i’ve seen a lot of reviews saying that the modern day references are annoying and yes i do agree HOWEVER this was literally SO good that it doesn’t even effect (affect?) my rating. the second i picked this up, i could not stop reading it and basically read this in like 12ish hours? i will now proceed to go to sleep unhealthily attached to mallory and nolan as if they were real people and being heartbroken that they are not!

I loved this book!! I loved the story and how it was told. The characters and development! I finished this in one sitting because I was just so into it. I think Ali did a great job with her first YA novel and I loved the authors note at the end. Such queen’s gambit vibes. I felt like I was watching a movie in my mind while reading and I love that she made such a smart and strong FMC. Definitely recommend!!

Hazelwood has yet to disappointment me and "Check & Mate" may just be my favorite book of hers yet. This reads a bit more like new adult that YA and I've discovered I have a soft spot for new adult romances. Watching young love unfold is just the most precious experience.

Do not be intimidated by the chess chatter in this one. It's written so well, I never once got bored of the shop talk or competitions. If anything, I think it's these moments that make readers really embrace our main characters Mallory and Nolan.

"Check & Mate" gives readers the best of the best when it comes to tropes:
-- he falls first
-- opposite attract
-- rivals to friends to lovers

Im so use to Hazelwood’s writing in stem romance novels that I had to remind myself this is YA. young adults are finding themselves. They don’t know the right thing to do or say at times ( I’m looking at you Mal). I liked the emphases for women in chess, giving credit where credit is due. Besides that I wish the ending wasn’t short, it cuts into the epilogue so quickly I had to reread to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will always be a fan of Hazelwood’s writing. As well, if you liked the Queens Gambit you should give this book a try.

Ali Hazelwood does it again and makes me FALL for her lovable, relatable characters and their journeys through friendship, romance, and self-discovery.

Once upon a time, chess was all that Mallory could think about. She lived and breathed the game until a tragedy turned her world upside down. Now, she’s focused on her family and is determined to help out as much as she can. When an incredible opportunity crosses her path as a way to get back into chess, Mallory is hesitant but soon learns this is a risk worth taking.

I completely ADORE this book!! I loved how, in addition to the sweet romance, Hazelwood included a fun familial dynamic with Mallory and her sisters. I thought their interactions were absolutely hilarious, and each of their personalities made for a super cute element outside of the love story and added more depth to her character.

And the romance!! *swoons* The game of chess was the perfect backdrop for building up the tension and romance, and I was here for it! I really loved how this read exactly like Hazelwood’s previous adult romances with the only exception being that her characters were younger—but she still had her signature quirk, spice, and sweetness that I just love.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Check & Mate
5 ⭐️

This book gave me the delusion that I know chess! I was knocked back into reality when trying to set up a chess board for this photo and had to google what the heck these pieces were and where they went.

From page one of this book I was drawn in. Mallory is an 18 year old recent high school graduate who is struggling to make ends meet. She is the sole provider for her two sisters and sick mother. From a young age she loved chess, but when life and trauma happens things are put on the back burner. A favor for a friend winds up igniting that love for chess much to her dismay. And of course… there is a love interest 🥰 give me all the brilliant and sarcastic men!!

Ali Hazelwood is a powerhouse. Her writing is cultivating, hilarious, and inspiring for women everywhere. I was curious if I would like this book since I am such a huge fan of her STEMinist novels. I laughed and cheered for Mallory through this whole book, and I am immediately running to Netflix to rewatch the Queen’s Gambit 😅😂

Another Ali Hazelwood masterpiece! I was nervous for it to be a YA because it's new for her but WOW. She did amazing. Nolan has my entire heart, I love him so much! I also love any book with any found family aspects to it! My rating is actually 4.5 stars.

This was an adorable enemies-to-lovers romance that centered around chess. Mallory has reluctantly agreed to participate in a charity chess tournament. Nolan is the current World Champion. They both find themselves matched against the other in the first game of the tournament and Mallory surprisingly wins the game! She's so flustered by this, because Nolan rarely loses, that she immediately runs out of the tournament. After this, Mallory returns to swearing off chess, that is until she gets fired and decides to accept a fellowship to study and play chess for a year. Nolan and Mallory are continually drawn to each other, but they resist their connection for as long as possible. This was a sweet, romance, perfect for teen readers who want to read Ali Hazelwood's work but maybe aren't ready for her adult titles.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: November 7, 2023

Hazelwood’s foray into YA was cute enough — I waited to listen to an audiobook of this one and I’m glad I did and was able to zip through it. This still had the author’s signature storyline—huge, giant, massive specimen of a guy with some anger/angst issues falls first and is actually a softie, then we spend the rest of the time waiting for the girl to catch up. This was oddly more palatable as a YA romcom than it would be as an adult romance—plus chess!

