REVIEW | Ryan GRAUDIN: Wolf by Wolf

wolf ryan graudin

Little, Brown Books | 9780316405126
Amazon
My rating: Rating: ★★★★½

WOLF BY WOLF
Ryan Graudin

WEBSITE | TWITTER

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’s twin 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?

REVIEW

When I heard about this novel, read the blurb, I immediately thought “this can be a flop to-kill-all-the flops-of-this-world or a great, one-of-a-kind, novel”. The historical period in which it is set, the Second World War, is one of those I always struggle with because of the atrocities done under the Third Reich. I don’t tend to search for books, movie, etc. that have that period as a subject. I always try to keep in mind the pain that has been inflicted in those years, because it is right to remember and not forget, but I don’t want to read or watch something that can only scratch the surface of what people suffered at the time. They can only fall short. I am not saying that some book or film hasn’t done them some justice but I feel it isn’t enough, you know? How can anything be enough?
Anyway…returning to Wolf by Wolf.
This novel has the right amount of fantasy elements and aims primarily on the adventurous part to allow me to detach from the realistic events described. Not only that but it was able to keep me engaged from start to end. In fact, the book is a sort of dystopian novel because, although based on a world that is ours, thanks to a change in the historical events we know it represents a new dreadful reality. What’s different from a common dystopian book is that the story of Wolf by Wolf does not happen in an hypothetical future but in the past of 1944-56. The author imagines a what-if that terrifies me at the sole idea… the victory of Hitler and the establishment of its ideologies in the majority of the world, with USA that keeps itself apart from the conflict for fear that Hitler may turn his gaze on its conquest.
The author manages a story that takes the reader on an adventure that can be compared to the one in Hidalgo (a movie with Viggo Mortensen if the name of the movie doesn’t sound any bell to you), Balto (again see movie), Kevin of the North, etc … stories of life and death, full of twists, extreme situations, fights for life and so on. It is a motorcycle race the focal point of the adventure in Wolf by Wolf, one the MC has to win…

The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler.

Yael is the MC and a jewish girl who barely survived the death camp where she and her mother where imprisoned when she was six. During that time she became Experiment 85 and was subjected to painful injections that had the purpose of altering her appearance (like changing the color of her eyes from brown to blue and such). They never could have expected the experiment to be so successful. Yael learns to change completely her look and, after having lost all that she holds dear, she manages to excape from the camp assuming the aspect of the commander’s doughter. After that, Yael finds herself alone in a world that she is not prepared to confront. Fortunately, it is in that moment that she stumbles upon the resistance, people who are trying to subvert Hitler’s rule. After discovering her, they bring her in providing a new, albeit undercover, home.

Yael becomes the secret weapon they were waiting for. The last hope of the revolutionary group. Indeed, thanks to the unexpected victory of a girl, Adele Wolfe, in the previous edition of the Axis Tour -this motorcycle race where the best German and Japanese young males compete for supremacy (a race born to show the superiority of the Aryan race)- Yael has the possibility to replace her in the new race that it is soon to be held. By winning the Tour she can have the opportunity to approach and kill the Führer, putting an end to his dictatorship. Obviously, the job is not so easy. In addition to all the other participants, who will try to maim her if not kill (yeah, it is that bad), there is Adele’s twin brother to keep at a distance as much as possible. And the memories. All the wolves she has to avenge, and that keep her company during the journey, will add to what Yael has to face to win the most important challenge of her life.

wolf-by-wolf-graudin

REVIEW | Katie McGARRY: Ovunque con te (Thunder Road #1)

 MCGARRY Ovunque Con Te
Rating: ★★★½☆
LEGGI IL PRIMO CAPITOLO GRATUITO
Editore Harper Collins Italia
ISBN 9788869050848
9788858947715
Pagine 480
Prezzo € 16.00 hardcover
€  6.99 ebook
Uscita 14 aprile 2016
Acquista LaFeltrinelli.it | Amazon.it
MondadoriStore | IBS.it
Recensioni Anobii | Goodreads

