This is classic Ali Hazelwood, just in YA form. It has all the snark and quirky characters we’re used to, and as usual she does a great job making sure the subject matter doesn’t completely confuse the reader, even if they don’t understand it. This book is a little different in that it’s about chess, not biology or theoretical physics, but even though I don’t know anything about any of those fields (and I definitely don’t have the patience or thinking ahead required for chess lol), I wasn’t bothered or confused by my lack of knowledge. I loved Oz’s snarkiness, Defne’s coolness, and Nolan’s sweetness (and grumpiness), and even though Mallory was a hot mess, she was hilarious too. The book was wrapped up nicely, although I would have liked to see a little more of Nolan and Mal’s relationship after the Championship. This is definitely a great debut into YA for Ali Hazelwood!

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…)

Never in a million years did I think I would care about a book about chess yet here I am about to dazzle over this book. There are many a times were I feel like I have aged out of the YA genre but that wasn't the case here. I was so involved I read this in two sittings. Each character had such depth and I was rooting for them the whole time. This book isn't particularly spicy, but I'm so ok with that. If anything I think it portrayed young love in a very accurate way. It's a slow burn, enemies to lovers, he falls first romance which is just SOOOO my genre these days. i cannot recommend this book more highly!

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 11/3

Holy cannoli this was one of the most fun slow burns I’ve ever read. I loved the MMC, I loved the banter, the tension, the pining from him and obliviousness from her!!! I adore that it addresses the gender stereotypes in chess, and the research for it was so interesting, the way it was addressed didn’t feel forced or annoying like many of the stories that take on this subject feel. It was organic, and really fun to see Hazelwood look at it from Mal’s point of view. She is unsteady, she is untried, but she is so smart and it shows such an honesty with how many women feel entering those fields. Nolan was strong and frustratingly calm and I loved that he totally embodies the “strong silent type”. It was interesting to see an MMC who is comfortable with his lack of sexual experience, which isn’t typical in most social settings. I adored him, as I do with Hazelwood’s MMCs.

Now for the two things I had difficulties with:

I just really really wish this was marketed as NA or full adult, rather than YA. The characters aren’t YA (18— out of high school and 20) the content goes to the NA side more than to the YA side, it just doesn’t make sense to me that they went with a YA tag. I find it ironic that the FMC comments that her 12/13 year old sister probably needs content filters on her computer, but that’s exactly who is encompassed in the YA category.

Her best friend straight up gaslighting her when they finally talk again, and it is seemingly fine? I don’t know. She cuts her off over and over saying Mal phases her out before she can get hurt but… Mal was the one left on read when she would text. So while I love Easton, and I love that she comes at the right time to call Mal out on her other stuff, it didn’t sit right that she pretends their friendship falling off was all Mal’s fault. Nah. Not cool.

Overall, I liked it a lot. Give it a read if you love her other books!

Title: Check & Mate
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Pub Date: November 7, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do I know anything about chess? Absolutely not. Did I LOVE this book anyway? YES! Ali Hazelwood!!!! You’ve done it again! Check & Mate, a YA debut by author Ali Hazelwood is a must read! This may be my favorite book to date by Hazelwood.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. She credits chess for ruining her family years ago, and she has too much on her plate now to focus on anything else. With her father gone, Mallory is tasked with taking care of her ill mother and two younger sisters. While her best friend is heading off to college, Mallory is staying home to work and support her family. When her best friend convinces her to play in a charity chess tournament, she finds herself matched against Nolan Sawyer, the current world champion. After an unexpected win against Nolan, Mallory finds herself back in the chess spotlight, and is offered a fellowship to train and study chess. Despite her hesitation, Mallory reluctantly agrees to take the fellowship in order to earn money and support her family. With Mallory climbing the chess ranks, she struggles to keep her family safe from the game that wrecked them in the first place. On top of that, Mallory finds herself falling for the Bad Boy of chess.

I just adored this book! I loved the romance aspect, but I also loved how there were other themes in this book that focused on family and friendship, and how lives changes as we change. I loved how this book focused on the stereotypes of a female in a male dominated sport and felt like Hazelwood really nailed this aspect. I loved the authors note at the end which spoke to gender stereotypes and you could tell Hazelwood really did her research on this book. I also really enjoyed all of the pop culture references!

I will say, I do think this book is might be better categorized as a New Adult book as opposed to a YA book based on the content. It is definitely steamy and probably not for a 14 year old, in my opinion.