I was.. thrown when i realized that this was a YA book. It made me wonder would i get the Ali Hazewood that I know and love? Or a dimmed down version of her?

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess, 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. Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to Nolan.
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, so does her relationship with Nolan. )

Ok so this read more as New adult to me than YA and Ali Hazelwood's smart characters and writing pulled this story through and I enjoyed it!

Thanks to netgalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Included as a top pick in weekly November New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

"Chess is the new sexy"

Nolan Sawyer is the bad boy of... chess?! This book was fricking adorable. Not only did it feature an intelligent young woman in STEM, it had so much depth but also lightness and humour. The writing was very mature for a YA novel and dealt with themes of loss and difficult family dynamics. At the heart of the book is 18-year old Mallory, an MC who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I could really relate to what she was going through. Nolan and Mallory's relationship was so pure and I loved the slow burn and rivals to lovers vibes. I also loved being immersed in Mallory and Sawyer's Grand Master world. A must read for fans of The Queen's Gambit.

IMHO, this is the best yet from Hazelwood. A solid 4.5 star read for me. Thanks Netgalley & Penguin for my earc.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eARC!
Another must read from Ali Hazelworth! If Ali Hazelwood wrote it theres a great chance that I’ll be reading it.
This is an overall cute story and knowing nothing about chess didnt keep me away. I liked the main character, Mallory, and found myself rooting for her throughout the story. She seems forced to grow up too quickly not going off to college to take care of her sick mom and two younger sisters- but then gets back into her first love of the game chess and kicks butt! This would be a cute series and I hope this isnt the last of Mallory Greenleaf!

With her YA debut Check & Mate, Ali Hazelwood has yet again confirmed her spot on my auto-buy author's list. I was a little nervous going in since I'm not much of a chess fan, but this book was everything I hoped it would be and more.

The main character Mallory stole my heart right away. Her dad died a few years ago and her mom has been very sick, which has left Mallory as the primary caretaker of her two younger sisters. She has sacrificed all of her own dreams to be there for her family and for reasons she refuses to talk about, she has also given up playing chess, even though she is a gifted player. Desperate for cash to pay her family's bills, Mallory grudgingly agrees to compete in a charity match in hopes of winning a cash prize. Little does she know, her life will never be the same, especially after she crushes Nolan Sawyer, the reigning world champion of chess, and catches his attention.

Mallory and Nolan were so great together, although sometimes so stubborn I wanted to knock their heads together, haha. I'm a big fan of the rivals to lovers trope so watching them move past that initial rivalry to explore their relationship further practically had me giddy. Their chemistry felt authentic and, as always, Hazelwood's banter is on point and had me laughing out loud throughout the book.

I also enjoyed the exploration of the chess community, which is rampant with sexism that has driven out most of the female players. I love a good underdog story & was rooting hard for Mallory to kick the butt of every sexist player she faced.

Aside from the budding romance, my favorite part of Check & Mate was the family aspect. There are just so many moving and relatable scenes between Mallory, her sisters and mom as they work through the complicated dynamics of their family.

Full of heart, humor, not to mention some top notch chess playing, Check & Mate is truly a delight!

Did I read this book in one day? Yes, yes I did.

I've read most of Ali's books thus far (aside from the Steminist novellas) and always have a good time, but this might be my new favorite. I'm so happy I gave her YA debut a chance! My partner is a huge chess fan, so it was really fun to read a romance set in the chess world and even though I don't know much about the sport itself, it was fun being in that world and seeing moves/players even I could recognize.

If you love Ali's other works you will love this one as well. It has all her favorite tropes (big broody guy/small, awkward girl) and the great banter/humor that's always present in her writing. That's not to say that this book was all cutesy and fun - there were actually some very heavy moments, especially pertaining to Mallory and her family. Mallory has essentially taken on the role of a second parent for her younger sisters and it has forced her to sacrifice so much, including going to college. We see a lot of growth from Mallory as she learns how to accept help and realize that she doesn't need to do it all.

