I love Ali Hazelwood, her books are just SO comforting to me. And I don't like YA contemporary romances. So when I saw she was coming out with a YA contemporary I was nervous but also excited. Because if it was typical Ali I was 99.9% sure I was going to love it. I’ve loved all her previous books.

Despite the fact it's marketed as YA (it definitely has the themes for it) I feel like it could also go really well under new adult/adult as it deals with themes adults face as well. It’s definitely one of those crossover appeal novels, and I think older teens will especially enjoy it as it deals with things like friendships changing, going to college, romance – what you get in YA, but in a setting with older characters 18+. In some ways I feel that it would pair well with Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

As with previous books, this one is full of pop culture references. Especially at the beginning, they did begin to taper off about halfway through the book, though there were still some later.

Much like her other books this one has goofy side characters, but also main characters who do a lot of bantering. Which is a thing in her books, and I love it. It’s one of my favorite things to read.

There were a few more emotional scenes in this book, and I thought that they were executed well.

I enjoyed the chess aspect of this book (I've never been particularly interested in chess) and it intrigued me!

This book still has a feminist slant as all her books do, and it deals with the issues within chess, so as with her other STEMinist books, this follows the same pattern. If that’s your thing, this will be an enjoyable book for you!

Overall, I feel like this was an absolutely adorable YA romcom. And it's perfect for people who don't like spicy books, there was no spice in this book at all. If you don’t like Ali, then this won’t be the book for you.

I'm sure there's a good target audience for this book, but that target is not me. Between barely explaining the dad's backstory and WAY too many liberties taken with regards to how professional chess works, I had to pause reading this book for a month and a half before being able to restart. Also there ain't no way every single of her love interests just happens to already be fully in love with the main character after one interaction, I need some fresh tropes.

Unfortunately this one missed rhe mark for me. I found that I didn't vibe with the main character Mallory and found her to be a bit selfish and mean at times. I was mildly interested in the outcome of the chess tournaments and what would happen with the romance but overall not a book that I enjoyed.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Holy COW I loved this. Finished it in a weekend, and wished it was longer! It felt very similar to Ms. Hazelwood's adult books, except for the explicit scenes (this was fade to black/closed door). I loved the romance (though I wish we saw more of it), and I LOVED the MC's family dynamic, and her sisters. I also found myself wishing I knew chess (new hobby?). Hands down one of my favorite YA contemporary romances! A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Ali Hazelwood‘s first foray into YA was absolutely fantastic. I love this book! There were so many good themes here for younger readers. Mallory and Nolan are rivals to lovers, prodigy chess players. They both have traumatic pasts that influence their love of the game. The romance part of this book was absolutely Ali Hazelwood with a bow on it. But what I really enjoyed was the family dynamic between Malory and her mother/ sisters. I also loved the sex and sexuality positivity which is so casually discussed in the book.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an e-ARC of this book!

Check & Mate is the YA debut of Ali Hazelwood, who is very popular in the adult romance world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite knowing nothing about chess. It is the story of Mallory, who returns to the world of chess after leaving in order to win money to support her family, and Nolan, the best player in the world. The story includes some depth as Mallory deals with guilt and grief after her father dies, as well as the pressure to take care of her family. The characters are older (18-20), so I'd almost categorize this as NA rather than YA, but it will be perfect for older teen readers who enjoy adult romance, Colleen Hoover, etc.

Seriously such a cute read! Not going to lie it was slow at time but the ending made up for it! I loved the build of the relationship and fell in love with the main characters

Ok as a former member of an elementary chess club, this book flippin’ slaps. Chess is cool as hell. Do I normally like YA romance? No. Did I read this one at an alarming speed as a 30-year old woman? Also yes. Do I now think I could kick ass at the Chess championships? Yes. Fun read and an interesting story! It felt different from Ali Hazelwood’s other books - a bit newer.

There were definitely some times where I realized the main character was young. A few cringe moments, where I was like “who speaks like that?”. But, at the same time, I am an elderly millenial, so….

Def a fun read!

- Way too many pop culture references

- Don’t start using GM without once saying what it stands for. Most of us know nothing about chess.

- I need the MMC to be in the story more/sooner. I’m already almost 30% in and he’s barely been in the book at all.

- “He’s going to chop me into pieces, smear me with balsamic vinegar, and relish ever bite.” - This is a really weird line. I get the intent but it was not well done.

- I’m not convinced this should be called YA. Maybe New Adult but even though it’s not super spicy it still feels older than YA. According to Google YA is 12-18, I would not give this to a 12 year old.

