Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott - Review

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott Series: Fire & Flood #1 Published by: Scholastic on Feb 25th, 2014 Pages: 304 Format: Hardcover Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian Source: Purchased Rating: 3/5 Buy the Book   or   Add to Goodreads!
FROM GOODREADS: 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 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?
MY THOUGHTS: 
Fire & Flood was one of my most anticipated books of this spring. Honestly, I was trying like crazy to win a copy of this, but no such luck. Of course, I pre-ordered it and popped it open it minute I got it. The book I had been wanting so badly was finally in my hands, and it was going to be amazing. But (there's always a but) it wasn't for me. I was let down by Fire & Flood.
It started out well enough, though. Fire & Flood was my first venture into Victoria Scott's books, and I figured if I loved it as much as I thought I would that I would be picking up her other series too, but I'm not so sure I will be now. Tella's snark was hilarious. I immediately found myself cracking up out loud at some of her remarks and thoughts. Scott wastes no time jumping into the action either. Within a few chapters, Tella is already on her journey to find out what in the world the Brimstone Bleed is.
I was flipping pages pretty fast at this point, but after Tella got her animal companion, I kind of started to lose interest. I'm not really sure why. I just didn't really feel the need to finish the book anymore. Weird, I know, but I persevered and finished because I refuse to DNF a book unless I absolutely loathe it. I think maybe Tella's snark and attitude about things just started to become a little annoying to me after awhile. Plus don't even get me started on the romance. No, wait- I mean the attempt at romance. I still don't understand how you can go from hating someone and not talking to them to making out with them and loving them in a few days. It just didn't make sense to me.
Overall, I thought Fire & Flood was a good read. Did I think it was a book that you need to drop everything and read right this second? No. Did I hate it completely? Not that either, but if you are in the mood for a unique adventurous read filled with cute and badass animal companions, then Fire & Flood is a book you should check out. I could be the black sheep on this one, I'm not sure. I still haven't decided if I will pick up book two or not. I might just to see where the story goes, but at this point, I don't have a burning desire to find out either. I give Fire & Flood three hearts, because while it was entertaining and not necessarily bad, it just wasn't for me for some reason. 

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