I avoided this book for the longest time, which I now regret because it was SO amazing. ( )

Books like this are the reason I signed up for book subscription boxes. I get books that had never even crossed my radar and sometimes, those books are awesome and amazing. Thank you, Uppercase Box, for one of those awesome and amazing books.

First: Genre-bending. How to describe this? It's alternate history, with a smidge of science fiction thrown in. And it's an action/adventure with racing. I'm honestly surprised a traditional publisher picked this one up. It's so far outside of traditional genre lines that I would have thought Hachette would have given it a pass only because it would have been difficult to market.

Second: The world building. Oh, the world building. I swoon. This is a world in which the Axis Powers won World War Two because a) Germany invaded Britain and b) Japan never bombed Pearl Harbor so c) the US never shook off it's isolationism and entered the war, and d) Japan instead attacked Soviet Russia forcing the country to fight a two-front war. Graudin did her research and her what-if world is grounded in historical fact. The history nerd in me was in heaven.

Third: This is just damn good storytelling. I fell into the book and didn't emerge until the last page, when I immediately ran to the computer to see if the sequel was out yet (no, dammit) because I needed more.

My one complaint about this book is that despite the first-person point-of-view, Yael is a very closed-off character to get to know. We learn her past and the tragedies and horrors she faced, but I still don't feel like I have a good handle of her character other than a drive for vengeance. Which, to be fair, is a huge part of her character. It could also be argued that she has a hard time holding onto her individuality given that she readily takes on others' identities and faces all the time. ( )

Gah, ok, so this is a book that is incredibly hard to put down -- fast paced (like a bullet train is fast paced), alt-history motorcycle race and a plot to assassinate Hitler. Great main character, too, in the shifting Yael, with her spy's lack of self.

I personally found the very concept of a world where Hitler won to be so horrifying that I couldn't put that aside and enjoy the book. The underlying darkness and despair is pretty much impossible to shake, and I recognize that as fantastic writing, even as I walk away from this series. Too much for me, but don't let that stop you. ( )

i was both very interested and skeptical at the premise of this book. telling a story in which hitler and the nazis win ww2 is... dicey at best. especially when you add in a fantasy element. but, (i say this with the caveat that i am not jewish, and jews might have different feelings about this book) i thought it was handled well. the overall theme of the story isn't so much, "what if hitler won?" and more, "how does identity define us?" the fantasy/skin-changing elements really strengthened that. yael is a brilliant heroine and protagonist. and her journey is a compelling one. much more so than the "world that could have been".

the afterword is really what ended up leaving me satisfied, wanting more, and trusting the story in the author's hands. ( )

I love alternate history so this book was write up my alley. I don't love the whole "axis forces won wwII" story in alternate history but I thought this book was great. I thought this idea was very intriguing and I liked the mystical, fantasy elements of shape shifting mixed into this very realistic story. I liked all the main characters and I also really enjoyed learning about all the people in the resistance movement as well as all of the other racers. The reason I couldn't give the book the last star was because this book never made feel the way I thought I should. For instance I was never very nervous at the times where I thought I should or excited or anything. Don't get me wrong, I did feel strong emotions while reading this book. For instance in the last parts I really just wanted to flip to the back and read the last chapter to see what happened because I was so anxious about the ending but there were certainly lots of times I wish the book had made me feel more. I also figured out the plot twist at the end pretty early on. I'm not someone who thinks that it's the worst thing in the world when you can figure out the twist ending but it did take away from the suspense quite a bit in this case. I am excited to read the next book ( I am in the middle of so many series right now I'm never going to finish them) and I am intrigued by how this story ended and what will happen next so I hope to pick up the next book soon. ( )