Bookish Reviews

Blood For Blood by: Ryan Graudin

Blood For Blood by Ryan Graudin

Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers on November 1, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance

Pages: 481

Series: Wolf By Wolf - Book 2

Format: ARC

Source: Hachette Book Group

Summary from Goodreads:

The action-packed, thrilling sequel to Ryan Graudin's Wolf by Wolf.

There would be blood.

Blood for blood.

Blood to pay.

An entire world of it.

For the resistance in 1950s Germany, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun.

Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?

This gripping, thought-provoking sequel to Wolf by Wolf will grab readers by the throat with its cinematic writing, fast-paced action, and relentless twists.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Indigo

Review:

There is no words to describe how epically awesome Blood For Blood is!

Ryan Graudin knows how to immerse a reader into a world so perfectly woven and realistic and then plunges a knife into your heart and twists it with every turn the novel makes.

Blood For Blood continues where Wolf By Wolf left off. Though there is some differences in the sequel (i.e. Yael's compassion and trust being one of the main differences), it doesn't take you off track with where this duology is heading.

Having read, adored, and passed with flying colours every single History course I have ever taken, I knew that these books were going to either be a major hit or miss in my eyes. Thankfully, it was a major hit. Ryan Graudin took actual facts about WWII - especially pertaining to Germany's perspective - and packed it all together with a mix of fantasy. Graudin did justice to the religious individuals and the groups of people that were taken by Germany during the war by portraying what they went through and not portraying it lightly but in fact realistically - malnutrition, starvation, experimentation, child-labour, gassing chambers, etc.

The story is told from three different perspectives - Yael, Felix, and Luka. All three points of view were unique and creatively written. It did feel a little unnecessary to read from Felix' and Luka's POV, especially since both characters didn't have the same amount of charisma or intrigue as Yael's chapters. However, the amount of suspense, drama, and betrayal definitely made up for the lack of intrigue in some of the chapters (most of which were in Felix and Luca's POV).

I am happy that I picked this series up and got to experience the wondrous world that Graudin created. I definitely recommend you check these books out, if you haven't already, cause they are seriously amazing to read. 

Rating:

★★★★

About The Author:

Ryan Graudin was born in Charleston, South Carolina, with a severe case of wanderlust. When she's not traveling, she's busy writing and spending time with her husband and wolf dog. She is the author of the All That Glows series, The Walled City, and Wolf by Wolf.