This series is soon becoming a masterpiece and one of my favourites with it’s gripping and action packed storyline and strong characters. I was so excited to pick this book and jump back into the competition, with the sea and mountain stages still to face.

Tella and the other Contenders have crossed the jungle and desert – and now, the ocean and mountain waits for them. As she and her group go farther into the Brimstone Bleed, tensions run higher. The terrains get more dangerous and treacherous. Trust is a fragile thing, and Tella must reassess who she can trust and who she should be wary of, all the while, trying to survive and obtain the Cure for her brother.

The story certainly become darker and more action packed which I loved and kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire ride with it’s beautifully written romance and adventure. Also the humour was a great relief and helped lighten it up a bit.

These trials or competitions are downright deadly at times. At times i thought that Tella could have died or everyone could. You actually have grown to love these characters, so when one dies or bites the dust, it’s like a piece of your heart has been ripped out. I really felt this emotion strongly through out the whole entire book.

Tella’s character development was so fab to read, as she became more independent and a strong leader instead of hiding in the background and following Guy. But it was nice to see that we didn’t loose sight of the original Tella character that we all connected with in book one. Her love and passion for the Pandoras was again something I really enjoyed and it really showed her strength and kindness which is one of the main reasons I love Tella as a character.

Guy on the other hand, still played the role of the mysterious bad boy but we start to see him open up with his emotions and I hope he opens up a bit more about his past in the next book.

Guy and Tella’s relationship in this book suffers a bit of a struggle, as Guy wants to protect Tella but she wants to prove her strength and leadership to Guys which just ends up with a lot of arguments. However there are scenes where my heart melts, like the beach scene which is just so cute!

“I may have saved you in that jungle, Tella, and in the desert, too. But out there in the ocean, you saved me.”

We are also introduced to many, many minor characters which added more variety to the original group and it was nice to learn more about different contestants. Mr Larson and Cotton, I both really liked as they spiced up the group and their actions. But as for Willow, I was still slightly wary of her as for me somethings didn’t add up.

If I had to be really picky, I thought this book had a lot more Hunger Games similarities. Like, for example, there are people betting on the Contenders, which they didn’t know, going into the Brimstone Bleed. This is similar to the contestants in The Hunger Games having sponsors however at the same time this series also has it’s unique touches like the pandoras which still play a large role in this book and I look forward to seeing what their role is in the next book (let’s hope theres one!!).

The ending was brilliant! It ended with a bang and of course it was dramatic and action packed, which was exactly what I wanted! I do hope there’s a third book so that we can join Tella and the others on their journey to finally destroy the Brimstone Bleed once and for all.

I easily award this book 5/5 stars and I highly recommend this series to all of the who are fans of The Hunger Games or who love a good action packed novel. If you like what you hear, do check out our spoiler free review on ‘Fire and Flood’