Review: Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles

Carlos Fuentes isn't happy about leaving Mexico to start the "new" life his older brother, Alex, has planned for him. Carlos liked his freedom; living life on the edge and carving out his own path - just like Alex did.

Kiara Westford doesn't talk much; preferring instead to shut the world out. And when Carlos bounds into her life she struggles to understand him and his wild ways. Carlos is sure that Kiara thinks she's too good for him, which is just fine because he's not interested anyway, right?  But when they finally open up to each other, the connection they feel shocks them both. Can they overcome their fears and realise that sometimes opposites really do attract?

Fuentes Brothers Trilogy
Perfect Chemistry
Rules of Attraction
Chain Reaction

For more information visit Simone Elkeles' website

Review:
I was such a massive fan of Perfect Chemistry that I was desperate to read Rules of Attraction but at the same time I found myself feeling nervous. How could Simone Elkeles possibly live up to my high expectations? What if I didn't like it, would that colour my thoughts of Perfect Chemistry? I honestly don't know why I was so worried, not only did Rules of Attraction live up to my expectations - it far exceeded them. Yes, I'll admit it Carlos has stolen my heart away from Alex - something I didn't think would be possible.

Rules of Attraction does follow a similar storyline to Perfect Chemistry - hot bad boy gang member meets and falls in love with a girl who couldn't be more different than he is - but Carlos and Kiara are very different to Alex and Brittany and their story is just as powerful. Where Alex only joined a gang because he wanted to protect his family Carlos believes it is in his blood to be a member. He thinks that he was born to be part of the gang and feels it is right to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother. His mother sends him to live with Alex because she is worried for his safety but Carlos doesn't go willingly. He believes that Alex abandoned his family to be with Brittany and he hates him for that, the last thing he wants is to be forced into living with the couple and he is determined not to follow their rules.

When Alex arrives in Colorado he seeks immediately finds the wrong crowd and ends up getting in trouble. It is only when he is forced to live with Kiara's family that he starts to see how wrong his attitude has been. Kiara is nothing like the girls Carlos is usually attracted to, she is a tom boy and not one of the popular crowd at school. She is happy in her own company and would rather be working on her car or off hiking than swapping make-up tips with the girls from school. Kiara is painfully shy but she knows who she is and what she wants out of life. She may be attracted to Carlos but she isn't going to fall for his charms easily so he'll have to work hard if he wants to be with her.

The relationship between Kiara and Carlos is Hot with a capital H but also has incredibly sweet and tender moments that will make your heart melt. I found the storyline lighter than Perfect Chemistry and there were a lot of laugh out loud moments as the two of them banter and play tricks on each other. You really never were quite sure what they would get up to next. I loved getting to find out how Alex and Brittany are doing 2 years after the ending of their story, it made me want to re-read Perfect Chemistry (in fact I might just indulge myself and read both books one after the other). I also really enjoyed getting to know Kiara's family and fell for her younger brother Brandon in particular.

If you haven't already read Perfect Chemistry you could probably read Rules of Attraction as a stand alone story but they are both such amazing reads that I would highly recommend reading them in order. Perfect Chemistry easily makes it into my top 10 YA reads of 2010 and I would have to read some pretty impressive books to knock Rules of Attraction off of this years list. If you're looking for a contemporary YA romance you can't go wrong by picking up a book by Simone Elkeles, she really is a master at characterisation and knows just how to draw you into the romance. I can't wait to get my hands on the final book in the series Chain Reaction.

Source: Received for review from publisher Simon & Schuster

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