My first Ali Hazelwood book but definitely not my last. For me this book started a bit slow but once it got going to was so good. I loved the nerdy-ness of the characters and the chess aspects. I also like the family and friendships in this book they were not perfect but they grew well. I could have just read so much .ore from these characters and didn't want the book to end.

I need a Nolan Sawyer in my life IMMEDIATELY. I never thought I'd enjoy reading a book about two chess players but here I am. Ali Hazelwood has this way of just writing exceptional books, all the time. This books follows Mallory, an incredibly talented chess player who stopped playing to help support her family. She ends up at a charity chess tournament, where she somehow beats the current world chess champion. Her life then gets flipped upside down, and shes thrown right back into the chess world.

Everyone loves a good rags to riches story, me included. Espeically when a super hot quiet incredibly smart chess boy falls in love with me, thats an added bonus. I love the representation in the book, and how nonchalant Mallory and her family were about her being bi. Mallory's family was everything, espeically her youngest sister, god I love them. The one thing I hated was the 'third act breakup' because it was so fucking stupid. There was absolutely no reason for her to get that mad at him. I mean I understand keeping your pride, but bro was just trying to help you?? and he never lied you just never asked Mallory was being hella goofy

Overall, for her first YA book I think it is incredibly well done. This book is probably for older readers of the YA genre, cause they do talk about sex and condoms quite a bit LMFAO but it is really cute. Ali Hazelwood has once again given me another reason as to why she's probably one of my favourite authors, and why I will instant buy any book she comes out with!!

I loved this book by Ali Hazelwood!! At the start, I was slightly skeptical about a YA read from Ali, but oh my gosh.... it became my all time fave Ali book. Right from the beginning I was hooked. Mallory is such a strong lead female character, that I loved seeing represented within novels. Throughout reading, I was able to feel a lot of what Mallory was feeling, and I felt for her throughout each of her moments, and further depictions of her life. For me, being so invested in her storyline, and emotions, made the story that much more realistic and believable to read. I definitely recommend Check & Mate to everyone!

4.5/5 stars, this was so entertaining to read!

Thank you to Penguin Teen & G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the arc through netgalley and a physical arc in exchange for an honest review!

As a romance reader, Ali Hazelwood is one of my favorite authors out there and I usually end up enjoying all of her novels. When I found out that she was releasing a young adult romance novel I was beyond excited, especially when it was released through Penguin Teen. I have been working with Penguin Teen for a few years now and I am always so grateful for their generosity, and me being able to receive two different arcs of the book was not an exception!

I read the majority of this book in one day during the school year, curled up all cozy while my boyfriend played video games, and listened to me talk about this book. That made the experience all the more fun, as I could share it and laugh at some of the more ridiculous things that happened in this book. While I loved the story, that's one reason I took off half a star because a few of the things that happened seemed a bit strange, but it didn't take away too much of my enjoyment of the book.

Chess has never been something I've been particularly interested in, so I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy that aspect of this book. However, even when I wasn't fully understanding some aspects of the story (like all the references to the actual game) I felt Ali Hazelwood did a good job including enough information so that I wasn't completely lost as a reader. The story didn't make me want to start playing chess competitively or anything, but I do think it's interesting how people have to strategize and create such interesting competitions.

The romance between Mallory and Nolan was really well-written in my opinion, not without a few strange moments as I mentioned above (for spoilers sake if you know you know) but it was fun! It was a little more slowburn than I was expecting but in a good way for the story progression. Rivals to lovers is like the realistic fiction version of enemies to lovers so I was completely eating that part up, and I think it helped that they truly were rivals in a large competition, made it feel more realistic that they would actually kind of hate one another at first.

[TW: hospital visits mentioned, chronic illness representation, lack of funds and poverty, sexual encounters mentioned, sexism, knife violence, cheating]

1.5 ⭐️ 's. tdlr if the queen's gambit was made for y/n by a millennial

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I have been a fan of Ali Hazelwood's books for a while and I was excited to read and review this book. I absolutely loved Ali Hazelwood’s first YA novel, Check & Mate. I did think that the language and behaviors were probably more New Adult, than Young Adult. Additionally the characters are both over 18. The spice level was turned down from her adult novels and it is closed door. The characters were relatable and well developed with chemistry in the enemies to lovers trope. They were intelligent and clever with their witty banter. As with Ali's other novels, she does a fantastic job at addressing the pressures on women in a male-dominated field. Additionally, she does a good job of describing the chess games, rules and terminology so those who do not know anything about it can understand and move along in the story. Overall, it was a swoony young romance with an engaging plot and loveable characters. I would recommend it to the upper age range of YA and NA readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me with an ARC of in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ I loved this! It exceeded my expectations to be honest, but Ali is Ali. Same hilarious, smart, sweet, slow burn, boy obsessed, he falls first writing we came to love from her.

