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alligracereads's review
5.0
Ali came, she conquered, and I DEVOURED
I love them I love them I LOVE THEM
I love them I love them I LOVE THEM
ellemnope's review
5.0
This woman can write just about anything and grab my attention fully. Such a fun and cute read. I know very little about chess, don't really care to learn that much by way of actually playing it myself, and yet I was wholly absorbed by this plot. Shelved as YA, but reads as New Adult. Less "spicy" than her adult fiction, but with the same romantic style and a super slow burn. The ending wasn't quite as involved as I had hoped for, but still wrapped up nicely. Hazelwood is an autoread author for me for sure...which is saying a lot since romance is one of my least read genres.
katkakov24's review
funny
inspiring
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
louisereadsandreads's review
3.0
Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this advanced copy!
I like Ali Hazelwood's books but she has started to feel a bit formulaic in her hero/heroine types and while Check & Mate has a lot in common with these types, I appreciated that this YA novel didn't spend so much time telling us that the hero was "so huge" and the heroine was "so tiny compared to this big, strapping guy". The story was interesting and fun and while the end felt pretty predictable, I liked how the heroine got to that place and how the characters ended up together.
Hazelwood does what she does well and if you liked her other books, you'll like this other tale of smart people making silly choices until they make better choices and realize they are in love.
I like Ali Hazelwood's books but she has started to feel a bit formulaic in her hero/heroine types and while Check & Mate has a lot in common with these types, I appreciated that this YA novel didn't spend so much time telling us that the hero was "so huge" and the heroine was "so tiny compared to this big, strapping guy". The story was interesting and fun and while the end felt pretty predictable, I liked how the heroine got to that place and how the characters ended up together.
Hazelwood does what she does well and if you liked her other books, you'll like this other tale of smart people making silly choices until they make better choices and realize they are in love.
valkyriegirl's review
5.0
4.5 ⭐️ "I've got you... Nothing bad is going to happen. You can let yourself want this, because you already have it. You have me."
♟️I still know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about chess, but I loved this book. I can relate to Mallory so much and really sympathize with her, and Nolan is simply the cutest. The tension was immaculate, I would not, could not stop giggling and blushing.
♟️I still know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about chess, but I loved this book. I can relate to Mallory so much and really sympathize with her, and Nolan is simply the cutest. The tension was immaculate, I would not, could not stop giggling and blushing.
tbabecka10's review
4.0
guys i liked it a lot — it’s a really sweet ya romance and is about chess like i liked it! nolan is so cute and i love the little epilogue so adorable
izzy006's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0