Ovunque con te
Katie McGarry

WEBSITE | FB | TWITTER

Thunder Road series #1

Emily ha diciassette anni ed è felice della propria vita così com’è: genitori amorevoli, buoni amici e un’ottima scuola, in un quartiere tranquillo. Certo, non può negare di essere curiosa riguardo al suo padre biologico, quello che ha preferito unirsi a un club di motociclisti – il Regno del Terrore – piuttosto che essere genitore; questo non significa, però, che lei vorrebbe far parte di quel mondo…

Leggi di più

Quando però una timida visita si trasforma in una lunga vacanza estiva tra parenti che non sapeva di avere, una cosa le è chiara: niente è come sembra. Il club, suo padre, e nemmeno Oz, un ragazzo che ti ipnotizza con i suoi occhi blu e che può aiutarla a capire quella vita. Oz desidera una cosa sola: unirsi al Regno del Terrore. Loro sono quelli buoni. Proteggono la gente. Loro sono… una famiglia. Mentre Emily è in città, Oz glielo dimostrerà. Così, quando il padre di lei gli chiede di tenerla al sicuro da una banda rivale con un conto da regolare, per Oz è un sogno che diventa realtà. quello che non sa è che Emily potrebbe infrangerlo, quel sogno.

review
Premessa: Sarà che ero in astinenza da libri da un mesetto (odio questi ultimi esami!), sarà che Katie McGarry sa creare personaggi sempre coinvolgenti…insomma, qualunque ne sia il motivo Ovunque con te (Nowhere but here) è stata una lettura carinissima. Mi ci voleva proprio, mi sento rigenerata! Forse questi bikers sono riusciti a trasmettermi un po’ della loro energia, tra un rombare di moto e una corsa liberatoria immersi nelle foreste del Kentucky. 😉
Non nascondo che forse avrei preferito una storia rivolta ad un pubblico più adulto, parlando di MC -Motorcycle Club-, ma alla fine questo YA ha saputo tenere testa, anche se in maniera più “conservativa” e “pudica”, ai romanzi per adulti del segmento.

La storia: Emily ha una vita all’apparenza piuttosto normale. E’ una ragazza comune, che vive con genitori (madre biologica e padre adottivo) che non le fanno mancare nulla. E’ in procinto di finire il college ed ha intenzione di rimanere in Florida, dove vive con i suoi, anche quando andrà all’università…a differenza di molti suoi coetanei, che invece cercano università a stati di distanza dai genitori. In questo senso si può dire che non abbia un carattere molto coraggioso, preferisce la sicurezza e ordinarietà di tutti i giorni alle avventure e novità che immancabilmente un nuovo ambiente creerebbe. L’unica nota dolente della sua vita è Eli, il padre biologico che le tocca sopportare per alcune settimane ogni anno, quando la raggiunge in Florida per passare un po’ di tempo con lei. Un padre che fisicamente è all’opposto di quello che Emily ritiene normale. Con tatuaggi, piercing e vestiti in pelle. Un biker che l’ha abbandonata nei primi anni della sua vita e che, da otto anni a questa parte, crede di potervi tornare e ricominciare come se nulla fosse. Come se non avesse ceduto interamente i suoi diritti di padre a quello che lei considera davvero suo papà. Come se non si fosse liberato di lei preferendo invece vivere con quel gruppo di motociclisti violenti e nullafacenti che chiama famiglia.sons-of-anarchy
La svolta, con cui parte il romanzo, avviene quando i genitori di Emily ricevono una email da Eli che comunica la morte della madre Olivia, nonna di Emily. Nonostante l’agitazione della madre all’idea di tornare nei luoghi da cui era fuggita con lei anni prima (e quando dico fuggita intendo proprio fuggita fuggita), la famiglia non può fare altro che salire su di un aereo per raggiungere Eli e supportarlo nel lutto. Emily non riesce a capire proprio il perchè. Non è che a loro interessi veramente di Olivia e, se fosse per lei, anche di Eli. Quello che Emily non sa però è che invece a sua madre interessa e vuole tornare, anche se è terrorizzata dal farlo. L’arrivo di Emily fa però partire una catena di eventi che coinvolgerà non solo lei ed Eli, ma anche Oz il ragazzo che considera Olivia come una madre e a cui viene dato l’incarico di proteggere Emily. Un ragazzo che la disprezza per il dolore che ritiene lei abbia causato alle persone a cui lui più vuole bene. Un ragazzo intenzionato a tutti i costi ad entrare in questo gruppo ristretto di uomini che vivono la propria vita seguendo regole tutte loro.
sons-of-anarchy2Le scintille fra i due sono veloci a scattare, visti gli insulti che volano al loro primo incontro. La forzata vicinanza costringerà però i due a rivedere le rispettive convinzioni. Quello che Emily deve imparare sulla famiglia che non sapeva di avere sarà Oz a mostrarglielo… e mentre il mistero che avvolge il passato di Emily, al centro dell’intera storia, costringerà i due ragazzi ad uno scontro fra due mondi all’opposto i due  scopriranno che non tutto è come sembra.

