Fire and Flood - Victoria Scott

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

When an invitation arrives 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…”

I picked this up from my local Asda for a couple of quid and wasn’t expecting much. I needed something to read in work while all the kids were watching films as it was the end of term. After reading the back I was expecting something very, very similar to the Hunger Games, and wasn’t too fussed on actually reading it.

Tella, our main girl, is a typical teenager, who cares about how she looks, what she wears and blames her parents for living in the middle of nowhere. At first she can be very infuriating and vain but I got over it quite quickly. Lots of people complain that she cares more about how she looks than her brother which I think is wholey untrue. Any teenage girl who cares about how she looks would be moaning about living in a jungle for 2 weeks without a shower, clean clothes, make up etc. no matter why she is there in the first place. Hell, I wasn’t exactly a vain teenager but I would’ve done the same. As for not constantly thinking about her brother, can you blame her? In my experience dwelling on something negative (e.g. dying relative) constantly would slow you down.

As the blurb says, Tella has the chance to qualify for the Brimstone Bleed, and the chance to save her brothers life. She has to race across country to qualify to compete, picking up an egg in the process. These aren't ordinary eggs- they hold pandoras, genetically engineered animals designed to help their competitor survive and win. I LOVE MADOX. He is the cutest most amazing creature and I want one! 

We follow Tella as she races through the first zones of the BB, making bonds both good and bad with other competitors. There is romance, heart break, laughter and fear. 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I went into it not expecting much and came out dying to get my hands on the next one! The variety of characters were brilliant - I loved the twins! Harper is fantastic but Guy is your typical aloof guarded love interest. Which is great, but I'm getting really bored of that kind of character. Our bad guy Titus though- he is amazing. Absolutely evil but a fascinating character. I really recommend this fantastic new series to any fan of YA fiction.