Thank you NetGalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

I have loved everything from this author so far and this is no exception. I enjoyed three characters (even if I wanted to smack one sometimes), character development, story line, plot, and progression. This was a hard book to put down, and even having minimal knowledge in chess, the book was well paced and interesting throughout. Definitely a recommendation to those that enjoy this genre!

Absolutely loved this book, devoured it, once I started I couldn't stop reading, it was so entertaining and fun and funny. I haven't read anything by AH since TLH and I'd forgotten how smart, witty, engrossing and enjoyable her books are.

I'm not gonna give you a summary for the book because if you got this far you probably already read what it's about.
I know Check & Mate is listed as YA but if NA existed this is exactly what would be put in that category.
Ever since I finished The Queens Gambit I've been needing a chess fix (can't believe it's been 3 years 🥲) and this delivered.
The way that Mallory (our MC) talks about chess and the tournaments is so captivating, you can feel her love for the sport and you can't help but be entranced. I loved her, she definitely had her issues to work through and she's so relatable.
Nolan (the love interest) was her perfect match and their chemistry was just 🔥
The whole tension between them with Nolan wanting, needing to play with her again and Mal constantly refusing created this great pull, I couldn't get enough of it 🥵, my only complaint is that we didn't get to "see" their match at the end, felt like AH deprived us of that pleasure 😂

I don't know what else to say without spoiling the plot so if you love slow burn, snarky banter, hot & smart romantic interests you should check this one out ( side note: C&M gave me My Mechanical Romance vibes, so if you've read it and loved it you should definitely give this one a try)


I had an absolute blast with this book and I can't wait for everyone to read it and obsess over it with me!! Someone needs to put Love Theoretically in my hands immediately 😩

Eternal gratitude to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

Not sure if you can read a romance novel that surrounds chess? I thought the same, but I’m glad I did! This book is such a fun read. The only things I knew about Chess going in was that scene the Harry Potter, theres a queen, and a knight. I was a little worried the chess aspect would go over my head. But it’s Ali Hazelwood people! She’s the one author you can trust to teach us new things, while also giving us spice and delicious nerdy men 😆. I laughed way more than I expected in this. My favorite line was “She’s like Tony Stark gathering the avengers, but instead of of quippy one-liners she hands out Chess Club pins” . The TENSION between Mallory and Nolan, gosh I was squealing during some moments. Mallory sisters added the perfect amount of chaos, and I loved Nola’s backstory. While he is a gorgeous, he isn't out there sleeping around. And that was honestly so refreshing to read from a MMC.

“You can let yourself want this.”- Nolan. I related a lot to Mallory and how she felt about her family, So that line broke me a little in the best way.

Overall, this is my favorite Ali Hazelwood book!

My knowledge of chess is next to nothing, but after reading Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood I'm considering learning how to play cause this book is so good.
Ali Hazelwood is an incredibly talented writer & her latest Check & Mate does not disappoint. Super impressed with this romance story mixed in with family drama, friendship troubles, & some emotional self discovery.
Overall, an excellent story that you want to just keep reading & then afterwards go out for drinks with all the fun characters. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Can't wait to read more from Ali Hazelwood soon.

