I'd like to thank Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for Providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am now on the Ali Hazelwood bandwagon!!! I am now a fan and sign me up for all that she writes!! Loved this book!!

Okay, I normally don’t round up a 4.5⭐️ to 5, but this was so so close. I absolutely adored this book! I was genuinely captivated the entire time. I know absolutely nothing about chess and have never played before in my life, and the way it was explained in this book never made me feel like it was over my head or too confusing. Ugh and the main characters. I won’t lie and say that Mallory didn’t drive me insane at times, but I understood that past trauma was where a lot of her actions were coming from, but Nolan…wow! That man could do no wrong in my eyes. I want to just give him a hug, and then climb him like a tree. Can I also mention how I loved that this was YA, but they weren’t in high school? Genuinely refreshing and sweet read that I highly recommend!

Thank you to Ali, Penguin and NetGalley for selecting me for an ARC of this adorable book!

When I requested this book I just saw Ali's name and not that it was YA so I wasn't prepared for the YA aspect, but it was so good and a quick and easy read regardless!

Ali Hazelwood is such a success in adult romance and I fully think it translated into her debut YA novel!

I loved that the chess component was such a large part of the story line and an integral part of the romance progressing. I think that the complexity of the characters really helped you fall for them and root for them even when they were making some questionable decisions.

I would fully recommend this book to readers who enjoy YA romance (but a bit older YA as there are some lil spicier moments) OR readers who watched and were obsessed with The Queens Gambit.

Ali is my favorite author. I own every single book she’s ever published (including this one).

So of course I screamed and cried when I got approved for this eARC. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever get to ARC read something by her.

I cherish every single one of her books. I’m not just talking about one copy either. I own the regular AND special editions. And I’ll continue to buy anything else she publishes. She’s an automatic buy author for me.

You’re probably wondering why I included all that. I did it because I know that my review might be biased because of how much I love her.

She can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes with her books. I love her writing style. So easy to read and follow along. And the characters are so good at making you fall in love with them.

I absolutely loved this book. I can’t wait to keep reading her books. She’s amazing, and so are her books!

Read this!

I LOVED THIS BOOK. 5 stars. The vibes were great and this is a perfect example of how you don’t need spice to have a cute wholesome romance. I loved everything about this book. I felt like I was learning more about chess. It was fun. It was easy. It was light. 10/10 recommend.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood was adorable and funny and I couldn't put it down. This was such a delightful read with characters I was really cheering for the whole time. I loved the world of chess that Hazelwood captured. I think this is a fantastic read for older teens and anyone older. I really hope Hazelwood writes more YA!

Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc. All opinions are my own.

I truly love an Ali Hazelwood book but a YA romance felt slightly forced from her. And not because it’s closed-door as some people have stated as their reason for not liking it, rather I find there were too many chronically online Gen Z references to keep up with. Maybe it works for the intended audience, but I much prefer her adult romances! Still funny and enjoyable but not my favourite.

Ali Hazelwood is an icon.

It was super cute reading her YA debut. As someone who knows nothing about chess it made me want to learn immediately. I felt close to the main character in how she tries to take care of her family.
I also loved the mention of just her trying to figure out herself but not pushing her sexuality. It was a nice touch to mention it.

I liked this but didn’t love it. Maybe that’s telling me YA isn’t my thing anymore.

3.5

The story revolves around Mallory, a complex character who works at an auto-repair shop and struggles with emotional intimacy due to past experiences, including her abandonment of chess, a once-passionate pursuit. Her love interest, Nolan Sawyer, the world's top chess player, becomes infatuated with her after she beats him in a game. Despite the initial intrigue, the relationship lacks depth and development beyond their shared interest in chess. While Sawyer's attraction to Mallory is initially based on her chess prowess, the reasons for his deeper feelings are not adequately explored. Additionally, Mallory's familial and social relationships are depicted as negative and unsupportive, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story. Overall, while the book is entertaining and well-written, it falls short in developing the romantic relationship and addressing the complexity of Mallory's personal connections.

I absolutely loved this book! I do have to say that I read this one late - it came out last November, and it's now mid February 2024. But it was worth the wait. I loved the characters, the plot, the twists, the romance, all of it. Literally the only thing I didn't like was this is a YA book, so the sex that our main characters*obviously have* is closed door. 4.5 rounded up, highly recommend this book and everything else by this author!

Genre: Contemporary Romance
TW: PLEASE CHECK
Spice: Closed Door (YA)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️ [2.5/5]
Format: Audio & Physical
Review written by: M
 
(🚨This review contains spoilers🚨)
 
This is not my favorite Ali Hazelwood book. I did enjoy reading it but there was too many eye-rolling moments for me through the book.
 
Mallory Greenleaf has not played chess in many years and instead has focused on being the sole provider for her mom and sisters. When an opportunity to get good money playing chess is presented Mallory has no other choice but to take it, but she must keep it a secret from her family.
 
As she starts to play the sport she wants to hate, she begins to fall in love with it once more but what will it cost her? She rises in the ranks fast and soon is forced to face Nolan, the #1 chess player in the world. The same guy she beat at a charity match. She must focus on the prize money and not let her feelings for Nolan or chess get in the way of the prize money and her families secure future.
 
Frankly selling this to us as a rivals-to-lovers romance may be a bit deceiving. The book did have some romance, but it was secondary to the chess championships and tournaments. It felt more of an information dumb of chess rules rather than a romance. I did not find that there was truly a rivals-to-lovers concept. They were never really rivals for 90% of the book.

I did however appreciate the backstory for Mallory. It was very interesting and something I think many people can relate to. I know that if I was in a similar situation I would have also sacrificed like Mal did. With that being said, I could not stomach the sisters. The fact that they started to talk about her sister’s sex life to a total stranger just gave me the ick.
 
The ending was so abrupt that it completely threw me off. Frankly I was left quite disappointed, and the epilogue could have given us a view into the game that was so key to the entire book. Instead, it was glossed over completely.
 
The main reason this book was not it for me was that I felt that the author pushed TOO many Gen Z references such as TikTok, OnlyFans, and too many celebrities to mention. I don’t usually have a problem with those references but when it is woven into almost every chapter it becomes frustrating.

I was very curious to see what Ali Hazelwood's first YA would be like - to start, I would definitely classify this as more like NA than YA. This was such a fun read - I thought it had a good mix of fun, lightness, angst and heart. The chess setting was unique (to me) and really enjoyable. I really enjoyed Mallory's story, although I definitely wouldn't have complained about a dual POV with Nolan. Overall, this was one of my favorite YA books I read this year and I'm looking forward to reading more YA/NA by Hazelwood in the future.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is by far my favorite Hazelwood book to date! It was so fresh and cute without overdoing it. The characters were written in a realistic and relatable way. I've bought physical copies not just for myself, but for my sisters and book friends too :)

I requested this before realizing this was YA, and deleted it from my Kindle. Thank you for the opportunity, but I don't want to review a book I know won't hit for me, as it's not fair for the author.

I am a HUGE Ali Hazelwood fan. The Love Hypothesis is one of my favorite books of all time… I was very curious how a ya version would go. So here’s the deal, I liked it. But it wasn’t top tier. Maybe I just only like ya when fairies are involved?

Girl Power!!!

Love, Love, LOVE this book!

Ali Hazelwood writes intelligent, quirky heroines that are always so relatable, so fun, funny, and perfectly imperfect. And she does not disappoint with the lovely Mallory.

Even though Ms. Hazelwood wrote a YA book about chess, I was a little apprehensive to try it. Not just because of the YA genre, but a book about CHESS? Seriously??? Ms. Hazelwood changed my mind, quick, fast and in a hurry with her amazing characters, engaging storyline and fiercely competitive chess arena. I binge read the book in less than 24 hours. Ugh! It was THAT good!

