A great sequel and fantastic duology. I love alternative histories and this one didn’t disappoint. With a shocking ending which I didn’t see coming. Perfect for young adult readers.

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

Going ahead with her plans to kill the Fuhrer, Yael thought she would never make it out alive. And when it's revealed that Hitler is still alive, and the person she shot on camera was a doppelganger, she's knows she needs every bit of luck she can manage to finally bring him down, and allow Operation Valkyrie the Second to succeed. And, being hampered by her unlikely comrades, Hitler Youth poster boy Luka Lowe, and Felix Wolfe, it seems that all their luck has run out. But when an old ally comes out of the woodwork, and old countries start to return, Yael may just manage to bring down the Nazi war machine, once and for all.

Now, I adored Wolf By Wolf, and was so glad I could immediately start the sequel, Blood For Blood, because that cliffhanger was shocking. And, I think I might have enjoyed this one even more than book 1. I've seen some reviews that say the pacing was off, or that the book was too long, and while I can see why others might think that, to me, I felt like it was perfect. Because we have the three main characters playing such an integral role in the conclusion, the flashbacks to the same days, from all three points of view, helped the audience to understand the actions of the characterises, and what made them tick, so much more. Yes, the book was long, but I don't know what could've been cut out, and not hamper the story. Everything was necessary, and because we had so much time to explore the nitty gritty aspects of Yael's life, both before, during, and after her time in Auschwitz, any question we may have had was answered perfectly.

The book is definitely about the threat of the Nazi's, and the aim of destroying the viscous and horrific regime of the Third Reich, and it was so visceral and real that you could almost imagine the what if scenario posed here. The rebellion and resistance played such a crucial role in this book, and I adored seeing that aspect playing out, from both Yael's perspective, and as an observing, seeing how the Muscovy territories were so important to success. And the betrayal and heartbreak that came out of the blue was just another thing altogether. I never expected there to be any sort of romance in the book, and thought I would hate the idea of someone from the Hitler Youth being with a survivor of Auschwitz, but we see the things that made Luka and Yael into who they were, and how they were - Luka especially - starting to see the truth in the world, and being horrified in what he'd been indoctrinated into. The conclusion of the story was exquisite, and soul crushing, all at the same time. Definitely a series that stays with you long after you've finished it!

I really, really enjoyed this duology, and this sequel was just as strong as the first in the series. I can't wait to see what Graudin writes next! 4.5 stars.

First up, this is the sequel to Wolf by Wolf. If you have not read Wolf by Wolf, click away now as there will be spoilers!

OK, now that's out of the way, here we go...

I loved, loved, loved Wolf by Wolf. I had just finished reading it when I went for a job interview (for my current post) and was asked to talk about a book I had recently enjoyed. I remember spelling out Ryan's surname for the interviewer as she wrote the details down so I must have sold it to her. In truth, the YA book sells itself. It is a rich imagining of the world if Adolf Hitler had been successful.

It has been a few years now since I read Wolf, but managed to get hold of a copy of Blood for Blood and the characters and plot immediately came back to me - always a sign of good writing.

It begins with failure. Yael's failure - but not through her doing. She is hunted across the world, first followed, then joined by Luka and Felix. Yael fights her way to Germania to see if the resistance survived, to see if she needs to add more wolves to her pack and to see if she can try again. On her way she meets new allies and ghosts from her past. One thing is for certain, the German occupation is threatened as long as Volchitsa breathes.

I did enjoy reading this book, however not as much as Wolf. Yael is a great character - a survivor, and it was great to read another side of her as she interacts with Luka and Miriam.
Unfortunately, I found it a slow read, possibly because Wolf is packed with action, however the end was rounded off satisfactorily (if unfairly!).

This is the third of Ryan's books I have read and proudly consider myself a fan. Looking forward to more

Review notes:
Firstly, major apologies for taking literally YEARS to get around to reviewing this book. I'm currently working through my backlog of unread ARCs and feeling increasingly guilty for all the great books I've neglected.
Secondly, this review currently appears on Goodreads and Amazon, but I will be cross-posting it to my book blog in September, even though it's now super late.
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This book took me WAY longer than it should have done. It took me forever to get around to starting it, despite having an ARC from NetGalley, and once I did, it took me nearly a full week to read it, mostly because I kept putting off finishing it. I knew it was going to be hard to review, so I just kept that last 15% waiting for me until I felt strong enough.

