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A**K
Light romance that makes chess seem cool
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood is her first foray into Young Adult, but this ticks as many boxes for me as her Adult STEM romance novels. This is 5⭐️ from me.Mallory used to be very good at chess, but she doesn't play any more. Not until her best friend convinces her to round out her team at a local charity competition, and Mallory ends up playing (and beating) the World No. 1, Nolan "Kingkiller" Sawyer, who is known for his temper and his sex appeal. Mallory is too busy looking after her family to be drawn back into the world of chess, but when she loses her job, a lucrative chess fellowship suddenly becomes a lifeline. And the world of professional chess is a lot, just like Nolan Sawyer...Now, I’m not really into chess. I know the main mechanics, but I would get stuck on how to castle for example. But I really enjoyed the recent Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit which followed a female chess player in the 60’s. And honestly this gave me such similar vibes to that, minus the drug use and with a more modern setting and better love interest.On that note, Nolan, our male lead is just fantastic. He seems like the bad boy of chess to start with, but we later realise he's incredibly sweet and caring, and absolutely head over heels for Mallory. What I will note is that Hazelwood clearly has A Type: quiet, brooding, large, sexy guy with a bad boy reputation that seems grumpy, but when you get to know him is super sweet - and he's usually inexperienced with girls. This works for me, so I'm enjoying these a lot, but if this isn't your type, be warned that there's definitely a male lead mould in Hazelwood's books and this one is no different.It's also worth noting that it's super unrealistic that Mallory spent 4 formative years not plying chess, and then suddenly was good enough from sheer natural talent to enter pro chess the way she did. She would never get that look-in in real life, with no rating or anything. Sometimes, lack of realism really bothers me, but I was able to suspend my disbelief with this one - maybe because the lack of realism came from external sources rather than character's motivations? I'm not sure. But this didn't affect my enjoyment.The book was also kept light and YA by the fact Mallory didn't have to deal with much real overt sexism. Hazelwood does touch on what systematic system within the system was like for women taking part in competitive chess, but uses Mallory's unusual route into chess as a convenient way to avoid it. This could be considered a cop-out for sure, but it let the novel feel 'girl power' without getting heavy, which I think fitted well with other fantasy aspects.A big deal was made about the fact that this novel was YA, and not New Adult like Hazelwood's girls-in-STEM romances before now. But honestly? Other than the pop culture references from Mallory's best friend and younger sisters, and the side-stepping of the sexism issue, it doesn't feel like it's significantly more YA than Hazelwood's other books. Mallory has a lot of freedom (more than most 18 year olds at home, although she has a lot more responsibility too), and Nolan is emancipated, so they feel more like college setting than high school setting. It's right on the edge of YA and NA and I don't think the genre hyping made much of a difference if I'm honest. So if you've liked Hazelwood's other NA romances, don't be put off this one by a few Riverdale references.It's also worth noting that I've read a few accusations that Hazelwood based this story on real people in the chess world (who were not together). I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that - there's definitely something unethical about Real Person Fanfiction, but I don't know where this sits. It might be a useful warning for you.So, you've said a lot of negative stuff here about a book you've rated 5⭐️, you might say, and you'd be right. But I just really enjoyed this, and it's going to be living rent free in my head for a little while, so I just couldn't justify a lesser rating. For any of the very minor flaws noted above, they just didn't reduce my enjoyment of this. So I have to whole-heartedly recommend it. The pacing was good, there was just enough conflict to keep the story going without it being manufactured, the female lead's issues stemmed from genuine trauma, and their love of chess was really communicable. And the romance was so passionate. I loved it.This book is for you if you liked the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit or any of Ali Hazelwood’s other girls-in-STEM romances.
E**A
4.5 ⭐ who knew you could have that much tension over a chess board 👀
👻 standalone contemporary romance🍑 young adult with closed door spice👻 chess players🍑 rivals to teammates to lovers👻 bisexual FMC🍑 sexual tension & yearning👻 grief🍑 inexperienced MMCI’m not usually a fan of YA books (they’re usually too slow for me) but I adored this one.Ali always writes incredibly believable and devourable (is that a word?) romances, and the fact that this was her debut YA novel? Outstanding. Both Mallory and Nolan have so much depth and are characters you can easily fall in love with.The plot is easy to follow and just captivates you. Even if you’re not a fan of chess, you’ll find yourself understanding the rules and being so into the matches just because of how Ali writes.Also. The sexual tension. I was gagged, gasping, clutching my pearls. Only Ali could write that level of sexual tension across a chess board. The romance between the MCs and the build up to it was absolute perfection. Ali really is a legend.If you’ve read any of Hazelwood’s other books, you’ll love this one. In fact, if you love contemporary romance or even any of the above tropes, I highly highly recommend you pick up this one. You’ll have such a great time
J**T
Cute, and a quick read
Mallory, is doing her best to help her family get by. Her Father passed away recently and her Mother has an illness. So Mallory, chooses to give up going to university and gets a full rime job to pay the bills and look after her Mum and 2 younger sisters.Malory as a child, was trained by her Father in chess, and she was really good at it too that she participated in tournaments. But an incident with her Dad caused her to leave chess and cause her to try and push out her love for it.Until one day, her friend convinces her to participate in a small tournament, where she ends up beating the handsome number 1 chess player in the world and opening old wounds and throwing Mallory back into that world.The concept was quite enjoyable, even though I'm not a massive fan of chess.Personally, I felt Nolan's character was a bit flat and I would have liked more from him.I also found myself getting really frustrated with Mallory's family, I won't say why due to spoilers.Overall, a cute fun read, I just wish I enjoyed it more.
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