Blood for Blood

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Published 13 July 2017 by Orion

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