A Review for Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) by Simone Elkeles

Posted by Donna
Published Date: August 16th, 2011
Finished Date: August 21st, 2011
Publishers: Walkers Books
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Pages: 308
<
The Blurb from Goodreads: Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks—whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill. Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules—boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempted to break all her rules. Getting Nikki to take a chance on a southsider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?
<
The Review: 
<
“I suddenly get dizzy and grab his shoulders for support. His strong arms lock around me immediately and hold me steady, as if he’s more than willing to be my hero tonight. I need a hero.” - Nikki 

“This girl is my angel. From the first moment I laid eyes on her I remember thinking that God sent her down to earth just for me. She believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself.” - Luis

Before I start this review, I want to just say Simone Elekles is a genius, yep, a genius! Her awesome writing, emotional story lines and her hot characters are enough to have any female’s gushing over these books. With the series now at an end, I look back and see that Simone still writes with the same amount of passion and fire from when she first started. I’m really sad that the series has come to an end but I’m glad that the series has gone out with a bang and Chain Reaction has completely and utterly blown me away.

This story follows Luis, the third and youngest Fuentes brother. Luis is a good boy, who sets his sights high. He knows what he wants to do when he leaves school but he’s also a massive adrenaline junkie. He can’t stop taking risks from climbing mountains, dreaming of the future but his biggest risk is when Nikki comes along.

Nikki is a girl who believes all boys are jerks. After a bad break-up, she has no faith when it comes to boys and she doesn’t plan on letting anyone get close enough to hurt her again. When Luis tries to win her heart….sparks soon start flying between them. But when the Latino Blood slowly crawl their way into Luis’s life, things start to become very dangerous and leave Luis questioning everything he once knew.

I love Simone’s books! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve read another author’s work where I absolutely love all their books. I love her style of writing; I love her characters and I love how much you’re drawn from the very first page because you’re so completely enthralled by the story. Chain Reaction like all the other books makes you feel every emotion possible. I laughed, I cried, I was happy and I was sad and even though you know the ending is slightly predictable, you still love it.

The characters this time around we great and I felt they were more of a challenge because of the problems they have. Not only do we see Luis going through a hard time with the Latino Blood but Nikki’s problems are present throughout the story too, with her inability to trust boys and this obviously plays a massive role throughout the book. Nikki is one feisty girl; she’s strong-minded and so very stubborn. At times I wanted to shake her but as you get to know her more, your understand completely why she is the way she is. Luis is absolutely amazing and you can tell he’s a Fuentes, with his cocky attitude and witty remarks. I wasn’t sure he would match up to his brothers but he definitely gives them a run for their money. He definitely has a hard time in this book and it was nice to see him all grown up.

What I loved most about this book was appearances from the other characters that we’ve grown to love. Alex, Brittney, Carlos & Kiara all pop up and it was nice to see how they’ve developed as characters and finding out what’s been happening to them. Not only that, it was nice to see the mother of the brothers get a happy ending too and I think it was well deserved. Now the epilogues…..wow! That will give you something to swoon about. I loved seeing the future and you’re left with a happy feeling knowing everything turns out right in the end.

Overall, Simone has created another exciting, intense and dangerous story that is full of suspense. One with loveable characters and passionate scenes and it has a little bit of everything for everyone. If you’ve never read this series, I urge you to read it…..you won’t be disappointed.