When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.
Title: Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2)
Author: Simone Elkeles
Format: hardcover, 324 pages
Genre: young adult, romance
Source: personal shelf
Published: April 2010 by Walker & Company
Buy the book: The Book Depository | Amazon
Find the author online: website | twitter | facebook
Why I Read this Book: After reading Perfect Chemistry last year, I needed more. It was the first book from Simone Elkeles that I had read and I instantly fell in love with her writing style. I knew at that point that I would want to read the rest of the Perfect Chemistry series as well as Leaving Paradise.
What I Liked: I love Elkeles’ writing style because it’s addicting and intoxicating. By writing in first narrative and alternating point of views (POVs) between the two main characters, she gives the reader both sides of the story. Elkeles has mastered the art of storytelling from alternating POVs. I never feel lost or confused. Both sides of the story blend together seamlessly and give the reader a full understanding of what’s taking place. For me, reading both POVs makes the story come full circle and feel alive. I also love that Elkeles leaves the reader with an epilogue in the books in this series! It gives me such great pleasure and a sense of closure for the main characters involved.
Rules of Attraction is not a sequel to Perfect Chemistry per se, it’s more of a spin off. Rules of Attraction is Carlos’s own story of finding love in the least likely of places. And even though Alex and Carlos are brothers and come from the same background, their stories do not feel repetitive. That said, we still get to catch up with Alex and Brittany a bit, which I enjoyed.
I also love the cover and the scene it depicts! When I got to that particular scene in the book, I got chills.
What I Didn’t Like: There’s a part in the story that wasn’t believable to me. It was so far-fetched that I found myself rolling my eyes. Perfect Chemistry was a stretch at times but in my mind it was still relatively believable. I had been anxiously waiting for this book to come out but it wasn’t as good as Perfect Chemistry.
Overall Impression: Rules of Attraction was good but Perfect Chemistry was better. Still, I eagerly await the release of the 3rd novel in this series, Chain Reaction, which is Luis’ (the youngest brother) story. Reading the blurb, I see that Elkeles switches things around in Chain Reaction; Luis is the good boy and falls for a bad girl, which will make it quite different then its predecessors.
The Book Vixen’s Rating:
Im glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I think Rules Of Attraction was much better than Perfect Chemistry. Personal opinion.
I 2 can not wait for Chain Reaction!
I loved Perfect Chemistry and can't wait to get started on this one. I'm glad Alex makes an appearance! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved them both! Great review!
ReplyDeleteRules was good but I enjoyed PC more. I did love how Alex and Brittney were part of this story and the cover is perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou can't be talking about the whole drug bust scene, right? LOL!
ReplyDeleteYup, I rolled my eyes too.
Still, as corny as it was at times, I still loved these books. Can't wait for book 3.