Book Review: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Release Date: February 24th, 2015

Read: January 13th-19th, 2015

Publisher: Scholastic

Series: Fire & Flood #2

Format: ARC, 304 pages

Source: Traded

Description 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 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.

Review:

   I'm a good horse, but I don't want to race anymore.
   I was first introduced to Victorias Scott when I read her first published book, The Collector. Then I went on to her sequel The Liberator. After the two I needed to get my hands on a copy of Fire & Flood, which is the first book in this series. Since then I've been hooked on her books. When ARCs were first sent out I just knew I had to get one, so I did. I'm so glad I did.
   Salt & Stone was remarkable, it has for sure become my favourite so far out of Victoria's books. Salt & Stone was so much more intense then Fire & Flood, with the world building and most of the characters introduced Victoria didn't have to waste anytime on it. She jumped right into the story, as you probably guessed they started off with Ocean in the third round of the games. I honestly didn't think you could get much out of them being stranded out in the middle of water, but obviously I was wrong.  Out of all the treks the people of the competition had to endure, I think this one might have been my favourite alongside the jungle.
   The Pandoras took a large part in this sequel, they helped their contenders more in this half then they did in the first. They were also a large subject to torture as well, but I won't say much there. Being the animal person I am, Victoria definitely kept playing at my heart from the beginning to the end of Salt & Stone. I need to see what happens to them now!
   Another larger part of Salt & Stone was that I found Tella to have a good character development. Throughout the book she was determined to not need to rely on Guy, where I was proud of her for it I kind of got annoyed every time she brought it up. It was practically all she would talk to Guy about, that's the feel I got anyhow.
   I completely understand why Kirkus gave Salt & Stone a starred review, because I feel the exact same way. I will be marching my way over to the bookstore as soon as the third book in the series releases, I just hope I can wait that long!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

   "My nipples are frozen." ~ Harper

   "There is the fear of knowing when you're going to die, and then there's the horrifying, hell-on-earth fear of knowing you're about to be torn apart and eaten."  ~ Tella

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Dystopian