This RITA® Reader Challenge was written by Ren. English is not Ren’s first language, but Ren really wanted to review this book. Go Ren! This book finaled in the YA category.

Plot 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?

And here is Ren’s review:

I’m rarely reading young adult books, since after Twilight hype, it seems almost all YA books follow Twilight pattern: have an annoyed heroine, almost mysterious hero, love triangle, or suddenly all hot guys love the girl! But last year, my friend recommend Simone Elkeles’s Perfect Chemistry to me. It’s not took a long time to me to love Perfect Chemistry and afterward I read the second book, Rules of Attraction.

Rules of Attraction told about teenager life, with drama, school life, teen problem, drugs and many others. The story start 3 years after the event at first book, and tell about the second son in [the] Fuentes family, Carlos Fuentes. He meet Kiara Wesford as his guide at his new school. Carlos [was] not interested [in] her, since Kiara [was] not too pretty (and she always stutter when she nervous). But, after Carlos got punished for the crime that not his fault, and live in Kiara’s home, they become attract to each other. Until Carlos got involved in drug’s war, he know he can’t make Kiara take a risk because of him, even though he love[s] her.

I’m a little bit disappointed, while I really love Alex and Brittany relationship at Perfect Chemistry (both are main character at PC) , Carlos and Kiara’s not strong like their predecessor. Their problem not too complicated like Alex-Brit endured, but still good. It’s still related to gang[s], drug and money, but it’s like side story in this book. Readers who already read Perfect Chemistry (like me), will happy to know their favorite couple , Alex Fuentes and Brittany have their own story too in this book. Simone Elkeles do a good job about them, to tell us, even they already have their happy ending, life is go on. They’re still have problem with their difference and it’s interesting to know how they solve it. Another my favorite character is Tuck, Kiara’s friend. He like comic relief in this book.

Rules of Attraction have a sweet ending and epilogue , like the first book (I don’t want to spoil here of course), that left you smiling. I’m glad to find Simone Elkeles’s books, and she became my favorite author even I just read two of her books. Both Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction can be read for adult readers, since it will remind us when we at high school and have so many morals not just for teenagers but for us who already adult.

Note : This book have sexual contents, but not too explicit, since it [is] for YA readers. It contain sex scene too, but the authors make sure both character practices a safe sex.

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