Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood #2)
   by: Victoria Scott

Publication Date: Feb. 24, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Dystopia
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC provided via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 320 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

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 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.

 

 

Upon finishing Fire & Flood, I couldn't wait to get my hands on its sequel! I loved the premise behind this series and how Scott has created such a believable, realistic heroine in Tella. That's not to say she doesn't have her flaws. However, I was able to look past those and really focus on the action packed, intense story it was.

 

Tella was a bit frustrating for me in the beginning with her constant worrying about whether or not she's depending too much on Guy. She wants to keep him close because she cares for him, but at the same time she feels like she has something to prove. She really dwells on this more than she should and then there were times that I felt she was rebelling just to prove she could. She did get better as the book went on, though. Where Guy felt more the leader in the previous book, Tella really takes the reigns in this one. She is not perfect though. She makes mistakes and she constantly wonders if her decision was the right one or if she should have heeded Guy's advice instead. However, it is her big heart that really endears her to me. She cares for her companions, as well as the Pandoras. Seeing her interact with them was absolutely my favorite part of this one.

 

The more I read, the more I feared for what was to come. I didn't want anything bad to come to Tella, her friends, or their Pandoras. However, they are in a brutal race of survival. Everyone there has someone to lose if they don't succeed, so the fact they banded together was nice to see. We do have a few new character additions and I was really wary of them. I was afraid they would upset the balance and cause problems for Tella's team. Things weren't perfect between them and there were times I was confused by some of their actions, but overall they were a team and they respected one another.

 

As frustrated as I could get with Guy in this one, I did still love him. He really does care for Tella and he is afraid of showing her just how much. Scott does a great job with their tension and there were so many moments you could feel him desperately wanting to express himself and when he doesn't, I just wanted to scream! Tella definitely tests him in this book and the swoony moments are few and far between, but they are definitely worth the wait and the frustration!

 

There were a few twists in this one that I didn't expect and I was both desperate and afraid to turn the pages, knowing that my heart might not be able to take what was to come! I am really anxious for the next book and am hoping that Scott maintains her fast paced, action packed world (with more Guy and Tella romantic moments) as well as gives us plenty more with those adorable Pandoras we all love!

 

Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood #2)

by: Victoria Scott

Young Adult

Scholastic

Expected Release: Feb. 24, 2015

 

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 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.

 

 

Amazon

 

 

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Don't miss the first book in the series, FIRE & FLOOD, to see how it all began!

 

 

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?

Victoria Scott's breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn't let go.

 

Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood #1)
   by: Victoria Scott

Publication Date: Feb. 25, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Dystopia
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 304 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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?

 

 

I will start my review off by saying: I WANT A PANDORA! Preferably Tella's, since I'm in love with foxes.

 

Ok, in all seriousness. I really enjoyed this book! Not that I thought I wouldn't because come on. It's Victoria Scott and she's a rockstar. I love how she has created this fast-paced, descriptive story about the lengths people would go to in order to save someone they loved. Most of these characters show heart and spirit and I loved getting to know them and see them interact with one another.

 

Let's start with Tella. She is such an interesting character! She is not your typical kick butt heroine that can defy all the odds and succeed. Tella is unique and definitely quirky, which I loved. Some of her internal dialogue comes across as a bit superficial and you can't help but laugh at her for thinking such thoughts. She definitely has some spunk and sass and I really loved that about her. However, I admired Tella's strength most of all. She is determined to find a cure for her brother and she enters into a world where she is alone and completely self-sufficient. She has no idea what's going on or what to do. The rules are simple: get to the base camp in 2 weeks. How she does that is completely up to her- there's no manual to lead her.

 

"I fear isolation more than the jungle itself."

 

I love how realistic Tella is. Katniss is great and all, but not every heroine can be a total badass or quick on their feet. Even though the race is harsh, Tella is sensitive. She feels for the Pandoras and cares for her own like she would a pet. Her companions that she meets up with and ends up traveling with think she's crazy for her treatment of the Pandora, but she doesn't care. She is compassionate and we see that compassion so much throughout the story. There are people in this story that would use this information as a weapon, however, but Tella doesn't think in those terms. That is not to say she's too trusting of people, because she's not. She is wary of Titus, especially, as he leers at her and makes her uncomfortable and something about him doesn't sit right with her.

