Review: Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

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?

My Review:

I enjoyed Chain Reaction just as much as Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction.  The narrators were great characters, and I enjoyed the cameos from Brittany, Alex, Carlos, and Kiara.  The story kept me reading the entire time, and I couldn't put the book down.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Luis and Nikki are great narrators.  Nikki has trust issues after her last boyfriend broke up with her, and joined the Latino Bloods.  The boyfriend didn't know it, but Nikki was pregnant at the time.  She ended having a miscarriage and losing the baby.  Luis is originally portrayed as a more of a good guy Fuentes, but he is also cocky.  Like his brothers, he ends up getting involved in the Latino Bloods as well.  He finds out some secrets about his family, including who his father really is.  

The romance is this book is really well done.  Luis likes Nikki from the start, but she ends up kicking him.  This is back at Alex's wedding when Luis and Nikki were both fifteen.  Her boyfriend had just broken up with her, and she was dealing with many issues at the time.  Then, the story fast forwards to three years later, and Nikki and Luis are in school together.  They are also in chemistry together with Alex's and Brittany's teacher.  Nikki still doesn't want to trust a guy again, even though it's been years since her relationship ended.  Despite this, she finds herself falling for Luis, just as he finds himself falling for her.  They go through a few rough patches in their relationship, but they smooth it all out by the end.

The two other Fuentes couples make appearances in this book, and I enjoyed seeing them again.  Alex and Brittany get married at the beginning of the book.  Alex was keeping some secrets from Brittany before the wedding.  Luis does something he probably shouldn't have done.  He stops the wedding to make Alex tell Brittany the things he's been keeping from her.  Carlos and Kiara make an appearance later in the book.  Kiara's there when Carlos tells his ex-girlfriend he's still a bachelor.  Then he ends up proposing to Kiara before he has the ring, so he can prove he loves her.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.

Katie