Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry #2) by Simone Elkes

Perfect Chemistry left us off with Brittany and Alex going off to college together, and the rest of Alex's family being sent back to Mexico for their protection. Rules of Attraction tells the story of Alex's younger brother Carlos when he returns to Colorado. After an incident, he ends up living with his peer guide, Kiara. And what happens when you have Carlos, the cocky rebel, and Kiara, the insecure sharp one? Perfect Chemistry.

I really liked Perfect Chemistry, and I was reluctant to read Rules of Attraction, basically because it seems like it was the same plot. gangbanger + white girl = unpredictable love. But I do have to give props to the author. Kiara was nothing like Brittany. She wasn't popular and confident, in fact she was just the opposite. And Carlos was similar to Alex, but that's because they're brothers. But it wasn't exactly the same and it was different enough to be enjoyable.

I really liked how Alex and Brittany were part of this story, so it's not like they were cast off into some other world. Carlos is hotttt. The only bad thing about that is that he knows it. It just adds to his charm :). Kiara was a great character, I liked how she could keep up with Carlos and challenge him. I loved the cookie magnet thing! However, I felt like she didn't get as many pages as Carlos did.

As for the cover... Not doing it for me. It looks like it was badly photoshopped, and just... no. Haha that's all about the cover. And the epilogue? Really cheesy and unnecessary. You think Elkes would have learned from her last novel! But anyway.

Overall, Rules of Attraction was a cute romance story and a nice sequel to Perfect Chemistry, despite the similar plot. I look forward to reading the third one. 4 out of 5 stars.

Shopaholic & Baby (Shopaholic #5) by Sophie Kinsella

Everything is perfect for Becky. She's pregnant, her and Luke have a fabulous house they're going to be buying (it even has a shoe room!), she's having a great time shopping for her baby, and she has a obstetrician who deals with all the celebrities, and she's going to be in Vogue. Perfect, that is, until she finds out that her obstetrician is Luke's ex-girlfriend. At first, everything is okay, but Luke begins to keep secrets from her and  goes out with Venetia (the obstetrician) without Becky. Becky also has a lot of other problems to deal with, and when she  tries to tell Luke that Venetia is after him, he doesn't believe her. Is their marriage in trouble?

It's nice to see that in this story Becky has turned her spending habits for herself down a notch. Instead, she spends for her baby. Does her baby really need 5 prams? Apparently... She doesn't know whether she's having a boy or a girl, so how does she decide what to get? The solution: things for both! I think Kinsella did a great job on this one, especially with portraying Venetia and Becky's frustration towards her. The story was cute, funny, and enjoyable, and Becky Bloomwood followers will enjoy this addition to her series. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. :) 4 out of 5 stars.

Shopaholic & Sister (Shopaholic #4) by Sophie Kinsella

Becky and Luke have been honeymooning around the world for a year. Everything is perfect, they've been having a great carefree time. When they finally decide to return to London, Becky imagines that everyone will welcome her with open arms and want to hear all about her trip, she'll go shopping with Suze again, catch up with her parents, and Luke will stop being so obsessed with work. She's dissapointed to find that her parents seem nervous around her, almost like they're hiding something. Suze has found a new best friend, and they've bonded over their children. And Luke is still obsessed with his work. Becky has been feeling a bit down, until her parents tell her what they've been hiding from her. She has a sister! Well, a half sister. Becky is filled with wonderful ideas about how they're going to form a sisterly bond and go shopping together and watch girly movies until.... she realizes that Jess (her sister) hates shopping and is super stingy with money. How can they possibly be sisters?

Becky really frustrated me in this one. How has she NOT gotten over her spending problem or improved her habits at all? Putting that small detail aside, Shopaholic & Sister was a nice addition to the series. Jess was a little bit over the top, but then again, so is Becky! They're complete opposites, and it's funny to see them communicate with eachother. I liked how Luke played more of a part in this story than the other ones, and how Becky is sort of not really learing to live frugally (as if).

There's not a whole lot that's different than the other Shopaholic books. The author hasn't lost Becky's voice (or her spending problem lol). I liked the other ones, and I liked this one. It's a cute, fun series that I find worth reading again. :) 4 out of 5 stars.

A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

Hello readers! I've been a little behind in writing reviews, so I'm these next few ones are going to be brief so I can catch up :)

A Kiss in Time tells the story of Talia and Jack. Talia was warned by her parents never to touch a spindle, but she does (without knowing what it is) and falls into a deep sleep where she is only to be waken up by her true love. 300 years later, Jack is touring Europe and breaks off from his tour group. He comes across the hidden city of Euphrasia and finds a beautiful girl sleeping. He kisses her, and she wakes up, which is where the trouble starts. Talia's family is very upset with her for "ruining their kingdom" with her stupidity, so she begs Jack to take her with him to Florida.

I loved the modern day take on Sleeping Beauty, which was my favorite fairy tale when I was younger. Talia and Jack are both lovable characters, and the plot is interesting and fast paced. I loved reading Talia's take on Florida's culture and her awe of bathing suits and how people acted. I think the author did a great job of incorporating what someone would be thinking after waking up from a 300 year's sleep.

