Trigger warnings: Murder, death of a child, grief and loss depiction

7/10, now that I think of this book retrospectively it wasn't as good as I had thought when I first read this book but it was still an enjoyable read anyways. The concept of this book is just, let me say this, a cheap knockoff of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. That's it. Now with that behind, the book was quite a fascinating read and this is only part one of the series but the library does not even have the second book so I will never know what really happens in the end. The main character, Tella was just a typical teenage heroine that kicks butt and tries to survive and win the Hunger Games Brimstone Bleed. The side characters didn't have much characteristics like Harper, Caroline and Dink except for the fact that they were Tella's allies and that's all, and the antagonists were just as over the top and shallow as them especially the main one whose name I forgot but I know that he was some sort of mad scientist. The book got a bit brutal at times and there were even a couple of deaths of minor characters but that is to be expected in a story like this. If you like a quick sci-fi book this one is for you. ( )

What would you do to get a cure for a family member who was dying? You’d be willing to compete in a race, probably, knowing only one person could win, right? But what if that race could kill you? What if you saw other contenders die? What if other contenders turned on you? Would you still want to do race? It’s going to take three months; you’ll travel over four different ecosystems, and you’ll have a Pandora. What’s a Pandora? That’s just one of the questions, you’ll have, that will be answered later, maybe.

This was a wild ride of a book. I’m hooked and ready to read the next one, immediately. Good thing it’s out already. There were times that I giggled at Tella’s comments, and times I rolled my eyes at her, but overall I really enjoyed this one.

Some will want to compare Fire and Flood to The Hunger Games. Yes, the competition aspect is like that, but the motivation is different to me. Tell wants to win so her brother can be cured of his disease. Katniss took her sister’s place, but Prim could live without her, well, she would have…. Tella is much more compassionate than Katniss. She cares about the other contender’s stories, and Pandoras. And I’ll be really mad if that turns out to be her downfall rather than her salvation.
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Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott is a YA fantasy adventure story that both delighted me and frustrated me. The fact that the author set the book in current times made the story feel very false and I would much rather have had this story set in a post-apocalyptic future.

When Tella receives a mysterious summons to take part in the Brimstone Bleed, a race with the prize being a miracle cure, she sets off immediately. This is a chance to save her deathly ill brother but little does she know of all the hardships she will have to endure. The race takes place over a three month period and contestants must race over four distinct ecosystems. Each contestant receives a Pandora egg which hatches into a genetically engineered animal to assist them. Each animal comes with it’s own powers that are revealed over the course of the story. Tella teams up with a group of contestants and, of course, meets Guy, a love interest who appears to be a uber-survivalist. The book covers the first two ecosystems, the jungle race and the desert race. There are plenty of adventures, lots of deadly competition and still time for Tella and Guy to make googly-eyes at each other.

The stakes are high as everyone in the race has a dying relative that they want to save and sooner or later, each contestant must strike out on their own as there can only be one winner, but survival depends on banding together right now. The secondary characters are nicely mixed, but the villain of the piece is quite over-the-top. Also while totally unbelievable, the Pandora animals are super fun and easily the best part of the story, with Tella’s Pandora perhaps the best one of all.

The book comes to an abrupt end halfway through the race but I do have the second book on my Kindle and although it is rather silly, I will definitely read on to find out what happens next. Fire and Flood comes across as an homage to The Hunger Games and I think it would appeal to fans of that book. ( )

I loved the concept of using animals as companions in the race. ( )

PopSugar '15 #28--Books with antonyms in title ( )