Elena Likes Books

Despite all the buzz this book has gotten, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed Perfect Chemistry. It had a very Twilight-esque situation of the main character falling head over heels in love with a guy who has been nothing but a complete jerk to her. "But he's so attractive!" So what? If all he can do is insult you, he's not someone you should want to be with. And sure, we as readers of course know that Carlos is a good guy deep down, and will fall for her as well, because that's the way the book goes, but he does absolutely nothing to hint at this to Kiara, and she falls for him anyway.There's also a distinct lack of agency on the part of both characters. Both of them are very reactive instead of proactive, even in the very end. Kiara doesn't get to help resolve the climax at all, and Carlos's form of protagging is to agree to accept help from the adult cavalry. I can buy that sort of resolution for Carlos--accepting help, especially adult help, with his problems is a big character development. But for Kiara to just sit at home and bite her nails hoping everything turns out okay? That's not acceptable for a main character.Finally, what's up with the incredibly cutesy future-children epilogues? If they were just ripped out of this book and Perfect Chemistry, the books would be much better off.Despite all that, Elkeles has a way with writing romance, and this book, like Perfect Chemistry, is wonderfully risque for YA. I kept turning pages, and was engrossed enough by the writing that I still feel like giving this book four stars, despite all my misgivings. If you enjoyed Perfect Chemistry, this book is still worth checking out. If you haven't read Perfect Chemistry, definitely pick that one up first.