2,160
Nights out getting hammered - 2 (cheers Jonathan Bradbury)
Martial arts lessons taught - 338
Knock downs on students - 33
Knock OUTS - 1 (sorry kid, it was either you or me)
Movies watched - 2
Days out ghost hunting - 3
Books read - 23
Words written 147,000 (near enough approx!)

Happy October 1st! The season of the witch is finally here!

Hi all.

Here's a special preview from the opening pages of my new paranormal horror, Dark Winter: Crescent Moon (Dark Winter #2)

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Hi friends! Well here is an excerpt from the book's opening prologue. Enjoy...I think...!

From the Diary of Romilly Winter, April 14th.

Aged 18, I’m probably too old to keep a diary now, still I write words nonetheless, hoping for something coherent, something real, something I can believe in to come out of it. Maybe I have written a lot this winter because it’s the kind of season that ceases to end. When will the snow stop? Even when I want to see blue skies, my eyes are tricked into seeing pitch-black night.

Dana Cullen told Beth one time that ‘Nothing ever just happens, there is always a design.’ But I have seen enough in my short life to know that things don’t just happen. Maybe my faith is to be tested at every turn, so I hope to God that there is some design amongst the chaos.

Another part of me believes that things don’t just happen for a reason, and all we’re doing is fighting to make sense of the chaos that surrounds us. The kind of chaos that would become us, if it went unchallenged. It is a battle I find myself losing, and yet those around me think I am so strong for keeping it together.

I hope to God with my every breath, but what is hope anyway? Does it fool us into forgetting what is real in our lives? What if it is all wrong, that we are all lost souls wandering around with no meaning to our existence? What can hope do for us then?

It could be that I think things over too much. It could be that the Mirror of Souls has affected me for far too long. It could be that I have convinced myself that everything will work out just fine. There’s a strong chance I’m just playing tricks on myself and those around me.

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More on The Write Thought, here:-

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Hello Good Readers,

March 2nd is the start of a competition featuring 100 copies of my book 'The Ghost of Normandy Road' sent to **winners direct to their Kindle or Kindle App.



I have organised previous giveaways before, signed paperbacks and so on, but this is a new program being run by GR in conjunction with Amazon, so I hope you'll support it.

Here's the goodreads giveaway page where it should show up on the 2nd, so be sure to take part. The promotion runs from 2nd March to 14th March, so plenty time for you to enter. And don't forget to share / tweet / FB post and so on!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

But that's not all.

You can get two FREE books today by visiting my author website -

https://authorjohnhennessy.wordpress....

grab my vampire novella Murderous Little Darlings for free, click the image inside and grab The Blood and the Raven too.

I can't be much fairer than that.

If you sign up to my mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time, I run promos and deals, book announcements, cover reveals, tell you about books I like and that you will almost certainly like.

So - I hope you are one of the 100 who win the book, but I hope you are one of the many more - the VIPs who will sign up to my special readers Group so we can continue this book journey together.

Good luck for the competition, and happy reading!

**This competition is for US based entrants only, keep watch on my website and mailshots to be featured for a contest in your country,

It's on a special too! Grab it quick!

The Ghost of Normandy Road is on Ereader News Today for 99c

https://ereadernewstoday.com/bargain-...

#amazon #apple #KoboBooks #BarnesandNoble

The Ghost of Normandy Road

http://www.johnhennessybooks.com/give...

(make sure you confirm your entry, otherwise you won't be added to the draw)

GRAB THE FREE BOOK

Murderous Little Darlings - A Tale of Vampires - 1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

and SIGN UP for my VIP mailing list to get Book 2 - The Blood and the Raven

http://www.johnhennessybooks.com/