The Chase by Elle Kennedy

Pages: 377
Publish date: August 6th, 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
ASIN: B07G6M9HDV
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

The Chase:

I received an e-arc of The Chase by Elle Kennedy from the author in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series is one of my favourite NA sport-romances ever. So when I heard she was writing a spin-off series, I couldn’t hold my excitement. The Chase is the first book in the Briar U series follows new and old characters that we have seen before. Set in the same school, the same hockey team and the intense, steamy romances. Overall I really enjoyed The Chase, it’s not my favourite Elle Kennedy book out there, but I still really loved it. 

The Chase follows Summer Di Laurentis as she begins her first semester at a new school. And a new school means new friends, new classes and a chance to start over. Things are bound to get out of control when Summer unexpectedly movies in with hockey boys. And one of them happens to be Fitzy, someone who Summer has had a crush on for quite some time. Fitzy knows that liking Summer is wrong, and he tries to keep this distance, but that just never works. When Fitzy and Summer break down their walls things have just started to get interesting. 

For the most part, I really enjoyed Summer as a protagonist in The Chase. She wasn’t the typical characters that you see in an NA per say. She wasn’t this really smart characters and she was the classic college girl and I think I really enjoyed that. From the start, Summer doesn’t hide too much from the reader. We know that she likes to party, struggles in school and needs a little bit of extra help. But as the novel goes on we really get to see a side of Summer that I loved – her vulnerability.

It seeps in through the novel, but I just really enjoyed her exploring herself and why she struggles in school. Summer has ADHD and it really affects her schooling and does make her vulnerable. But it is also something that makes her strong and pushing her to be the best she can. I also loved that those around her; mainly her friends and family and trying to help her and support her.   

If you have read Elle’s Off-Campus series then you would already know about Fitzy. But the reader gets to know him a whole lot more in The Chase.  I was already intrigued by Fitzy when reading the previous novels, this tattooed, video-gaming ice hockey player. The reader gets to know more about Fitzy throughout the novel and while I didn’t exactly love him, I really enjoyed him as a love interest for Summer. Throughout the novel, Fitzy’s insecurities are brought to the forefront. I did feel at times that Fitzy’s character arc in The Chase fell short and just didn’t go anywhere at times. I did love that he was unapologetically so into video games and art.   

The romance in The Chase was cute, and I loved seeing Summer and Fitzy together. However, I did feel that things could have gone differently. I hated the love triangle aspect of the novel and wish it wasn’t there. There was enough going on around these two that it wasn’t necessary for the plot, I think. I adored the way that Fitzy wanted to help Summer study and be the best she can. It was great seeing a young male really think about learning disabilities, understand and want to help. And I adored that Summer believed in Fitzy and his capabilities even when he didn’t. It was great seeing that they would both knock down everything in each other’s paths so they can do well. 

Friendship was a massive theme in The Chase and I really liked the way it was handled at times. Summer and Brenna are perfect together and I cannot wait to see their friendship grow. It was also a great way to tie into the previous books. I did feel there was a strain on Fitzy and his friendships with teammates after the love triangle debacle – hence another reason why I wish it wasn’t included. The appearance of characters from the Off-Campus series also made for some great laughs, smiles and gave the reader some insight on what has happened. 

The plot of The Chase was up and down for me. There were a lot of things that came out of the blue and created this line in the book that just took me away. It explored the boundaries that teachers in college break and not for good reasons and when women speak up – not many people listen. This is such an important topic, and it was rushed in the book which means that things came out of nowhere and did have no consequences. However, other than that the plot moved pretty smoothly for me. 

Overall, I enjoyed The Chase. It was a great sports romance read that you all know I love. The romance was adorable and I loved how slow burning it was. Fitzy and Summer are adorable together and sometimes even sexy which was a nice combination. The Chase explores trusting in yourself and learning to love who you are. It’s about friendship and family and creating something new. If you are looking for a slow-burn college romance then this one is for you. 

 

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