Published in 2018, The Chase is a New Adult romance novel by Elle Kennedy. A New York Times and USA Today bestseller, the book is the first installment in the Briar U series, a spin-off of Kennedy’s popular Off-Campus series. Both series are set at the fictional Briar University and center on the lives and relationships of the school’s elite hockey players. The novel follows Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis, a fashion-loving student who, after being rejected from her sorority house, must move in with three members of the hockey team. One of her new roommates is the introverted and artistic Colin “Fitz” Fitzgerald, on whom she has a long-standing crush. Their potential romance is complicated by his perception that she’s a shallow, vapid, rich girl.

The story uses this premise to explore several key themes. The central conflict examines the theme of Conflating Femininity with Superficiality, as Fitz is forced to confront his biases against Summer’s traditionally feminine interest in fashion and her extroverted personality. The novel also examines Summer’s private struggles with ADHD and a learning disability, portraying the emotional and academic challenges of The Challenges of Navigating Neurodivergence in Academia. A significant subplot involving a predatory professor provides a critique of the Institutional Protection of Harmful Behavior, showing how academic power structures can fail to protect the vulnerable in favor of reifying their own reputation. Told from the alternating perspectives of Summer and Fitz, The Chase is a character-driven romance that addresses issues of self-worth, vulnerability, and academic pressure.

This guide refers to the 2022 Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of sexual harassment, sexual content, cursing, and substance use.

Plot Summary

Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis arrives at Briar University planning to live in the Kappa Beta Nu sorority house, but she is immediately rejected by the Standards Committee, led by the sorority president Kaya. Citing concerns for the sorority’s reputation, Kaya brings up Summer’s expulsion from Brown University, which was prompted by an incident where Summer accidentally set fire to her previous sorority house. Homeless and frustrated, Summer calls her older brother, Dean, a recent Briar hockey alumnus. Dean arranges for her to move into the off-campus house where he used to live, which is now occupied by three current hockey players: Mike Hollis, Hunter Davenport, and Colin “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Summer has a massive crush on Fitz, a tattooed, artistic gamer. Dean invites her to a New Year’s Eve party in Brooklyn to meet up with Fitz and her new roommates for the first time since the housing arrangement was made.

At the party, Summer’s attempts to flirt with Fitz are met with an aloof disinterest. He seems determined to avoid her, which confuses and frustrates her. The situation worsens when she overhears Fitz talking to his friend, Garrett Graham. Fitz admits he’s physically attracted to Summer but dismisses her, saying, “She’s…fluff […] You know, not serious about anything. She’s surface level” (27). Devastated by his words, Summer is about to leave the party when she is intercepted by Hunter. Still stinging from Fitz’s rejection, she allows Hunter to kiss her when the clock strikes midnight. The kiss sets up a tense love triangle, as she is now slated to live with both the man she has a crush on and the man she just kissed. Weeks later, when they all move into the house, the atmosphere is thick with unspoken tension. Hunter openly flirts with Summer, while her interactions with Fitz are strained and awkward.

Summer’s academic life at Briar is equally challenging. She has ADHD and a learning disability that makes written assignments incredibly difficult, a source of deep-seated insecurity. Her new academic advisor is the condescending Assistant Dean Hal Richmond, who makes it clear he is watching her closely because he believes her admission to Briar was a result of her wealthy family’s influence. As Summer struggles with her coursework, particularly a major essay for her History of Fashion class, she forges a new friendship with Brenna Jensen, the sharp-witted daughter of the Briar hockey coach. Meanwhile, her home life remains complicated. During a late-night talk, Fitz expresses surprise that Summer has read the fantasy series Shifting Winds. She misinterprets his shock as an assumption that she’s unintelligent, reinforcing her insecurities. The tension culminates in a post-hockey game altercation at a bar called Malone’s between Summer and a girl who calls her a “slut”. When the girl’s boyfriend, Davey, makes a sexist comment about Summer and Brenna, an enraged Fitz punches him. Afterward, Fitz berates Summer for creating drama, but in the ensuing argument, he confesses that he is constantly attracted to her, admitting, “[Y]ou drive me crazy. Wanting you is exhausting, Summer. Being around you is exhausting” (194). Feeling hurt and rejected again, Summer agrees to go on a date with Hunter.

After the team’s next hockey game, Summer finds Fitz, who was injured during play, in the locker room. The charged atmosphere between them escalates into a sexual encounter in the showers. Fitz promises they will talk later, but he avoids her for days, leaving Summer feeling used and confused. On the night of her date with Hunter, Fitz confronts her, begging her not to go, but remains unable to directly articulate his feelings. Frustrated, Summer leaves. At the restaurant, Summer realizes she can’t deny her unresolved feelings for Fitz. She confesses the truth to a hurt and angry Hunter, who drives her home. 

Summer goes directly to Fitz’s room and confronts him. After she gets him to admit he doesn’t think she’s superficial and is tired of fighting the attraction, she strips off her dress and gets into bed with him. They have sex for the first time, after which they share their deepest vulnerabilities. Summer reveals the true story of the sorority fire. Ashamed that had gotten a failing grade on a paper she inadvertently plagiarized due to her learning differences, she burned the paper in a bowl and accidentally set the drapes ablaze. In return, Fitz opens up about his toxic childhood, explaining that his divorced parents used him as a weapon against each other, which forced him to hide his emotions as a survival mechanism.

In class, Summer’s fashion professor, Erik Laurie, makes unwelcome advances, which she rejects. In retaliation, Laurie publicly humiliates her by reading her D-minus midterm essay aloud in class and dissecting it as an example of poor writing. With Fitz’s encouragement, Summer decides to appeal the grade. Laurie’s sabotage continues when, the day before the final student fashion show, he changes the start time from 9 pm to 7 pm, knowing her six male models—all football players returning late from a team retreat—will be unavailable. He coldly informs her that she will have to repeat the independent study. 

Unwilling to let her fail, Fitz overcomes his intense aversion to the spotlight and recruits his hockey teammates to serve as last-minute models for Summer’s swimwear line, taking the final spot himself. The show is a resounding success, and Summer’s designs earn high praise from the head of the fashion department, securing her a passing grade and validating her talent. After the show, Summer discovers Laurie sexually assaulting another student, Nora, and physically intervenes. Together, she and Nora report the incident to Dean Prescott, with Summer’s influential lawyer father on the phone, ensuring that Laurie will face consequences.

With the academic and personal threats resolved, Summer and Fitz’s relationship solidifies. He has stepped out of his emotional shell and into the spotlight for her, while she has gained confidence in her academic abilities and found her voice. Fitz tells Summer he loves her, and while the tension with Hunter remains, their own conflicts are behind them. He and Summer settle into a loving, supportive partnership, having helped each other confront and overcome their deepest fears.