Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1) by Simone Elkeles

Brittany Ellis is beautiful, rich, and popular. All the guys want to date her, and the girls want to be her. She's the head cheerleader, and is dating the quarterback, Colin. Her life is perfect, or at least that's what she wants you to believe. Hidden under the stereotype she feels pressured by everyone to keep up the act. Her parents expect too much of her, because their other daughter has cerebral palsy. "Shelley can't be perfect, so she has to be." She's running from her own demons and trying to figure out what she wants and how to keep everyone happy.

Alex Fuentes is a member of the Latino Blood Gang. He's a total bad-a... most of the time. Most people stay are scared of him and stay away. You never know who he'll pick a fight with next, and he has the scars to prove it. No one expects too much of him. Everyone is just waiting for him to drop out of high school. What they don't know is that Alex loves his family very much. The only reason he joined the gang was so that he could protect them from harm. He's a lot smarter than people give him credit for, and has a secret desire to graduate from high school and go to college.

So what happens when these two very different people get put together as partners in chemistry class? The preppy, popular cheerleader and the cocky, dangerous gangbanger? Well, that should be obvious. Perfect Chemistry. They can't believe it, but they fall in love with each other. And then they are way over their heads with decisions to make for themselves, each other, friends, and their family.

I really did enjoy this book. I liked how it showed that you can't judge people by looking at them, because we all have our secrets. Brittany wasn't just some blonde ditz, she was smart and just wanted to follow her heart. Alex isn't the bad guy all the time, he's smart and actually has goals. The characters were stereotypical, but broke the mold at the same time.

While the overall story was kinda unrealistic, I loved it just the same. It was sweet and the characters were honest and relatable. The concept wasn't very original, but it was still intriguing and very fun to read. I wonder what a book would be like if the roles were reversed, where there was a preppy guy and a girl from a gang. Hmm... Someone should write that story.

The only thing I didn't really like was the epilogue. I liked it, but it wasn't really necessary. If it was a stand alone book, I would have liked it. But since there are two more books, I think it could have been taken out and the story would have been fine. It was sweet, but unnecessary.

I think this book would have been fine on its own, without other books in the series, but I will be reading the other ones when I get the chance :) I really did enjoy this romance novel, and I would recommend it if it sounds interesting to you.  5 out of 5 stars !!