Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Chase

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Chase by Elle Kennedy

23 reviews

britwalsh16's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book gave me all the feels!! I just love everything I’ve read from Elle Kennedy so far, & this book is no different. Fitz is an idiot, but when he decides to finally be smart, he dives in with both feet & he finally fights for what he wants!! I love it!! And Summer is stubborn & goes after what she wants, but she’s also smart & knows what she deserves, & if the two clash, she stays true to herself! And the two of them really are meant to be, they bring the best out of each other! I love characters like that. I wish I had someone like that to bring the best out of me.

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catastrophiclyss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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abidavisf's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

Summer is joy and light. Her ability to see the good in everything (except perhaps herself) and her will to make friends with everyone is inspiring. The journey she takes during The Chase is beautiful and I can’t wait to read more about her in the rest of this series.

I wish we’d had a bit more Colin in this book. Though he’s a closed off character, I’d hoped that we’d get more from his perspective so we could dive in a bit deeper. Hopefully we see more as the series continues!

The learning disorder visibility is wonderful and so important. Really well done and a huge thank you to Elle Kennedy.

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underscoresyd's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring 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

3.5

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vix_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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lujisa's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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? No

2.75

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myhandmadehell's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Youth is wasted on the young.

I really really liked the representation of ADHD (in a woman, no less!) as well as the overarching messages of not judging a book by its cover. Jocks can also be nerds, hot fashion-loving girls can also be smart, etc etc. All very good stuff.

But this book was lowkey painful to read. The slow burn aspect of it felt interminable - and not in a good way. The two leads hardly spend any time together in the first half of the book, partly because there are like five hundred other characters who all need page-time for some reason, and partly because they’re both being very stupid. And not in a fun way, but in a “oh no I can’t say what I feel” way that just kind of grates after a while. Their eventual decision to get together feels anticlimactic (despite there being one whole climax between the two of them in their first sexy scene together) and after that it kind of seems like both of their “flaws” just sort of…vanish. The book then carries on with the task of wrapping up about 1/4 of the plot points it opened - I assume there are more novels after this where we’ll see some of that move forward.

Anyway this felt like kind of a mess: the pacing was weird, the book felt too full of multiple other characters who took time away from the main romantic plot, and honestly some of the bad things that happened to female lead Summer felt really distressing and unfair (not to mention, trigger warning, an attempted sexual assault against another character towards the end of the book).

Also are there really so many adults in this world who not only still have deep grudges from high school but also have genuinely never encountered young people who challenge that narrative for them? One of them was literally an adviser at an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL who later admits “oh I was poor growing up and I have an issue with rich kids getting what they want in universities and that’s why I was such a dick to you in particular) and like…really?? Was she the only student who you ever treated that way? And was she really the first one to ever make you think that maybe you shouldn’t do that?

Anyway, didn’t love this one, but the character voice was very good between the two POVs, and the leads felt like real people. It was just sort of the plot and pacing that was weird.

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kirareadssometimes's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

4.5

Has that class is off campus feeling that is just so comfortable to read. All the characters were so fun! A little too much time spent on stuff that felt irrelevant or just entirely separate from the couple. Like too much writing about her class when I’d rather them doing something together. <I was also bummed how things ended with hunter. I know he has his own book in the series but it felt neglectful.> summer was way less stressful than I thought she would be. Sexy and lighthearted but with a touch of real world issues near the end.

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sebradley29's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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itsmeyseniab's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was a very fast-paced read, but I will say that it took me a little while longer to get into it than it usually does when I pick up a book by this author. My feelings towards this story are nearly the same as they were towards The Deal - while it was a fun sports romance, and steamy at times, I ultimately didn't feel drawn toward Summer and Fitz as a couple - I just didn't really see the chemistry. I loved Summer as a heroine (and appreciated that she held a lot of feminist beliefs!) but I found Fitz to be pretty forgettable, albeit his character was meant to assume the role of a wallflower who hates being the center of attention (unlike the majority of his teammates). Their "conflict" within the first half of the novel was TIRESOME

I mean come on, him saying that he found her "surface-level" should not have caused her to be pissed off for 150 pages I'm SORRY. It was ridiculous, and was reaching in my opinion.

I did appreciate how Elle Kennedy highlighted how big of a problem sexual harassment is, and especially between individuals in asymmetrical power dynamics. That being said, I didn't particularly enjoy how Summer's ADHD and learning disability was portrayed - it came off as ableist in my opinion, and that having any type of cognitive disability is something to be ashamed of which of course is not true. Summer became more gentle with herself at the end of the novel and acknowledged that her learning disability is nothing to be ashamed of, but I do have to highlight this particular quote from page 154 (and Summer's internal dialogue):

In high school, my special-ed teacher - oh gosh, it makes me want to throw up saying that. It's frigging mortifying.

It definitely wasn't great, but it was good to see Summer's growth by the end. All that being said, I'm looking forward to seeing how the series progresses!

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