Fire and Flood (Fire & Flood, #1)

by Victoria Scott

[littleread1]

I really really really wanted to like this book. I was so excited, and a little jealous when a friend of mine got it early. The I got it early and I was pumped! Then ... I read it. And kept reading it. Hoping - no - PRAYING it would get better. And it just ... didn't.

Let me start with the things I liked. Because there were some. And because of those things I will probably read book 2 whenever it comes out. The race itself was interesting. Four different terrains over a course of months. All the racer is given is a Pandora (more on that in a minute) and sent on their way to find base camp by following a set of flags. Super fascinating. And the romance is a slow build, but still there, and I did enjoy it as well. Even though the guy's name IS Guy. His. Name. Is. Guy.

But Tella - the main character, is an idiot. IDIOT. When she gets her invitation to participate in the race for a possible cure for her brother, SHE TAKES THE RECORDING AS TRUTH AND TAKES OFF. There is NO set up, nothing alluded to, some things hinted at that at the end still don't make sense. And she doesn't tell anyone where she is going, or ask any questions. She just takes the message at it's word and just goes.

She gets where she is going, for the Pandora selection (still don't know what that is at this point) and finds the right room, without having directions, without looking around, and knows instinctively that this is the room where the Pandora selection is to take place and the things in here are Pandoras. WHAT?! HOW does she have this knowledge? Was there a sign she saw that we didn't? I just. No.

And once she gets to the actual race part - I'm sorry. I don't know how she didn't die? (Not a direct quote, but my interpretation of something that happened ...) "Oh my gosh, why did he have to see me covered in mud with my hair chopped off? Well I hope he remembers I was the pretty one before I looked like this." Please kill me now.

There were some several bad choices. BAD. And the "twists" I saw coming a mile away. The only thing that surprised me was how the race came into being. But even that didn't really make sense. And can someone tell me when this is taking place? Is it now? I assumed it to be now but there are some technologies that are far beyond what qwe have so maybe it is in the future?

And the end ... without spoiling anything it just ... ends. No cliffhanger, no resolution, it just ... ends. The race isn't even finished. There is not a giant revelation about life, or the people running it, or anything. IT JUST ENDS. Like the end of a chapter and then nothing else.

If you are familiar with ANY of my reviews, you will know it doesn't take much for me to like something. And this sounded like it was right up my alley. So the fact that there are so many things I don't like about Fire & Flood is painful to me. Painful. But I've heard many other people have loved it, so if you think you will, give it a try. You might like it. I just ... didn't.