Ohana Reads: Wolf by Wolf

Showing posts with label Wolf by Wolf. Show all posts

Friday, February 10, 2017

Book Review: Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Release Date: November 1st, 2016
Read: December 30th 2016-January 3rd, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: Wolf by Wolf, #2
Format: ARC, 481 pages
Source: BEA 2016

Description from GoodReads:

There would be blood. Blood for blood. Blood to pay. An entire world of it.

For the resistance in the Third Reich, 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 Hitler’s army, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But in the midst of the chaos, Yael’s past and future collide when she comes face to face with a ghost from her past, and a spark with a fellow rider begins to grow into something more. Dark secrets reveal dark truths and one question hangs over them all—how far can you go for the ones you love?

Review:

Why was she always the only one left?

Wolf by Wolf was one of my favourite books of 2015, it surprised me with its hint of fantasy in the story that was obviously historical fiction. I went to BEA 2016 with only four books that I wanted to leave with, Blood for Blood was one of them, and I certainly did leave with it. With not wanting the series to end, I put off reading my ARC until roughly two months after it's release. Eventually I knew that I was going to have to read it.
Blood for Blood was not what I was expecting, for all the hype I heard, and with everything that happened in the first book, I had some high expectations for its sequel. Unfortunately, the book didn't meet those expectations. Where Wolf by Wolf was planned out, and had direction, I found Blood for Blood didn't. I kind of feel like Graudin didn't really have a solid solution when it came to the ending of the series, especially with how it all went down. I understand that people had to die in the end, the story takes place in WWII, so they kind of have too. But with Wolf by Wolf we had the book take place throughout different terrain because of the race, with this one, it was all over the place with no purpose.
Although I found the plot of Blood for Blood to be a bit disappointing, I loved that Yael was her same old self, the same as she was in the first book. Even when things were tough, she was still true to herself. I really liked how she still kept up with the tattoos when the whole thing was over. In the first book, I also felt myself connecting with Felix. In this one, I couldn't have hated him more. There was a rather large shift when it came to his character, and I just couldn't get over it. What I loved about him was just gone, and so I just wanted his parts to be over.
I didn't love Blood for Blood, and when I think about it, I get a disappointed feeling. Having only read this series by Ryan Graudin and none of her others, I probably wouldn't pick up any more of her books if it wasn't for how much I enjoyed Wolf by Wolf. Hopefully in the future, I'll enjoy her next books more.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"Fear is not an excuse, fear is being human."

"Talking a life takes something from you."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, World War 2, War, Shapeshifters

Monday, May 23, 2016

BEA 2016: Day 1

Day 1 of BEA consisted mostly of stress and excitement more than anything. Being my first BEA, I didn't know what to expect. With an already pe-organized schedule to help us with everything from the time signings were at, to where everything was going to take place. What could go wrong right? Wrong.

One thing I definitely didn't expect was the large amount of people already in line to get into the convention, or the herd of people trying to get everywhere all at once, once we were let in. Because I was traveling with Stephanie (Doodle's Book Reviews), she ended up having to hold onto my backpack just she wouldn't loose track of me!

Stephanie, Michael DiMartino

From the minute we entered the convention floor, we thought that we knew where we were headed. But unfortunately the first signing we were headed to, was postponed till the following day so we ended up wandering until our next signing, which was at 2pm. BEA opened at 1pm the first day, unlike the other two. Our first signing ended up being for Michael DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. Not having been a fan since I was younger, I got a signed copy of his Middle Grade novel, Rebel Genius for my obsessed friend.

From there I went onto figuring out what ARC drops were, and ended up getting over half of my final BEA haul on day 1. (1. Advance Readers Copy, 2. ARC drops are when a publisher picks a time to pull out a particular ARC or two to put in a large pile for people to take.) You *might* even say that I went a little overboard with all my ARC grabbing...

My favourite ARC haul from day 1 would have to be Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin, I adored Wolf by Wolf back in October 2015. So I honestly couldn't have been happier to have won it in a Little Brown Dice Game, where is was random what book you received, out of four options.

Not being used to standing in lines for long periods of time, those four hours of being on the floor were brutal. The first day, the floor was open from 1pm-5pm. But in the end Steph and I were both satisfied with the ARCs that we received.

One of my favourite moments from the first day of BEA was when we first entered the convention centre and there were TONS of HUGE posters everywhere advertising upcoming books. They were GORGEOUS!

Short and sweet, the first day of BEA went by very fast and both prepared us mentally and physically for the next two days of BEA that we had yet to experience.

BEA Day: 1 Book Haul

Sounds like a lot happened right? And that was first day! Just wait till you hear about what happened in the days that followed!

If you haven't seen my other posts from BEA you can see those here:

Maggie Stiefvater Signing

BEA: Day 2

BEA: Day 3

BookCon 2016

Sarah J Maas Signing

Friday, October 23, 2015

Book Blitz: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Hello and welcome to the Wolf by Wolf Book Blitz! I just finished reading Wolf by Wolf this week, and I have to say, OH BOY YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT. Anyhow, today I have for you a special message from Ryan and a giveaway! Go fourth and check it out!

"Once upon a different time, there was a girl who lived in a kingdom of death. Wolves howled up her arm. A whole pack of them--made of tattoo ink and pain, memory and loss. It was the only thing about her that ever stayed the same.

Her story begins on a train."

And so begins the story of Yael, a girl who can change her appearance to mimic any other female. A girl who must win a 20,000 kilometer cross-continental motorcycle race from Germania to Tokyo so that she can have an audience with Adolf Hitler. A girl who has every intention of killing him.

Whenever I describe the premise of WOLF BY WOLF to people, the reactions I get are quite similar. It's the "are-you-insane-or-are-you-onto-something" face: dropped jaw, squiggly eyebrows. I must admit, I felt many of those same feelings when I first started penning Yael's story. Alternate history + sci-fi + epic motorcycle journey felt like a strange recipe for a novel. But I pushed through my fears and kept writing, and I couldn't be happier with the result. I, for one, don't think I'm insane, but I'll let you, dear reader, come up with your own conclusion.

Happy reading!

Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Release Date: October 20th, 2015

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Series: Wolf by Wolf, #1

Format: Hardcover, 400 pages

Description from GoodReads:

Code Name Verity meets Inglourious Basterds in this fast-paced novel from the author of The Walled City.

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball.

Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin's brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

Check out Ohana Read's Review here.

Ryan Graudin grew up in Charleston and graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Creative Writing in 2009. She is the author of All That Glows and The Walled City. She resides near Charleston with her husband and wolf-dog. You can find her online at www.ryangraudin.com.