Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Chase

this book was pretty good, but not elle kennedys best. the writing felt a little bit disjointed. some aspects of the pacing and characterization just werent great. but im still a sucker for a romance, esp an elle kennedy romance

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devynhinds's review

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emotional funny relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kb33's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

There’s a little to much chase in The Chase. For most of the book, Fitz earnestly acts like a guy who doesn’t want to be caught. But a little nudity totally solves that and all his other relationship issues, right?

There was such a great tone of feminism throughout the book, but then there’s some weird shit like admiring a Nazi collaborator, and casual cocaine use.

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megcarrick's review

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funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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rachrreads's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love the ADHD and neurodivergent representation but other than that the book was fairly average.

Also why must all these men suck? Yes Summer is hot and rich, doesn’t make her dumb.

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shaylee_reads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Spice:🌶️🌶️ /5

Tropes: Roommate, forced proximity, Shy boy and bubbly girl, Brothers friend, college romance, hockey romance and Sports Romance.

The Chase by Elle Kennedy is the first book in the Briar U series which is the spin off series of the Off-Campus Series. The Briar U series tells the stories of some of the side characters we meet in the Off-Campus Series such as Summer DiLaurentis, Colin Fitzgerald, and Hunter Davenport.

This book follows Summer DiLaurentis (Dean's sister who we meet in his book) and her potential love story with Colin Fitzgerald the tatted up nerdy hockey player who also happens to be her new roommate.

Honestly I was extremely excited for this book because I had loved the bits we had gotten to see of Summer in the Off-Campus Series and honestly I was already completely in love with Fitz from the moment he showed up in the last books and I was so ready to see their story together.

One of the reasons I was extremely excited for this book was because I had been told that Summer deals with ADHD just like me so I was extremely excited to see how Kennedy dealt with this in the book and honestly I was not disappointed. Summer's ADHD and learning disabilities was one of my favorite aspects of this book. I loved seeing someone like Summer who's normally very confident and secure in themselves also have some insecurities and be embarrassed about needing extra help, time, and attention with the things they struggle with. It showed how no matter how perfect someone's life may seem, everyone still has hardships and struggles with things that you may never see.

I loved how this book talked about how people with ADHD or learning disabilities can still read and enjoy material that some people would consider to be too dense and heavy for them.

I also loved how Kennedy showed that ADHD doesn't just affect your schooling but can also affect people's relationships and how they act around people. It's very common for people with ADHD to be very outgoing and bubbly and a lot of people will put them down because of it by saying their being too loud, or they talk too much, or that they are annoying and too much for people. Because of this a lot of people with ADHD put themselves in a box in order to fit in or to not be annoying. I loved how Summer didn't do this, Summer was just being her bubbly outgoing self no matter what people thought of her and I just absolutely loved that.

I loved how this book also touched on the fact that medication isn't always the answer for everyone and it can end up doing more bad than good and that's okay. I also loved how this book showed some different methods for dealing with ADHD for example body doubling, if you don't know what body doubling is it's a method that people with ADHD use in order to help them focus and get things done fast because we have found that just having someone in the room with us when doing a task allows us to focus more and work more efficiently. In the book Summer and Fitz study together and Summer says for some reason she finds that she is able to focus more and get things done faster when Fitz is there… aka body doubling. They also talk about different things that Summer and her teachers do in order to help her succeed in school.

As you can tell I absolutely loved the ADHD aspect of this book and could relate to it immensely.

Speaking of Summer, I absolutely adored her character. I loved her bubbly and outgoing personality and how she was unapologetically herself. I loved how even though she seems to have the perfect life, she's rich, beautiful, seems to be the perfect girl, she still has struggles and insecurities and has an outer shell that isn't always the person she is on the inside. I just loved her character so much and could relate to her so much more than I thought I would.

Another person we are introduced to in this book is Brenna Jenson, the hockey coach's daughter, who becomes fast friends with Summer and who I absolutely loved. I will talk more about my love for Brenna in my review of The Risk by Elle Kennedy (the second book in the Briar U series) that follows her story. I will say one thing about Brenna and that was I absolutely loved her friendship with Summer and honestly they have replaced Hannah and Allie as my favorite duo in the Off-Campus/Briar U universe.

