Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Release Date: Out Now!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 320pgs

The Story

Like his brothers, Luis Fuentes is a risk taker; whether he's scaling the Rocky Mountains or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis is always looking for the next thrill.

Nikki Cruz lives her life by certain rules - don't trust a boy who says "I love you", boys lie to get their own way and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Then she meets Luis at his brother Alex's wedding and suddenly she's tempted to break all her rules.

Getting Nikki to give him a chance is Luis's biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by the head of the gang that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. Will Luis's feelings for Nikki be enough to stop him from entering a dark and violent world that could prove to be the ultimate risk?

The Review

I've been longing for this book ever since I finished the last pages of Simone Elkeles's second installment in her Perfect Chemistry series, Rules of Attraction, and in terms of a final book in a YA series I guess it delivered on a very positive note and everything readers wanted to see happen actually did happen in the end of it all. While the author's first book, Perfect Chemistry, will always remain my favourite book in the entire series and even though CHAIN REACTION wasn't exactly my favourite book, but I still highly applaud Elkeles and the journey she has taken us on through the lives of the three Fuentes brothers with stories of cheesy one-liners (but great ones), dangerous gangs, and of course, unexpected romances that we will always love and remember in years to come.

CHAIN REACTION came as - unfortunately - a really disappointing final book. I mean of course it was good and had a great storyline that included old characters and some new ones too, but it wasn't that good as the previous installments in the series. A series in which I had loved for quite a while now. For the third and final installment, this time round readers are following the youngest Fuentes brother, Luis, whose story is quite similar to his other two brothers' and whom has gotten himself into more trouble once again, following the same path as his brothers and his troubled friends did in the past. But the main problem I had with this book was not with the storyline, which was yet another great one mind you, but rather it had everything to do with Luis himself as one of the leading characters and how his relationship was formed with his new love interest, Nikki, whom I couldn't really connect to. At least when I compare them to the old characters from Perfect Chemistry (Alex and Brittany) and Rules of Attraction (Carlos and Kirara).

When it comes to Luis and Nikki's relationship most readers can clearly see they are a hot mess right from the beginning. Luis, a son always viewed as 'the good one' in the family, is smart, determined, and very hopeful for his own future. But with his family bloodline consisting of crime, deceit, and danger, one that his brothers' have previously experienced in the past and know too well of, there is no escaping for him. For Nikki however, she has been hurt badly in the past and by a boy from the wrong side of town, and she vows - continues rather - to close herself off from boys altogether in order to keep herself from hurting once more.

For Luis's character he was yet another great brother, and you can clearly see his dedication and love for his family. But I don't know . . . there was just something missing from him. While he was more ambitious than his other two brothers, Alex and Carlos, but I thought he took risks way too easily and it's no wonder why he got himself in trouble in the first place. Plus, I wasn't a fan of how he treated Nikki. Sure he a total flirt, but still . . . can he have some respect for girls please? With Nikki, I'd actually admired her in some parts of the book and the length she went to to protect herself from being hurt again, but she too had something missing from her character . . . it's rather hard to explain. I guess I just thought as individual characters they were great but together . . . not so much. I couldn't see the 'chemistry' between them as I did with the other two installments in the series and I think all they had together, Luis and Nikki, was lust and sex and that's about it. Couldn't 'feel the love' as they say. Yeah, I just couldn't see it. It was too forced in my opinion.

Overall, CHAIN REACTION was a nice finale to the Perfect Chemistry series and while it wasn't my favourite book, but it offered up enough action, romance, and danger which I'm sure will please many readers and fans of this series!

The Rating

3/5 stars