{"id":35357,"date":"2018-08-03T14:00:57","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T18:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=35357"},"modified":"2018-08-03T09:20:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-03T13:20:45","slug":"excerpt-reveal-the-chase-briar-u-1-by-elle-kennedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=35357","title":{"rendered":"Excerpt Reveal: The Chase (Briar U, #1) by Elle Kennedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE CHASE
\n<\/strong>(Briar U, #1)
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n

by Elle Kennedy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Releasing – 6 August 2018<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pre-order today!<\/strong>
\niBooks<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there\u2019s no logical reason why I\u2019m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don\u2019t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I\u2019m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn\u2019t help that he\u2019s buddy-buddy with my brother.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that his best friend has a crush on me.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that I just moved in with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, did I not mention we\u2019re roommates?<\/span><\/p>\n

I suppose it doesn\u2019t matter. Fitzy has made it clear he\u2019s not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I\u2019m not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I\u2019m not about to start. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s missing?<\/span><\/p>\n

He knows where to find me.<\/span><\/p>\n

*Briar U<\/em> is a spin-off of the Off-Campus<\/em><\/a> series but can be read as a standalone*<\/p>\n

Find\u00a0The Chase\u00a0<\/em>on GOODREADS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Excerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cDance with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

I want to say no.<\/p>\n

But I also want to say yes.<\/p>\n

I call this the Summer Dilemma\u2014the frustrating, polar reactions this green-eyed, golden-haired goddess sparks in me.<\/p>\n

Fuck yes<\/i> and hell no<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Get naked with her. Run far, far away from her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, but I don\u2019t like to dance.\u201d I\u2019m not lying. Dancing\u2019s the worst.<\/p>\n

Besides, when it comes to Summer Di Laurentis, my flight instinct always wins out.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re no fun, Fitzy.\u201d She makes a tsking noise, drawing my gaze to her lips. Full, pink, and glossy, with a tiny mole above the left side of her mouth.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an extremely hot mouth.<\/p>\n

Hell, everything about Summer is hot. She\u2019s hands down the best-looking girl in the bar, and every dude in our vicinity is either staring enviously or glowering at me for being with her.<\/p>\n

Not that I\u2019m with<\/i> her. We\u2019re not together. I\u2019m just standing next to her, with two feet of space between us. Which Summer keeps trying to bridge by leaning closer to me.<\/p>\n

In her defense, she practically has to scream in my ear for me to hear her over the electronic dance music blasting through the room. I hate EDM, and I don\u2019t like these kinds of bars, the ones with a dance floor and deafening music. Why the subterfuge? Just call your establishment a nightclub, if that\u2019s what you want it to be. The owner of Gunner\u2019s Pub should\u2019ve called this place Gunner\u2019s Club. Then I could\u2019ve turned right around when I saw the sign and spared myself the shattered eardrums.<\/p>\n

Not for the first time tonight, I curse my friends for dragging me to Brooklyn for New Year\u2019s Eve. I\u2019d way rather be at home, drinking a beer or two and watching the ball drop on TV. I\u2019m low-key like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, they warned me you were a curmudgeon, but I didn\u2019t believe it until now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s they<\/i>?\u201d I ask suspiciously. \u201cAnd hey, wait. I\u2019m not a curmudgeon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm, you\u2019re right\u2014the term is kind of dated. Let\u2019s go with Groucho.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo-Fun Police? Is that better?\u201d Her expression is pure innocence. \u201cSeriously, Fitz, what do you have against fun?\u201d<\/p>\n

An unwitting smile breaks free. \u201cGot nothing against fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right. Then what do you have against me<\/i>?\u201d she challenges. \u201cBecause every time I try talking to you, you run away.\u201d<\/p>\n

My smile fades. I shouldn\u2019t be surprised that she\u2019s calling me out in public. We\u2019ve had a whopping total of two encounters, but that\u2019s plenty of time for me to know she\u2019s the type who thrives on drama.<\/p>\n

I hate drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot nothing against you, either.\u201d With a shrug, I ease away from the bar, prepared to do what she\u2019s just accused me of\u2014run.<\/p>\n

A frustrated gleam fills her eyes. They\u2019re big and green, the same shade as her older brother Dean\u2019s eyes. And Dean\u2019s the reason I force myself to stay put. He\u2019s a good friend of mine. I can\u2019t be a jackass to his sister, both out of respect for him, and for fear of my well-being. I\u2019ve been on the ice when Dean\u2019s gloves come off. He\u2019s got a mean right hook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean it,\u201d I say roughly. \u201cI have nothing against you. We\u2019re cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? I didn\u2019t hear the last part,\u201d she says over the music.<\/p>\n

I dip my mouth toward her ear, and I\u2019m surprised that I barely have to bend my neck. She\u2019s taller than the average chick, five-nine or ten, and since I\u2019m six-two and used to towering over women, I find this refreshing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said we\u2019re cool,\u201d I repeat, but I misjudged the distance between my lips and Summer\u2019s ear. The two collide, and I feel a shiver run up her frame.<\/p>\n

I shiver too, because my mouth is way too close to hers. She smells like heaven, some fascinating combo of flowers and jasmine and vanilla and\u2014sandalwood, maybe? A man could get high on that fragrance. And don\u2019t get me started on her dress. White, strapless, short. So short it barely grazes her lower thighs.<\/p>\n

God fucking help me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Briar U<\/strong><\/h4>\n

An\u00a0Off-Campus<\/em><\/a> spinoff series<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The Chase (#1) <\/strong>– (Fitzy & Summer)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0Amazon<\/a> \u00a0| \u00a0Paperback<\/a> \u00a0| \u00a0Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Risk (#2)\u00a0<\/strong>– (Jake & Brenna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 | Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Play (#3)\u00a0<\/strong>– (Hunter & Demi)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0Amazon<\/a> \u00a0| \u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dare (#4)<\/strong>\u00a0– (Connor)
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Off-Campus<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0 \"The\u00a0 \"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The Deal (#1) <\/strong>(Garret & Hannah)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon \u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mistake (#2) <\/strong>(Logan & Grace)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon \u00a0<\/a>| \u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Score (#3) <\/strong>(Dean & Allie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon \u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Goal (#4) <\/strong>(Tucker & Sabrina)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon \u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Legacy (#5)<\/strong> (A collection of four ‘where are they now?’ novellas)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE CHASE (Briar U, #1) by Elle Kennedy   Releasing – 6 August 2018   Pre-order today! iBooks   Blurb Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there\u2019s no logical reason why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[290],"tags":[869,28,301],"class_list":["post-35357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-news","tag-briar-u","tag-elle-kennedy","tag-excerpt"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-Chase.jpg?fit=150%2C234&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-9ch","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}