Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott Review!

      

Title : Fire & Flood
Author : Victoria Scott
Pages : 366
Published : March 6th 2014 by Chicken House
Source : From Publisher

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'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.

My Thoughts : 

When Tellas brother got sick, she had to give up her life in the big city and move to the back of beyond. No telly, no internet and miles from no where. When she walks into her bed room and sees a little blue box on her bed with some sort of gadget inside she is ecstatic. Her first taste of technology in a long time. Just when she puts it into her ear her father storms in and grabs it from her. He is furious and she has no idea why. 

When she sees her father out late one night she follows him. He starts a fire and throws the device into it. When he leaves she sneaks over to see the remains but is astonished to see the device unharmed. She gets it out of the embers and listens to it. It is an invitation to the Brimstone Bleed with the grand prize being a cure for any illness!! She knows she will do anything to cure her brother so has to go. What she doesn't realise is whats involved but will she find out too late? 

Wow!! This is my first Victoria Scott book and it definitely wont be my last. I absolutely loved this. 

Tella at the start came across as self centered but you can see how much she cares about her family. When she hears about the race, even though she had so many questions, she knows straight away she will have to take part. She thinks its a hoax at first but when she gets to the Pandora pick she knows its not. At the Pandora pick she is jostled and has her hair pulled and is sickened to see that there are no more eggs left. She is terrified that she failed right at the start but when she looks up she sees this man looking down at her, he glances to the side and following his gaze she sees an egg under the shelves. With her Pandora in hand she listens to her device for the next set of instructions. 

I loved the idea of the Pandoras. They are designed to help the competitors during the race and only show their powers when needed. Maddox, Tellas Pandora, was amazing!! He is a small fox with BIG powers. At first after Tella sees the other Pandoras, she wonders how her fox can compete against the likes of lions, elephants, eagles and even bears, but he shows her he can do that and more!! 

Now onto Guy!! The mysterious stranger who helped Tella find her Pandora. Be still my heart!!! He was mysterious, strong, tough and woe anyone who got in his way. At the start he keeps his distance but after certain events, ends up helping Tella and the group she joined. Very slowly he comes out of his shell and I loved getting to know his character. He is very complex and the way the author slowly drew out his story was awesome. 

The romance was not a main point but I did love seeing it develop between certain characters. I was rooting for them from the start. There is a whole slew of secondary characters in Fire & Flood and I loved every one of them. Each added their own bit to the book and overall made the book better. The plot was faced paced and intense. I finished the book within 2 days and with 4 kids thats saying something! Any time I had a spare minute I found myself picking it up and diving back into the story. 

So yes, overall I loved Fire & Flood. It was an intense, breathtaking, thrilling, rollercoaster of a book. It captivated me from the start and I flew through it. With twists and turns at every corner, you are left wondering and waiting to see what could possibly happen next. From the rain forest to the desert, its a story of not only survival but strength. Who can survive the harsh landscapes and win? I can not wait for book 2 and highly recommend this!!