{Review} Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Item: Check & Mate
Author: Michelle @ Book Briefs

January 4, 2024 Michelle @ Book Briefs Reviews, Young Adult 0

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Pages: 352
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on November 7, 2023

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life's moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.
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 rook-ie 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 separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so 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...)

Check & Mate is Ali Hazelwood’s young adult contemporary romance debut, and I loved it so much! I am such a huge fan of Ali’s books. They have never let me down, and all of them leave me feeling giddy and loved and just plain happy. Check & Mate is a chess romance book, and it delighted the nerd in me, and made me want to play a lot more chess!

In Check & Mate we meet our two main characters, Mallory and Nolan. Nolan is a chess prodigy and is one of the top ranked players in the world. He is chess world famous…and super cute! Mallory is the daughter of a chess legend, and had a very bright chess future when she was a little girl, but has since completely sworn off everything to do with the game.

When Mallory finds herself playing in a charity competition she does the unthinkable and goes from a virtual nobody to the girl who beat the current world champion. I loved that after that tournament Nolan becomes head over heels interested in her. This is def a book of the guy pursuing the girl. I loved every second of their back and forth. This book was so much fun. Even as I sit here and write this review, what I really want to do is pull this book back out and re-read it. Ali’s books have this special hold over me. They make me fall head over heels in love, and Check & Mate is no exception. I loved this book!