This was a must read for me because I have been a fan of Ali Hazelwood's books The Love Hypothesis. While this book was intriguing because it introduced a whole new world of professional chess, I was left frustrated because of how immature Mallory, the main character, was. This was especially painful because the book is written 100% in Mallory's perspective. It would have been so much better to have dual POV. While I understand the point of having character development, but 80% of the book has Mallory complaining or feeling bad about herself. Then all the sudden she's called out, and she can now behave and think like an actual grown-up.
Now onto Nolan, the Kingkiller and love interest of Mallory. He is the saving grace of this book, and would love to have read the story from his perspective. Like many of Ali Hazelwood's book, you can tell right off the bat that Nolan is head over heels in love with Mallory. If you like stories where the guy falls first, this definitely fits the bill. I just wish there was more of Nolan in this book, which would have made this book wayyy more interesting.
Overall, this was a decent YA romance, but definitely leaves you wanting for me. I will just go back and re-read The Love Hypothesis or Loathe to Love You, which are Ali Hazelwood's better written books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Ali Hazelwood for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ali Hazelwood does it again! I do not know much (or really anything) about chess but this was such a fun read! I was so excited to receive this as an ARC and it did not disappoint!
Our FMC Mallory was such a perfectly flawed character, who actually acted like an 18 year old (who had to grow up too fast, hence her questionable choices). I loved her relationship with Nolan, they had great tension and banter. Nolan as a character was great, obsessed with Mal from the start. They had this mutual respect from their rivalry that I really appreciated. The book does run more NA than YA, but handled the topics of sex and relationships well. It’s not explicit, but also not totally fade to black like you see in most YA novels.
Her sisters were done so well- they were so chaotic (like most preteens). The family antics made me laugh out loud multiple times while reading.
The one thing I did not love was the best friend Easton. I feel like Mallory took the fall for their conflict, but phone calls run both ways.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I love Ali’s writing style and how her characters thrive in male dominated areas. I will never not read a book by our feminist queen💕

Ali Hazelwood has this knack for building a romance without tons of spice like I normally tend to read. I was shocked with this being more fade to black how much I liked it. The story held me captive, and I honestly couldn't put it down. Just ask my husband who's dinner was several hours late LOL.

As a scientist, I have fallen hard for STEM based romances. The theme of women being excluded from male-dominated arenas such as science and chess highlights just how hard women have to work and fight to make a name for themselves in the STEM field. While fictional, these stories could be ripped from the real life of many of my colleagues.

In true Ali Hazelwood fashion, this was an addictive romance between two well-developed characters who are also big (chess) nerds. I’d say this is the best book of hers I’ve read this far, and I really appreciated the feminist notes in this story. The love story is very cute and you’ll keep thinking about it for much too long, plus there’s no cringe to speak of (despite still too many descriptions of how large the love interest is).
I don’t play chess but loved discovering the chess world and was on the edge of my seat for each and every game. In fact this is probably more enjoyable for non-chess players and anyone who also enjoyed the Queen’s gambit.
I recommend for a quick fun read for both YA and adult romance readers! (YA here means the characters are 18-20 and there’s no on-page sex)

I didn't know I needed a chess romance until I read this book. I ended up reading it in one sitting because it was that good.

Mallory's days are consumed by concern for her sisters and her mom, particularly regarding how to cover their bills while her mom battles an illness. She feels the weight of these responsibilities falling onto her, leaving little room for pursuing her own desires. Despite just graduating from high school, Mallory has decided not to go to college in order to support her family. She had abandoned chess four years ago, never looking back and lacking any desire to play again. However, when her best friend Easton persuades her to participate in a charitable chess tournament, Mallory unexpectedly triumphs over the world-renowned champion, Nolan Sawyer. After defeating Nolan, Mallory secures a fellowship at Zugzwang, and her life takes a dramatic turn in the world of chess. She finds herself lying to her family about her job, but at least she's earning money to sustain them. With her new fellowship, Mallory starts playing more and more chess, which naturally leads to spending more time with Nolan. Can she successfully balance her friendships, job, family, and the feelings she has for Nolan? Read this amazing book to find out. I loved Nolan from the beginning and I'm obsessed with the way he respects and admires Mallory. This book was such a cute YA novel. While some of the pop culture references were a bit overwhelming at times, I absolutely adored it.

Read this if you enjoy:

- Rivals to lovers
- When the guy falls first (I LOVE THIS SO MUCH)
- Memorable meet-cutes

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Teen, and Ali Hazelwood for generously providing me with an eARC copy of this book!

There is a reason all of Ali Hazelwood’s books are an immediate must read for me! While this is her debut YA novel it did not let me down! There was still the broody swoon worthy man, the insanely intelligent MC, humor, romance, and a fantastic storyline you come to expect from her novels. It had all of Ali’s signature pieces we love so much mixed into a new fun and unique narrative.

