Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Quote:
"He told me once that sometimes, with some people, it's not about winning or losing. That with some people, it's just about playing. Though for the longest time, I didn't really believe him."
Blurb: Mallory Greenleaf is done with Chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious 'Kingkiller' Nolan Sawyer : current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.
Nolan's loss to an unknown rookie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist...
As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely seperated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent... and infuriating...)
Book Tropes:
- Forced proximity
- Slow Burn romance
- Found family/friendship
- Sports romance (Chess Edition)
- Young-Adult
- Rivals to lovers
- Boy falls first
My Personal Views:
Ali Hazelwood is a well-known name in the book industry, especially in YA romance. However, Check & Mate is only the second book of hers that I’ve read. But will it be the last? Well, let’s find out.
Check & Mate tells the story of Mallory, a natural talent in the world of chess. Although she loved playing as a child, she quit the game because of something her father did. Nolan Sawyer, on the other hand, is the number-one chess player in the world, having played the game since he was a kid. Mallory’s journey back into chess begins when she ends up playing—and beating—Nolan in a match.
This young adult romance blends a lot of chess, a touch of romance, and some good monologues.
To say I was disappointed by this book would be an understatement. It had the potential to be better but ultimately didn’t deliver.
Mallory and Nolan lacked strong chemistry. I mean, they barely talk to each other until about 200 pages in! Mallory spends most of the book avoiding Nolan, which was funny at first but quickly became annoying..
It was especially odd that, despite not speaking for the first half of the book, the moment Mallory does talk to Nolan, her "atoms vibrate differently." Like, girl—hold your horses for a second.
A big chunk of the first half of the book revolves around Mallory’s repetitive refrain of "I don’t want to play chess." We get it—you hate chess. There’s no need to keep repeating the same thing again & again—God!
The pacing was another issue. The first half of the book dragged, only becoming somewhat engaging after the 200-page mark. However, even then, Hazelwood’s writing style didn’t resonate with me. I felt the same way when I read Bride (my first Hazelwood book). Her style just doesn’t seem to click for me.
Coming back to the book, Mallory and Easton’s friendship confused me in the beginning, but their reunion later in the story turned their relationship into one of my favorites.
On the flip side, I didn’t enjoy Mallory and Nolan’s relationship. Neither character left a strong impression on me. Mallory was just… Mallory, while Nolan lacked the depth and presence needed to stand out as a favorite.
Ratings: ⭐⭐/ 5
Until the next read,
Aditi.
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