 

Knowing there can only be one winner of the race, one would think the Contenders would try to kill each other off, and that may have happened elsewhere, but not with Tella and her companions. Instead, they work together for a common goal, taking it one day at a time. Scott has truly created a great set of characters and I connected with all of them: Harper, Caroline, Dink, Ransom, Levi, Jaxon, Olivia, and Guy. She also finds some unexpected allies along the way, which definitely intrigued me.

 

Let's talk about Guy. Obviously, he's my favorite. I love the way he acts stoic and tough, but he has a soft spot for Tella. We see that from the very beginning of the novel and we watch it grow into more as the novel progresses. He becomes such a source of comfort for her and it's clear these two have real feelings for one another. The romance isn't a huge part of this story, but it's incorporated just enough that I swooned like crazy.

 

I am all about plot twists, and I felt Scott handled the ones she gave us quite nicely. There were a few moments where I was definitely blind-sided and had no idea as to what would happen. The Pandoras were such a big part of this novel and I loved them so much. Tella and Madox (her Pandora) have such an incredible bond and where most of her friends thought their Pandoras only served to protect them, Tella was protective of her own, always conscious of where he was and what he was doing.

 

As the novel progressed, I found myself unable to put it down. Scott definitely upped the tension and the action and I was on pins and needles by the end. I've heard people comparing this to Hunger Games and while they have a similar premise, both are novels all their own. If you are a dystopian fan, you will definitely enjoy this one and I highly recommend it! I am really looking forward to book two, as some revelations are revealed by the end of this novel and Tella and her friends are only getting started!

Hey guys! I'm so excited to share the title and blurb with you all for the FINAL Dante Walker book by Victoria Scott! I am such a huge fan of this series, so it's definitely bittersweet that it's going to be ending.

 

First we had....

 

The Collector
 

See my review HERE.

 

And then we got....

 

The Liberator

 

See my review HERE.

 

And finally we have....

 

 

THE WARRIOR!!!!!

 

War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good.

Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll.

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before—faith.

 

 

 

 

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Fire & Flood

 by: Victoria Scott

Scholastic, February 2014

 

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?

 

First Excerpt:

I drove across the US of A, left my family without an explanation, and now I’m either too late or there was never anything here to begin with. F my life. Rearing back, I kick the door as hard as I can. Then I wrap both hands around the door handles and release a noise like a wild banshee as I pull back.

The doors swing open.

I’m not sure whether to celebrate or freak out. I decide to do neither and slip inside. As I walk around the inside of the museum, listening to the sound of my footsteps echo off the walls, I imagine I am moments from death. It’s sad, I think, that this is all it takes to break my sanity.

Two curling flights of stairs bow out from the first-floor lobby, and red and white tiles cover the floors. There are gilded picture frames everywhere. So many that I think the placement of the frames — and not their contents — is the real art. Everything, absolutely everything, smells like wax. I mosey up to an abandoned reception desk and leaf through the glossy pamphlets littering the surface. I hold one of the pamphlets up to my nose. Yep, wax.

I glance around, having no idea what to look for. Will there be a sign like at school registration? Students with last names A–K this way?

On my left, I notice a long hallway dotted with doors on either side. Nothing looks particularly unusual. But when I glance to my right, I spot something. There’s a door at the end of the corridor that has a sliver of light glowing beneath it. I’m sure it’s just an administration office, one where someone forgot to flip the switch. But I’ve got nothing better to go on, so I head toward it.

I pause outside the door, wondering if I’m about to get busted for B&E. Then I turn the handle and find myself at the top of another winding staircase.

You’ve got to be kidding me. What is this, Dracula’s bachelor pad?

I’ve watched a lot of scary movies, and I’ve learned nothing good is ever at the bottom of a winding staircase. Pulling in a breath and preparing myself to be eaten alive, I head down. My shoes are loud against the steps. So loud, I imagine they are intentionally trying to get me killed.