This book is definitely heavy on dialogue, and I think it's safe to say that it's a lot of "talk but no action". There is action, but it all goes by so fast and is hardly drawn out. I felt like the reading wasn't quite as advanced as I would like it to be (or at least not advanced enough for me). I think that I would have enjoyed this book a LOT if I had read it when I was like in 6th grade. I'm older now, and I still liked it, but I felt there was so much talking and it was so fast paced I didn't get to enjoy just one part of it before I was whisked away to another.

I enjoyed Beastly a lot, an A Kiss In Time was sadly not as enjoyable as Beastly. I would give this 3.5 out of 5 stars . I liked it, but not enough to read again. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed Beastly, readers who like modern day fairy tales, or middle schoolers who want a fun romance story.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Josh was molested by his teacher when he was twelve. Now he's a senior and is going to be graduating from college soon. Josh has pretty much ignored his past for years, but now when Eve is released from prison he begins to pick up the pieces of his life and put them all together as he rediscovers who he is.

Boy Toy was a lot to handle. Lyga has a beautiful way which he connects the past with the present. It's a little confusing at first, but after you keep reading you're able to get the main idea and all the other little details begin to fall into place. I loved this book, however dark and disturbing it was.

When Josh describes his past, it's hard to read. It's all so real and you're always on Josh's side. You can understand why he likes Eve because when he describes her, she's really not a bad person. As an outside pair of eyes, you know that she's manipulating him and what they're doing is bad, but when you read as Josh, you can see why things happened the way they did. It was horrible to read about how he says he loves her and tries to protect her.

I fell in love with Josh a little bit. He has that wounded, tortured quality about him that makes you want to get to know him and make him feel better. He's honest, endearing, quick to think, and funny. He's also a baseball player. I kind of have a thing for baseball players lol. And when I say "baseball players" I mean my boyfriend. Their uniforms are way cute and I can actually follow baseball, unlike some other sports (**cough** football **cough**). There's a lot of baseball lingo and references and just general talk about the game, so if you know nothing about how baseball works, you'll definitely feel a little lost at parts and be missing out on a lot of Josh's character. I know the game and how it works, and I have someone I can ask about the slang terms, but even then there were still parts I was a little confused at.

I loved the other characters too, not necessarily because I liked THEM (well I liked Zik), but I liked how realistic they were. This entire story was very realistic, to the point that it was almost scary because you know that what has happened in the book actually DOES happen.

Boy Toy was fascinating and intriguing, however sad and disturbing it was. It's definitely not a light read, but it is told in a way that makes it interesting so it's not all "I'm a victim and my life is ruined." I would recommend it to an older teen, because there are mature topics and problems. I don't remember why I chose to read it, but I could have sworn it was like an LGBT read, but I guess not. So I wonder where I saw it and wanted to read it... Anyway, I loved the story and how it was written and how much I understood Josh. 5 out of 5 stars. Go read it!

Something Borrowed (Darcy & Rachel) by Emily Griffin

Friend or romantic relationship? I think that a lot of us can relate to that one, because we have had to make a similar choice in our life, whether we've realized it or not. Rachel, our protagonist, is caught in a tricky situation. Her best friend Darcy whom she's known forever has always had it made. She's always had more money, more friends, and more guys. So of course she would be the one to be getting married to Dex while Rachel still doesn't even have a guy in sight. After a night with a little too much drinking, Rachel and Dex end up in bed together. Rachel dismisses it and tells herself that they were drunk and never to think of it again. It was in the past right? Well it was, until Dex calls her and tells her that he is beginning to have actual feelings for her and they should get together again. They meet in secret a few times and Rachel realizes that she is in love with her best friend's fiance.

I really enjoyed Something Borrowed. I liked the plot, the writing style, and the characters. Especially the characters. I think they were really well formed and 3D. However, they do have their flaws but I think it makes them more endearing in a way.

I did have a problem with the morality of the whole issue. I mean, it IS her best friend. And even if she is a bitch and has gotten everything she's wanted, does that make it okay? And Dex, what kind of person does that make him? It was honestly just really confusing trying to decide who I supported when you really think about it. I do have to give Griffin two thumbs up for throwing surprises in there and keeping me on my toes and changing my views on the characters. I have also had to choose between a friend and a guy before in my life (not on such an extreme level as Rachel though). And I chose the guy, so I guess that makes me the bad person lol. So I found it easy to relate to the big picture thing. If I were to just tell you the plot of this story, you would probably already hate Rachel a little bit for doing that to her friend. But as you read the story, you find yourself feeling sympathetic and understanding of Rachel and not hating her. It's weird I tell you! And I am seriously wondering what the whole message the author was trying to convey was. Cheating is okay? As long as it's love? Real friendships would last?

I know this book has been made into a movie and it got really low reviews and they probably butchered the book lol but I'm going to watch it and we'll see. I'll post the movie vs. book here after.

I'm looking forward to reading the second book, because it's about Darcy. I didn't like Darcy, but she might redeem herself in the sequel.

All in all, I did enjoy Something Borrowed and would recommend it. It's morally confusing, but it's enjoyable and it will give you something to think about! 4.5 out of 5 stars.