Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

2011/308pgs

About the Book: Luis Fuentes has always been the brother who is expected to be good and not get into trouble. He has ambitions to become an astronaut and his life has been about sheltering him from the gang violence his brothers grew up so he can achieve his dreams. But Luis has a side that makes him want to take risks, and there's no greater risk than Nikki Cruz.

Nikki Cruz has been hurt by guys in the past and she's not about to trust a guy like Luis-a guy she knows will only end up breaking her heart. Nikki has secrets that make her keep her guard up, but will Luis be able to break them down?

When Luis discovers secrets about his family, he has a choice to make. Will Nikki be enough to save him from a dangerous life?

Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: Oh, those Fuentes brothers-they are so hot, how can you not love them all??:) Chain Reaction is another exciting entry into the Perfect Chemistry series, this time telling the story of the youngest brother, Luis. Chain Reaction is a great conclusion to the Perfect Chemistry series and has everything readers will be looking for. Steamy romance-check. Cute crushworthy boy-check. Some drama and surprises to keep readers guessing-check. Couple you want to see make it-check.

Where Alex and Carlos has bad boy streaks, Luis is more cocky and confident, but more of a good guy. He's trying hard not to get involved with the Latino Blood and is trying to stay out of trouble. Nikki isn't so much a bad girl, but instead a girl with secrets that provide her a reason to guard herself from guys. She doesn't want to fall again and get hurt. She's more independent than bad girl, but both Luis and Nikki have their "bad" streaks which makes their romance pretty steamy!

I wish we would have gotten to see their relationship develop more. I felt like in the previous two books, we really got to see the characters fall for each other and spend time getting to know each other. Luis and Nikki have that too, but we don't get to witness it as much-instead we're told about all the time they're spending together and witness they're very hot and heavy make out sessions. I felt like they spent a lot of time making out and that there connection was more physical than in the other books. The times that we do get to see them getting to know each other are sweet and I can see how they would fall for each other. I just would have liked to spend more time with them as that happened.

A treat for fans of the first two books is that we get to see Alex and Brittnay, Carlos and Kiara. I loved revisiting these characters and catching up with them and I'm sure any reader who enjoyed the first two will love these scenes.

There are some surprises in this book which added to the drama. I understood Luis and Nikki's motives, but most of the time I wanted them to stop being so dumb and tell them to just talk to each other already! They really liked making each other miserable and pushing each other away and then pulling back in. They have a lot of give and take which can be a bit frustrating. Serious, why wouldn't they just talk to each already??

While this is the conclusion to the series, the epilogues in each book I think leave it open for us to revisit the Fuentes family again in the future. Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll hear the kids stories next? I also felt that while Chain Reaction is part of a series, it could be read alone and the author does a nice job filling in details readers may need to know from previous books. Another great read full of drama and romance-hand this one to your romance readers who like their books with a bit of spice.