Conclusione: Come mia consuetudine, ho cercato di spoilerare il meno possibile la storia ma comunque spero di aver fatto nascere il vostro interesse in un romanzo che, benchè non della profondità di argomenti di Oltre i limiti, si è rivelata una lettura interessante, dolce e comunque importante dal punto di vista dei legami familiari, che qui brillano in primo piano. L’autrice è riuscita a mantenere un velo di mistero sul passato di Emily per buona parte del romanzo, cosa che spinge il lettore a restare incollato alle pagine, pieno di curiosità. Oz ed Emily sono una coppia che cresce durante il romanzo, come è necessario in un romanzo young adult. Devono affrontare difficoltà sia fra di loro, venendo da ambienti agli opposti, sia con la famiglia allargata di cui fanno parte. La loro storia vi farà sicuramente battere il cuore, sentire vicini nelle loro difficoltà e sospirare al perfetto happy ending.

“C’è un motivo per cui non si dovrebbe parlare alle quattro del mattino. La stanchezza cancella la capacità di mentire- Demolisce la capacità di aggirare la verità. Le emozioni sono troppo vivide e reali. Intensficate fino al punto di esplodere.”

“Oz mi morde il labbro inferiore e io sono sopraffatta dalla sensazione che si diffonde in tutto il mio corpo, in ogni terminazione nervosa che possiedo. La sua mano, che adesso si è spostata più in basso, si stringe sul mio fianco. Le sue labbra si fermano sulle mie. Mi sta aspettando. Io lo desidero. No, lo agogno.Gli sfioro la bocca con la mia e il movimento è così lieve che lui potrebbe anche non accorgersene. Delicatissimo perché temo che se esagero esploderemmo entrambi. […] Ho sognato tutto questo. Ogni notte. Mi sono svegliata ogni mattina trovando Oz seduto a tavola di fronte a me, con l’aria di avere tutto sotto controllo. Ma mentre mi stringe a sé, il suo corpo mi dice che gli manca qualche secondo per andare in mille pezzi. E così io.”

“Entrambi siete cresciuti sentendovi come se non foste propriamente amati da coloro che invece avrebbero dovuto amarvi di più. Le persone commettono errori. Fanno scelte sbagliate nei momenti peggiori. Ma sempre, in ogni momento, siete stati amati. Sappiate questo. Tenetelo caro. Amatevi l’un l’altro e abbiate il coraggio di vivere la vostra vita e amare sempre più. Non lasciate che la paura vi intrappoli.”

REVIEW | Nalini SINGH: Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss, #3)

Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh Rock Kiss 3
Rating: ★★★★☆
READ AN EXCERPT
on the author website
Publisher TKA Distribution
ISBN/ASIN
B0142YLRUQ
9781942356325
Prezzo $ 4.86 ebook
$ 15.00 paperback
Pagine 349
Uscita 6th october 2015
Acquista Amazon.it | Barnes&Noble
LaFeltrinelli.it | MondadoriStore
Recensioni Anobii | Goodreads

