Title: The Chase
Series: Briar U #1
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release date: August 5, 2018
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 3 stars
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.
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About the Author:
Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!
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REVIEW
The witty snark she creates between friends makes you laugh out loud, and bask in the effervescent humor. I depend on her books to be light, fast paced, and unputdownable. For the most part, it was certainly all of those things here. However there were some character frustrations, and issues with a lack of focus and depth to aspects of the plot. So my rating really left me torn.
Here's my first complaint: the triangle. If you read my reviews or my profile you know that's a trope I avoid. I wouldn't even say that this was a triangle in the truest sense of the word because everyone knows who Summer is going to end up with. So it wasn't its presence in the story itself that bothered me. The synopsis clearly states that Fitz's best friend Hunter develops a crush on Summer, and to build the conflict even more, they all become roommates. I thought this could drive some nice angst as Fitzy perhaps deals with some potential jealousy.
Yes, he got jealous, but what I didn't care for was that Hunter's feelings for Summer felt much more like a plot device to create tension instead of actually feeling realistic. We're told that his feelings deepen as the book wears on, and he tries to convince her that he's serious by asking her out on a date. Problem is, do we ever see them spend any quality time together? His extreme reaction at the end was blown out of proportion in my opinion. In part, he felt betrayed by Fitz, but mostly we are led to believe that he really cared about her. Because of the lack of development in their relationship, that didn't make sense.
What worked for me? Summer was a strong and sassy heroine who had a lot of qualities I admired. She was all about empowering and supporting other women, even when they aren't the nicest person to you. In the previous book she seemed pretty irresponsible and crazy character, so I was wondering how much I would warm up to her. She's obsessed with couture fashion, she's unabashedly into reality tv, and thrives on socializing. While I don't think I loved and adored her like everyone has has been saying, I did like her a lot. It made a lot of sense to learn that she has ADHD, and it made me understand and empathize with her quite a bit. It even came into play with why she was kicked out of Brown before she transferred to Briar. I gotta say, I am relieved that there was more to the story than originally told. She's not just the wild party girl who burned down her sorority house while wasted.
I loved her self-confidence. But the fact that she was extremely sensitive about her intelligence because of her learning disability and ADHD seemed to be in direct contradiction to how she acted. She was such a genuine extrovert, thriving on going out and being the center of attention. On one hand, we see the mental effect that her difficulties in classwork and studying had on her. And we see how deeply hurt she is over Fitzy's unthinking comments that she overheard. She always puts on an indifferent front over people's misperceptions of her vapid sorority girl image. In reality, it's something that she learns to live with because it's preferable to them thinking that she's unintelligent. Her issues are a real private, sore point with her, and I wish that could have been explored more. Her outgoing personality didn't fully mesh with that other side of her, and maybe that's where I failed to fully fall in love with her.
My old therapist was always preaching about self-love, urging me to treat myself kindly, but that’s easier said than done. When you have one major insecurity that rules your life, your subconscious doesn’t let you forget it. Loving yourself is hard enough. Silencing the inner critic borders on impossible. For me, at least.
a) It went on WAY too long.
b) One minute he would give her signs of encouragement, the next he would slam his walls back down and run away. The mixed signals were so unfair to Summer.
c) I needed some groveling and more effort on his part after his continued rejection of her. Yes, he did come to her and tell her that he didn't want her to go out on a date. Then his courage disappeared, and in the end SHE had to swallow her pride once again and make it happen.
That being said, Fitz had this endearing and vulnerable side to him that prevents you from hating him. You want to smack him, but commit fictional homicide? No. Once he gets over his fears and overcomes his issue with expressing his emotions, he's all in. He realized that Summer brought him out of his shell and helped to force him to face situations that made him uncomfortable. Their extreme differences ended up being an advantage because they complimented and balanced each other out.
I date chicks who are as introverted as I am, because then they don’t expect me to cut loose at parties or attend extravagant events like leukemia charity galas. I didn’t mind that existence. It’s been nice and comfortable. Conflict-free. But I never felt truly alive until Summer.
Now that I've spent all of this time critiquing, it sounds like I didn't like it. I did. I got the book on Friday night, and finished it Saturday morning. So, even though I had frustrations, the compulsively readable quality that I loved was present and felt. The humor was also just what I was hoping for, and made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. I loved seeing the Off-Campus characters make their small appearances, because more time with them is always a good thing. Issues aside, I'm excited for the next installments in Briar U. Most especially, Brenna's book. She was another strong and shamelessly cheeky character who will be highly entertaining to watch as she finds her HEA, I have no doubt. While I didn't love this book as much as I anticipated, I'm excited to see where this series goes in the future. Elle Kennedy is one of my go-to authors, and I don't see that ever changing.
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