Full review here. 
 The absolute most notable part of any Victoria Scott novel, what I know I can always count on, is a large amount of sass, and Fire & Flood delivers. It's not even that her characters are super snarky or sarcastic; she just has a way of maintaining a tone full of attitude for the book as a whole. 
 I've read a handful of F&F reviews, and so far, it seems like everybody is hating on Tella. Let me tell you why this is so ridiculous. All these reviews are saying things like she's shallow and selfish and silly and naive. Um...duh? Let's be real. How many of you weren't shallow and ridiculous when you were 17? I know I most definitely was. I'm not saying we're all that way 24/7, but it's absurd to expect a teenage girl to now worry about things like her hair or having a cute pair of flats in case of a CBE: Cute Boy Emergency. I rather like Tella because she's real. The unrealistic protagonists are the ones who don't worry about such things. Katniss may be a badass, but she is not at all like the teenage girls I know. Tella is silly but I recognize her. Also, you can't be serious if you think she's selfish. She leaves her family behind and signs on to participate in this potentially fatal race across hostile environments against competitors who are bigger, better, faster, stronger, more prepared than she is....and she doesn't give up. Plus, I know Victoria. She creates these wonderfully, beautifully flawed characters so she can give them somewhere to work to. Protagonists without flaw are boring because they can really only go down from there or risk being too perfect. If Tella were better at the Bleed, I'd dismiss her; however, because she's just the slightest bit shallow and definitely not made for the race makes me root for her since she's clearly an underdog. 
 I really love the secondary cast of characters as well. Guy, obviously, is pretty swoony, even if he's also pretty hostile most of the time. He's a man on a mission, and I think he's a good guy who can't help caring about the ragtag group no matter how much he wants to stay focused on his mission. I like Harper too, but I'm really confused about her. Sometimes, the writing concerning Harper was really unclear. I'm especially confused by a revelation about her toward the end of the book. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it just didn't make sense to me. Ransom and Levi are brilliant, and I adore them. They're like an homage to Fred and George. They certainly lighten the tone when things threaten to get really heavy. However, I also cried the most when it came to these two. Caroline and Dink are pretty intriguing. I hope there will be further explorations into their situation in book 2. I appreciate the late introduction of Olivia and Jaxon partway through the book. They add a sweet dynamic to the group and also accounted for some pretty intense action. Braun is...seriously, he's my favorite. I can't wait for book 2 because I have a feeling he and Jaxon are going to be high-larious together. And finally, there's Titus. He's a good antagonist. Every time I read a scene with him, I wanted to shower after. Seriously creeptastic. 
 I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention one of the most important characters who isn't even a person: Maddox. He's such a sweetie. Maddox's presence in this book gives me a case of the warm fuzzies. His and Tella's relationship is honestly the best in the book. Everyone else, even Guy, has their own motives that don't include Tella, which means they can't all be trusted 100%. Maddox is pretty consistent. Also, he's adorable. I do think he may be a little too...much, but also love how badass he can be. I very much hope to get more background info on him in the next installment. 
 As for the world, yes, it's not the most original idea of all time, but I like what Victoria has done with it so far, and I'm excited to see where she's going with it. Book 1 is all about surviving the race. The conflict and the antagonists were pretty straight-forward. Book 2 is shaping up to be more than survival, and the conflict is going to be much more complex. Instead of defense, I have a feeling it's going to be Tella and the rest of the group trying to go on the offensive. One of my only complaints is that there's supposed to be a big shocking twist, but I had it figured from the beginning so the surprise was utterly lost on me. However, that may just be me because I talked to a couple other readers who missed it. 
 Overall, I think this is a gripping first installment in an adventure-laden series. I like the characters, I'm invested in the story, I love all the action, I love the slivers of romance. Each of these elements is balanced and developed well. I'm really excited to see where Victoria takes us in the second installment!