The above criticism aside I actually really loved this! It grew on me and sucked me in somewhere along the way. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC for my honest review. I’ve heard only good things about this author so I was excited to read this especially because I used to be obsessed with chess when I was a kid so I had a good connection to the story. The story was engaging and had me flying through the chapters until about 60% of the way through. Once it hit that it became hard to keep trudging through chapters. The beginning was good and I really liked the story until the major conflict between Nolan and Mallory. Even with the constant celebrity, tiktok and genz references. Which were a bit cringe to read. In my opinion though the over usage of that will definitely date this book and make it a hard read in the future. It’s not necessarily a bad book but, it uses WAY too many pop culture references that aren’t only cringy but take away from the story as well. I get it’s young adult but it’s almost as if the author felt like if she didn’t meet a certain pop culture reference quota it wasn’t young adult enough. A decent read though.


Now for the characters, her sister Sabrina, Easton. Absolutely insufferable. Everyone else I liked especially Oz, favorite character in the book. Mallory blowing up on her family was deserved and needed to happen. She said nothing wrong. And for Easton, worst best friend ever. She claims she felt Mallory was ditching her and didn’t even bother to tell her about Nolan but Easton did the same thing with her girlfriend? AND left Mallory on read? Yet Mallory’s getting ripped into about her insecurities and lack of trying when she literally did try reaching out. That irritated me to read so much. Nolan kinda felt flat as a character but still enjoyed the romance between the two.

Unfortunately though even though this book was a decent read it suffers from the constant pop culture references which will definitely date it in the future which is too bad because without it it’s easily a good story.

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book! 3.75 stars!
this book was fun! and i say that not knowing a damn thing about chess
18 year old Mallory Greenleaf has completely cut ties with chess after being in love with the game for years. Medical bills, mortgages, and two annoying little sisters are the only thing that matter to her. When the opportunity to make money off the game she hates presents itself she decides to keep chess just a game and keep Nolan Sawyer, chess' "Kingkiller" golden child, out of her head. But as she begins to win more tournaments, and her interest for the game, and it's infuriating world champion, are ignited she'll begin to question if quitting chess was the right move.

i devoured this book in a day, and i loved nolan. light and easy read but not without its faults. it was a little too modern/socially current? i did not like all the mentions of tiktok, meme/celebrity references, and just modern talk? i don't know, i read to escape real life and all that kind of stuff so i don't always like reading about it.
that being said, will i look past that and be reading more of ali hazelwood's books? probably

I wasn't sure if the magic of Ali Hazelwood would translate well to YA, but I never should have questioned her. My daughter and I both loved this book!

I have read most of Ali Hazel wood’s books. This was probably my second favorite book of hers. I wasn’t sure if this would be very similar to her previous books. But I liked that this was different from the other books.

I would say this was 4 - 4.5 stars for me. If I were young adults, it would be closer to 5 stars. I could have related to Mal more.

Wow. I haven’t read a book this good in a while. Although I loved some of Ali’s other books, this one takes the cake. Her dynamic characters instantly made me fall in love with them, what they stood for, and how they cared about the people around them. The struggles they felt with I could relate to, which only made me love them more. Of course my favorite part was the love story between Nolan and Mallory. It was sweet, heartbreaking, and all around beautiful. Mallory might not believe in fate, but I certainly do. They were clearly meant to be. I have always found chess intriguing, but reading how the characters feel and think about chess, made me curious to learn. I love how Ali writes the absolute understanding of chess within these characters. They may know chess better than they know themselves. It was really very beautiful. If you are wondering whether or not to read this, please do. It has chess, rivals to lovers, and women breaking through a male dominated field.

This would be a 5 star read for me if it wasn’t being marketed as a YA. The characters are out of high school, dealing with adult responsibilities, living on their own, and having sex on the page that is a little more graphic. I wish publishers would push the New adult or College romance level, we need it.

Other than that, I loved this book. Hazelwood brings her tried and true formula to the rom com and it works when the characters are younger too. I am a sucker for Hazelwood’s tall, dark, and broody hero and her oblivious floundering heroine, I will read this parking every time she wants to write it. This feels like a comfort read even from the first read through. Lots of chess jargon which I know nothing about, so I Won’t comment on that. It’s not a chess book, it’s a romance novel, and a quick and fun read.