Check & Mate follows Mallory’s journey through the struggles of her life, her heart, and the world of chess. Due to circumstances of the past, Mallory feels compelled to take on the burden of caring for her sisters and her chronically ill mother. She puts her life on hold and struggles to desperately try and provide for her family. While Mallory put away her chess ambitions years previously, an unlikely opportunity presents itself; resulting in her stepping back into the chess scene.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book! If you enjoyed the series The Queen’s Gambit this is an absolute must read for you. While I enjoy chess, I am by no means an expert; luckily you don’t need to understand chess at all to enjoy this! It was so well written I felt like I was right there alongside these characters watching the matches. The games were so intense, as were the encounters between Mallory and Nolan. The characters were witty, hilarious, and passionate. I found Nolan charming, Mallory so relatable, and Oz outright hysterical. It was a fantastic crew of characters and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book.

I’m very pleased with Ali’s first young adult novel. I definitely recommend this to anyone who has a love for young adult romance novels, Ali Hazelwood’s writing, or chess!

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review!

This is my first Ali Hazelwood. I have not been sure about her books up to now, thinking that there may be a lot of hype and also being loathe to start with a new author who has quite the number of books that she does. Because that adds more to my TBR and I'm already convinced I will not get through all of my books by the time I die.

I really enjoyed this read. The characters were pretty likeable even when they were being stupid, and there were a few moments of stupid all around. And the story moved well. I even got into chess. A little like how I got into tennis reading Carrie Soto. Although neither book made me want to actually take up the sport.

The plot moved well, and I didn't feel like there was any lagging despite the fact that it was kind of a slow progression. I really liked Mal's youngest sister because she was just funny without being fake or over the top. I did get her confused with Mal's other sister, and I will say that her mom and sister (not Darcy) were hard to like for a lot of the story. Yes, her mom is struggling. Yes, her sister is trying to be her own person. But neither of those things give you the right to take advantage of someone, especially not a family member. Sure, Mal was also being a bit controlling and using her "usefulness" to both punish herself and also make sure she was and would always be needed. But the fact that her mom and sister admit to knowing this and taking advantage of it .... Nun-unh.

If you liked Ali Hazelwood's other books, I suspect that you would enjoy this read. Certainly a younger cast of characters, but for most of it, you actually forget that Mal and Nolan are still kids. Not having read any other books by her, I can't say for sure where this would rank. I suspect not at the top, but somewhere decently in the middle. If you haven't read any of her books, and you like YA, this is probably a good place to start. Again, I don't feel like the mains were YA so you could read this even if you prefer older HEA stories.

Thank you Penguin Teen for this arc!

This was cute...I think if you like Ali Hazewoods other books, you'll probably like this. I thought the writing was easy to get through, and I liked the plot and the fmc Mallory. Mallory is 18 years old and takes care of her sisters and her mother, who is affected by chronic pain. Mallory wants to be done with chess, but because of her family's financial needs start playing competitive chess for cash prizes. Nolan, the mmc, is the number 1 ranked chess player and meets Mallory when she beats him in a charity chess game.

I think this was quite fun to read, especially in the beginning and in the end. I do think this is more new adult, but the romance was very YA. I liked the romance, but I also wish there was more development and more of the relationship because, by the end, it felt incomplete. There is a lot about chess in this obviously, I learned a lot about it, and I really liked the competition aspect, but also my eyes started glazing from the number of chess references halfway through the book.

Overall this was an easy cute read, if you love chess and NA/YA books, you'll like this.

Check & Mate cemented Ali Hazelwood's official status as my favorite author. It captured the magic of the Love Hypothesis while still being new and fresh.

You know me....I can love something and still find something to nitpick. Some of the later interactions between the main characters highlighted the problem with writing about children (not technically at 18 and 20.....but fundamentally, still children). Their interactions were a little frustrating and at times the FMC's character motivation confused me. That being said.... never would have thought I'd absolutely adore a YA, and this one just blew me away.

PS - I did not know about a phenomenon in psychology called stereotype threat. You need to read the author's note.

Sincere thanks for the ARC! Reading this book made my week!

I knew going into this book that it was going to be YA and so I was very curious to see how different it would be compared to her other works. And thankfully, it really isn't all that different. I found the writing style to still be super engaging and gripping. The characters were younger, but still really fleshed out and I could see where issues were coming from without having to be told.

