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A review by clairebartholomew549
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
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!!!
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment