Publisher: Chicken House
Release: 6th March 2014
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads Summary:
"Tella's brother has cancer, and she is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for her 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. But Tella will be facing more than the elements..."
Review
Fire and Flood is one of the only dystopian books to hold my interest in a long time. It would be fair to say that I was growing tired of the genre and although Fire and Flood follows a similar formula to other dystopian books out there it also has its own unique flare that had me turning the pages wanting to know more about this world.
The book begins on a very contemporary note which made me instantly connect to Tella and her situation as we get to know her and her family. The layers of the plot slowly begin to unfold as we’re introduced to a world within our own and before you know it we’re in a life or death survival story that has you on the edge of your seat. I absolutely loved the way this book was told, it had so many elements rolled into one plot.
Tella was a really interesting character to read about – she was not what I was expecting! Instead of the unflinchingly brave martyr to the cause type heroine that I’ve become accustomed to in dystopian fiction we’re offered an incredibly normal heroine with a contemporary voice. Some of the early reviews that I’ve read have labelled Tella as vain but I found her very human and believable. Tella is very much a girly girl but she was tough and strong when it mattered so I actually found her really refreshing to read about. If I’d gone days without so much as a shower in the jungle with a hot guy around I’d want a mirror and my cosmetics too! I loved the message that you can be tough and girly at the same time and that it isn’t an either/or situation.
Another aspect of this book I really loved was the Pandoras. Oh how I want my own Madox! I’m a huge animal lover so the idea of having an animal sidekick with super cool powers was an idea that I loved and I came to love some of the Pandoras just as much as the actual characters. Speaking of characters there is a wide and diverse cast here some of whom I loved and some I hated with a passion! My favourites were Harper and Jaxon – I really hope we get more from them in book two!
Overall I was really impressed with Fire and Flood. My only small complaint is that I was left with a lot of questions still regarding the world building in this book but since it’s the first in a series I’m hoping to learn more in future books which I’ll definitely be reading after enjoying this book so much.
