Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Check & Mate

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

14 reviews

sarahyjackson's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

Queen’s Gambit meets the CW and I adored it.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I loved The Love Hypothesis, since then every time Ali Hazelwood announces a new book, I instantly pre-order it and then just patiently wait. This book was disappointing.

This book follows Mallory Greenleaf, and she is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays. After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mum, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of Chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rookie shock everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the game and to Nolan.

I didn’t like a lot in this book. But I will say I liked Easton. She was the only one that saw through all the bullshit that Mallory was trying to pull. Nolan was adorable and I wished he had been in an adult novel rather than a YA book because I put money on it, that man would have a dirty mouth. It was an easy and quick read, and I didn’t really have to have a lot of thought into it.

I hate third-act breakup, it is completely not needed especially not in this book over something so stupid. Also, I hate the miscommunication, it drove me nuts. A big argument and kick off over something so small. As it has been said in multiple reviews, the amount of Gen Z/Pop references were driving me up the wall, I just wanted a story where they weren’t references so much random shit. Riverdale didn’t need to get mentioned so many times as it did. Mallory’s sisters drove me up the wall and wanted to smack them most of the book and then had to remember that they were children and not adults. I went into this book being caution because this is supposed to be a YA and not a new adult or smutty book and yet the amount of times Mallory talks about sex or hookups and how many times, she had sex. Not that I'm shaming her if it was a new adult book I would be congratulating her for it, but because it was a young adult book, I don’t think it was needed.

Hopefully Ali’s next book is better, I don’t know if I’ll read any other of her “young adult” novels but I will read her next new adult book.

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livruther's review

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emotional

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

i love ali hazelwood. so much. i have loved every one of her books, but i will say that her writing has definitely improved. i loved the characters, the story, and the vibe of this. i just wanted a teeny bit more out of the ending. this was still excellent though. i saw someone saying that this shouldn’t be shelved as YA, and i strongly, strongly disagree with that. this is a perfect upper-ya book.

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britwalsh16's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Ali Hazelwood has done it again, & though it isn’t my favorite book of hers. I absolutely could not put it down.
I loved Mallory and her struggle with dealing with her guilt & grief throughout the book, but who was she kidding when she said she wouldn’t get sucked back into the world she never stopped loving! Lol
And Nolan! Omg! I LOVE Nolan! He isn’t what you expect when you are told all the stories about him near the beginning. But the love at first sight that he got for Mal when he finally looked up from the chess board when she beat him, what girl wouldn’t want him to fall for them! He fell so hard, & he tried so hard to win Mal over! He is just the sweetest!!! I want a Nolan for myself!!! 🥰🥰🥰

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evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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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

4.5

Congrats on your YA debut, Ali Hazelwood!

Check & Mate is a perfect Young Adult debut by you, Ali! The idea of the story itself is fresh! And the themes... it is the first time for me reading a book about chess tournament. And I love the tropes in it! I love this perfect story so much!

For female lead... I think Mallory for me is a bit complicated as a person (but I don't hate her because I understand her struggles). And for our male lead... ugh! What can I say about Nolan Sawyer? I love him so much! He is so vulnerable and realistic when it comes to dicussion. I love him so much!!!

This book has a perfect story and perfect ending. I love how you put the ending on the epilogue, Ali! What a stunning Young Adult debut!

Check & Mate, solid 4.5⭐! Thank you for this wholesome touching story! You are really a romance powerhouse!

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dani_reis's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-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

4.0

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Penguin Teen and PRH Audio for the gifted ARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.

This is my new favorite Ali Hazelwood book! I’ve read all her other books, and The Love Hypothesis was my favorite until I read this amazing book.

It had everything I loved about her other books but in a totally new setting (outside the STEM world).

While I don’t really care about chess all that much, I found myself very interested in it within this book. The chess competitions were fascinating to me, and I never knew how much studying and training went into being a professional chess player.

The romance was so good in this story! Nolan is such a unique love interest, and I loved how confident he was and that he didn’t care about other people’s opinions.

Mallory was a good protagonist because she was interesting, selfless, and just an overall cool person.

Since I’m not a huge fan of spice, I liked that this book was geared more to young adults (although the characters are 18 and 20).

Mallory’s sisters were such a fun aspect of the story, and I loved all their text messages and banter. They really added a lot to the book.

I loved this book so much that I was alternating between the audio and physical copy depending on where I was because I just didn’t want to put it down.

I enjoyed reading both formats. If you’re interested in the audiobook, I definitely recommend it. Karissa Vacker was an excellent narrator and was able to differentiate the characters’ voices really well.

Overall, I would highly recommend it! If you’re someone who’s avoided her books in the past due to spice level, then this is definitely a good option for you.

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This book simultaneously wrecked me and was everything to me. Mallory is no stranger to being female in male-dominated spaces. Before she secretly re-entered the chess world after a four-year hiatus, she supported her family as a mechanic. But a surprise checkmate against the world’s top player upends her life in ways she never expected. A queer queen of hookups and avoider of emotional connection, Mallory may have finally found her perfect match—Nolan, the only person who sees chess the way she does: beautiful, artistic, all-consuming. The sexual tension between them is unrivaled, and each is healing from family trauma. This is a story of a gifted young woman who dares to follow her dream.

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