"Rules of Attraction" by Simone Elkeles

Title: Rules of Attraction

Author: Simone Elkeles

Series: Perfect Chemistry, #2

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from June 19th to June 20th, 2013.)

Summary:

 

 

Carlos Fuentes doesn't want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him in Boulder, Colorado. He wants to keep living on the edge, and carve his own path-just like Alex did. Unfortunately, his ties to a Mexican gang aren't easy to break, and he soon finds himself being set up by a drug lord.

When Alex arranges for Carlos to live with his former professor and his family to keep him from being sent to jail, Carlos feels completely out of place. He's even more thrown by his strong feelings for the professor's daughter, Kiara, who is nothing like the girls he's usually drawn to. But Carlos and Kiara soon discover that in matters of the heart, the rules of attraction overpower the social differences that conspire to keep them apart.

As the danger grows for Carlos, he's shocked to discover that it's this seemingly All-American family who can save him. But is he willing to endanger their safety for a chance at the kind of life he's never even dreamed possible?

 

My Thoughts on the Book: 

 

    

I read Perfect Chemistry over 3 years ago, and I've wanted to read Alex's brothers' stories since then, but I never got around to them until now :) And what did I thought of Rules of Attraction? Well, I was pleasantly surprised, it was just lovely. I rarely use that word for a book, but lovely is the word that sums up Rules of Attraction for me :)

First, lets talk about the characters. I absolutely loved Kiara. She's definitely not your typical heroine, the way she dress, what she wants to do in her free time, she even has a stutter, but she's also really fun character, and she made me laugh more than once through the book :)

And not to forger her best friend - Tuck! I just laugh just thinking about him. He was hilarious, and I loved that he was part of the story. He's a great best friend to Kiara, and I loved when he was teasing Carlos :D

And then there's Carlos. I really, really liked him as a character. He was funny also, and a bad boy, but he actually has a good heart. 

 

As for the chemistry between Carlos & Kiara - it was indeed perfect. I absolutely loved the interactions between them, they were both laugh-out-loud funny, yet sweet, and lots of fun. The pacing of their growing attraction was done perfectly, and I could totally understand why they were falling for each other, and I totally loved every second of that. So, yeah, it was just so, so lovely.

As for the ending, it might have been a little bit rushed, although I really didn't mind. I actually loved that this was more a love story about Carlos & Kiara, than a gang-related story, although that theme was present as well.

I was really surprised by how much I loved this story. I guess I've been a little bit reluctant about reading it, that's why I kept postponing it, because I though I won't enjoy it as much as Simone Elkeles's Leaving Paradise duology & Perfect Chemistry, but I was wrong. It was unexpectedly lovely, so I can't recommend this novel enough. I absolutely loved it, it's now one of my favs, and it made me eager to pick up Luis' story Chain Reaction, as well as to want to re-read Perfect Chemistry.

 

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge