A Review for Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood #1) by Victoria Scott

Posted by Donna
Release Date: March 6th, 2014
Finished Date: February 16th, 2014

Publishers: Chicken House
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Thriller
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

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

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. 

When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. 
But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

The Review: Gripping, suspenseful and original, Fire & Flood is definitely a book to watch out for this year!

Tella is a sixteen-year-old girl whose older brother – Cody, is sick with a terminal illness. He’s not getting any better and all Tella can do is watch him fade away. When the opportunity arises for Tella to enter a race called that Brimstone Bleed, a race that could lead her to a once in a life time offer – a cure for Cody. Tella knows she has no alternative; she must enter even though she doesn’t know the rules or even if she believes it's real. But when she arrives at the destination picked by the makers, Tella knows that this race is real and she knows she needs to win.

Before I started Fire & Blood I was expecting was a dystopian kind of world, mainly because I hadn’t heard much about the book nor did I look into it before starting it. Imagine my surprise when I started reading and it’s actually a modern day setting. This actually threw me; I really found it a little mind-bogglingly that something like the Brimstone Bleed would exist in the modern day world. I found I needed answers that at that time couldn’t be answered, because not even Tella knew them. It was a case of waiting it out, which meant I needed to read – quicker. I was dying for some answers and when it’s revealed, it’s a very original storyline – one I don’t recall reading anything alike and I found myself falling in love with the whole world Victoria Scott created.
The Brimstone Bleed really is an intriguing race, even though it’s somewhat horrifying at times. The whole creation is scary; however there are some bright spots in the story like for example the Pandora’s – the creations that help each person who enters the race try to win. Some are scary but mostly they are absolutely fantastic creations and really, I want one for myself. Very original! 

Tella at the start of the story is a weak person, one a little self-centred if I’m honest. But she quickly changes as she heads in into the race and starts living the horrid experience, she becomes stronger and her thoughts quickly change – rather than thinking about shopping and her best friend – she soon starts seeing why she’s there all along; for her brother. She really starts to see what is at stake and how far people are willing to go to get what they want. Then there’s Guy. He’s a bit of a scary brut to start with but somehow, he manages to help Tella in some way or another from the moment they first meet. He's very closed off but soon he starts opening up and becomes a strong and lovable character, but one that still holds many secrets. We also meet a lot of other characters – Caroline, Harper, Jaxon, Dink and Ransom, the list can go on. They all bring something to the story along with their Pandora’s and it’s really fascinating to watch all these characters and the story line all come together.

And the ending, although somewhat frustrating because you’re left dying to know what happens next, it also leaves so many questions about what’s to come next. The race isn’t over – and it seems there’s more to this race than ever and I can’t wait to find out.