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kalefactory's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident
annieisawesome's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Another amazing read by Ali Hazelwood. I absolutely devour every one of her books. I don’t know much about chess (honestly I find it so boring), but she made it very interesting and easy to follow. Even with the main settings revolving around chess they’re not boring or clinical. Her male MCs are always impeccable and so easy to fall in love with. Nolan was no exception. Mallory was a pain in the butt at points, but not enough to make me set it aside. Everyone was very loveable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
stardustandrockets's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
dai_renee410's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Dementia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abandonment
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Check & Mate is the first young-adult novel by Ali Hazelwood. Mallory swore off playing chess forever but agrees to play at a charity event. There she wins against current world champion Nolan. After that Mallory starts to play chess more and crosses paths with Nolan. But Mallory has many responsibilities at home and Nolan is her rival. However, this does not keep them from coming closer to each other.
I became a massive Ali Hazelwood fan and I am glad that I enjoyed her YA debut as well. It often happens that when authors who usually write spicy books write a young adult novel tend to include explicit spicy scenes in it. This is something I am a bit sceptical as so many young people in their early teens are reading YA and spice is just something that might be too early for them to read. But Ali Hazelwood did well! We cannot expect for eighteen to twenty-year-olds to not think about or have sex. This book had no explicit scenes in it. There were instances where the reader knows what is happening, but nothing explicit.
This love story is really slow to develop! I was rooting for them for a long, long time and couldn't wait for their first kiss. There were so many swoon-worthy scenes. When he trapped her leg between his during dinner. There first kiss. Him just being there to support without showing himself to her. Oh, Nolan is just the cutest. He is so patient. Mallory has a lot on her plate. My heart ached for her. The book actually made me cry towards the end. That hasn't happened in quite a while. But I kind of knew how Mallory was feeling. The overburdening and overwhelming feelings one has when they feel responsible for everything. I have so much respect for her. And it is awesome that we have a bi main character!
I really enjoyed this book. It had some really slow parts and I had to google some chess words as I don't know them in English. But Mallory and Nolan have good chemistry and I love how they love chess. I can highly recommend Ali Hazelwood's books.
I became a massive Ali Hazelwood fan and I am glad that I enjoyed her YA debut as well. It often happens that when authors who usually write spicy books write a young adult novel tend to include explicit spicy scenes in it. This is something I am a bit sceptical as so many young people in their early teens are reading YA and spice is just something that might be too early for them to read. But Ali Hazelwood did well! We cannot expect for eighteen to twenty-year-olds to not think about or have sex. This book had no explicit scenes in it. There were instances where the reader knows what is happening, but nothing explicit.
This love story is really slow to develop! I was rooting for them for a long, long time and couldn't wait for their first kiss. There were so many swoon-worthy scenes. When he trapped her leg between his during dinner. There first kiss. Him just being there to support without showing himself to her. Oh, Nolan is just the cutest. He is so patient. Mallory has a lot on her plate. My heart ached for her. The book actually made me cry towards the end. That hasn't happened in quite a while. But I kind of knew how Mallory was feeling. The overburdening and overwhelming feelings one has when they feel responsible for everything. I have so much respect for her. And it is awesome that we have a bi main character!
I really enjoyed this book. It had some really slow parts and I had to google some chess words as I don't know them in English. But Mallory and Nolan have good chemistry and I love how they love chess. I can highly recommend Ali Hazelwood's books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Dementia, Car accident, and Alcohol
daniche979's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Yup I loved it. I actually liked the chess plot more than the romance. Don't get me wrong that was good too but I really enjoyed Mals story. My main complaint is I wish we actually got to see the final game vs getting the outcome in the epilogue. The tension would have been amazing!
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Car accident
sarahcar_63's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Grief
clairebartholomew549's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I put off reading this despite my absolute love for Ali Hazelwood (I've been pre-ordering her books since Love on the Brain, lol) because I'm not a huge fan of YA romance - unfortunately, I need my smut, lmao! Thankfully, as my favorite book Instagrammer Beach Reads & Bubbly put it in her review, this book is absolutely brimming with sexual tension, and despite no overt sex scenes, there is a lot of steamy content. Ali is so good at taking opaque and esoteric fields that are not that easily digestible to a layperson and making them make sense - I know nothing about chess, and I was able to follow all of this relatively easily - and she always exposes the sexism and misogyny inherent in those fields with a deft and light touch. I loved Mallory as a character, and I adored her family and the way their ecosystem operated. That was one benefit of Ali writing YA - in her other books her characters are grown-ups and we don't get to see a lot of how they grew up, and of course Mallory's family is so central to her story. As usual, the found family aspect is also quite strong. I just love Ali's books so much! I'm pumped to read Ali's newest book Not in Love, which is supposed to be her steamiest yet, squeal!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
This one didn’t hook me like Ali Hazelwood’s other books, but I still did enjoy this one. I really liked the focus on chess, all the ins and outs of the game mechanics, strategies, as well as the culture around chess. I felt like the romance took a back seat, which I wouldn’t have minded except for when things heated up it never felt like the slow burn paid off, I just didn’t really buy the connection between the two. I feel like that could be due to not enough character-building for Sawyer, or not enough relationship-building moments. I think where this book shines is as contemporary coming of age fiction, so if you go in knowing that I think this will be a fun read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexism, and Death of parent
khymihr's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Dementia
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment