Scan barcode
janaya's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
easefcik'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
This was enjoyable although it drove me nuts that one of her younger sister was such spoiled brat for much of the book. The martyr thing she had going was understandable yet frustrating. I also felt like the attempt to have the main character be this sexually empowered character, was spoiled by the fact that it seemed like all the meaningless sex for pleasure was an unhealthy coping mechanism and the unhealthy/potentially unsafe part of meeting strangers was never addressed. But it was fun nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Dementia
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
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
readwithria's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-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
4.5
Check & Mate stole my heart! Mal and Nolan are so cute, and I loved the chess so much. This book made me want to go rewatch The Queen’s Gambit, and to get into chess, and to reread all my favorite Ali Hazelwood books.
I will say this didn’t feel very YA to me, except for when it did. At times it felt like a closed door adult romance, and at others it was very obvious that Mallory was a teenager (/derogotory, it was very well written shitty teenager behavior 🤣). I think age groups for books can be a bit subjective, but sometimes I forgot Mal wasn’t in her mid 20s.
Ali Hazelwood always hits, and this was close to a home run. 4.5 stars.
I will say this didn’t feel very YA to me, except for when it did. At times it felt like a closed door adult romance, and at others it was very obvious that Mallory was a teenager (/derogotory, it was very well written shitty teenager behavior 🤣). I think age groups for books can be a bit subjective, but sometimes I forgot Mal wasn’t in her mid 20s.
Ali Hazelwood always hits, and this was close to a home run. 4.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
readingtheskyline's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-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
4.0
I really liked this book. It's very rare in media where you see male characters who love their partners to death yet still are stoic. The main thing I didn't like was the whole point of Mallory’s character development, It took her so long to realize why she was so uptight regarding chess and emotional vulnerability. Though, that talk with Oz at the end, was so cathartic, finally getting to see that characters in the universe also thought she was being silly was awesome.
I liked Nolan, he was such a character! He was the dark and mysterious type that I think many women find appealing because he has that mystique without being a total dick.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and this author's writing style and ability to make all the characters in her books seem to have so much personality, even side characters.
I liked Nolan, he was such a character! He was the dark and mysterious type that I think many women find appealing because he has that mystique without being a total dick.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and this author's writing style and ability to make all the characters in her books seem to have so much personality, even side characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
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
daisyfont's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, and Alcohol
onewhogivesthevictory's review against another edition
I want to read a lighthearted cute novel, I liked the main character but opted out due to there being mentions of sex which quickly made me lose interest.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
cayleybp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent