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agnesbebon's review against another edition
1.0
I’m just hate reading these at this point.
I keep reading these books because I loved The Deal, but these just keep getting worse. The writing was repetitive, the plot was repetitive, the language was cringy, the characters (especially summer) were not developed.
The misogyny is gross. While I think Kennedy thinks she’s trying to push feminism and deal with patriarchy and rape culture, every aspect of the book oozes internalized misogyny. Everything from character development to word choice to plot points is written from the male gaze, which is crazy considering this is a book written by a woman marketed to other women. It also relies so much on gendered language for no reason. The attempts at diversity are also gross and play into stereotypes.
The ending was trash. Absolute and complete trash. And the entire book was boring.
CW: sexual harassment, sexual assault
I keep reading these books because I loved The Deal, but these just keep getting worse. The writing was repetitive, the plot was repetitive, the language was cringy, the characters (especially summer) were not developed.
The misogyny is gross. While I think Kennedy thinks she’s trying to push feminism and deal with patriarchy and rape culture, every aspect of the book oozes internalized misogyny. Everything from character development to word choice to plot points is written from the male gaze, which is crazy considering this is a book written by a woman marketed to other women. It also relies so much on gendered language for no reason. The attempts at diversity are also gross and play into stereotypes.
The ending was trash. Absolute and complete trash. And the entire book was boring.
CW: sexual harassment, sexual assault
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
beccaand's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol
ecravens's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I wanted to discover more authors this year. Elle Kennedy is everywhere on Tiktok and Instagram. So, I thought I would give her try and I really enjoyed this book.
This book has two points of views. The first one is Summer Di Laurentis, she is a rich, fun girl who has just been kicked out of Brown university after setting fire to the sorority house. She is now at Briar U, she did have a sorority house lined up, but when she gets there – the head of sorority kicks her out after hearing what she did at Brown. She has nowhere to go and just went she’s lost all hope, her brother Dean, rings her and asks her how she was settling in. Dean says he will call in a favour and get it sorted. So now, Summer is living with his old hockey team, which isn’t the best as she is drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. The second point of view is Colin Fitzgerald, but everyone knows him as Fitz or Fitzy. He is a tattoo-covered, video gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks – who hates attention and just wants to play hockey, finish his game, and get his dream job, yet he can’t stop thinking of Summer and it gets even worse when his roommate Hunter claimed dibs on her. Summer thinks Colin thinks she is superficial and that he’s not interested in her, even though there are sparks flying across the room. Summer tells herself she’s not the kind of girl who chases after a man and she’s not about chase after Fitz as she’s got her hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor and an uncertain future. This is an academic sports contemporary new adult romance novel.
I really liked Summer as a character – I think she is bad-ass and funny and protective of her friends and I’m like that as well, so I liked that. I love the friendship between her, and Brenna and I hope we see more of her soon. I loved Colin – I love that sort of character of yes, I’m jock but I’m a secret nerd and I’m popular and I hate it. I really enjoyed the storyline and the two points of views. This was my first college sport romance book, and I really liked it. I love the relationship between Fitz and Summer, and it gave me the vibe of dramatic girlfriend and calm boyfriend which I find hilarious, but I liked that they helped each other and drove each other crazy. I also liked that they highlighted Summer’s learning disability and how Fitz didn’t see her differently because of it.
I don’t have anything negative to say about this book, just more of my personal preference of short chapters and the miscommunication trope which happened for about 75% of this book. But it was an easy read and I hope to see more of Summer and Fitz in the next books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Cursing
hannah_mezz's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
capucapulet's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It could be a two stars if the author wasn't trying to pass her characters as somewhat "feminists" when they're really not. When Summer started talking about how Coco Chanel was her model in life, I told myself that the author didn't know about Chanel's collaboration with nazis but THEN Summer had this sort of argument in class with the "pink hair radical feminist who is so mean and jealous of the main character's beauty" and she is MAD about pink hair girl criticizing Chanel's collaboration?? and later on she says (and this is a REAL quote) "and she was rude to me because I admire a Nazi sympathizer" ??? girl??
