3.5 stars. The second installment in the Perfect Chemistry set of books was a good followup to the original. This book follows the younger brother of the main character in book 1 as he starts a new life in Boulder, Colorado, far away (or so we think) from the influence of his previous gang life. 
 Even though you're going to see a few small complaints in the review, I still had a blast reading this book in less than a day. 
 Carlos was no Alex Fuentes, but he still had some of the same appeal as his older brother. Kiara, the new love interest, didn't appeal to me as much as Brittany did in the first book, but I really liked that her awkwardness came partially from a stuttering problem and that she wasn't secretly "just the hot girl in disguise." Although...there was a little bit of a nod to the ultra cheesy movie She's All That, in which the girl in the baggy clothes all of a sudden becomes incredibly hot just by putting on a dress...ugh. This "twist" always bugs me because I want the guy to see that she's hot before something happens to change his mind. In this case he did notice before the dress incident, but him noticing (only a very tiny spoiler, I'd look at it anyway) (view spoiler)[when she took off her shirt wasn't much better to be honest. (hide spoiler)] 
 Even though I know the Boulder area a little bit having spent some time living in Colorado and that made it fun, I wasn't as fond of the setting this time around. I preferred the grittier, urban feel of the first book. This one almost reminded me partially like I was reading another version of The Blind Side. If you haven't seen the movie, basically a rich white family takes in a struggling minority youth and encourages him to make something of his life. - What's wrong with me...I kept thinking, "where's the heavy duty conflict!?!?" Oh sure, there was a little, but it didn't feel as convincing as it did in the first book. 
 Last small complaint. I really hate the epilogues in these books. The story feels so forced when looking 20 years into the future. I don't want to think of these characters as old. I want to immortalize them in the moment of their youth. 
 BUT...I still really liked this book! The story was fun; the characters sizzled when they finally got together. I found myself another Fuentes to adore. There was definitely much more to love than hate.