After transferring to Briar University, fashion student Summer Di Laurentis moves in with hockey players and becomes drawn to introverted Colin Fitzgerald. Their opposition is temperamental rather than ideological: she is visibly social, he equates visibility with drama, and forced proximity keeps exposing how shallow those labels are.
This researched assessment recommends the book for readers who want college roommates, opposites-attract energy and substantial campus life. Professional and firsthand critics praise Summer’s complexity, humor and the tenderness beneath the glitz; the cost is repeated mixed signals, a crowded triangle edge and faculty behavior that adds a more serious register.
A funny, tender roommate romance that gives its glamorous heroine real interiority, while repeated mixed signals test patience.
Provisional Eikna score: 3.7/5. Four core dimensions cover 85% of the quality weight. Ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unscored; heat is excluded. Researched editorial assessment; no firsthand reading claimed. Evidence confidence: moderate.
| Title | The Chase |
|---|---|
| Author | Elle Kennedy |
| Inspected edition | US Bloom Books paperback · ISBN 9781775293972 · 368 pages |
| Publication scope | Published 2018-08-04 · checked 11 October 2026 |
| ISBN-13 | 9781775293972 |
| Edition page count | 368 pages |
The author or publisher evidence identifies the work. Publication dates refer to the stated edition or release scope, not automatically the first appearance of the story. Unknown identifiers and formats are left open.
The publisher places Summer and Fitzy in the same Briar house after her transfer. Housing, classes and hockey community make current college life a working mechanism rather than scenery.
Attraction is immediate, but Fitzy’s assumptions and Summer’s insecurity keep the pair interpreting each other badly.
Dear Author compares the setup to a familiar glamorous-heroine type but finds more substance in Summer’s academic vulnerability and social intelligence.
Kirkus likewise sees two likable students and serious subjects beneath the party surface.
Fitzy’s preference for quiet and his resistance to perceived drama give the romance friction, but the cycle can become repetitive.
The book is most persuasive when shared space reveals practical compatibility, least persuasive when another misunderstanding delays what both already know.
Kirkus praises dialogue, pacing and humor while noting sex, alcohol and college-level profanity. The fashion-show and hockey-house material creates a lively social world.
Learning difficulty and faculty abuse prevent the story from staying weightless; readers should expect tender and serious material beside the comedy.
Kirkus reports substantial sexual content, alcohol and profanity. No complete audit supports a numeric heat score or timing claim, so heat remains descriptive and excluded. Kirkus Reviews. Dear Author.
Professional criticism identifies learning difficulties and abusive faculty behavior; the campus plot also includes alcohol, sexual content and social judgment. This is attributed and non-exhaustive. Kirkus Reviews. Dear Author. Selected StoryGraph response.
Best for Briar U campus life, forced proximity, fashion-and-gaming contrasts and a heroine challenging the assumptions made about her. Less suitable for readers who dislike triangles, repeated miscommunication or problematic faculty conduct.
Professional and firsthand criticism agree that Summer has more depth than her image suggests and that the college setting is lively. Selected contrary testimony focuses on repetitive miscommunication and frustration with Fitzy. The recommendation is strongest for readers who enjoy personality clashes and can tolerate delayed communication.
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Sourcebooks verifies Briar U book one. It begins a new sequence but inherits characters and setting from Off-Campus; familiarity may add context without proving a formal prerequisite.
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Quality scale: 1 substantial weaknesses; 2 weaknesses outweigh strengths; 3 mixed; 4 strengths outweigh limitations; 5 exceptional sustained strengths. Half points are allowed. Weights: romance 30%, characters 20%, writing 20%, emotional impact 15%, ending satisfaction 10%, reread appeal 5%. A provisional overall score divides the supported weighted sum by its supported weight and rounds once to one decimal. Heat is descriptive and excluded. These scores express the evidence-based judgment explained in this review.
Forced proximity builds tenderness, though crossed signals are overused.
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
Summer’s academic and social vulnerability gives the pairing more depth than its labels.
Provisional dimension score: 4/5.
Snappy dialogue and campus detail keep the story moving.
Provisional dimension score: 4/5.
Self-definition lands, while avoidable miscommunication limits the payoff.
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
On-page sexual content is reported; calibrated intensity remains unknown.
Unscored; reactions are not enough to establish a work-level ending judgment.
Unscored; enthusiasm and series attachment do not verify repeat reading.
Yes. The inspected premise places the central pair in their undergraduate college years, and their relationship develops in that setting.
It is Briar U book 1. The relationship has its own volume, but series continuity and returning characters may matter; no stronger standalone guarantee is inferred.
Firsthand critics report on-page sexual content. Eikna does not infer a numeric heat level, scene frequency or timing from adjectives or another site’s scale.
The facts table uses the Bloom Books paperback, ISBN 9781775293972, with 368 pages.
No work-level ending classification is asserted. Ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unscored.
Only the four core quality dimensions are supported. Heat is descriptive and excluded; ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unknown.
For the starting point of the connected Briar hockey world.
For a later-generation Briar relationship with substantial college hockey.
For a current-college relationship under serious family pressure.
The contemporary romance collection includes this book among other choices. Compare those options if its premise appeals but a limitation gives you pause. The College romance books explains the surrounding reading route and what to check before choosing.
A funny, tender roommate romance that gives its glamorous heroine real interiority, while repeated mixed signals test patience. Best for Briar U campus life, forced proximity, fashion-and-gaming contrasts and a heroine challenging the assumptions made about her. Less suitable for readers who dislike triangles, repeated miscommunication or problematic faculty conduct.
Check the verified Amazon edition when this balance matches what you want to read.
Checked 2026-10-11. The How this assessment was researched preserves attributions and research limits. Unknown details do not establish absence. Purchasing links use our account.
A numeric heat level has not been established. Read the review’s heat and content discussion for attributed descriptions before choosing. An unknown level is not a closed-door or no-spice promise.
The heat-level guide explains detail and frequency; the glossary entry for spice separates sexual content from quality.
The romantic outcome is not established in this summary. A romance label does not independently confirm an ending. Consult the discussion before choosing if closure is essential.
For the difference between romantic commitment and wider plot closure, compare HEA, HFN and cliffhangers.
Standalone or continuing-series status is not established in this summary. Read the existing format and series guidance for any available context; do not assume a missing series entry means the book stands alone.
The series-order guide explains what to check when a complete romance belongs to a connected world.