Both the main character Summer and her love interest Colin are very unlikeable people for different reasons, which could be alright IF the narration voice sort of condemned them but it's absolutely not the case. Summer's feminism consists in saying that girl shouldn't be slutshaming each other, that they can have sex with anyone and can do the same thing than boys (which is obviously true but is very basic feminism, considering the fact that Summer makes it abudantly clear that she's not like those radical feminists who hate men). At this point I'd honestly prefer having Summer admit that she's against feminism rather than pretend that THIS is feminism (and trash on radical feminists).
Also Colin being mad at Summer for having a fight with a girl who insulted and slutshamed her friend was so gross and stupid. All of the men in this book consider women like objects on which they can have a "claim" (and this is a real word that is used MANY times regarding Summer). They behave like cavemen and animals : fighting for their "female" and at the end of the day their behavior is regarded as something "hot". This type of relationship between men and women is setting a really bad example for young readers (because I'm guessing the target audience is around 16-18yo girls, which is a moment when people can be very influenced by their media consumption).
The diversity was bad, the writing wasn't great but it wasn't THAT shocking to me (it honestly felt like reading a Wattpad fic), and the relationship was extremely shallow, only sexual (which could be fine, I mean a relationship can be restricted to sex but then those dramatic emotional scene feel extremely cringy and uncalled for).
Really wish they had left out the Coco Chanel part : it was disturbing and inapropriate.
Both the main character Summer and her love interest Colin are very unlikeable people for different reasons, which could be alright IF the narration voice sort of condemned them but it's absolutely not the case. Summer's feminism consists in saying that girl shouldn't be slutshaming each other, that they can have sex with anyone and can do the same thing than boys (which is obviously true but is very basic feminism, considering the fact that Summer makes it abudantly clear that she's not like those radical feminists who hate men). At this point I'd honestly prefer having Summer admit that she's against feminism rather than pretend that THIS is feminism (and trash on radical feminists).
Also Colin being mad at Summer for having a fight with a girl who insulted and slutshamed her friend was so gross and stupid. All of the men in this book consider women like objects on which they can have a "claim" (and this is a real word that is used MANY times regarding Summer). They behave like cavemen and animals : fighting for their "female" and at the end of the day their behavior is regarded as something "hot". This type of relationship between men and women is setting a really bad example for young readers (because I'm guessing the target audience is around 16-18yo girls, which is a moment when people can be very influenced by their media consumption).
The diversity was bad, the writing wasn't great but it wasn't THAT shocking to me (it honestly felt like reading a Wattpad fic), and the relationship was extremely shallow, only sexual (which could be fine, I mean a relationship can be restricted to sex but then those dramatic emotional scene feel extremely cringy and uncalled for).
Really wish they had left out the Coco Chanel part : it was disturbing and inapropriate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
livruther's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this book was pretty good, but not elle kennedys best. the writing felt a little bit disjointed. some aspects of the pacing and characterization just werent great. but im still a sucker for a romance, esp an elle kennedy romance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Blood
alltimelion's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
pagepixie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I don’t usually give books such a low rating, or poor reviews. Especially romance books because I judge the genre with much kinder eyes than most others since I read it for fun rather than plot. I expect fluff, not prose. But The Chase was such a let down.
I’ve dabbled with Elle’s writing and I’ve always found it to be average. I’ve read The Deal and gave it 3 stars. I read Good Girl Complex and gave 3.5. This was my third book by her and by far the worst.
First off, this book could have been over by like chapter 4. No literally, the massive miscommunication that sets up the entire plot of the book takes place here and we could have either had a conversation about it right here and sorted it out or Summer could have just moved on and forgotten about the douche who called her fluff and dated Hunter. Boom. Done much better book.
Fitzy was so horribly unlikable. He was a pick-me boy. The first I’ve ever really read. Like a Mary-Sue character but for men. He was all “I have tattoos I like video games I like art a hot girl could never like me boohoo” while at the same time being like “if a hot girl did like me I would never date her because hot girls are airheads who like drama and I’m a serious guy who’s above that.” Ironically, he was THE MOST DRAMATIC CHARACTER EVER. Then there was the way he ACTUALLY treated Summer outside of his head. This first 300 pages of this book were him leading her on and then shoving her away for… for what reason? I still don’t know. Because his parents are divorced? What does that have to do with telling her you’ll talk to her after being intimate together and then literally driving hours away and avoiding her for days? AND THEN cornering her and telling her she can’t go on a date with someone else but giving her NO reason or commitment as to why she shouldn’t go. AND THEN telling her that you’re annoyed you’re attracted to her and wish you didn’t get off to her memory everyday. I’m sorry but just… no. It’s a no from me. Summer? Why the fuck didn’t you get out of there?
Summer was, well I didn’t have any major issues with her besides the fact that she liked Fitz and burned down a sorority house. I liked that she was feminine and fun and badass and I liked that she had a learning disability. I have dyslexia and struggled a lot with it so I felt like I could relate even though Summer has different learning disabilities. She was basically a knock of Elle Woods though. No literally Elle is mentioned. And Laurie is Callaghan.
I liked Brenna and Hunter’s characters but we didn’t honestly see a lot of them.
I just didn’t buy the romance at all. And since this was romance book, that all it has to do is have a likable guy and girl and spend 400 pages to get them together, I can’t give this more than 2 stars. I’m sorry.
I’ve dabbled with Elle’s writing and I’ve always found it to be average. I’ve read The Deal and gave it 3 stars. I read Good Girl Complex and gave 3.5. This was my third book by her and by far the worst.
First off, this book could have been over by like chapter 4. No literally, the massive miscommunication that sets up the entire plot of the book takes place here and we could have either had a conversation about it right here and sorted it out or Summer could have just moved on and forgotten about the douche who called her fluff and dated Hunter. Boom. Done much better book.
Fitzy was so horribly unlikable. He was a pick-me boy. The first I’ve ever really read. Like a Mary-Sue character but for men. He was all “I have tattoos I like video games I like art a hot girl could never like me boohoo” while at the same time being like “if a hot girl did like me I would never date her because hot girls are airheads who like drama and I’m a serious guy who’s above that.” Ironically, he was THE MOST DRAMATIC CHARACTER EVER. Then there was the way he ACTUALLY treated Summer outside of his head. This first 300 pages of this book were him leading her on and then shoving her away for… for what reason? I still don’t know. Because his parents are divorced? What does that have to do with telling her you’ll talk to her after being intimate together and then literally driving hours away and avoiding her for days? AND THEN cornering her and telling her she can’t go on a date with someone else but giving her NO reason or commitment as to why she shouldn’t go. AND THEN telling her that you’re annoyed you’re attracted to her and wish you didn’t get off to her memory everyday. I’m sorry but just… no. It’s a no from me. Summer? Why the fuck didn’t you get out of there?
Summer was, well I didn’t have any major issues with her besides the fact that she liked Fitz and burned down a sorority house. I liked that she was feminine and fun and badass and I liked that she had a learning disability. I have dyslexia and struggled a lot with it so I felt like I could relate even though Summer has different learning disabilities. She was basically a knock of Elle Woods though. No literally Elle is mentioned. And Laurie is Callaghan.
I liked Brenna and Hunter’s characters but we didn’t honestly see a lot of them.
I just didn’t buy the romance at all. And since this was romance book, that all it has to do is have a likable guy and girl and spend 400 pages to get them together, I can’t give this more than 2 stars. I’m sorry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Death
dazedndanielle's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault