Check & Mate Paperback – 7 Nov. 2023

"Eat that - or anything else - in my car, and I will chop your hands off and boil them in my urine.""I'm hungry.""Then starve."I bite the inside of my cheek. Honestly, I think I'm growing on him. "But this is my emotional support sandwich.""Then have a mental breakdown."There's just something about an Ali Hazelwood book that is comforting to me. You're always guaranteed a fun and heartwarming read with characters that you adore.This is easily one of the best YA romances I've read this year. Ali Hazelwood creates this world that holds your attention, and I flew through this book in a couple of hours.Mal and Nolan were both such intriguing characters, and I loved Mal's development in this book. Her side characters were just as strong, particularly Oz and I loved the storyline. I'm tempted to learn how to play chess just so I can understand what's happening in this book!Ali Hazelwood is an auto-buy author for me as this point.I received an advanced copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 stars.I think Ali Hazelwood is a brilliant writer. I love her characters, her plots. I love that she writes about really intelligent women and I’m convinced she is a gifted scientist and chess player.Nolan Sawyer is a pin-up in the world of chess. I just can’t stop picturing Jacob Elordi as Nolan. Oh boy, he is mighty fine. I keep imagining him picking up the chess pieces with his big hands and it makes me swoon. Don’t care that I’m old enough to be his mum.Mallory Greenleaf is a great character. You have to unravel her story but the timing is perfect. I loved her character journey.It’s a great read and perfect for younger romance readers as there is no on page sex.

And Ali Hazelwood does it again but w her first YA Romance. All her other books are (new) adult romances. Tbh, this would've SLAPPED as an adult romance; but this one was hella cute. We follow Mallory Greenleaf, an 18 year old girl who gave up chess completely at 14 (we found out why in the book), and who's giving up her hopes and dreams to care for her family. What happens when she enters a tournament to help a friend and you beat the #1 chess champion in the world; aka Nolan Sawyer (who also happens to be a sight for sore eyes)? Yep, people want you to start playing again. Girlie needs the money and being a pro in chess means making BANK. Mal really is a woman in a man's world, since the chess world is dominated by men and women usually play in their own league because of the misogyny. This book portrays that really well. I was disgusted with some of the comments of the insufferable Malte Koch. Good thing he's fictional ‘cause man I wanted to slap him. Anyway, back to the characters. I LOVE love love Ali's characters. They are always so likeable. And Nolan? This man was down BAD. He'd do anything for her. He'd move mountains, he'd set the world on fire 🥺🥰. Ali's book are so easy to read and will have you giggling throughout the entire book. Her side characters are also like SO SO good. Oz was the man. The epilogue was really disappointing though! It was such a bummer bc I really loved the rest of the book. I also would've loved to read a chapter from Nolan's POV cause i wanna know what's happening inside his brain haha, so Ali; hit us up w that bonus chapter. Nah fr, show this author some love. Her first monster romance is coming out next month btw. 👀

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.

If you want a romance that doesn't read like every other romance book... this is the one! Great story, unique premise, no notes.

I have seriously loved every single Ali Hazelwood book I’ve read! This was no exception. I loved the story, the characters, and their struggles throughout. The budding romance was so cute and fun! I was definitely laughing out loud many times during this book!Example: “I glare down at my ill-timed, uncooperative, treacherous body, and vow to never feed it leafy vegetables again in revenge. Take that, you little bitch.”This (about getting her period inconveniently) had me LAUGHING so hard because we have all been there! I just had so much fun reading about this character who was so funny and SO relatable! I also really enjoyed the passion for chess, having a passion for something competitive feels so good! Definitely recommend this funny, cute, and completely relatable story!!!

Adoro os livros da Ali, me diverti bastante lendo todos. O que me destacou nesse foi a mudança um pouco em relação aos personagens, achei que nos livros anteriores eles eram bem parecidos e a história similar, mas esse foi surpreendente. Recomendo

Es el 4to libro que leo de Ali Hazelwood y el segundo que leo en inglés, lo ame totalmente, es diferente a todo lo que nos tenía acostumbrados, aunque todos estamos de acuerdo que Hipótesis del amor y química del amor son muy parecidos, y lo refrescante que resultó Love, theoretically. Este libro se aleja de la academia para llevarnos a un amor más joven y si eso significa que no hay escenas explícitas, sin duda este es un libro que me imagino adaptado para una película PG13. Lo disfruté mucho.

Hier passt wirklich alles: der MC ist der absolut perfekte book boyfriend, die MC ist smart und cool und die Schwestern der MC einfach das beste am ganzen Buch.Der Humor ist so grandios, man muss an vielen Stellen laut lachen.Der romance plot ist so zuckersüß und zum Glück ist es ein closed doort Buch, im Gegensatz zu ihren NA Büchern.Absolute Empfehlung!Schade, dass es recht kurz ist.