The Chase by Elle Kennedy
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there’s no logical reason why I’m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don’t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I’m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn’t help that he’s buddy-buddy with my brother.
And that his best friend has a crush on me.
And that I just moved in with them.
Oh, did I not mention we’re roommates?
I suppose it doesn’t matter. Fitzy has made it clear he’s not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I’m not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I’m not about to start. I’ve got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he’s missing?
He knows where to find me.
MY OPINION: ****
I am writing this review over a week after finishing this book and in that fairly short amount of time, I've also managed to finish the next two after this one in the series, so please forgive me if this review is short and disjointed as there are surely many things I have forgotten since then. I would like to say that I am definitely enjoying the Briar U series a lot more than the Off Campus series, not that that was bad.
Summer Heyward Di Laurentis is the stunning sister of our favorite Dean HDL from the third book in the Off Campus series (whose name I cannot remember at the moment). She suffers from a learning disability that has caused herself to view herself as "stupid" despite the fact that she just learns differently from other people. She is a fashion major and a sorority girl, which causes some unfortunate stereotypes to be attributed to her character that are the root conflict of this book.
Colin Fitzgerald is yet another one of the swoonworthy hockey players at this university that seems to have nothing but beautiful and attractive people. However, he's also a video game nerd and has coded his own video game, giving him more depth than the "jock" that many people see him as. He is definitely the introverted type who struggles to open up to many people, which makes Summer's bubbly and social personality an unlikely match for him.
Fitz and Summer met previously in one of the Off Campus books and she was instantly drawn to him. However, this book opens with Fitz saying some pretty cruel things about her behind her back in an effort to not fall for her (a stupid move on his part -- a real male moment) which she happens to overhear. She's hurt by the rude comments and ends up kissing Fitz's fellow hockey player and friend Hunter Davenport, to the chagrin of Fitz. Fast forward a couple of weeks and she's suddenly living with Fitz, Hunter, and their roommate Hollis (a real sweetheart), a fairly awkward situation for everyone involved. While Summer still finds Fitz attractive, she can't help but remember everything he said about her and he can't stop replaying her kiss with Hunter. She and Hunter grow closer but she still harbors feelings for Fitz.
I loved the slow burn relationship of Summer and Fitz. It was not rushed or unrealistic and felt quite natural. I liked how they slowly overcame their differences, talked about everything that had happened, became friends, and then soon gave in to their feelings. The only thing I didn't like was Summer leading Hunter on, though I know she didn't really mean to. It still was sad to see poor Hunter left behind for a man who seemingly didn't care about Summer, with the man being a good friend of Hunter's at that.
I liked how this book analyzed stereotypes and the harmful perpetuations that we can give to others based on labels. Just because someone likes to party and is a part of a sorority doesn't mean they're stupid, shallow, or self-centered. Just because someone is a pro athlete doesn't mean they can't have "nerdy" tendencies, for lack of a better word.
Something else I should mention is Summer's sleazy professor. I hated the man and I hated the way her complaints about him were disregarded by the school's administration because it was ridiculous and quite sad, especially since that is something that many women (and men) struggle with to this day. I liked how it was handled in the end but the situation should never have been able to reach that awful place that it did.
I personally enjoyed this book very much. I finished it all in the same day because of how addicting it was and I loved the rest of the series so far. The writing is much better than the previous books and I loved these characters so much more (though of course I still love my Dean). The romance is impeccable and although the plot is romance/character-driven, it was addicting. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a cute, fluffy romance full of three-dimensional characters and witty banter.
Main Character: Summer, Fitz
Sidekick(s): Hockey players, Brenna, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, stereotypes, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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