I especially loved watching Mallory–Mal–breaking through the glass ceiling of the chess world. Girl Power, indeed! This story is inspiring and a glowing example of representation, not only in the competitive realm, but in everyday life.

Check & Mate is a wonderful story with brilliantly crafted characters, witty dialogue, intense chemistry, and profound aspects of the human condition.

Highly recommend it!

DNF at 25%.

This was not really for me. I love Ali's books, they're usually fun and The Love Hypothesis is one of my favourite romance books.... but this one did not do it for me one bit. I know people will come for me and say well you should not have expected the same thing when it's a YA book etc., and I know. I did not expect the same thing at all, and I went in knowing that it would be written for a younger audience and would not have the same content, heck I love YA, but even so, this was not good.

I had already known it would be a tough one when I started reading and on one of the very first pages I read "I am expecting to see Zendaya. Harry Styles. Billie Eilish. The entirety of BTS crammed on the couch of whatever late-night show the Youtube algorithm decided to feed me." A few paragraphs after that I read "went viral on Tiktok - Chesstok, my writers tell me it's called." I don't know. I know it's supposed to be a contemporary YA book, so there will be real-life elements, but name-dropping Harry styles not once, but twice in the 25% I read gave me the ick. Additionally, seeing TikTok being mentioned took me out of the story and nearly made me feel like I was reading something on Wattpad, but that is honestly just a me issue.

I feel as though Ali makes many references in the novel to try and appeal to or seem relatable to the younger readers. Some examples, other than the aforementioned ones, include:

"I don't pay you to browse Instagram or buy avocado sandwiches."

"Easton gathers our team around her like she's Tony Stark briefing the Avengers."

Additionally, I don't know exactly how young this is being marketed as, but she mentions tentacle porn? In a YA novel? Is that something that is like... common? I am genuinely asking I am not trying to be snarky because that genuinely caught me off guard.

I believe the last thing I want to comment on is the tropes. Ali needs to drop the whole sure tall large man, super petite woman tropes because it's getting annoying. It seems to be a common point in all of her stories and they are frequently mentioned. In Check & Mate, the main character says this while speaking of the love interest <spoiler><i>"It completely engulfs mine."<i> (Speaking of his hand), and "He's taller than the men sitting at his sides."

Overall, I just don't think I was the intended audience for this book despite my love for YA and Ali Hazelwood's works. Please remember that while I didn't enjoy it, you might read it and love it!

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the Arc of this book.

Mallory is a former child prodigy chess player, who had been taking a break from the game ever since something happened with her dad (you find out later, but I won’t spoil it). On a whim, she agrees to join a local chess tournament to help her friend out, and ends up smashing the cute boy she plays against. Instead of igniting the desire to play more chess, Mallory vows to never play again, except that her family is in deep financial trouble and for some reason she thinks she is the only person able to take of it all. In a somewhat predictable fashion, Mallory accepts a job opportunity which requires her to play chess, and matches her with the cute boy she had just beaten. Cue the romance part of this rom/com!
This was the first Ali Hazelwood book that I liked, and I liked it a lot. I also like (and understand) the game of chess, so that may have an impact on my positive review.

This is my new favorite Hazelwood book!!
It was so fun and different from her other books. We finally moved out of the science/ academic world ( I love her other books it’s just fun to see something different from an author you love) and into the world of… chess! ♟️

When I head she was writing a chess romance I was not sure how this would go. It went very well!
Mallory is the oldest sibling to two sisters and had an ill mother. She’s basically the head of house and takes care of everything after her father died. Chess was something her father played and she did as well. Once he passed she stopped playing.
Nolan is the number one chess player in the world.
When Mallory plays in a competition as a favor to a friend she ends up playing and beating Nolan. That opens many doors for her and could help her take better care of her family. But is she ready to step back into the world of chess?