The Chase (Briar U, #1)

by Elle Kennedy

[stacey_is_sassy]

I was captivated by The Chase…

I judged Summer and I’m not proud of myself. To be honest, I don’t think I will be the first or the last reader to do so. It’s hard to look at an extremely beautiful, rich and vivacious woman, with a family who loves and protects her, and not think that she has everything. What could she possibly have to complain about? I became judge and jury finding her guilty of being a bit of fluff, a princess and a spoilt brat. Maybe I was a little jealous and resented her good fortune and thought she was undeserving of the opportunities given to her. I may have even thought she was taking advantage of her “issues” to gain an easy way out of hard work.

I should have looked beneath the surface and taken the time to get to know Summer first. I judged her…and I’m not proud of myself.

There were stages while reading that I found it hard to understand Summer. At times she could be reckless, self-absorbed and a little loopy. Her anger and frustrations controlled her actions and sometimes left her in a dangerous or vulnerable position. I know I would have handled things differently, but, I’m not Summer.

Once I got to know Summer better, I couldn’t help but pause in my reading and reflect back on my initial judgment and reconsider my feelings. I found myself understanding her reactions and giving her leeway, feeling bad for her and hating how people only saw the outside packaging and not her big heart.

I wanted to be the friend by Summer’s side, helping her process situations and deal with the drama. It was hard to witness her inner-turmoil and self-doubts, while also still questioning and contemplating HOW she could have those doubts. I mean, she has money and good looks. Doesn't money and good looks equal happiness?

Fitzy was a character that took a while to warm up to. He was such a conflicting character and again, I found myself quick to judge and put him on a shelf that he didn’t belong on. A talented sportsman CAN be artistic and a computer nerd. A college hockey player CAN be an introvert and shy away from the spotlight. A sexy college hockey player CAN also think a woman is out of his league…not often…but it CAN happen.

Once I got to know Fitzy, I understood his previous actions and knucklehead decisions. Sure, I still wanted to kick him in the ding-ding and tell him to stop being a scaredy-cat, but I got him. His character growth was impressive from the start to the finish.

This story made me laugh, cry, squirm and sigh, everything I want and love in my romance stories. The Chase was fantastic and I’m in awe of Elle Kennedy’s ability to make me love New Adult Romance. I’m sure it has a lot to do with the college environment. These characters are not idiots, they’re hard-working, ambitious and determined young men and women. Studying, training and playing their chosen sport/instrument/thing keeps them extremely busy. Sure, it’s not all seriousness. There are hijinks and shenanigan aplenty, but it’s definitely balanced out with the serious stuff.

Talking about serious stuff…The Chase tackles some very serious issues that a lot of women and girls face every day. Elle Kennedy handles them in a way that was realistic and doesn’t produce unicorns to make things all work out perfectly in the end. I think she does show there is strength in numbers and talking to the right people can help. Hopefully, readers will gain strength, find courage and knowledge in identifying a risk and taking steps to fix it, if they're ever in this situation. I'm sure there are men who have also faced this situation, and I hope if they read The Chase, they too find the courage to stand up and speak out.

I’m sorry this review is a wee bit rambly. It’s been a BIG weekend for me and I’m bloody exhausted. I had to write this review tonight…but I’m sure I will rewrite it (or some of it) tomorrow. To finish off, I thoroughly enjoyed The Chase and I can’t wait to come back to take The Risk with Brenna.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.