Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

25 reviews

aysha_blake's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

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nasuha's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I think it's okay and it did get me out of my slump. The ending was a bit rushed and I would like it better if it was not. The concept is kind of "I know you — no, you don't know anything about me" angst yknow.

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.0

After reading Ali Hazelwood's other books, I was excited to pick up her first venture into Young Adult.
"Check & Mate" follows Mallory Grennleaf, a young adult who has put her life on hold to try to take care of her mom and sisters. When she was a younger teenager, she was on track to become a chess champion, unfortunately, after an incident involving her father, she vowed to give up chess forever. That is, until opportunity knocks on her door, and she is offered a chance to get paid to play the game she loves so much. At a charity competition, Mallory beats the best chess player in the world, Nolan Sawyer. Should Mallory return to the world of competitive chess? And should she give into her desire to see Nolan again?
This was a really sweet love story, with two really lovable characters. Nolan is such a good guy, and he is so humble despite being an exceptional chess player. He is flawed, and doubts himself, but Mallory is so good for him and really helps him to see that there is more to life than chess. Nolan helps Mallory accept her love of chess and helps her become an even better player.
We know early on that something happened to Mallory's dad, and that is why she does not want to play, but the author really drags out the "reveal" of what actually did happen. I understand the significance of this event and why it is important to Mallory's story and character development, but I feel like the author did not have to leave so many frequent breadcrumbs, she could have just waited and reveled it in the same way. I also find it slightly unbelievable how much Mallory blamed herself for what happened. Her guilt seemed a little extreme and unnatural to me, and more of a plot point to make the story seem higher stakes.
As with all of Ali Hazelwood's books, there are great feminist undertones to this book. Women in chess are often heavily discriminated against, and it was empowering to see strong women characters fighting back on these groundless claims. I almost feel like Ali Hazelwood's writing style is better suited in the Young Adult sphere.
I will, of course, read more from Ali Hazelwood in the future, and I highly recommend this title!

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fatymahsy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

this book feels like a love letter to chess, an mythical glitter-adorned version of it almost, but chess all the same.
an incredibly sweet romcom, tho I might say I think presenting it as ya is misguiding, despite the lack of graph d scription of sex, the prose of the book and certain subjects rang more new adult.
this is a continuation of Hazelwood's beloved trustee formula and once again it's perfect and a joy to read. some might find it tiring and predictable, I say this is a romcom, of course it's predictable ! and it's never less a giggly kicking-feet kind of romance for sure.
Mallory is a fascinating protagonist, occasionally frustrating but has so much heart, the bonds she has with her family and her best friend Easton are a highlight in a book, especially her

deal father and the guilty this relationship is riddled with

and ofc significantly oblivious to the MMC, Nolan, interest in her.
as far as criticism go

the fact she never lost a chess match besides against a guy later revealed to have cheated, is incredibly unrealistic considering she hasn't played for what 6 years? so suspension of belief is advised, in addition to other nitpicky details, especially I would have loved to see her reaction to losing

as far as the chess aspect go, I loved the metaphors, and despite not having anything above basic knowledge I didn't think it was overwhelmingly jarring or like oblivious to not happening, but that's a subjective judgment.
Nolan is a sweetheart, falsely adversited as a 'bad boy', and the way he interact with Mallory and her family is soo tender and heartwarming.
This book is very much supported by the cast, from Oz, to Defne, and the sisters, the dynamics are lovely.
the portrayal of misogyny was well crafted, realistic and achingly rageful to read, which means it's done right.
if you're looking for a treat of a romcom with heartwarming family bonds and romanticism of chess than that's your book.

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kshertz's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong for me. I was hesitant to read because I knew it was Ya and it would be closed door romance but it was so fantastic. She just has this way of writing where I will not stop reading. I read this book in one evening. I fell in love with the characters almost immediately and rooted for them the whole time. I love the ending and the Epilogue too. Definitely a must read

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overflowingshelf's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

CW: Sexism; misogyny; death of a parent (off-page); chronic illness; grief; references to car accident; drunk driving, infidelity, Alzheimer’s/dementia, and forced institutionalization

What’s this? Is this an Ali Hazelwood book I sort of liked? Yes, yes, it is.

Now, this wasn’t a perfect book by any means, but I still found myself sort of enjoying it.

Did I have issues with it? Yes, but I think YA really is the right genre for Hazelwood’s writing style and stories. Her writing, characters, and plots work so much better when the characters are 18/20.

However, you may be a bit disappointed if you go into this book thinking it’s primarily a romance. This is a book about chess with a bit of romance sprinkled in.

Let’s dive into what I liked and didn’t like!

WRITING

I’ve always said that I think Ali Hazelwood’s writing would work better for YA books, so Check & Mate was the ultimate test of that hypothesis. And I think that hypothesis proved to be correct.