Now let's talk about my favorite nerdy gamer, hockey player Colin Fitzgerald. I knew I was gonna love Fitzy from the moment we met him in The Score and I was not wrong… this man is EVERYTHING. He's a quiet, tattooed, gamer hockey player who loves to read and spends his time drawing like what's not to love about this man! I just absolutely loved him… like seriously I am a simp for Colin Fitzgerald! He is my favorite of the Briar U boys and honestly he and John Logan are fighting for the top as my favorite Off-Campus/Briar U boy.

I loved seeing Fitz's backstory and how it showed the long-term effects divorce can have on a child and how that situation can become abusive.

I will say that I feel like we don't get to know Fitz as much as we did with the boys from the Off-Campus series (and that's not just with Fitz's it's with all of the boys in the Briar U series).

Another thing I will say is I do wish there was more of a friendship between him and some of the other Hunter. I get it he's a loner and prefers to be by himself but the one thing that I feel like the Briar U series is missing that the Off-Campus series had was the hilarious strong friendship between the boys. One of my favorite aspects of the Off-Campus series was the relationship between Garrett, Logan, Dean, and Tucker. It just adds such a hilarious and fun aspect to the book that made me love the boys so much more and the Briar U series just seems to be missing that family aspect that I loved.

Let's talk about the relationship between Summer and Fitz in this book. I absolutely loved them together and honestly I think they have to be my favorite couple out of all of the Briar U series. I love the trope where the quiet, nerdy secluded guy falls for the bubbly, outgoing girl and this book just did it so well. This book is just sexual tension and you're just waiting for them to finally get together and when they do it's just amazing.

I do feel like there wasn't as much chemistry between them as there is with some of the other couples in this series. I also don't really love the way Fitz handled everything in the beginning between him and summer but I did love seeing them grow and work on some of the issues they both had.

I also feel like this book isn't as spicy as the other books and I feel like the smut is kinda on the back burner in this book which is totally okay, I just kinda wish there was a little bit more.

There is kinda a side romance happening between Summer and Hunter and honestly I didn't hate it. Even though I absolutely adore Summer and Fitz, ultimately if Summer and Hunter had ended up together I think I would have liked that as well.

One thing I love about Elle Kennedy books is how she talks about important topics that aren't always talked about but need to be. In this book she talks about rape culture and how sometimes a professor can abuse there power in order to get what they want from their students. It also talks about the idea that a girl being comfortable in their sexuality or dressing a certain way means they were asking for it. This book shows how hurtful these stereotypes can be and talks about things that are really important to talk about.

All together I really enjoyed this book and it happens to be one of my favorites out of the entire Off-Campus/Briar U universe.

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mybookishdelights's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Heat Level: High

Spoiler

graphic sex scenes

CW:

Spoiler

sexual harassment by a person of power, attempted rape on page, moderate violence

I love the Off-Campus series by this author so I figured it would be more of the same, but this one was missing something that the other series had. It attempted to follow the same formula of fun banter, charming characters, and a little bit of serious mixed in, but it still fell a little flat. I didn't really feel connected to the two main characters and the angst was just too short-lived. The smut was fine, but not amazing.

One thing I didn't care for that stood out was how the book contradicted itself. Summer has these moments of talking about how women need to stick together etc, but then contradicts herself with her actions. She talks about how she deserves a guy who wants to be with her and acts like it (which is 100% true), but then still goes for the guy who doesn't treat her that way. This book has a love triangle and I couldn't believe when I found myself rooting for the other guy! It's always obvious who they will end up with, especially in a dual perspective novel, but boy... I was hoping it would be

Spoiler

Hunter who actually treated her like he wanted to be with her. I'm assuming Hunter will get his own book and whatever... he was done dirty in this one.

Also, Fitz has the "not like other girls" trope except it's "not like other boys." Still cringe even when it's swapped. 🙄

It wasn't the worst time and the book wasn't terrible, but I thought it would be up to par with the other series. I did like seeing characters from the other series pop in too. There is rep for ADHD in this one, which was interesting to read.

CAWPILE Score: 6.43 = 3.75 stars
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Writing: 7
Plot: 6
Intrigue: 7
Logic: 6
Enjoyment: 6

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loony_lucy's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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