The main character, Mallory, was such a great character. She has such complex feelings and a complex situation to deal with. I really appreciated that she had adults in her life that weren't going to sugar coat things for her when she was making a dumb decision. I won't spoil anything but if a certain character hadn't shown up to talk some sense into her, I think I would have liked this book a whole lot less.

I like the love interest, Sawyer, as much as you can. I feel like theres some information that we may have benefited from getting but since this is told from Mallorys POV, we only get so much. Either way, I loved the romance between the two of them so much!!

I highly recommend! It was another 5 star read for me. This book will be out in November so add to your TBR now!

*REVIEW WILL. BE POSTED NOVEMBER 4*

Is this book a cute and enjoyable YA read? Check!

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood follows Mallory Greenleaf, a recent high school graduate working a dead-end job at a car dealership in order to support her mother and sisters. When one of Mallory's friends enters her into a charity chess tournament, she is initially annoyed: she hasn't played chess since her father left their family. After Mallory beats the reigning chess champion at the competition, she is pulled back into the world of chess, but attempts to keep it a secret from her family.

Ali Hazelwood is known for her adult contemporary romance novels and novellas, which typically center around women in STEM. While Hazelwood's debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was popular on social media, some readers have been disappointed with her more recent releases as many of the characters and situations in her novels can be extremely similar and sometimes repetitive.

Going into Check & Mate, I wasn't quite sure of my expectations. I wasn't a huge fan of The Love Hypothesis, but I really enjoyed her other full-length novel, Love on the Brain. Meanwhile, I found her STEMinist novellas to be average, as I found them too similar to the other works which I read by the author. There were also many questions that I saw from other prospective readers concerning if the book would truly fall into the YA category, because Hazelwood's typical novels are usually classified as adult and often content explicit adult content. After reading Check & Mate, I found that were several areas that I enjoyed and several areas which needed better execution.

One aspect of the book that I found to be average were the characters. While I didn't dislike Mallory or Nolan, I didn't feel extremely close to their characters. I think Hazelwood did give an effort to provide backstories to make the characters' current actions understandable. I also think that the characters complimented each other well and that their relationship was believable. All in all, Mallory and Nolan were decent main characters, but not particularly memorable.

On the other hand, I found the characters to be a little inconsistent and a little repetitive, particularly Nolan. Initially, Nolan is described as the "bad boy" of chess due to his temper when he loses a match and his rumored relationships with celebrities. However, Nolan isn't really a "bad boy" at all. Instead, he comes across as more serious and private throughout the novel. While this is dismissed as how the media portrays him and his immaturity due to his age as a young chess player, it just made aspects of his character seems very disconnected. Nolan actually reminded a lot of Liam from Under One Roof (from Ali Hazelwood's STEMinist novella), as his character is portrayed to be a "bad boy" or "player" initially, but only has ever had feelings for one girl, the main character. While I didn't dislike Nolan, he seemed to be too similar to other male characters we've seen from this author to stand out on his own.

Although I found the characters to be average, I found the voice used throughout the book to be very hit-or-miss. I think readers will either really enjoy the voice of this book or really dislike it. On one hand, I enjoyed the voice of the book because it is very conversational. Mallory's thoughts and what she says were very similar to me when I was at that age. At the same time, this book is riddled with pop culture references which will date the book in a couple years. Additionally, these references can make it seem like an author is trying to sound like a teenager rather than the writing sounding like an actual teenager. There are some phrases (like something restated three times in a row), which also occurs several times throughout the book. Additionally, the repetitive of some of the writing may also irritate some readers, although it wasn't a major hinderance to my personal reading experience.

Another area of this book which was a little hit-or-miss was the pacing. This book starts off in an interesting way, however it loses steam throughout the first act. Mallory and Nolan meet very quickly and I wanted to see more of their interactions. However, they don't appear again together until about a third of the way into the book. While some set-up is needed, this seemed to drag on a little bit longer than I would have liked. The middle part of the story was much stronger than the beginning and I found myself putting down the book less throughout the third act. However, the pacing started to slow down again after the all-is-lost moment. The ending seemed to drag until the final competition of the book, which is quickly wrapped up soon after with a news story which serves the same purpose as an epilogue. With the book's inconsistency in pacing, I would say I would rate the pacing as average since there were some aspects which I found very engaging and others which I found not as interesting.

Finally, one of the big questions that some readers had when this book was announced was: is it YA? Personally, I would definitely consider Check & Mate as YA. I would say due to the subject matter and age of the characters that this story may be more interesting to people looking for books that lean towards upper YA. That aside, I think the voice of the story, as well as the content surrounding relationships, follows more of the traditional expectations of YA as opposed to adult novels.

Overall, Check & Mate is an enjoyable and fun upper young adult novel. I enjoyed most of my reading experience, but thought some areas could have been better executed. I give this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

Ali Hazelwood’s writing is just so cozy! I thought this would feel too juvenile being that it’s YA but I love it just as much as everything else she’s written. Maybe even more because I love that it centered around chess, which is such a fascinating game.

I love that while she COULD have continued down her path success and happiness abound when surrounded by loved ones. And that in the end just enjoy the game.

Ali Hazelwood continues to shed light on overt sexism and builds such strong capable women who still share identifiable insecurities. Just such an enjoyable read!

If Ali has a million fans, I’m one of them. If Ali has one fan, I’m that one. If Ali has no fans, I’m dead.

I literally shrieked when I saw this in my Netgalley library and I immediately started reading it. This is Ali’s YA debut and I think she knocked it out of the park. It definitely reads a little on the older side of YA, but you can tell it’s written for a younger audience. I really didn’t think I would be so into a chess romance… but I was wrong. I ate this up!!! I loved the competitive edge to the story and Nolan & Mallory had such great chemistry. And we know I love a story where the guy falls first. Ali can truly do no wrong in my eyes. I will def be rereading this sometime in the future (probably the near future). I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy later this year!!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by how fun yet emotional this read was! I loved learning about the world of chess and Mallory and Nolan were perfect for each other. I also loved the side characters, especially Mallory's sisters. I did not expect the topics of guilt and shame to be a large focus in the book but they added a lot of depth to the characters. I highly recommend!

This book was incredible. But what if I know nothing about chess? Fear not. It doesn’t matter. Ali explains everything without diving too deeply so you don’t get lost. I started highlight quotes ABOUT CHESS! I’m serious when I say if Ali writes it, I read it!

The push and pull between two rival chess players.. ahh sounds romantic doesn’t it? I SWOONED. Nolan + Mallory.

Kingkiller Nolan Sawyer is patient and kind and caring… FOR Mallory. We love to see it!

Mallory is a strong independent woman that will absolutely take no help! She’s caring for her whole family and thennnn insert giant chess opportunities and relationship mishaps and lies and sadness BUT ALSO happiness and sexiness and FUNNY banter. Ali somehow always slays me with her Adam Driver men. Whew, this was cute!

Mallory and Nolan are chess grandmasters who have had completely different growth in their chess careers but are equally brilliant, like unbelievably experts at chess. Nolan with a glamorous chess background has always been the top 1 in the field but Mal on the other hand quits the game due to personal circumstances and enters chess just for the sake of money at 18. As this is clearly YA, we see Mal who is immature at times and very grownup at others, she can be pretty much a confused soul. Her thoughts don’t make sense at times but Nolan on the other side is so mature and thoughtful. Their chemistry kicks off right away and there is the chemistry that Mal takes a long time to understand. There is a lot of angst between them that stays on for a bit. Oz, her colleague, is absolutely the best. I enjoyed his amazing conversations and his monologues are so hilarious. Mal’s younger sister is cute as a button and her love for her pet - guinea pig is adorable.

As always, the author supports the minorities in a field, this is no different as we see the female representation in chess and that too right at the top. I don’t follow chess beyond the basics and knowing them wouldn't matter for this book. There is a lot of reference on the chess plays but it doesn't add or remove anything from the book. There are some tik tok and gen Z references to make it more relevant for YA I believe. I believe the author has delivered yet again and the readers will absolutely enjoy this lovely book!