When I reach the final few stairs, I ready myself to look around the bend. My heart is racing, and I secretly pray the worst I encounter is an angry janitor with a wax addiction. I turn the bend — and my eyes nearly pop from my skull.

The enormous room is perfectly circular, dotted with candles to light the space. Surrounding the walls are rows and rows of dark, rich mahogany bookshelves. A large round table stands in the center of the red-and-white-tiled floor. The room is spectacular, but what it holds is so jarring, my ears ring.

Across every shelf, every spot on the table, every tile on the floor — are small sculptures of hands. And in a few of those hands — the ones still performing their duty — are eggs. There are only nine eggs left, it seems. For a moment, I imagine how amazing it would have been to see each hand holding an egg, but it’s enough just to see these nine.

The eggs seem to dance in the candle flame, and as I move closer, I realize why. The surfaces of the eggs are almost iridescent, their colors changing depending on how you look at them. They are different sizes, too; some as big as a basketball, others as small as a peach.

I don’t need the device in my pocket to tell me what my gut already knows.

This is the Pandora Selection Process.

 

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Welcome to my stop on The Liberator blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

The Liberator (Dante Walker #2)
    by: Victoria Scott

Publication Date: Aug. 27, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by YABound Tours and the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 350 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Bad boy, meet bad girl.

Dante has a shiny new cuff wrapped around his ankle, and he doesn't like that mess one bit. His new accessory comes straight from Big Guy himself and marks the former demon as a liberator. Despite his gritty past and bad boy ways, Dante Walker has been granted a second chance.

When Dante is given his first mission as a liberator to save the soul of seventeen-year-old Aspen, he knows he’s got this. But Aspen reminds him of the rebellious life he used to live and is making it difficult to resist sinful temptations. Though Dante is committed to living clean for his girlfriend Charlie, this dude’s been a playboy for far too long…and old demons die hard.

With Charlie becoming the girl she was never able to be pre-makeover and Aspen showing him how delicious it feels to embrace his inner beast, Dante will have to go somewhere he never thought he’d return to in order to accomplish the impossible: save the girl he’s been assigned to, and keep the girl he loves.

 

My Review: 

POW! Dante is flippin' back ya'll! Woooo! I missed him so. I don't really even know where to start! It's always difficult to write reviews for sequels because we definitely don't want any spoilers. Ok! Let's just do this. Dante would kick my butt for beating around the bush.

The Liberator picks up where The Collector leaves off: Dante is sporting a shiny new cuff around his ankle- of the good variety. No longer is he working for the Boss Man, but he's now on Team Big Guy. This should be a great thing for good ole Dante! He gets to do good and be good and everything's all kittens and puppies, right?! NO. Dante is bad. Always has been and always will be. At least according to him. This presents a bit of a problem, obviously. His first mission as a Liberator is to go help a girl named Aspen. A girl who is basically him, but with boobs. Dante knows he has a mission to do and he wants to get back to Charlie ASAP. However, it's so easy to forget his true purpose and slide right back into his old ways.

I'm glad Victoria came right out and said she didn't like love triangles because when I first saw this I thought- here we go.... Knowing there would be no love triangle, I was able to go in and really enjoy Aspen without feeling like I was betraying Charlie. Aspen is a little spitfire. She's got attitude, but there's a raw part of her too- a part that's really hurting and Dante is able to zone in on that. There's so much more to Aspen than meets the eye and I really think Victoria did a great job of unraveling her storyline because she has a pretty big part to play.

Charlie is a lot different in this book too. We definitely get to see a different side to Charlie. At the beginning I felt bad for her because she was trying to be someone that she wasn't- for Dante- and she was upset with herself for it. He wasn't very happy either because he loves her just the way she is. However, we all know Dante- he tends to put his foot in his mouth sometimes and say things he shouldn't. Charlie comes to terms with the fact that she is who she is and she isn't going to change because of it. (You go girl!) And Dante falls a little more in love with her because of that.

Can I just squeal a minute about Dante and Charlie's relationship? I won't lie- I was a little bummed The Collector didn't have very many swoony scenes. That's ok folks! The Liberator MORE than makes up for that! Mmmhmm. That's right. Bow-chicka-bow-bow! There are so many adorable moments between those two and Dante Walker you are not as bad boy as you think! Dante can act as bad ass as he wants- when it comes to Charlie Cooper, she's his kryptonite. Dante- you big softie!

