Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Book: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna (#2)
Goodreads

Description: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.

I absolutely LOVED the first book in this duo, Anna Dressed in Blood (see my review here).  I was so excited to read Girl of Nightmares, but this book didn't live up to my (high) expectations.  Don't get me wrong - I liked it. I just didn't LOVE it. And I really wanted to LOVE it.

The story was interesting, but perhaps not as spooky or action-filled as I was hoping. There was quite a lot of build up, but all the action was saved for the very end, which left it feeling a bit anticlimactic.

I do feel like I got to know the supporting characters better better in Girl of Nightmares (which was something I was lacking in the previous book), and I gained a better understanding of Carmel, which I had really been hoping for. Her simple and sad 'I love him' turned her in to a three-dimensional character that I could really get behind, as opposed to the supporting character who seemed to be fulfilling the female quota in the last book. I liked the addition of Jestine, she seemed very badass and Buffy-esque and I have some ideas of where I'd like to see her story go (but I won't say anymore unless you've read the book...in which case you probably have the same ideas).

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that I was happy with the way Kendare Blake chose to end this duo of books.

This was a good read, but for me it paled in comparison to Anna Dressed in Blood.  My favorite part about this series, hands down, is Anna.  And this book just didn't have enough Anna for me.  I WANT MORE ANNA!!!