After that ending, though, I'm not sure I'm strong enough after all. This book packs an emotional punch, with a balance of tragedy and hope that has left me somewhat overwhelmed.

How to review it, then? Well, first of all, I think I enjoyed it more than the first book by virtue of knowing what to expect. When I picked up Wolf By Wolf, I didn't know it had a fantastical element (I thought it was just alternate history), so that really caught me off guard. Knowing about the skinshifter element when I started, though, meant I had a much less confusing experience with this one. It also did a pretty good job of explaining what had happened in the first book without labouring the point -- I'd forgotten virtually all of it, but it came back as I read the first few chapters, and although I might have had a better understanding if I'd reread the first book, I didn't find myself lost while reading this one.

The one aspect where I could probably have used the refresher was in the character relationships, particularly between Yael and Luka. Not being able to remember their previous interactions in any detail meant I couldn't say how convincing their feelings were in this book, though I got invested in it, so that's something. I felt Graudin had a good grasp on the fine line between "no honestly THIS nazi sympathiser is a good guy!" and "regular people are sometimes unknowingly complicit in horrors", and that Luka came down on the right side of that. His ignorance of the truth about concentration camps etc was never allowed to excuse him and he himself admitted his own failure to do more, then made up for it by, well, doing more.

Miriam was another character where I could have used a backstory refresher, as I felt I was missing a few pieces. It still gives me a little thrill every time I see my name in a book, because it doesn't happen very often (and 90% of the Miriams I encounter are Jewish, whereas a lot of the other Miriams I know IRL aren't), but she's also an engaging character outside of that. I just felt slightly detached from context.

I really enjoyed the writing style, though, and found it emotional and poetic without being overblown. It might not suit everyone, but I particularly liked how Yael's thoughts were depicted, and they probably helped me get extremely emotionally invested. Putting off the ending was a mistake, though; there was a lot of build-up and, unknowingly, I'd stopped two pages before it falls off an emotional cliff and leaves you crumpled at the bottom, so that was a tough way to re-enter the story. Way to destroy my heart, Graudin.

As I said earlier, the ending's an effective balance of tragedy and hope. It explores the idea of healing in the aftermath of horror, and reclaiming what's been taken from you. I found the descriptions of Yael and Miriam's tentative attempts at salvaging their Jewish faith and traditions particularly moving. I'm not Jewish, so I'd be interested to know how Jewish readers responded to that scene, but it felt kind of... open, and gentle, and touching, in the face of a lot of raw pain. If that even makes sense.

Anyway, overall I liked this a lot. I think I'll try and reread Wolf By Wolf some time, and see if I respond better to it when I know what genre it is before I start.

A fitting and bittersweet sequel to Wolf By Wolf, perhaps not quite as enjoyable as the first but still full of tension. Thankfully this series was left as two volumes rather than trying to stretch it to a trilogy. I still preferred it over the more well known dystopian teen series such as Hunger Games and Divergent.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

***** (5 stars)
The surprising thing is.... normally, books like this would completely deter me. I'm not a massive fan of historical fiction, sequels following a revolution/resistance or slow burning romances. But, for some reason, I absolutely adore them in this sequel and it creates what I can safely say is my favourite ever duology (I know duologies are pretty rare but still...).
This series is set in alternate history world- one where Hitler won the war and has been ruling for ten years. In the first book, Yael played an important part of the resistance and began her mission to get close to Hitler in order to assassinate him. Yael is a kick-ass protagonist and following her though these books and seeing her character development is so rewarding- but devastating at times. Don't even get me started on the end of this book... the tears are still falling (I cried for a solid hour when reading this sequel).
This alternate history series has a cool twist of magical realism threaded throughout which makes it so much more gripping and intense and I recommend everyone to read it.

Full Book Talk: http://forever-fictional.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/blood-for-blood-ryan-graudin-book-talk.html

I've been really looking forward to reading this book after adoring Graudin's first novel of the series, 'Wolf By Wolf'. I loved it's alternate take on history post WWII, where Hitler has gained control of Europe and has a powerful ally in the Japanese Emperor who now controls Asia. I was so pleased when Illumicrate sent me a copy of the second book and now I've finally been able to read it, and really enjoyed it! I'm not a huge fan of Thrillers as a genre, but Graudin is one of the few writers of the genre that I can get on board with!

