A thrilling and exciting read, one to remember. This took me too long to read but I raced though it. The characters and the plot were really engaging and I had a good time finding out what happened. There were some parts that were hard to read but the story remains important. I will definitely pick up the sequel in the future.

I find that often we sit by ourselves - or with friends - and ponder the great big "what if's?" What if this choice was made instead of that one, how would things have turned out, would they be much (different? It is interesting to think about, and some of the scenarios made up can feel dystopian. So, I find novels like this that explore that 'alternative history' in a fictional space to be very intriguing and thought provoking. And this indeed was! Thrilling, exciting, and again, very thought provoking.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

It's been over a decade since the Nazi's resoundingly won the Second World War, and now most of the world is ruled by the combined Axis Powers of the Third Reich and the Japanese Empire. As a child, Yael was transported to Auschwitz, and experimented on, which has left her with the ability to skin shift, and change her appearance at will. Losing her family, and seeing all of the horror and destruction that the Nazi's, and particularly Hitler, have wrought on the world, she will stop at nothing to be able to change the world, and kill Hitler. But to do so, she must become Adele Wolfe, the only female Victor of the Axis Tour (a motorcycle race across three continents, from Germania to Tokyo), and get close enough to Hitler to deal a killing blow. Will Yael have the strength and will to be able to succeed, or will the efforts of the other competitors be too much for her to overcome?

I'm going to hold my hands up and say this is one of the oldest books I have had on my TBR for the longest. I was approved for an ARC of it way back in 2016, and for some reason, never read it until 2021. And, I'm both angry and glad that I waited so long: angry because it's a fantastic book, glad because I have the sequel to read straight away! You might not know that I'm a teacher, and I trained as a history teacher, and studied history for one of my degrees. I've always been interested in the wars, and the question of what if? And Graudin, I think, perfectly executed the premise. We all know the horrors that the Nazis caused, and the sheer magnitude of the death and destruction is still felt by communities today. I'm not Jewish, I can't speak of the representation in this book from that point of view, but I believe that the notion of the Holocaust, and the horrors of the death camps, were dealt with so delicately, and allowed readers who might not know the whole truth of the events, to access it in a thoughtful way.

Yael was a character you couldn't help but love. She was tough, and sometimes had to be cruel, but she had been shaped by her past, and we saw the vulnerabilities come out through the flash backs, and through her actions with her fellow competitors - particularly Luka and Felix. When she was about 6 or 7, she was transported to Auschwitz, with her mother, and selected for Experiment 85, given the number 121358ΔX. She was injected with needle after needle of poison and other 'medicines', in order for the doctor to try and transform her into the perfect Aryan figure. It left her ill, feverish, and eventually worked, but not without it's consequences. One of these consequences was the ability to transform into someone else, and this was her saving grace. She managed to see a photo of the camp commandant's daughter, took on her visage, and fled the camp. Now, she's found her people, and her place to do good, and even though the Axis Tour could kill her - and likely will if she succeeds to get close to Hitler - she's willing to sacrifice herself for the new Operation Valkyrie. What she doesn't expect, is for her (rather Adele's) brother Felix, to be in the Tour, nor the close relationship Adele seemingly had with Luka Lowe. She knows a lot about Adele, but not her ever nuance, and it changes the stakes of the mission. I loved her though, and though the book was so much more than a romance, the hint of chemistry and her friendships with the boys simply elevated the book. I'll be starting Blood For Blood straight away!

A fantastic story that was brilliantly written and I would recommend to fans of the genre. Great writing and a thoroughly enjoyable read – very gripping.

The premise of this book is brilliant, and the author delivers is magnificently! Yael is a strong character with determination and intelligence. She grows throughout the story, from a frightened young girl into a strong woman. It was important for the reader to know where that desire for avenging came from, as well as knowing her upsetting back story is mixed in well with the present day. There is a small amount of romance within the book, but nothing that dominates the story. Everything was well-paced and enticing. For me its one of those books that everyone will end up loving and have a further interest in its historical context. Brilliant book, and one I would recommend to everyone and anyone.

I recently bought a new kindle after my old one broke. For some reason I was unable to download this title from the cloud onto my kindle, therefore I will be unable to review this title. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused

I probably will read this eventually. But so far, this book has sat very intimidatingly on my Kindle. I'm not sure what about it puts me off reading it so far, especially as I was so excited initially to read it. But it must be a case of bad timing.

Ever since I read The Walled City, I had been eagerly anticipating another release from Graudin that would spark my interest, and this was it.

Normally I'm not really one for action-packed adventures, but I have to say that I loved it in this. The premise overall impressed me from the start; the concept is so unique and it was executed perfectly. It takes a lot of guts to write about something like this, and Graudin is a rarity in that she does it without being offensive.

As protagonists go, Yael is one of the best. She is not perfect by any means, and I don't think I would be able to do half of the things she does in this book, both due to bravery and morally. And yet, I liked her because of it. She's ballsy, and stubborn, and full of anger, and doing something about it.

I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here in Blood for Blood, especially the possible romance. Because the story was so great, there wasn't this need for a big romance storyline, but it would be nice to see something in the future.

This was one of my favourite reads of last year, and I hope the sequel is just as good.