I was very excited to tap into Ali Hazelwood’s first YA release, and while this book didn’t blow my mind, I still very much enjoyed it. The book follows Mallory Greenleaf as she finds herself back in the world of competitive chess after she beats the best-ranked player in the world. Mallory tries to hide her newfound chess career from her family while also reconciling with the fact that not only is she good at chess– she loves it. To make things even more complicated, the one player she’s supposed to hate actually might not be as bad as people make him out to be.
To be honest, my favorite part of this book wasn’t the book itself but what it has the potential to do for the world of YA romance. Both of the main characters are out of high school and entering adulthood, meaning the book could explore slightly more mature themes while being palatable to both older and younger audiences. I always get excited to read books about people in their late teens/early 20s because most (YA) romance books are about younger teens or people that are well into adulthood. Check & Mate was definitely cute! And it was nice to read something outside of Hazelwood’s typical STEM romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I’m really stuck on how to score this book. For a YA book it’s really good but compared Hazelwoods adult books I think it lacked a few things.

I appreciate that Mal is a complex character. I feel like a lot of YA novels tend to minimize the fact that teenagers do have complex lives and feelings but Hazelwood doesn’t do that in this book. Mal is dealing with a lot of things; a mother with a chronic Illness, supporting her family, infidelity and loss, and at the same time trying to navigate being an 18 yr old girl. Granted she’s also a chess champion but books are nothing if not a means for us to escape. I also appreciated her Frank discussions of sex. Let’s be clear, there is sex and sexuality in this book but not to the same level as Hazelwoods adult romances. if that is something that makes you uncomfortable or your YA reader is not ready for them skip this book.

So where is the book lacking? For me it just felt like it lacked the same depth that her adult romances have. Maybe that’s because this is a YA novel and by design but I just felt like there could have been more substance in the book. My other complaint is that it feels very familiar to her other books. Family drama, a MC with low self esteem/self view…It would be nice to see something a little fresher on her next book.

That aside, the book is a very quick read. Like her adult romances it is un-put-downable when you pick it up.

Sold 3.5 stars. Appeals to both your average YA reader as well as more mature fans of Hazelwoods work.

★★★
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I liked this, but it honestly had me bored at times (especially the beginning). I only know a little about chess but not enough to understand the parts where they actually play. I don’t like Mallory’s character, her character lowkey annoyed me at times. She bottles up her emotions, but when she finally snaps, she lashes out when she gets angry and says things that she regrets later on.

You can tell from the beginning that Nolan Sawyer is obsessed with her, he doesn’t even try to hide it. Mallory is just that oblivious- I love how he constantly chased her down because he wants to play chess with her again, fan behaviour ✨

I’m not sure how I feel after about the 80% mark though. They have the third act break up and don’t get back together until the last few percents of the book. The part where they got back together seemed a bit forced? and I felt that Mallory was being irrational when she got mad at Nolan for basically helping her… Personally, what would have made the book better for me was if this was duel pov. I would've loved to see his thought process about Mallory and how he felt about that chess match with her at their first meeting. For the first half of the book, we don't see a lot of Nolan, he was just mostly talked about but he wasn't present in the story.

♟️Thank you Penguin Random House for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review

I've posted my review of this title on my goodreads and tiktok on 03/07/23
goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5406232635
tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@linasimplyreads/video/7251679431570361605

I’ve been a fan of Ali Hazelwood since The Love Hypothesis and have loved all her books! Normally there are one or two small things I would prefer to be different, but I would not change a single thing about this book! Seriously, it’s perfection. I did not put it down and I already want to go back and reread it. The characters, backstories, plot, the romantic chemistry, the tiny nerd jokes - it was all perfection. There is closed-door romance (which is probably my preference), but it doesn’t take away from the romance. There is still palpable tension and the build-up is just lovely. You’ll have an enjoyable knight if you pick up this chess- themed YA romance when it comes out in November! 5⭐️, 1.5🌶

I've enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's other books and was curious as to how she would go about with a YA novel this time around and she did not disappoint. This time, her characters are aged down and still navigating life and moving into adulthood, and is far less explicit with the romantic scenes while still empowering the characters to be open about sex. While I didn't quite understand the pacing, the plot had a clear goal to move towards for the reader to look forward to.

My only complaint would be the depiction of the two main characters: Mallory was described as vile and unpleasant at one point, and I would have to agree that she is not fun to be around. But, she is a teenager and having a perfect character to follow around isn't fun either, so perhaps her poor personality is a character strength. She never actually grows out of it, but does at least recognize that she is the problem in this book. Her love interest, Nolan, on the other hand, is quite flat and it is obvious that his obsession with Mallory at the beginning turns into "love." His only negative trait in order to make him not perfect is that he is a poor loser and has violent outbursts when he loses (which, romanticizing man childs who can't control themselves gave me the ick) but that is solved bec he never loses, and only loses gracefully to Mallory. I did enjoy their sweet moments together but Nolan's sole purpose in this book was to be the love interest and show that Mallory is not like other girls.