The best decision ive made was to start the year (again!) With a Ali Hazelwood book. She rises the bar so high for romance! Yes there are some familiar tropes and male mc attributes but i don't care. It works. Her writing is like crack. I feel it in my brain in my heart in my essence and in my lost frowny looks I give people who talk to me while I'm reading because how dare you.

Her writing is sharp, smart, witty, fun, natural and takes you by surprise with all the twists and turns and words and pining and secret love language. It messes with your mind in the most tantalizing way.

I loved Malloray and Nolan, such a brainy super couple. I loved everything chess related too, only Ali can get you invested in subjects you wouldn't otherwise know or care much about.

As usual, I love the hidden messages and awareness of real life issues she blended into the story, like stereotypes, gender professional unfairiness, ilnesses and family drama.

It says it's YA, but it's more NA/upper YA, as the characters are very mature and independent for their age and their chemistry is fire, even if the spice is more closed door than usual.

Definitely a win!

So much to unpack with this one! There were both things I enjoyed and others that I wasn’t a big fan. I did like learning more about the world of chess— something I can assuredly say I did not know much of at all and boy can it be intense as any other sport! I also like how this story addressed topics such as sexism and misogyny within sports. And then our MMC, Nolan, was great and I adored him along with a few other side characters. What I struggled with more was our FMC, Mallory. I don’t know if I can quite pin point why, but there was something about the way her character was written that rubbed me the wrong way and I didn’t like being in her head the entirety of the story. The writing also felt immature and there were SO MANY gen z/ pop culture references that it became too much and a bit cringey. Lastly, while this did feel fresh enough compared to the author’s adult novels, it still felt very formulaic and parts felt recycled. Also, this book is being marketed as YA and due to some of the content, I definitely think this should lean more towards NA!

As a fan of Ali Hazwlwood this was not my favorite, but I think her fans will still love it.

I think as a YA book this story was a little too spicy. It would be better in a N/A category. The MC was a bit annoying, whiny, and overall hard to root for. I didn't really like the way she treated the love interest.

Overall, it felt a little formulaic and flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC of Check & Mate!

Eighteen year old Mallory Greenleaf abruptly left chess four years ago and has vowed to never go back. Not that she would have the time as she is pretty much raising her two younger sisters: 14 year old Sabrina, the teenage bitch and sweet 12 year old Darcy, as her mom has a chronic illness. When Mallory's best friend BEGS her to join a charity chess tournament, Mallory eventually, reluctantly agrees to go. Mallory is an incredibly talented chess player and beats the reigning world champion. The next morning, Mallory wakes up to a woman at her door wanting to offer her a chess fellowship. Mallory is forced to choose between avoiding the thing that she feels destroyed her family and allowing that same thing to support her family when they need it most. Oh, and that chess champion she defeated? He's a 20 year old heartthrob.

I have loved everything Ali Hazelwood has written and Check and Mate was no exception. The characters were quirky, the pacing was excellent, and the story tugged at my heartstrings. I was getting teary at various points during the story. Sabrina was the most obnoxious younger sister and I wanted to throttle her. The chess nemesis was the absolute worst and I think he should be forced to spend time with Sabrina as punishment. While the themes of the story (friends leaving for college, new identity post-high school) are YA, the spiciness of this story definitely pushes it into higher YA.

I DNF'd this at 45%.

I loved Ali Hazelwood when I first found her. I grew a little tired of her recycling of tropes and character archetypes, but I was excited to see her dabble with writing for a younger audience.

I work putting on children's literature programming and am always looking for popular/trendy teen titles on the market to inform what I'm programming. I anticipated this being big with teens who are always requesting Hazelwood's adult titles.

So I know this isn't intended for me, but I also read a tonne of children's literature for all ages for work. This just didn't capture my attention.

4 Stars I absolutely loved Ali Hazelwood’s first YA novel, Check & Mate! It was so cute, especially the MMC pining over the FMC, willing to do anything for her, and being in disbelief that she was with him while he was sick. As per usual for Ali Hazelwood, the novel is basically fanfic of two real life young chess players.

