Blood for Blood (Wolf by Wolf, #2)

by Ryan Graudin

[nightingalereads]

3.75 stars

General Thoughts: I'm satisfied. Not everything I wanted to happen happened, but I love the story and I'm happy with where things ended.

The writing was beautiful and immersive, just like in Wolf by Wolf, but this sequel lacked the compelling plot structure of the race from the first book. I was never bored reading Blood for Blood, but without a clear goal I was left feeling directionless at times. This was only a small problem, though. I enjoyed most of the book's plot and I loved getting to follow Yael again. My main complaint concerns the whole Luka and Yael romance. To me, it felt unnecessary and completely unconvincing. I didn't think that they had a strong connection in Wolf by Wolf, so their entire relationship just felt overblown in this book. It doesn't help that I find Luka to be lacking in character depth; his thoughts and feelings just seem to conveniently adapt to fit different situations/service the plot. He never felt real. Felix, on the other hand, takes the crown again as my favorite character (closely followed by Yael). While Luka felt like a caricature most of the time, Felix felt real to me the moment I met him in Wolf by Wolf. Throughout both books, I've always had a strong sense of who he was - his background, his personality, and his motivations. I think Ryan Graudin did an amazing job crafting his character.

So, bottom-line: No, I don't think Blood for Blood is as good as Wolf by Wolf, but it still left me sufficiently satisfied. The sheer scope of this story alone is impressive. Overall, a truly great duology!