Now, I still have issues with Hazelwood’s writing, but the tone and style work so much better when the character is 18 than in her late 20s! This book also felt like it was trying less hard to be cutesy and quirky, something that has grated on me in Hazelwood’s adult novels as it makes her main characters come off as juvenile. But with younger characters, the quirkiness doesn’t feel as forced, and the dialogue and the character choices feel way more believable.

However, some of Hazelwood’s writing traits that I don’t like – namely, the excessive number of italics (700 in a book that is just over 360 pages) – still exist in this. The sheer volume of italics is so in your face that I always get fixated on it! I’m still baffled at how many there are, as you can show emphasis on certain words through your writing in other ways.

I also felt like there were A LOT of pop culture references in this, almost like an adult trying to fit in with the cool kids. I’m genuinely curious how that resonates with a younger audience, but all I could think about was how dated it could make this book feel in a year or two, given how quickly our pop culture moves on to the hot new thing.

I still would love for Hazelwood to be a bit more descriptive with her characters and the adjectives she uses to describe them. I would LOVE for her to use an adjective different from TALL, BIG, or HUGE for her main male characters. She’s really married to the big guy/small girl trope, and I would love to see her mix it up once, as it feels like the same thing every time.

CHARACTERS

Speaking of characters, I have very complicated feelings about Mallory, our female main character.

On one hand, Mallory feels like an 18-year-old, dealing with all the complex emotions you feel at that age. Did I agree with everything Mallory did and how she acted? Heck no, but they were believable (something I’ve always struggled with in other Hazelwood books).

There were two things in particular that I struggled a bit with Mallory on. The first was her acting like she’s the mother/parental figure in her family, even though her Mom is literally right there. Yes, her mom has a chronic illness that can make it hard to work and do basic tasks, but Mallory acts as if she has to do and control everything in the family. I just wanted to be like girl, your mom can still parent, and you can still be a teenager. You don’t have to shoulder every burden in the family.

The second thing I struggled with was that when she lashes out, she gets mean. I expect some emotional outbursts to happen with characters, but with Mallory, it felt unnecessarily cruel and harsh. It was really ugly, and I’m still a bit in shock at what she said to Nolan and the names she called her sisters. And her apology is a bit lukewarm at best.

With Nolan, I liked him as he had more depth than I expected, though I still felt he wasn’t 100% fully fleshed out. However, he’s so far gone for Mallory, and Mallory’s the only one who doesn’t see it, which I loved. He can read Mallory better than she can read herself, which she doesn’t like, but I appreciate it as he always said what I was thinking. Despite his reputation in the chess world, Nolan is a big softy at heart, and I loved that. He’s charismatic and charming, and that really came through as I couldn’t help but like him.

PLOT

For a book marketed as a romance, the romance seems a bit like an afterthought. This is really a book about chess. Personally, I liked all the chess stuff, as well as Mallory’s complicated relationship with the sport, so that was okay with me!

Mallory clearly has a natural talent for it, but her feelings about the sport are deeply intertwined with her relationship and feelings about her father, so she convinced herself to give it up and keep chess a secret from her family. But as she gets back into the game and realizes it’s something she enjoys, she has to face those feelings related to her father (though I also wish she would get some therapy to deal with them because, oh boy, they’re a lot).

However, I found it exciting to watch her chess journey. I loved seeing her reach some of the highest levels of the sport. I was rooting for her and deeply invested in her success. I got excited seeing her play tournaments and was on the edge of my seat, waiting for the outcome of each game.

Chess is a very male-dominated sport, and I like how Mallory grappled with being one of the few women to break through its top tiers. It’s not easy to balance being the first woman to do anything, as it’s a lot of stress on someone, and I think Hazelwood explored and balanced that really well.

ROMANCE

As I said, if you go into this book thinking this will be a pure romance, I think you’ll be disappointed. The romance is secondary to all the chess.

For example, Nolan and Mallory don’t have a real conversation until about 40% into the book. And their relationship only develops in the last third of the book, making it feel rushed.

This book is also marketed as rivals-to-lovers, but it definitely doesn’t feel that way. Sure, they’re a bit of rivals in the chess world, but their relationship throughout the book is pretty supportive.

Now, I did like that Nolan was so into Mallory. It’s so apparent to everyone but her. And she’s clearly into him as more than a hookup. They had a connection and chemistry, which I liked. I also appreciated that we have a virgin male character while our female character is the more experienced one, as it’s a nice change of pace.

I’m also so glad that this book is fade to black. Yes, there are plenty of references to sex, but I honestly was so happy I didn’t have to read a sex scene. I find most of Hazelwood’s sex scenes to be super cringe and the least sexy things ever (see here, here, and here for examples), so it actually helped not to have to read it play out on the page.

Despite some of my issues with the romance feeling rushed and taking a back seat to the chess, I still found this to be cute.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Check & Mate definitely surprised me, as I went in with relatively low expectations. You’ll know why if you’ve seen my reviews of The Love Hypothesis, Love on the Brain, or Love, Theoretically.

But despite some of its flaws, I found myself sort of liking it? Shocking, I know.

