Emma Barry has done it again. I loved this modern romance that perfectly melded the second chance with a unique take on "celebrity".

Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Jaime Croft is determined to prove his directorial range, and Scarlett Arbuthnot’s biography is the perfect project. He once thought Scarlett was his perfect match too, but it’s been seventeen years and he is still not sure that he is over her. Scarlett is a grandmaster taking the chess world by storm. She is sure that she can handle working with Jaime even if it reminds her of how she broke his heart. As Jaime and Scarlett work together, their past is resurrected and their feelings rise to the surface. Yet, they are uncertain whether they can be brave again when their hearts are at stake.
I liked the setting of the chess world, which was quite novel for me. I also enjoyed the two main characters, who were strong in their own distinct ways. Scarlet is very independent, particularly with her dedication to chess, while Jaime is determined to be successful in his career. The chemistry between them was evident from the beginning. However, their attempt to work through their past hurt was fraught with emotion and, at times, quite intense.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My sincere thanks to Emma Barry, Montlake, and @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read Bold Moves. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Scarlett and Jamie had an intense high school romance. It is 17 years later, and Scarlett is now a Grand Master at chess and has traveled the world. Jamie has made his mark in film making with his fame being tied to telling the story of his father's downfall and incarceration. Now Jamie needs to show that he is not a one hit wonder and decides that he wants to make a series about Scarlett based on her popular autobiography. Scarlett had never wanted to have her story adapted for tv or film but decides to give Jamie a chance and at the same time explore what chemistry may or may not still be between them. What follows is a lot of ups and downs - bold moves as the title suggests. Moves like Scarlett and Jamie need to take were not going to be easy and require some understanding and forgiveness on both sides of the board.

I know absolutely nothing about chess, but I really didn't need to know the intricacies of the game to understand this second chance love story. Honestly, at points I was so frustrated with both Jamie and Scarlett. I wanted them to open their eyes and get with the program. Both were stuck in their ways. Scarlett was too independent, and Jamie was more of a stubborn caretaker who needed to let go of control once in a while. That being said, it was realistic that it took some time for them to both be on the same or close to the same page. The mistakes that they make along the way teach them a lot and make them more ready for a true relationship. If you want a lot of fluff and easy sailing in a romance, this is not that. I encourage readers to try Bold Moves for a well written and unique story. Emma Barry has become a favorite and I am excited to see what she comes up with next.

Bad Reputation by Emma Barry is a wonderful contemporary romance.
This whole story is just fun.
A smart and sexy second-chance romance
Jaime and Scarlett were both realistic, well developed and just so much fun.
Their relationship and banter was amazing!

It was probably just me but I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. Although I liked the tension that began right at the start between Scarlett and Jaime by the middle I was over the back and forth. He always seemed far more into it than she was and I just never really got why they liked each other. I liked her skill as a player but felt the relationship was lacking and definitely not something worth revisiting. When she drops a bombshell on him her cold response was enough to let me know that there was a reason the relationship ended. It seems like plenty of other people liked it but for me it was a hard pass.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Scarlett is a grand master, aka a really big deal in the chess world. Now she must work with her ex, Jamie, to write her memoir. Working closely with him doesn't sound like a bad idea, but Jaime is determined to prove he's great at his own job and her biography is perfect. It has been seventeen years since Scarlett broke Jamie's heart, so surely they can work together.

Emma Barry knows how to deliver the most powerful of Romance punches - how to make a reader fall in love with the characters and truly root for their HEA. I won't spoil this plot, because it has so much goodness in it, but it delivers on everything I adore in a romance. Her books immediately become Forever Faves for me - romances I own in multiple formats.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC.

✨Book Review: Bold Moves✨
Author: Emma Barry

Scarlett is a bad-ass female Grandmaster whose memoir is about to be turned into a miniseries. The only problem? The person behind the miniseries is her childhood ex, Jaime.

You’ll already know how much I love chess, so when I saw this had a chess theme I knew I had to request it. It absolutely DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I actually requested and received both an eARC and eALC from NetGalley so I was happy when I managed to get both of them so I could go back and forth between the two, and so I could enjoy the story on my commute.

I really loved this book. The story felt so real and the chemistry between the characters practically jumped off the page. You get to watch their chemistry and connection grow throughout the beginning of the story as they go from (now) strangers back to friends. They each have their own hang-ups and you can see the way they begin to change as the story progresses. She’s a lone wolf used to doing everything herself and not letting people in (until she does). He is so used to taking care of everyone that he sometimes doesn’t know when to step back (until he does).

This is perfect for fans of:
♟️Chess
♟️Second chance romance
♟️Childhood friends to lovers
♟️Friends to strangers to lovers
♟️Dual POV
♟️Amazing side characters
♟️Strong female main character

I also absolutely loved listening to the audio. Most mornings I didn’t mind getting stuck in a little extra traffic in order to listen for longer. I’m always a sucker for dual narration.

