Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
Perfect Chemistry #3
Release Date: July 5, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
Rating: Enjoyable

Like his brothers, Luis Fuentes is a risk taker; whether he's scaling the Rocky Mountains or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis is always looking for the next thrill. Nikki Cruz lives her life by certain rules -, don't trust a boy who says "I love you", boys lie to get their own way and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Then she meets Luis at his brother Alex's wedding and suddenly she's tempted to break all her rules. Getting Nikki to give him a chance is Luis's biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by the head of the gang that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. Will Luis's feelings for Nikki be enough to stop him from entering a dark and violent world that could prove to be the ultimate risk? - Goodreads

Chain Reaction is the third and final book in the Perfect Chemistry trilogy. The focus has shifted to the youngest Fuentes brother, Luis, and his love interest Nikki. While I liked the book, and found it to be an enjoyable read, there were a few things that I didn't like that much about it and I was left a little disappointed.

Firstly, I found that the main plot was waaaaaaaay too similar to the one in Perfect Chemistry for my liking. It didn't feel like anything original, and I found it to be a bit of a drag because it was something I had read before except with a more likeable main character.

That said, I really enjoyed seeing more of the other Fuentes brothers and their mother and their other halves. Alex is adorable, and while I don't really like Carlos that much, he was still fun to read about.

I wasn't a fan of Luis at all. I think I'm tired of the whole arrogant bad boy attitude he - and the other Fuentes brothers - had going on. His character didn't really change that much throughout the book, so that sucked in the development department.

I did, however, really like Nikki, but I think her character suffered from the amount of focus that was on Luis. Nikki had huge issues with sex and love and the male gender, and I would have liked to have seen her deal with those things and to grow more. Instead, the gang plot and Luis took over.

I also didn't really like the epilogue. Call me a sceptic, but I didn't find it very realistic that the series wrapped up how it did.

Anyway, I know it sounds as though this was a bad book, but it wasn't. Not by any means. It just lacked the originality of its predecessors and as I am such a huge fan of the first book, I was left disappointed.

Perfect Chemistry trilogy:

1) Perfect Chemistry

2) Rules of Attraction

3) Chain Reaction

Book Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Release Date: April 27^th, 2010

Publisher: Walker & Company

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Recommended? Yes.

Buy the Book: Amazon US

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. – Goodreads page

Warning: This review is likely to contain slight spoilers from Perfect Chemistry, so I don’t suggest reading this review unless you’ve read the first book or unless you love spoilers!

As a lot of you may know, I wrote a very positive – and gushing – review of the first book in this fantastic trilogy, Perfect Chemistry. I loved the book so much, but I was hesitant to pick up Rules of Attraction as the storyline sounded *very* similar to that of the first book. After many recommendations, I finally decided to give this book a try.

Rules of Attraction picks up some time after the events of Perfect Chemistry, but instead of focussing on the wonderful Alex and Brittany, this book focuses on the middle Fuentes brother.

Carlos is just as sexy as Alex was, and he does seem even more badass. That’s not to say that I prefer Carlos, as I don’t. I definitely still love Alex the most, as I found Carlos to be quite annoying at times. He was still great though. It must be his brilliant genes.

Kiara is signed to show Carlos around school, as he’s new, and to walk him to his lessons. This is when you can just tell that there’s going to be some sort of relationship forming between the two of them. When Carlos gets into trouble and moves into Kiara’s house (long story), that is when things really start to pick up – for better and for worse.

Overall, I did love this story but it just didn’t have the same feel to it as Perfect Chemistry did. It seemed to recycle a lot of the original story, whilst altering things slightly for the new male protagonist. I will, of course, be reading the third book in the trilogy – because this series is just too good not to read! 

Book Review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
Release Date: April 1st, 2007
Publisher: Flux (US)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommended? Give it a try.
Buy the Book: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.

After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.

Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other. - Goodreads page

  

I actually had a bit of trouble stirring up a review for this book.. so bear with me: 

I have to say, after reading Perfect Chemistry and hearing that Leaving Paradise is a better book (from some people at least) I was excited to start reading. However, I was left disappointed. 

Maybe I had set my standards too high, or maybe this book is just not for me.

The overall plot was, like in Perfect Chemistry, rather cliché, but I can live with that. There’s nothing wrong with clichés! However, if you nitpick (as I do) then I think you’ll find a few things that you dislike about this book. I won’t go into too much detail in case of spoilers, but the ending was a major throwback for me. As was the fact that this book seemed to go in circles.

I did not like the ending. Perhaps that’s because I know that there is a sequel, but I think this book could have benefited from being a standalone novel, and leaving the ending as it is. I just felt that the last couple of chapters seemed pretty pointless, and had too much lined up for the sequel, rather than focussing on the current story. 

As with Perfect Chemistry, the story is told from the alternating points of view of Caleb - an ‘ex-con’ - and Maggie, the girl that Caleb ran over in his car. As characters go, I felt that these two were fairly average in their personalities. 

Although the two had amazing back-stories, and there was so much to tell about their lives, I felt that their personalities fell a little flat. 

I found that Caleb was annoying and, at times, incredibly selfish. This trait didn’t seem to be developed or go away during the novel, and that’s one of the main things that put me off this character. 

To be completely honest, the writing style is one of the few things that drew me into this book and kept me reading. If Simone Elkeles didn’t have such an amazing skill of keeping me interested, I don’t think I would have made it to the end of the book. 

Book Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart. - Visit Perfect Chemistry's GoodReads page.

Warning: This review is going to be full of gush and girly swooning.

Have I ever told you how much I struggle when reviewing books that I’m in love with? It’s kind of like criticising the person who you’ve fallen head over heels for. It’s just not easy. 


Perfect Chemistry is centred around Brittany Ellis and Alex Fuentes (*swoon*) who are partnered together in Chemistry class. The pair couldn’t be more different. 


Brittany is a blonde, gorgeous cheerleader who is dating the school’s football captain and lives on the rich side of town. 


Alex has all the typical dark features of a Mexican American, shares a tiny room with his two younger brothers and is a member of the local gang. 


I loved both of them. They both had huge flaws, and they both hated the way they lived, yet kept that a tightly wrapped secret. For being complete opposites, they sure had a lot in common. I loved reading about their personal growth - which this novel was full of - and I loved reading about the growth of their relationship.


The typical good girl meets bad boy plot makes up the foundations of this book, but it is so much more than that. This is the ultimate love story. Think Romeo/Juliet, but ten times better - much more realistic and no suicide. 


Simone Elkeles has one of the most compelling writing styles that I have ever read. It’s captivating and beautiful, and so thrilling that I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. There’s no slow starts or filler scenes in this book!


I loved the fact that what she wrote was so realistic. She’s done her research into gang life, how Alex would have lived and what his status would have been in the gang. And the way that Alex and his friends spoke was brilliantly done - with so much Spanish thrown in! Some of you may already know how much I love the Spanish language, but if not then you’ll probably know now. I love it THIS *stretches arms out to both sides* much. Beautiful. I think that this is probably one of the more important factors which made me fall in love with Alex and this book. Yes, I’m obsessed. 


Overall, this is an incredible book, and a must read for any young adult reader or blogger. I will honestly start begging you to read this if you haven’t already done so. Alice, I’m talking to you!

Rating: 10/10

Amazon US | Book Depository

Series: Perfect Chemistry Book #1

UK paperback edition, 368 pages

Published on April 1, 2010 by Simon & Schuster