And we can't forget the gang! They're back! And more fun than ever! I love the unyielding friendships Victoria has created here. They would go to hell and back for one another and wouldn't hesitate to step in the line of fire to protect of their own. I was a little mad at Annabelle in the beginning because I felt she was letting Charlie get a little out of control, but at least she was with her just in case the shit really did hit the fan. Luckily, that got resolved pretty quickly. All of Victoria's characters have a part to play and I love that she doesn't just throw characters in for filler purposes.

My only issue with this book was that it did feel a little slow at times. But gosh, once you hit the last half of the book, forget about it! It's ON. I was tearing through the pages like it was going out of style because I had to see how this would all play out. And there were definitely a few gut-clenching moments where I was afraid of where Victoria was going with everything.

I really thought this book would just be focused on Aspen and trying to liberate her soul, but wow. Victoria took us in a whole different direction! I think the way she intertwined Aspen's story with Dante, Charlie, and the rest of the gang's was brilliant. And the ending?! POW! Thankfully, it's not a cliffhanger but at the end I was all fired up ready to go and.... I have to wait for Book 3.

Overall my fellow Dante fans: he's back and he's ready for you.

"I nearly gasp. No girl has ever called me on my crap before. I'm a little thrown off, but recover quickly. If she wants to play this nothing-fazes-me game, I'll be her huckleberry. Because no one can pull indifferent like I can."- eARC 59

Here's a little sneak peek of what little Miss Aspen is all about:

"Why don't you calm down D-Dub. I know you're menstruating, but everything's going to be fine. Once we get inside, I'll explain all about maxi pads, personal hygiene, and the feel of a man's penis."- eARC 103

 

 About the Author:

I’m a teen fiction writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. My work is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger literary agency. I have a master’s degree in marketing, and currently live in Dallas with my husband, Ryan.

My first series started with THE COLLECTOR, and was published by Entangled Teen in April 2013. The second book in the trilogy, THE LIBERATOR, will release August 2013. My next series kicks off with FIRE & FLOOD and is being published by Scholastic, February 2014.

Author Links:

 

     

 

Giveaway:

1 signed copy of THE LIBERATOR and a signed copy of TWILIGHT, international. 

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The Collector (Dante Walker #1)
   by: Victoria Scott

Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Fantasy/ Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 352 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

                         -goodreads.com description

I flippin' LOVED Dante. Seriously. I haven't read a book that has made laugh out loud in a LONG time. If ever. And I cracked up so many times I think people must have thought I was crazy. Victoria Scott is the QUEEN of one-liners. Everyone bow down to her, because she is. I loved reading this book from Dante's POV. He's not only hilarious, but he's such a GUY. And a bad one at that. I don't like bad boys. But I loved me some Dante. Actually, I just think I have a thing for bad boys gone good.

I really liked the idea behind this book. I really do feel like the angel thing is getting overdone, so I loved that Dante was a Soul Collector for Hell. His mission is to collect one girl's soul in ten days, but when are things ever as easy as they look?!

Seeing Dante's transformation and development in this book was such a fun, wild ride. We go from seeing this cocky, arrogant, jerk to someone who really just needed someone to believe in him and show him that he can be good and change if he wants to.

I really did feel for Charlie. She is your awkward, nerdy teenage girl who stands strong, despite the teasing and hurtful things some of her classmates do to her. Yet, like any awkward teenage girl, she does want to be beautiful and I hate that Dante encouraged it at first. (But I really liked seeing him realize that it's the little things about her that draw her to him) Overall, Charlie is just incredibly good and kind and I'm glad Dante is able to recognize that.

I also liked meeting Charlie's friends because the three of them really show the epitome of true friendship. All three are defensive of each other and it really warms your heart that Charlie has such great people in her corner.

I am really looking forward to the Victoria's second book in the series, The Liberator! I can't wait to see where she takes Dante and Charlie next!

*Thanks to Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of this book for review. I received this book in return for a fair and honest review.*