I love Simone Elkeles’ slow-build romances and her bad boy characters with good hearts. Better Than Perfect (formely Wild Cards) is another adorable bad-boy-good-girl-can’t-help-falling-for-each-other book, but with a bit of a new take in that the main character, Ashtyn, is kicker and captain of her football team. So a bit tougher than the usual good girl, and with motivation and drive to carry out her plan to catch the attention of college football recruiters and get a scholarship. Derek on the other hand is trouble. Cocky, getting kicked out of school and with no real plans for life at all. The relationship between them starts out as antagonists, but slowly, it turns into something else. This book was another cute, romantic read, but not one of her bests. I was a bit irritated with Ashtyn from time to time, for being so clueless about her boyfriend being a douche-bag and for acting too girly when she was supposed to be this tough football girl. And there wasn’t the usual spark in the romance, not the same tense and smoldering chemistry as I’d expected from a Simone Elkeles’ book. But still, both Ashtyn and Derek were very lovable and the story was sweet and heartwarming. It was one of those happily-ever-after-stories we all need once in a while.
Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Bookshop.org Amazon Book Depository Author info: Simone Elkeles
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11/15/2017 0 Comments Chain Reaction by Simone ElkelesI absolutely love Simone Elkeles’s slow-build romances and her bad boy characters with good hearts. Chain Reaction is the third book in the Perfect Chemistry series following the three Fuentes brothers. This time focus is on the youngest of them, Luis, who has been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks… or falling for the wrong girl, Nikki. Simone Elkeles hasn’t completely turned around the “bad boy – good girl” formula of the first two books to a “good boy – bad girl” story though. Instead she gives us shades of gray in both Luis and Nikki, which I really loved. Compared to the first two books though there wasn’t the usual spark in the romance, not the same tense and smoldering chemistry as I’d expected from a Simone Elkeles book. But still, it was a heart-warming and addictive story, and with so much lovely Fuentes brothers content!
I loved the continuity seeing the brothers a few years down the track; Alex and Brittany with little Paco, and Carlos and Kiara, and how Carlos still manages to screw things up… And the epilogue was pure Fuentes brothers candy! I’m so happy for that, so all in all I will rate this book 4 stars, thank to these aspects, whereas it as a standalone would have gotten a star less. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Bookshop.org Amazon Book Depository Author info: Simone Elkeles Rules of Attraction is the second book in the Perfect Chemistry series following three brothers. I read the first book, Perfect Chemistry, a couple of years ago and totally loved it! Simone Elkeles sure knows how to tell a romantic story with all the right feels and I just love, love, love her bad boy characters who are such a bad asses with good hearts (aren’t they the best..?)! What I love about the Perfect Chemistry books - besides that they are truly adorable, addictive, sweet and quirky and with characters that steels your heart - is that you get to know all of the Fuentes brothers. The story lines of both books are similar, but still unique for each book. Both books are kind of modern, urban Romeo of Juliet stories; both brothers get into trouble and fall for a girl from different sides of the track.
In Perfect Chemistry the eldest Fuentes brother, Alex, meets uptown, perfect Brittany, only to find out that she’s a real person behind the facade. In Rules of Attraction it’s the younger brother, Carlos, gets into problem with a drug lord and has to leave Mexico to go and live with Alex. There he meets Kiara, the daughter of his professor and a type of girl he normally wouldn’t fall for. Alex and Brittany from the first book are part of the story in the second books as well, but this is not a typical sequel, it’s more of a companion novel. I don’t think that it is necessary to read Perfect Chemistry first to appreciate Rules of Attraction. The brothers are very different, but still really cares about each other as a family. At first I didn’t like Carlos as much as I liked Alex, but he grew on me when he started to show his more vulnerable sides. Kiara was wonderful from the start; so nervous and unsure and still so strong and true to herself at the same time. I cannot wait to read the third book, Chain Reaction, that will be told from the youngest brother’s point of view! So, looking forward to another romance rush and what I’m sure to be yet another addictive read by Simone Elkeles! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Bookshop.org Amazon Book Depository Author info: Simone Elkeles This is such an adorable bad boy-good girl-can’t-help-falling-for-each-other story that drew me in from the very first page. It’s a kind of modern Romeo and Juliet story with star-crossed lovers from “different sides of the track”. Alex Fuentes is a rebel bad boy, a gang member from the other side of town, and Brittany Ellis is the ‘perfect good-girl princess with the world-at-her-feet’. But when they are forced to be lab partners, Brittany fears that her carefully hidden secrets will be revealed and that her created ‘perfect’ life is about to unravel before her eyes.
The story is told in alternating POVs with every other chapter being told by Alex or Brittany. I really liked this take, as it made it possible to glimpse into each of their heads and really understand what they were thinking and how they were affected by each other. I was also so impressed by how complex Simone Elkeles managed to make the characters. Alex wasn’t just a bad boy, a gang member without feelings, but he had such a good heart! And Brittany with her secrets and the way she cared for her sister made me totally root for her. Simone Elkeles really made Brittany and Alex into real persons, not stereotypes. And the slow-burning romance was so perfect, the chemistry was pure fire! I read the book with a pounding heart, desperately hoping for a happy end. Five burning stars for this addictive, heartwarming and magically romantic story with all the right feels! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Bookshop.org Amazon Book Depository Author info: Simone Elkeles |
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September 2023
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