This was my first Ali Hazelwood book and will not be my last. Yes, The Love Hypothesis is still very much on my TBR list. Check & Mate was exactly what I expected and what I wanted to ring in the new year. I wanted a light romance that was easy to get invested in. This story also successfully got me wanting to give chess a try like watching The Queen’s Gambit did. Sadly, I just don’t think I’m cool enough haha.

"I had to give up on this book halfway through as I encountered several issues. In my opinion, this book doesn't belong in the YA category and would be better suited for the new adult genre. It felt like a recycled version of The Love Hypothesis with similar characters, motivations, and endings."

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

SLAYYYY MAMMMAAA ali hazelwood NEVER misses jesus CHRIST nolan was SOOO amazing like the way he WANTED her to beat him and be better then him??? someone sedate me

Check & Mate
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Ali Hazelwood

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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...)

My Thoughts: I love Ali Hazelwood’s books and this is her debut novel into the Young Adult genre and it carries everything we have come to expect from Hazelwood, a brilliant masterpiece. Mallory walked away from chess four years ago, even though she was a chess prodigy, to support her family. Mallory’s best friend convinces her to play in a tournament for fun and Mallory faces off with the current world chess champion, a prodigy in his own right, Nolan Sawyer, who has earned a bit of a reputation as an angry, top of his game player. In their face off, Mallory wins, a rookie beats the Kingkiller of Chess. When Mallory won against the best of the chess, it opened a sponsorship for her to play chess for money, however, she is reluctant to play as chess is what destroyed her family. She decides to play in secret, keeping chess and her family separate, but as she rises through the chess ranks, will the two worlds collide? Playing chess again also puts her in Nolan’s realm, making the attraction just as much of a game as chess itself. This follows the tropes of enemies to lovers, chess, and game rivals. ♟️

The story has a dual narration by Mallory and Nolan, in their respective perspectives. Mallory is fiercely independent, highly intelligent, wants to take care of her family, and will speak her mind. Nolan is blunt, spoke his mind, and has a tough exterior, but once you really get to know him, he is sweet, charming, and compassionate. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and intriguing. The supporting characters really elevate the story to another level, even the whiny entitled sister Sabrina. The characters are realistic and authentic, you could really relate to them. The author’s writing style was complex, swoony, humorous, and brilliant. This young adult romance packs a lot in. There are chess references throughout the story and the author does a fantastic job at describing some of the chess terminology so those who do not know anything about it can understand for the purposes of diving into this novel. The author’s representation of MS and mental health was done with grace.

This was Hazelwood’s debut Young Adult Romance novel and I felt it was a brilliant debut. It was heartwarming, sweet, swoon-perfect, and endearing. It was a lighthearted read the combined the world of chess and two young people trying to navigate their way through it. If you liked any of Hazelwood’s previous works, you will love this one. Hazelwood is known for spicy scenes, however, she does tone it back in this YA book making it audience appropriate. Hazelwood does a fantastic job at addressing the pressures on women in a man-dominated field, such as chess. I highly recommend picking up today!

Ali Hazelwood is a must-read, and that includes her YA. This made me want to investigate the world of competitive chess, and I was rooting for Mallory the entire time!

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood was my first read by this author and gives us Mallory and Nolan, rival chess players and possibly more? When Mallory steps in to play a chess tournament, no one saw her winning. Now the game she thought she’d never play is back in her life as is Nolan. While dealing with her family and trying to keep them moving forward, Mallory is finding herself. We get a lot of her at the beginning before we get the romance between her and Nolan. Nolan on the other hand was not upset as more intrigued by Mallory. I love their journey. It was emotional, touching and fun to read.

Happy reading!

Oh, I loved this! Ali Hazelwood is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with this one. I’m hoping she writes more YA books in the future because this might’ve been my favorite from her so far.

What’s better than having someone fall in love with you after you beat them at chess? This was so cute and I adore Mal and Nolan.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Ali Hazelwood book but it will not be my last. I loved the romance centered around two teens interested in the game of chess. They were both smart teens exploring their emotions and families in a way that felt very realistic.

Nolan was so dreamy and sweet.

I liked that we saw so much of Mal's family dynamics and wish we had gotten the same with Nolan.

Overall such a cute, fun romance.