Rock Redemption
Nalini Singh

Rock Kiss, book 3

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their
fast-review-upfriendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

review
The Rock Kiss series is slowly entering my system and it’s becoming more and more difficult to resist to these guys. So, why bother?
Rock Redemption is the third installement and it’s mantaining the level of the other two and a half 😉 book that have preceded it (you can see their cover at the end of this review and read something more of them by cliking on the cover). I can’t say I am not biased when speaking about Nalini Singh’s work. She is one of my favourite authors (if not The) and it’s really impossible to be objective with her books. Nevertheless, if she is a favorite author of mine it also means she is really good, isn’t it? Summarizing, I’m liking this series quite a bit. 😉
From the first book you could clearly feel the differences between her other two fantasy series. You can’t compare them because they are not only completely different genre, they are also build upon very different dept of plots. However, this is not a negative aspect. Still the reader needs to know that he/she is going to read something that is lighter even if Nalini (in this book more than ever) tells about difficult subjects and their consequences.
The strenght of her books are her characters. Like I said speaking of Rock Courtship (David’s short novella) every book makes you love completely its MC and, in the end, you can’t decide which one is your favourite. This happened to me with Noah as well. I can understand why other readers of Rock Redemption said Noah was not their favourite MC from book one. His blatant betrayal of Kit was probably unforgivable for most people. It is unforgivable in most cases. Regardless, after reading his story I cannot help forgiving him. He is the perfect epitome of the hunted man. Anyhow this book is most of all a banner of women strenght because it is Kit who ends as the winner. Every word speaks loudly of her character. How she learned to deal with his weaknessess and helped him overcome his fears…always loving him.
Even if I can’t, from the death of me, decide which one of the books of this series is my favourite, Noah and Kit will always be one of my favourite couple because they fought for their love and their future. (it really seems I’m speaking about real people…how crazy is that? XD)

Rock Addiction Rock Courtship Rock Hard

REVIEW | Nalini Singh: Rock Hard – Rock Kiss series #2

 Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2) by Nalini Singh
READ AN EXERPT
on the author website
Rating: ★★★★½
Editore TKA Distribution
ISBN 9781942356059
Prezzo $ 4.99 ebook
$ 13.60 paperback
Pagine 351
Uscita 10 march 2015
Acquista LaFeltrinelli.it | Amazon.it |
MondadoriStore | Barnes&Noble
Recensioni Anobii | Goodreads

Rock Hard
Nalini Singh

Rock Kiss #2

Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and fast-review-upruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.

And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.

Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.

If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.

review

As you can see, Rock Hard was a great read for me. I waited, excited and impatient, for it to be in my hand and when I started reading it I was in the perfect state of mind to appreciate it wholly. I’m not saying it is perfect because it has its low moments. I’m just saying it was right for me in that moment and then Nalini’s magic did the rest. Therefore for me it’s a full five star book.

The first time I was drawn to Charlie and Gabriel was when I first read Rock Addiction, the first book of this new series. Even then, these two characters where perfectly defined and were showing us that something that speak about great things to come in a romance book. Something that can maybe be classic, speaking of the story, because here we don’t have rock stars at all instead Charlie is an employee and Gabriel is the new CEO of the company where Charlie has worked in the last years. Nonetheless, Rock Hard will leave you with an heart filled to burst and with an eager sigh on your lips.

Gabriel is an ex rugby pro player. He is a strong character that will reminds you of the Alpha males we are used to in the Psy/Changeling series. He is very protective and, if you don’t behave, he can growl at you as a SnowDancer wolf. 😉 Charlie, on the other hand, is a character that develops during the book. Starting as a little mouse afraid of her shadow, with Grabriel’s help (and their banter) she slowly blossoms. I liked her very much. Her strength and courage that, during the book, will allow her to regain a freedom long lost.
Gabriel as well has his dark moments linked to a difficult childhood, but Charlie’s love will help him deal.

In conclusion, a must read for Nalini’s fan and for those who are in search of a classic romance story that will have the effect of making your heartbeat increase and ruin you to all the real boyfriends out there.

“Charlotte arrived at work at seven thirty the next morning to find Gabriel Bishop’s office door open, but no carnivorous predator inside.”

Gabriel’s growling so… be careful of what you are going to say.

Il romanzi della serie:
Rock Addiction Rock Courtship Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh Review