I think Hazelwood’s writing is suited for YA, and I wish she’d focus more on that than adult romances. I would definitely read another YA book by her.

Now you may be wondering – will you still read her adult romances given this? The answer is probably because I always hope one of them will work for me, as I feel like Hazelwood has a lot of potential with her premises, but the execution doesn’t work for me.

I still would love to see Hazelwood try something new, so I’m curious about her next adult book, Bride, since she’s venturing into vampires and werewolves with that. It could be really great or really terrible! Time will tell.

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taylor_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

ali hazlewood, you did it again! being an adult in my late twenties, i will say first and foremost that i was nervous to read YA. i don’t touch it anymore unless its a really beloved series. but this…i loved truly and dearly. i also found myself enjoying chess as the plot device, which i didn’t expect to happen.

the romance was freaking adorable and pure and i just wanted to squish their cheeks. nolan sawyer was the cutest little guy, and i enjoy when a guy is just head over heels and is super sure about it. i think the side characters were strong too, and i giggled way too many times at mallory’s little sisters.

it was a big heap of slow burn, and i still feel robbed of more time for mallory and nolan together. but it’s okay. the characters really truly likeable, despite the fact that i’ve seen so many people say they dislike mallory. but i relate to her something fierce. i was that 18 year old without stable parents trying to raise my brother and skipping college and getting dead end jobs. it brought me back to a place where i can say now that i’m proud of myself. and i’m proud of her too

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maddysbooks_'s review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0

god i love ali hazelwood. she does rom coms so right.
the banter is always so good, the relationships develop so organically, and there is always so much depth to each of her characters and their stories.
while i’ve loved each of her books before this one and will continue to reread them i was particularly excited for this one bc it was so different from her other stem focused novels.
i’m not a lover of ya very much these days but this one was done so well. i, of course, loved the characters, mallory especially. i loved nolan obviously, and i really enjoyed mal’s relationship with her sisters.
the only tiny thing i wanted more from this book was to see her family acknowledge and even apologize for the weight that was put on mallory to take care of everyone. i wanted to see her mom especially acknowledge that she shouldn’t have been that responsible for everyone at that young of an age.

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whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

So, I wasn't sure how I would feel about a YA romance, but it turns out I loved it. Ali Hazelwood has found a formula for an addictive novel, and it just keeps working for her.

I think that Ali writes really funny, affable characters and that is why I find her writing so compelling. Do I know exactly how it's going to end? Yes. Does every male character remind me of Adam Driver in a different font? Also yes. Do I care? Not at all. Ali's YA debut is proof that not every romance book needs spice. I was worried that as a woman in her 30s this would read super young for me, but it didn't. It was a super enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.

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nabaraditi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

I have never given a romance book more than 3 stars. Also this is my first Ali Hazelwood book and I'm impressed. I had a lot of fun reading about CHESS???? (how?) and the characters. Two reasons (I think) that pushed me to give 4 stars is:-

it wasn't romance heavy, it was Mallory (the character) heavy. I believe that love is a part of us and not the whole us. And this book is the same. It is about Mallory's life and her struggles, her sacrifices, her rigid thinking patterns, her passion and love for chess, her friendships, her caring nature towards her family. You get enough of it all in this book and so it was so easy to understand the main character. Also, she didn't seem superficial. She seemed real AF.
I am very much like Mallory. I have grown a lot but there are still some parts of the present me that resonate with the character.

Like I've already said that this isn't ONLY lovey-dovey book, we get family drama as well which I love. I like how Mallory describes the love interest. It seems a bit realistic to me, cause that's how I describe my boyfriend in my head. It isn't about the abs and cuts. But it's their work, their movement around whatever they're doing, in the book, its chess pieces.

The smutty scenes weren't too much for me So I love that!!.

SPOILER:-

As the book isn't romance heavy and mostly about chess and Mallory's life, we don't get to actually see how they or rather Mallory fall in love. The guy falls first, we clearly know that later. But all throughout the book as its not a double POV book, we have no clue whether they like each other, who is going to fall first. And even later, we don't feel as Mallory being into Nolan and that could be ehhhh for a lot of people. I, in fact, loved that because she's shown to be very resistent to love. So, it goes really well with the story and Mallory's character. As she has been so focused on chess and not on love, she may not even realise she has a thing for Nolan that she clearly admires. She's resisting it for as long as she can until she gives in to him cause it feels soo goddamn good and safe with him. So, I loved that part too.

I am not for rich guy romance stuff. But this is done really well in this book. There is no "i will kill you if you touch her" nonsense or throwing money to impress the girl crap or I'm rich I can get any girl crap. It's the opposite, actually. Nolan hasn't even kissed anyone cause he never felt like that towards anyone until Mallory. Isn't how sex or anything physical is supposed to be? Isn't it supposed to be intimate? IDK And I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THATTTTT.

Any of the romance novels I have read has a stereotypical virgin girl who fucks the main guy like a pornstar and the guy is the whore anyway!. But this book has a complete gender role reversal.

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