Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Title:  Rules of Attraction
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher:  Walker & Company

Age Group: Young Adult

Category: Contemporary/ Romance

Release date: April 27th, 2010
Pages:  324 (Paperback)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Source: Gift

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Thoughts:
As you should already know if you've read my review of Perfect Chemistry, I love the Fuentes brothers and the stories Elkeles tells about their lives.  Unfortunately, my expectations were too high for Rules of Attraction.  Unlike the two days it took me to finish the first in the series, this one took me more than ten.  While this book has many similarities to Perfect Chemistry, there are quite some differences.  I didn't feel as though I was reading the same story over and over again, which is always a plus.  To be honest, I really didn't like Carlos at the beginning.  Sure, he and Alex had the same mentality when they were teenagers, but for some reason, Alex was just more appealing. 

Almost as soon as he moves to Colorado, Carlos finds himself in trouble with the law.  Alex's professor takes him in as if he were his own in order to get him on the right track.  He doesn't want to follow the rules and he'd definitely much rather be shipped back to Mexico, but his life takes an unexpected turn.  The professor's daughter, Kiara, stood up to Carlos when most people would shy away.  They pulled pranks on one another and tried to get under each other's skin.  She made a name for herself and eventually, she's all Carlos could think about.  When a popular girl shows unwanted interest in Carlos, Kiara agrees to having a fake relationship with him at school.  In return, she wanted him to take her to Homecoming, because she'd never gone to a high school dance.  

 Somehow, the fake relationship turned into real feelings.  Kiara saw something genuine in Carlos at certain times, like when he was around her 6 year old brother.  It was like he was lowering the shield he kept up 24/7.  Carlos, although he hated Kiara at first, felt like he needed to protect her.  For me, the pacing was a little too fast when it came to the romance.  Perfect Chemistry gave me butterflies.  The romance between Carlos and Kiara felt nothing like it did between Alex and Brittany.

I did love seeing the development of the characters.  In the beginning, Kiara was trying to find herself. Carlos thought he knew who he was and what he wanted, but all of that changed in just a few short months.  The ending was very predictable but nice, nonetheless.  I could have done without the epilogue, though.  I think I would have preferred if the author just told us about their lives at the end of the series.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'm going to try to read a lot of spooky books in October, so come back for more reviews.  My boyfriend will also be writing a review for Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld this weekend, so make sure to check that out as well.