Blood for Blood // It Definitely Met My Expectations (Although I Have Grumbles)

24 January 2018

31116030
Published: 6th October 2016
Source: Bought/Book Box
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult
My Rating:
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.
I have been intending to read this book for so long I kind of can’t remember it not being sat on my shelf gathering dust. I mean, I got two copies of this book for God’s sake! I mean, that wasn’t intentional but getting two copies always demonstrates an eagerness to read. I was a little intimidated by it as well, though. This was partially because I wanted to reread Wolf by Wolf, which I finally did at the beginning of 2018. I am glad I finally got around to finishing this series because it was such a good book.

I went in with high expectations when it came to this book, something I don’t usually like to do. Thankfully, my high expectations didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book. In a lot of ways this book was better than Wolf by Wolf, there was less build up and character building and more questions being answered and the story progressed. At this point Yael is on the run after failing to assassinate Hitler (at least the real one) and the rebellion has started to reclaim land and overthrow the Nazi regime in many places. It’s exciting seeing the hope for freedom even though Yael is aware that the true Hitler isn’t dead.

I admit I struggled with this book due to the multiple POV. In the first book it was just Yael you get to grow attached to but this time the book switched from Yael to Felix to Luka to characters we don’t even care about. It was too many and it took me out of the story a touch. I’m not often a fan of multiple POV a lot of the time anyway because I grow attached to certain people and end up hating someone else. It’s ridiculous but that’s just how I role. I liked Luka, I liked Yael, but Felix… I got his motivations but I hated his choices. He definitely ruined the book for me a little and so that was an issue.

My other issue is I didn’t like the ending. This is just a sulky thing on my part. I totally loved that it wasn’t what I expected. That it built up and that there was this smart ending that I didn’t see coming and then we got our epilogue… but it wasn’t what I wanted and it left me a little resentful of the book. It was really smartly done and well thought out but I didn’t like it… simple as.

I sound like I didn’t like this book, I know, but that’s not true. There were grumbles but the book itself was so very good. I mean, considering how high my expectations were there were bound to be some grumbles but it was also so nice to return to these characters I’d grown attached to. I had no idea how Yael was going to get out of her situation, she was fleeing Japan and whilst she can change her face that doesn’t necessarily help. The book was fast paced and although it was long it definitely didn’t feel as long as it looked. It gripped me and even though some of the character choices frustrated me it was still really good.

You guys, this book was really good. I would recommend reading the duology together because I would have totally forgotten important stuff. It was a really good book and it ended this story well. I was glad to see the end for these characters I’d grown to love.

This book may have disappointed me in certain ways, but it also completely exceeded expectations in others. Anyone else feel like that about books too? And have you read this series, what did you think?
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