I am back with a hotly anticipated sequel for many, Blood For Blood by Ryan Graudin. I recently read the first book Wolf By Wolf, my review is here if you want to check it out, and decided to read the sequel and conclusion to the duology. Thanks so much to Hachette Books/Little Brown Books for providing ARCs of this book at Book Con. A review was not requested, but because it is an early copy, I felt it was necessary to include one. As always, all opinions are my own.
I am reading this book right after reading the first book in the duology and I have to say, this one is so much better. I was unsure of how I felt about Wolf By Wolf, but this second book makes a major comeback for the series.
The story pretty much picks up right where the first book left off, I won't say how that one ended, because I don't want to spoil anything.
What I think really helped this book stand out is the fact that it is told in multiple perspectives, Yael, the main and only narrator of the first book, Luka, Adele's former love interest, and Felix, Adele's twin brother. I really think these additions to the story helped round out the narration, we don't just get Yael's views of what's going on, we also get it from two others, both male, both idyllically German. I think that really helped show what was going on in the minds of the German people once everything starts moving along, some are willing to help, after they see how horrible things have become for those who aren't the "superior" race, and some that still don't care about anything except there own safety.
I really liked seeing the inner workings of the resistance, and the Soviet's role in everything, with all that happened in the first book, there wasn't really much time to include a lot of the background info that this book includes. At the same time, this book isn't boring or stagnant. There is still a lot going on, and I felt like the stakes were even higher in this book than they were in the first one!
There is a bit more of a romance in this book, but it is definitely very, VERY background, just something, I think to lighten the mood a little bit. I didn't really think it was necessary, but it just made the ending even more horrific. Again, I won't say too much, but prepare to get your heart's ripped out.
This story is just so much more developed than the first book. We get more character backstory, for all characters, not just Yael, and there is so much heartbreak. At first I thought the author was just messing with us, but nope, she wasn't. There's happy feels and sad feels, just all of the feels.
Overall, I definitely would recommend this duology. If you read the first book, but didn't love it, I urge you to pick this one up. It is much deeper and emotional, but the story is still a great read.