Oh I missed being here, hopefully I will start post regularly again although nothing is quite settled right now I’m my life, I rent an apartment in Milan and one in Dublin, my husband is currently in London, I have a new manager and my team will probably undergo a re-organization (again!), and I will soon have very BIG NEWS…I am so looking forward to december, this year I simply CANNOT WAIT but as my mum says “Patience is ‘the’ virtue of the strong ones” (italian idiom “la pazienza è la virtù dei forti“).
So here it’s the thing about Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, I was hoping for distraction but all I got is a mild sense of annoyance, Carlos got on my nerves due to his self absorbed personality and poor listening skills, I couldn’t get into him and this is a big issue because this is a romance so the main male character is the focal point of everything.
This is not entirely Elkeles’s fault, it’s clearly one of those situations in which I read a good book at the wrong moment, lately I’ve been noticing that people always say “I am here if you need to talk” but are they really there? Don’t they just pretend for a few minutes so that they can then have their payback time which might take hours if I am the one listening on the other side of the coffee table.
Ok I am rambling… back to Carlos and Kiara all I can say is that attraction might have been in the air (not as overwhelming as in Perfect Chemistry) but love surely was missing and if the epilogue didn’t bother me too much in PC, here I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking “not again“.
I am quoting the super-quotable Carla:
“because we all know there is a BIG difference between love and lust and I just never felt like they crossed that particular line, I felt like I was told they did”
Precisely!
The opposites-attract routine never fails me but this time Kiara was a little too nice and understanding, I would have appreciated some attitude.
Plus the whole sub-plot regarding gangs’ dynamics wasn’t engaging , it felt a bit like something that Elkeles had to throw in there somehow without too much conviction.
Other reviews:
My grade: 3/5
Em
Emily and Her Little Pink Notes 
I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. I’ve read PERFECT CHEMISTRY but I didn’t love it. I think Carla’s quote can apply to a lot of YA romances.
It’s good to see you around and now I’m dying of curiosity for the BIG NEWS! Can’t wait.
Agree it’s difficult to find a romance that “really means it”
Welcome back, Ari! Can’t wait to hear what your big news is. 🙂
I’m sorry this one didn’t work out for you. I enjoyed reading this and Perfect Chemistry and can totally relate to Michelle’s definition of the books as “bookcrack” (defined as “so you liked it and now you’re craving more, but it just doesn’t have any nutritional value?”)
Love this bookcrack definition, perfect for a Meg Cabot or a Sophie Kinsella
Hey Em! It’s so good to have you back. You have been missed. I loved the review, and as a result, I am staying 100 feet away from Rules of Attraction. This seems like a title that would get on my nerves, so thanks for the warning! You life may be hectic but that is way better than boring! I believe this may be the start of a new adventure for you. How exciting!
hey, good to see you’re back!
Although I’m not the biggest fan of the opposites attract routine, I do like a healthy dose of attitude. I might skip this one, but I’m still looking forward to reading Perfect Chemistry.
YAY YAY! Welcome back! I didn’t LOVE the first book, but I liked it enough to want to read the second. I haven’t yet, so I’m so glad I read your review. Moving it a little lower on my to-read list now. But I’ll still give it a try. I just hate the exact thing you described…being told they’re in love instead of falling in love along with them. Understanding how it moved from lust to love. Without that, you can never feel truly attached to a love story. How disappointing!