Check & Mate
♟️Rivals to Lovers
♟️Chess
♟️Pop Culture References
♟️Family and Friendship
♟️Snarky Banter

Rivals to lovers but he is in love with her the entire time. Which is my favorite romance trope. This was another great book done by Hazelwood. As it is YA there is no detail spiciness like her other books. But there is one scene that dabbles slightly in “spice” but in a YA way. I actually enjoyed this book more than others she has written because the “woe is me” narrative got annoying in her other books where as here it is sort of expected or can be because they’re teenagers. Loved it !

Ali Hazelwood is an auto-buy author for me who has proven she can write in any genre. Check & Mate is her first YA romance, and it is an absolute delight!

Mallory has such a relatable story. Ok, maybe not the brilliance at chess, but her relationship with her mother and sisters, her determination to put her own life on hold and her own needs aside to take care of them, and her feeling like she has to do it all herself is so realistically portrayed. This is a young woman who clearly has a strong sense of responsibility towards her family, yet she also has a lot of guilt. It’s easy to see why she felt she had to put her own dreams aside. I would have done the same for my mother and sisters.

And the humor in the story is so good! Almost every scene with Mallory and her sisters is comical, but one scene in particular when Nolan comes to the house for the first time, is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I just love Mallory’s sisters! They are definitely good for a laugh and for embarrassing their older sister.

The story also delves into some interesting dynamics within the chess community and the gender stereotypes often associated with the sport. Mallory experiences her fair share of sexism, and it’s clear that this is a male-dominated environment. I like how she and others break those stereotypes and turn the chess world on its head a bit.

Then there’s the romance between Mallory and Nolan. (Excuse me while I sigh deeply in happy, heart-squeezing contemplation.) They’re lovely. Competitors, this pair is so well matched in chess and in life. I love how they complement each other, and their chemistry is like the perfect checkmate! (Is that such a thing? I’m not sure, but if it is, Mallory and Nolan exemplify it! Lol).

Overall. I thought this was a fabulous read and one I’d definitely recommend to YA or NA contemporary romance readers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporay romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I think this is my new favorite book by Ali Hazelwood!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
The Queens Gambit/ chess vibes
He falls first
Coming of age story
Rivalry romance trope
Powerful and smart women
Great side characters
Family drama

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The cover
the romance!
LGBTQIA+ rep

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
There were a little too many pop culture references IMO
The sisters annoyed me at times

Ali Hazelwood has me wanting to play chess?
And I HATE chess.

Every time I pick up one of Ali Hazelwood’s books I am taken aback by what an incredible writer she is. People make fun of her books so often, talk down on them for their tropes and cliches, but it is undeniable—on a craft standpoint? She has talent and skill in heaps. The narration and prose, the plot beats and pacing, the characters and development. All of it is so much stronger than the majority of the books that are out there.
AND her books are so much fun. I’m kicking my feet with giddiness the entire freaking time I read her books, and Check & Mate was no exception.
I absolutely adored Mal. She’s a sympathetic, imperfect character with a strong voice who is easy to root for and even easier to love. Nolan, similarly, is a well developed love interest that I couldn’t help myself but to fall for right alongside Mal. Historically, I’ve found the weakest link of Ali Hazelwood’s books to be the characterization and depth of her love interests, but Love, Theoretically and now Check & Mate have really proved that to no longer be the case!
This book is an absolute ride that had me giddy, giggling, and having so much fun while still having deeper moments and discussions that resonated with me.
I look forward to Ali Hazelwood’s upcoming releases, but I hope she returns to this slightly younger audience at some point. However, I do think that this book would be better classified as New Adult as opposed to Young Adult. Mallory is 18, but she is out of high school, and Nolan is 20. These character ages, and some of the themes discussed, were definitely more NA than YA. This book has multi-age range appeal, and while there is no content that is inappropriate for upper YA audiences (there is steam and discussions of sex, but nothing spicy or especially “explicit” is shown on page and any sex scenes are fade to black), I believe that it better fits the conventions of NA, as the characters are out of high school and are exploring life after high school.

Am I entering my chess era now?? I absolutely ate this book up! This book is very chess-heavy, even more so than how science-heavy her previous releases are, and as someone who knows absolutely nothing about chess, I found the story easy to follow. I loved the romance plotline. Nolan was EVERYTHING—which I would expect nothing less from Ali—she writes the best love interests! This book had great found-family, was super witty, and laugh-out-loud funny.

I will say I definitely thought that this book leaned more toward being new adult, rather than young adult. There was quite a bit of profanity/mature topics covered, so I don’t know if I would personally recommend it for readers under 16.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc of this book in return for an honest review.