Nolan was such a great MMC. He has so many swoony moments (ugh, the touch-take rule! Eating all of mom's meatloaf!) and I'm such a sucker for when he falls first. There are so many great characters in this book, but I have such a special appreciation for Oz, who was without a doubt my favorite character. He's such a hater that I couldn't help but love him (and see a bit of myself there, if we're being honest).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the review copy.

Well. I don’t know where to begin. Loved everything about this. Mallory begins to play chess again after trauma pushed her towards a hiatus. She ends up playing against the world no. 1 Nolan, and beats him. She quickly becomes a rising star in the professional chess world, continuing to cross paths with Nolan who is very intrigued by her.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did! Because if it being a young adult novel. I assumed it might be a bit bland compared to Ali Hazelwood’s other books, but it’s just as amazing. It’s the perfect YA read because it’s pitched so well - it’s not immature and naive, it’s still spicy but just the perfect amount for a younger reader. What a book. I’m so glad I ordered the @afterlightbooks special edition now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I need to preface this review by saying that I generally like Ali Hazelwood's work. I own all of her books (including this one), after all, so I must enjoy it a little, right? But this book... was not my favorite. It's definitely an older young adult book, veering on new adult. Closing the doors on the actual sex acts and adding in some references to TikTok and fart jokes does not a young adult book make. It felt like the dialogue seemed at times to be trying too hard to be relatable to The Youths?

Now, one thing that Ali Hazelwood does and does well is romance. And the romance in this one, while utterly unrealistic (who comes to romance for realism? Not me. Ew.), was definitely swoonworthy. The only problem is that it took so long to get to it, and I had to get through everything else first.

I'm absolutely not trying to yuck anyone's yum, and I can definitely see the appeal here, but this one just wasn't for me. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating: 5 stars

This was so cute! Love love loved this little YA cutie from Ali Hazelwood. I hope she continues to write more YA in the future. This book about chess made my little chess heart burst at the seams.

Mallory and Nolan were so cute and I think this is why I just love reading to YA books because the butterflies are everything!!

Nolan, a child chess prodigy, is beat at chess by no-name, no-rank, random girl, Mallory in a charity chess match. Turns out, Mallory has a past that includes chess and her dad. She quit playing chess and never wanted to play chess again until this charity match and until she met Nolan.
Nolan, a quiet gentle guy, who just absolutely falls for Mallory. He is just the sweetest. <333

-enemies to lovers
-grumpy/sunshine
-strong family dynamic
-he falls first
-chess, of course

Highly recommend if you want a YA version of the Queen's Gambit!
I just loved this little story soooooooo much!

Only Ali Hazelwood can write a book about chess, have me be interested enough to read it AND make the book so dang good!

After she thinks chess has led to life-ruining events, Mallory swears she's done playing the sport. When her best friend asks her to play in a small charity tournament, she says yes, and ends up winning against the reigning World Chess Champion, Nolan. Mallory is then approached to reenter the world of chess, while making enough money to help with her mom's rheumatoid arthritis medications and doctor's appointments. When she vows to keep her love for chess at bay and only play to make money, she quickly learns that being around Nolan and the game makes that hard to do.


This was a super cute, ya read. It's definitely different from other Ali novels, but I enjoyed the novelty of that.
Mallory was a FMC that I found myself loving and hating. She took on more responsibility than was asked of her, then used it an as excuse for her abrasiveness.
I adored her growth throughout the book, though.
I could feel the chemistry between Mallory and Nolan and could feel their spice, even with it not written on the page!
Adding to the story were all of the side characters who truly brought it to life. I found my laughing a ton throughout the book!
This is a perfect ya contemporary romance!

Thank you to #netgalley, Penguin Group, Penguin Young Readers Group, and G.P Putnam's Son Books for Young Readers for an eARC of this book! All opinions are my own!

This was a refreshing and lighthearted YA read. I enjoyed the characters and plot. Chess is not something I ever saw myself reading about, but I absolutely devoured this book. The only thing holding me back from a five-star rating is that a dual POV would have made this book substantially better, and the ending felt quite rushed. I would have loved to see the chess competition come full circle, but the book did wrap up with romance. I just can't with this book. It was too adorable for words and I gobbled it up.