The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
aysha_blake's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Sexual content, Cursing, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Alcoholism
Minor: Classism
nasuha's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Grief, Misogyny, Car accident, Dementia, and Sexism
samchase112's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
eya_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
anyway I devoured this book. it felt like it was no longer than 100 pages? ali hazelwood continues to be the only author who can pull me out of a reading slump every singl time (even when it's YA??? which I haven't been able to enjoy in ages).
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
josoko's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
nabaraditi's review against another edition
- 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
- 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.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness and Infidelity
Minor: Car accident and Alcoholism
miiino's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I think a lot of adult fiction writers think that if you make your characters teenagers (which the love interest is not a teenager, but I digress), that means it's young adult. This book very much just feels like Hazelwood's other books, but the characters just happen to be younger and the sex scenes are just fade to black. In a way, the tone reminded me of Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzalez, which would have worked much better as an adult romance.Â
Mallory is said to be 18, but in my opinion, she reads older than that for most of the book. The entire vibe of the book feels like more college, new adult to me, which fine! But indicative of the current problem in YA which is: characters being aged up. When YA was just starting to gain traction with publishers, the average age of protagonists was probably 14-16, and you'd get the occasional older protagonist. Now, there is a lot more YA about graduating, going to college, etc. Is there room for that in YA? Absolutely. These are still problems relevant to teenagers. But to make the majority of YA set in this age group erases the group that it was originally written for.
Anyway, this isn't to say Hazelwood is a bad writer. This book is fun, it fits the tone of the other romances she's written, even if you can look past the fact that most of her love interests are Adam Driver inspired. It's just rare skill for writers to be able to flex between audiences, and I don't think that's her strong suit. Mostly because it feels like she thinks hitting the teenage voice just means throwing in a bunch of pop culture references.Â
This is a fun, chess inspired story that I wish would have been just published as new adult instead. Chances are if you enjoyed Hazelwood's other books, you'll probably enjoy this one. Unless you're reading them for the spice.
Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Cursing
aileron's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Car accident and Alcoholism
ktdakotareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Chronic illness, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship