Today I am taking part of the blog tour for Julie Prestsater’s newest book in the Against the Wall Series, Playing Chase. After the review you will find a link to the giveaway and the list of prizes. Julie writes fun young adult and adult romances that will keep you entertained for hours and you should definitely check them out.
Title: Playing Chase [Amazon]
Author: Julie Prestsater [books]
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Source/Type: Author/eGalley
Stars: 4 of 5
Book Description:
There are many words that have been used to describe Chase Marino: cheater, backstabber, dirt bag, heart breaker. He earned those titles cheating on his high school love Shelly and his co-worker Summer. He broke both their hearts and knows it’s his lot in life to make it up to them somehow. But while the ladies intend to make his life miserable, Chase is pretty good at doing it to himself. With his dad around treating him like a frat brother rather than a son, it’s easy for Chase to beat himself up over the shameful mistakes he made in the past.
That is until Tiffany Gutierrez, the new student teacher arrives. Feeling an immediate attraction to the young beauty Chase does everything in his power to fight it and do the right thing for once. But when Tiffany shows the attraction is mutual all bets are off. Chase soon realizes that while he’s teaching Tiffany how to be a good teacher, he’s learning a thing or two from her as well. Maybe it’s time to move on and let go of the past and realize that he may just deserve a real shot at love.
My Thoughts:
So I’m a lucky kid. I got to read this book back and June when Julie was still drafting it. That’s what happens when you are friends with the author. And yes, that is my disclaimer. I am friends with the author. Just getting that out there so you know, but also know that my thoughts on this story have nothing to do with that friendship. I genuinely enjoyed this book.
When Julie first told me that she was going to write a 4th book in the Against the Wall series and it was going to be about Chase, I basically wanted to slap her upside the head and tell her no! Chase had to have been the worst character ever in the other 3 books. I really really hated him and how he treated Shelly and Summer. He was the biggest jerk ever. But in pure Julie fashion, she made me a believer in Chase. And by the end of Playing Chase I actually liked him and thought he was just misunderstood and it was a product of his environment that he did stupid things.
Playing Chase is the story of Chase Marino, the cheater that broke Shelly’s heart in Against the Wall and Summer’s heart in Straddling the Edge. He is selfish and a dirt bag and deserves everything he gets thrown at him from Summer, Shelly and Shelly’s best friend Mel. He knows this and has resigned himself to the fact that they plan to make his life miserable. Until Tiffany Gutierrez, his new student teacher, enters the picture. Fighting his immediate attraction to her Chase does everything he can to stay away because he knows his pattern and what he does to the women he cares about. But as Tiffany gets closer to him he starts to rethink his position and the reasons he does the same thing over and over to the women he supposedly loves.
Really Playing Chase is the epitome of a growth story. Although Chase was only a background-ish character in the first couple of books, he was a huge part of the story. Without him the girls wouldn’t have found their loves. But Chase was also just a horrible person. But Playing Chase really changes that. When you finally get to see Chase’s home life and inside his head you start to see him as a person and I think that was the truly remarkable part of this book. Without that you wouldn’t get to see the real Chase. The Chase that has feelings and worries about hurting other people. And the chemistry between Tiffany and him is so so good. I actually found myself, for the first time since meeting him, cheering him on and wanting him to get the girl and that is all thanks to Julie’s incredible story telling. She got it and made sure her readers got it.
Basically this fourth and final(?) book in the Against the Wall series was a nice finish to a fun tale of teachers and what happens outside the classroom. I loved how everything came together and how it all worked as a whole. Julie brought us on a fun and unforgettable journey that I enjoyed and I think you will too.
GIVEAWAY LINK:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Grand Prizes:
1 Winner: $25 gift card for Amazon
5 Winners: 1 eCopy of any of Julie’s backlist books
5 Winners: Swag
Julie is a high school teacher by day, and a writer by night. She writes both young adult and adult romances. When she’s not writing, she can be found out and about with her family, reading, and watching football. As a reading intervention teacher, she prides herself on matching her students with great books to encourage them to become life-long readers. Visit Julie at her website http://juliepbooks.com/ Follow Julie on Twitter @juliepbooks
Great review, Andi and definitely a great book everyone should check out! As for what I love about a bad boy getting their HEA is that they always seem to learn more about themselves than they ever think they can and they generally find out that their bad boy ways were not what was going to make them happy. I love when they find that girl that is meant to be with them and truly make them happy. 🙂
I feel that everyone deserves a HEA!! Bad boys have to grow up someday 😉
I cannot wait to read this and see Chase finally go down by a woman. great review and thanks for the giveaway
I love when the bad boy hides always this secret romantic side and suddenly falls totally in love and he transforms just like the girl was meant to be his and uncover his true personality. hea for bad boys gives hope for everyone 😉
I Always want everyone to get their HEA. 🙂