*Spoiler Free Review* Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Posted November 4, 2016 by shooting in Uncategorized / 19 Comments

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin


Review by Lauren


source: copy from BEA16; all opinions are my own


Official Summary: The summary is full of spoilers if you have not read Wolf by Wolf, so if you want to read it, check out Goodreads


Review: Blood for Blood was amazing and it was definitely a wonderful follow up to its predecessor Wolf by Wolf. I love that this was a duology, as it gives you all the story/information you need without dragging on for too long. Plus, it keeps the series from suffering from that dreaded second book syndrome.

I don’t want to go into too many details because if you haven’t read Wolf by Wolf, then knowing almost anything about Blood by Blood could be considered a spoiler. I’m just going to talk about the overall story. Basically, Hitler won WWII and he has taken over a lot of countries. The Holocaust still happened but it’s not as well known. People either don’t know what is really happening – thinking these people are just in labor camps – or they are just too scared to dig deeper, deciding to believe these stories.

The main character, Yael, is a survivor of these camps. She is a skinshifter – someone who take on the form of anyone she meets. Her time in the camp is the reason she has these abilities. This horrific thing that was done to her is something she uses to keep her alive and what she ultimately hones to try and bring down Hitler.

These books are packed with fully formed, wonderful characters. Not only do you have Yael, but you have Luka Lowe, a National Socialist poster boy who could be so much more; Felix and Adele Wofle, two siblings who love each other dearly and would almost always put family first; and all the resistance fighters like Vlad and Henryka who have raised and trained Yael into the fierce young woman she has become. She is a true fighter, in every sense of the world. Despite the horrors that Yael has faced, and continues to face in these books, she does not lose her humanity. She easily could, but she knows that she wants to be more than that.

I truly think Graudin has created amazing works wit these two books and I highly recommend them! There is pain. There is death. It would not seem realistic without it. But there is so much more too – friendship, loyalty, love, and fighting to make a difference in the world.

19 responses to “*Spoiler Free Review* Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

  1. I keep seeing this book in all the bookshops, I've picked it up but I don't think it's my sort of thing. But if I've learned anything in my new job I should really give everything a go as I could very well be surprised. 🙂 Great review,

  2. I read her book The Walled City and loved it. I didn't read these because I don't like stories set in war times. I hope she does something coimpletely different for her next series so I can read her again. I just found out she wrote a book before The Walled City and I am going to read that one soon. Thanks for sharing your review.

  3. I still need to read Wolf by Wolf, though I did get it for Christmas last year! I didn't actually know this was a duology until you just mentioned it, and that definitely has me excited to get to these because as you say – no second book syndrome!

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.