Review: Fire & Flood

Title:  Fire & Flood
Series:  Fire & Flood #1
Author:  Victoria Scott
Age Group:  Young Adult
Published:  February 25, 2014 by Scholastic Press
Source:  I was provided a copy by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

My Review:  Victoria Scott certainly knows how to write a story.  After reading about Dante walker, the hero in Victoria's first series, I wasn't sure our new protagonist would live up to my high expectations.  But Tella, just like Dante, was quirky and interesting in her own way.  Besides out heroine, I was completely sucked into this novel by the heart-pounding race, the high stakes, and the interesting world and twists that continued to surprise me throughout.

I could tell from the beginning that Tella was a very strong character, despite her sometimes less than strong behavior.  A lot of times she was wishy-washy, annoying, and a little dramatic but, in the end, she knew what had to be done to save her brother and she tried her best to do whatever that was.  I admired her stubbornness to keep going, no matter how tough it became.  I also really enjoyed her humor.  Her comments and thoughts were laugh-out-loud funny at times and she definitely added some much needed lightness to this rather stressful and dark competition.  Her pandora also stole my heart.  I just could not get enough of him throughout the entire story!   

I wasn't so connected with the other characters, unfortunately.  Maybe it's because I saw them all as competition in the game but I just had a hard time connecting with them and liking them.  Even our love interest, Guy, was hard for me to like.  He was a very stoic and cold person and I found it a little unbelievable that Tella would fall so quickly for him.  It was by no means insta-love but they maybe had like, five conversations before she was suddenly dedicated and infatuated with him.  And he wasn't exactly a great contributor to their conversations.

The story line had me at the edge of my seat the entire time.  There was never a lull in the action and I was constantly caught up in the life-or-death challenges that Tella faced throughout the story.  My heart was racing the entire time and I never knew what was going to happen next.  The twists and loops we went through in this novel had me guessing the entire time.

Fire & Flood was an action packed novel with high stakes, surprising twists, and action that had my heart racing.  I'm excited to see where the series goes and to see what happens with all of our characters!

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