Ali Hazelwood has done it again! This book was so fun! I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy reading a YA Ali Hazelwood book because she is so good at writing spice, but I loved this!

Check & Mate follows Mallory as she makes her way back into the world of chess after taking a few years off. Going back to chess brings her to Nolan, who happens to be the current #1 chess player in the world. Of course, sparks are going to fly between these two.

This book did take me a little while longer to get into then Ali Hazelwood's other books, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. One of the things that I really liked about this book was how relatable Mal was. I specifically connected with her dealing with her friend going away to college while she stayed home.

Even though this book was primarily a closed door romance, the way that Hazelwood writes the chemistry and tension between Mal and Nolan is fantastic. It felt steamy even though there really wasn't any steam. Both characters had a lot of family bagage and I really enjoyed seeing them work through it. There were a few times in the story where I really wanted to give Mal a good shake, but overall I loved her.

Love a good YA romance or an Ali Hazelwood book, then this is for you!

This was a terrific story and I devoured it in less than a day. It is less a romance and more a coming of age for Mallory, with some romantic elements. But I did not care. Even if Mallory was blind to Nolan’s interest, romance readers will not be and it is easy to ‘ship them!

Mallory is a bit of a tough nut to crack. She has a sad past and carries a lot of blame and responsibility, which color a lot of her actions in the book. But you cannot help but root for her as the underdog - based on both her age and sex - and hope she kicks some chess booty!

Nolan is her stoic chess opponent and the best in the world. It feels like the only person he wants to win against (with!) is her. he gos out of his way to show interest, but Mallory is a bit obtuse about it all.

I know nothing about chess, although I watch the Queen’s Gambit, and I really enjoyed all the strategy talk that I barely understood. What I really loved was that Nolan’s admiration for Mallory never faltered, no matter what happened. And that Mallory did indeed grow up and give up her need to take care of everyone in her family. And pushing everyone else away, before they can leave her first.

Check & Mate is my new favorite from Ali Hazelwood! I loved so much about this, from the complex family dynamics and Queen's-Gambit-esque action sequences to the adorable enemies to lovers storyline and compelling character development throughout the plot. I'm not sure I would call this YA, however—it's definitely more of a New Adult romance.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have been huge Ali Hazelwood fan and this move to YA didn't disappoint. The queen of STEM reads takes us into the world of chess. Queens Gambit vibes with her trademark (albeit YA appropriate) steam. Thank you to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the advanced reader copy.

A. MASTERPIECE. OH. MY. GOD. This book is proof that Ali Hazelwood NEVER misses. I thoroughly enjoy her adult STEM romances and so I was stoked to have an opportunity to receive an ARC from the publisher to read and review. This has been on my anticipated reads list, and it did not disappoint. The book was more so on the upper YA to New Adult side and I LOVED IT. Especially me being 25, I still love reading YA romances and even high school age, but it's refreshing to see more YA in the 18-21 ish age range that is closer to my age. So they are in a way a little bit more relatable.

THINGS I LOVED:
- Rivals to friends to lovers trope was fantastically done. The character chemistry and tension can be felt so much as if it was coming off the page. I was giggling, screaming, and blushing the entire time.
- Chess mechanics were explained well and was not overly/under descriptive. It was perfect. I watched the Queen's Gambit so I have some understanding of the sport/tournaments so it was nice to connect that
- The BTS references were PERFECT LOL. As an Army/BTS fan, I love the little nods Ali made in reference to them throughout the book
- Pacing was EXCELLENT. I was kept on my toes and there was never a dull moment in the story line
- THE DIALOGUE and character chemistry was AMAZING. The family dynamics with Mallory's sisters were so fun to read. Even the sharp and quick witted responses of Nolan had me giggling and kicking my feet

All in all, this book is fantastic for Ali Hazelwood fans and lovers of the YA contemporary genre. This was so so enjoyable and it covers some themes of loss, grief, and eldest daughter syndrome that makes it relatable to real life experiences that readers might have faced.

I loved this book so much!! One of my favorite YA's ever! Ali's writing is always so witty, and fun while still having characters that you love and want to see succeed and get their happy ending. Check & Mate is no different!!

First - Mal. One of the best YA MC's I've ever read about. Sometimes YA MC's can just be immature, or annoying, or hard to connect with but Mal was flawed while still being loveable, messy, while still having character growth, and just the best lead for this story. The balance of her and her family, her and Easton, her and Nolan was perfect. I also loved the queer representation and the contrast of her being really comfortable and confident with sex to Nolan who was inexperienced and had a different POV than Mal when it came to intimacy.

