ARC REVIEW: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott Published by: Scholastic Press on February 24th, 2015 Series: Fire & Flood #2 Pages: 320 Format: Paperback ARC Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian Source: For Review Rating: 3/5 BUY THE BOOK or ADD IT TO GOODREADS!
From Goodreads: What would you do to save someone you love?
In Fire & Flood, Tella Holloway faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and across the desert, all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can't quit-- she has to win the race, save Cody, and then fight to make sure the race stops before it can claim any more lives. In the next legs of the race, across the ocean and over the mountains, Tella will face frostbite, sharks, avalanche, and twisted new rules in the race.
But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone's keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you'd relied on most suddenly isn't there for support? How do you weigh one life against another?
The race is coming to an end, and Tella is running out of time, resources, and strength. At the start of the race, there were one hundred twenty-two Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the final part of the race, just forty-one are left-- and only one can win.
My Thoughts: 
Dear Salt & Stone,
I'm going to be completely honest, and say I wasn't entirely wowed by your first book, Fire & Flood. I went into it expecting something, and it wasn't what I got so I'm sure that affected my overall opinion of you, but with you, I knew what I was going into, and was pleasantly surprised when I had an extremely hard time putting you down. Each of your chapters is short and sweet, but the end of them completely hooks you and makes you want to continue reading until hey, it's 3 am and I have to be up in a few hours for work but oh wells, gots to finish my book. That was my exact experience with you, Salt & Stone. I was so tired on Sunday because of you, but that's okay! I forgive you! :) 
You continue the story of Tella Holloway, who is a contender in the Brimstone Bleed, where a bunch of people are racing through crazy scary terrain with these super power animals called Pandoras. In this edition, we follow Tella through the ocean and mountains on her final legs of the competition where everyone is after one thing: the Cure for their loved one who is deathly sick. But this second half is even more daunting, competitive, and twisted than the first half, with new rules and new battle buddies until the moment comes where Tella needs to stand on her own two feet and decide who is worth saving, and who isn't.
Tella is one snarky gal. I usually adore that in female mc's. You deliver the snark, then I'm most likely destined to adore you, but unfortunately for me, at some points, Tella's snark and comments were random and a bit annoying. I think it was just layered on a little two thick for me. And I never understood her attraction to Guy (also, who names their kid GUY), but it is what it is. Guy was constantly frustrating me with his secretive and stand-offish nature, but he redeems himself as your chapters progress. One thing that made me love you more than I did Fire & Flood, was when Tella decided that she can be strong on her own and not depend on anyone. She started being more confident in herself instead of relying on the guy to get her through the competition. I LOVED THAT! And her willingness to stand up for the Pandoras when they were treated badly. I hate when animals are treated poorly. It kills me to read those parts if they are in a book, and there was a ton of that near the end of your journey.
Your plot was pretty fast-paced, with new head-turners every few chapters, which helped keep me interested and on my toes. You were an emotional roller coaster for me, Salt & Stone. The only thing I'm curious about is that ending of yours? Are we going to be getting a third book in your series? Because I didn't see one on Goodreads yet, but if your series just drops like that, I am going to be pretty ticked off. 
All in all, I think if someone loved your previous book then they are going to fall in total love with you. I thought your author improved on a lot of things in this second book, which made me much more willing to pick up something of hers in the future. You had a few draw backs that irked me, but not enough to make me slow down on reading you or DNF, which I seriously thought about during F&F. I give you three out of five hearts, because while I enjoyed you much more, you didn't blow me out of the park either. 
Desperate for a book 3,
Becca

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**According to FTC Guidelines, I must state that I received a free Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way effected my opinion of said book.**