Just as I was in 'Wolf By Wolf', I was bowled over by Graudin's fantastic writing skills. She recreated WWII era lifestyle perfectly and I loved the level of imagination that went into the changes there would be after Hitler won. There's a dash of science fiction in this series that comes in the form of skin-shifting, but I really admired Graudin for not going any further than that. There was nothing futuristic about the setting at all. There are great characters in this book too: Yael is still badass, Luka still hilarious and Felix as complicated as you could expect given his situation. I loved the re-introduction of an old friend too, and all of them were fun to read and unique.

I didn't give this book as high a rating as book one, because that will always remain my favourite. There was no Hunger Games style bike race to enjoy in this installment and I have to say, not an awful lot ACTUALLY happened plot-wise. The twist at the end was huge but a tad predictable, and while I adore Yael (and always will) I didn't feel the same personality from her that I did before. She seemed a bit lost and lifeless, lacking the spark from book one, which was a shame. This was a great way to end the two book series however, and I could ask for no more than that.

Blood for Blood is the second book in the Wolf by Wolf duology by Ryan Graudin. It sees the events instigated in the first book erupt and Yael’s story continue on towards a shocking conclusion. The series itself is set in an alternate history where the Nazis won the second world war and have continued their invasion of the world; Yael is part of the resistance, using abilities forced on her by Nazi experimentation in the concentration camps to fight for an end to the Nazi regime.

This book really impressed me. It really raised the level that Wolf by Wolf had set and I was engrossed in the action throughout. Blood for Blood is a book which is dark, thrilling and catches you on an emotional level. It was what I was expecting Wolf by Wolf to be like and it brought the duology to a brilliant close.

As this is a sequel, there will be mild spoilers ahead for the first book.

There is a lot to love with this book, but the heart of it really came down to the three main characters: Yael, Luka and Felix.  While Wolf by Wolf did a brilliant job of introducing them, this book really made them flesh and blood and I enjoyed reading about each one and how they interacted with each other. Luka and Yael’s relationship was, amazingly enough for me, one of my favourite things about the book and I thought it did really well, particularly from Luka’s perspective, of building on the events and history we’ve already encountered. Everything about them felt true to character, and how they fit in with the world around them and how they interacted with others, were all really believable.

The world felt a lot more realistic and daunting; this is partly due to the level of threat and that this book removes the competitive element of Wolf by Wolf, replacing it with raw danger and emotion. That’s not to say that this book isn’t fun. This makes the world they’re in more present and the sheer scale of what they’re up against does come across really well in this book. The different mission, with its higher stakes, just works really well here, and the pacing just made me keep reading. I enjoyed how everything we’ve encountered previously merged together so that all loose ends were tied.

I do feel that, while Wolf by Wolf did not completely work for me on its own, the duology as a whole lives up to and exceeds expectations. The overarching story was intriguing, although not necessarily all that unique; but so much was added to it, from the experimentation outcomes to the characters themselves, that really stood out for me. It’s the characters that made this story, at least in my opinion, and you develop such an investment in the characters and story that the ending really packs a punch. I admit, I cried.

Blood for Blood is a devastatingly good read and I would really recommend the duology. Even if the first book doesn’t quite hit the mark for you (or you’re just not that into motorcycle races), the second book is all that you could really ask for with this story.

Thank you to netgalley and Hachette Children's Group for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh this book. I don't honestly know where to start with my review for this. I was completely blown away. I liked Wolf by Wolf but it just felt like there was something missing stopping me from loving it completely. Then this book happened.

There were so many twists and turns in this book, I had no idea what was going to happen next. Between the discoveries about the Nazi Government now knowing that they've been using skin shifters and never knowing who to trust I felt like I couldn't breathe when I was reading this. I read it so quickly, I could not put it down.

I love Luka so much, I already had a soft spot for him after the first book but then this book showed a whole new side of him, a soft, trusting side. When he learns that the Nazis experimented on kids he goes from being indifferent about the government to being disgusted with them and himself for not knowing this was going on. He shows so much development.

The characterisation was so on point. When characters did stupid things I found myself practically screaming at the page, but it wasn't stupid stupid, it was believable stupid. They were human and had flaws but they worked in every situation.

I won't spoil anything I try not to do spoiler reviews unless I really need to talk about something but my God did the end of this book rip up my heart, throw it on the floor and stomp on it. I still get sad thinking about it.