I also loved how well Ali protray's the experience of a woman in a male dominated sport/field. She does this so well in her adult STEMINIST books and did it so well here too.

5/5 stars easy, I can wait to reread this once it's out in print. Mal and Nolan are one of my favorite couples.

Ali Hazelwood YA is 👩‍🍳👌💋 SO GOOD!!

Mallory Greenleaf stopped playing chess years ago, even though she was brilliant at it. When her friend convinces her to go to a charity chess tournament and she ends up beating the current world champion, Nolan Sawyer, she still tries to deny that chess is of any interest to her. Until, that is, she realizes that winning tournaments means cash prizes and a better way for her to support her mom and two younger sisters. It doesn't take long for her to fall back in love with chess or to see that there is something there between her and her (supportive, kind, caring, gorgeous) rival!

What I loved (besides everything):
♟️The chess! I don't even know how to play chess, so I actually didn't expect to be so fascinated with the chess world and  dynamics. Is there really a chess world like this?! Does Good Morning America interview chess champions and I dont know about it because my only source for "news" is bookstagram? Maybe I want to watch chess??? (No, lol, I do not, but I do want to read about chess players falling in love thankyousomuch)

♟️ *Very* chess-focused. I think that despite the cover/title AND synopsis (😅) I expected it to take a backseat to the young adult romance. In many ways it felt like a sports romance about rivals, but instead of balls, bats, and muscles, we had a board game--and that is so much hotter for me 🤓

♟️Family and friend conflicts that didn't hurt my heart (too much) and they turn out to be great areas for growth for our heroine! Any doubts I had in these areas, I came around to in the end!

♟️Rivals to lovers done so well. The way this boy wants to play chess with this girl 🥰🥰🥰 It's really flipping sweet!!

♟️Nolan Sawyer is every single thing you want in a YA/NA book boyfriend and I am an old woman with a million children, but I do also very much love him, and I will highly recommend this book to my daughter when she reaches the right age for it! 💕 Yeah... just... such swoon!!

♟️Really great side character moments, friendships, and younger sister dynamics. I want more stories for some of these side characters!! Just didn't want this book to end.

♟️This book left me wanting more, but in the good way! I'll definitely read it again!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Putnam

This book was a knockout from Ali Hazelwood. She definitely did an amazing job for her first YA release. I had the pleasure of going to a book event where she mentioned information about this book, and she talked about how much she loves the world of professional Chess, and I can really tell she put in a bunch of well done research in Chess to make this book. I really liked the feminism storyline in this one, and while this story has a cute romance, I did really like the competitive Chess storyline in this book that matched that coming of age YA plotline.

If you enjoyed watching Queen's Gambit on Netflix you'll love this book. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters. It's interesting that they have similar backgrounds when it comes to chess. I really liked how the author wrote this ya romcom and definitely would love to read more. I love how she talked about how few women are in chess due to the sexism from male players and how she used real studies to note that. Great book.

This book consumed my life for a day, I could not put it down and such a quick one day read! I loved the romance and the plot. The hate to love between Mallory and Nolan was well done, even if it was more a one sided/misunderstood hate in the beginning. Their relationship and scenes had me giggling and kicking my feet from the tension and chemistry. Like they are so cute once they’re together, and even before then. I also really enjoyed Mallory’s growth and development in this book. She’s not the most likeable at times but to watch her fall back in love with chess and the personal and emotional growth with it was good.

Overall, this was a great cute ya romcom and I recommend you read it when it’s released!

Read if you like…
•ya romcom
•hate to love
•the queen’s gambit
•slow burn
•he’s sick and she takes care of him scene

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

Ali Hazelwood's previous books have been hit and miss with me. I have liked some and not cared as much for others. But I thought Check & Mate, her first YA book, was cute!

The story is about a girl named Mallory who is a chess prodigy but stopped playing due to family struggles. When she gets pulled back into the game, she meets her greatest competitor in World Champion Nolan Sawyer...the mysterious boy who may also be the love of her life.

I know nothing about chess! Except that I watched the Queen's Gambit and loved it. I enjoyed the chess in this story and enjoyed learning more about the game-- especially the perspective of the life of a professional chess player. I liked Nolan and for the most part I liked Mallory, although she did annoy me a few times. Together they were cute, and I enjoyed reading their story.

I was a little disappointed at the end because it ended too soon. I wanted to see how the final scene played out but instead it jumps to an epilogue. I felt like there was a lot of build up to the ending, and then it just ended without really showing what happened.

For the most part I enjoyed this one. A quick and easy read!