‘Time is slipping away….
Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.
Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.
The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?’
Fire & Flood is a Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopia novel with a smidgen of Romance.
I didn’t think all that much about Fire & Flood, honestly. What I thought about Fire & Flood prior to reading the book was that I would end up not liking it at all. How wrong was I…
I found Fire & Flood to be incredibly interesting. Once I started reading Fire & Flood, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to stop! At the start of the book, we’re introduced to the main character and where our point of view comes from: Tella.
Tella is a bright girl who hates her unruly curly hair. As far as characters go, I find that Tella is one of those characters that we usually read about in passing: the side character. I say that because we don’t usually see a character so up-beat about some things like Tella is. Tella isn’t upbeat about everything. In fact, she’s actually very emotionally aware of the people around her. Saying that, Tella is one of the more realistic characters that I’ve read in a while.
What I absolutely like about Fire & Flood and will probably remember about this book for a while yet, is that everything about this book is that it’s a slow burning buildup. The action does start pretty quickly, and from there it doesn’t seem to slow down.
Then there’s the smidgen of Romance that I mentioned above. The romance between Tella and the guy that she’s interested in is great. Let’s call him Steel Blue, for lack of spoiling anything. Steel Blue is much like a ‘strong quiet’ type. Whatever is going on between Tella and Steel Blue, I found myself loving. The romance IS NOT the main focus of the book. In fact, if anything, the romance is one factor of the story that keeps this book upbeat. At times there are moments in Tella’s mind that she uses this attraction she has to Steel Blue as a distraction from what’s going on around her — a coping mechanism. And to be honest, if I were in her situation, I’d find myself doing the same thing.
What Tella originally set out to do has spiralled into this bigger, broader thing. And while Tella still has her original objective in mind, Tella is 100% determined to also accomplish her new goal.
Overall, I really did enjoy what I read in Fire & Flood. From cover to cover, there wasn’t a dull moment.
I ended up giving Fire & Flood, 3 of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Have you read Fire & Flood? If you have, what are your thoughts on the story?
Happy Reading!
Adele