Bold Moves is out now through KU or in paperback or audio.

A very special thank you to NetGalley Montlake, Brilliance Audio, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Barry knows how to write an achy book was my main takeaway from this one though that's something I have known for years. It's funny, I'm writing this review last of all of the second chance romance ARCs I read in a row and it's absolutely the one where the second chance is most central to the plot and the best executed. You can FEEL the years between the FMC and MMC and then you can feel the years falling away. It's a gift.

<i>Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.</i>

There are second chance romances and then there’s Bold Moves, Emma Barry’s latest book, which takes the second chance romance trope and injects it with so much angst and heartache that at a certain point, I was concerned just how the two MCs would make their way back to each other. But fear not, dear readers, this is after all a romance novel and one of the best parts of our much beloved genre is in the knowledge that no matter how rocky the journey might be, a HEA is always guaranteed.

The book is smartly broken up into three parts: opening moves, the middlegame, and the endgame, made even more clever by the fact that these terms also refer to the three stages of a chess match.

Jaime, the golden boy eldest son of a well-respected family, and Scarlett, a brilliant chess player born to a struggling single mother, had a torrid romance in high school. In fact, I don’t think Scarlett would agree with my usage of the term “romance” since she was always very careful to play it cool, refusing to put any labels on what they were. No dates, no public displays of affection, no going to prom together. But their chemistry was undeniable, and their flame burned hot…and then it burned out in spectacular fashion when Jaime’s doctor father was arrested and charged with some pretty serious crimes and subsequently sent to prison and Scarlett skipped town to follow her chess dreams, leaving Jaime to handle his family’s fallout all on his own.

Cut to the present day when this book begins with its opening moves and Jaime, now a well-respected television director and Scarlett, a famous grandmaster in chess (seriously, she’s so famous in the world of chess, she did a spread for Vogue) put eyes on each other for the first time in seventeen years. Scarlett has written her memoir, a hugely successful bestseller, and Jaime is desperate for her to let him adapt it for television.

The first part of the book involves Jaime and Scarlett refamiliarizing themselves with each other while working together in close confines back in their old hometown in Appalachia to write the scripts for the adaptation of her memoir. While they dance around each other, much like pawns on a chessboard (I promise this will be my only chess related line in this review as I don’t know much at all about the game), the spector of what drove them apart looms in the background. The two rekindle their affair and Jaime wants more but Scarlett knows it can’t ever happen because she has a very big secret. I won’t spoil this secret, but she divulges it in the final chapter of opening moves, almost a preemptive strike to show why they could never have a future together and Jaime is furious and unable to handle it. Without spoiling the secret, I just want to say this is a very big deal, and one of the reasons that this second chance romance works so well is because there are legitimate things in their past that pose emotional roadblocks for them both.

In the middlegame, the story picks up 9 months after Scarlett dropped her truth bomb, when the two are forced to reunite to actually film the show. Jaime is still reeling from Scarlett’s big reveal and Scarlett is unapologetic about her actions and I have to say, I kind of love that. Scarlett refuses to apologize because at the end of the day, she did the right thing, the ONLY thing she could have done and even though that right thing had rippling consequences, her choices were correct and also partly motivated by her desire to protect Jaime. Understandably, Jaime doesn’t see it that way (when I say understandably, I don’t necessarily mean that I agree with Jaime’s stance but that I can see why HE might feel the way he does) and their reunion is rocky.

Part of their ongoing conflict is due to the fact that Scarlett, who has never really had anyone to rely on before, doesn’t know how to let anyone in, emotionally. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Jaime is drawn to Scarlett like a moth to a flame and the two once again resume their affair, this time in the midst of filming a tv show that’s basically about Scarlett’s life. But this time, Jaime holds no delusions about their future, certain that this affair is a limited time deal, here for a good time but not a long time.

I often complain about the pacing in the current crop of contemporary romances but Emma Barry handles this so deftly because each part of the book comes with months long gaps in between so that it’s well over a year from start to finish. By the conclusion of the middlegame, it’s Jaime pulling back, unconvinced that Scarlett can truly give him the kind of emotional intimacy he wants in a relationship.

It’s such a beautiful and tightly plotted book and the character development is phenomenal. I started the book thinking that these two were such diametrically different people, with Scarlett a loner who doesn’t ever rely on people and is fiercely independent, and Jaime, the eldest son, the responsible one who wants to take care of everyone in his orbit. But the realization sets in at some point in the middlegame, that these two actually have more in common that either of them could even acknowledge. They are both independent and reluctant to lean on others. Jaime might accuse Scarlett of not letting anyone in emotionally, but the actions of his father some seventeen years ago has caused him to pull back as well, as if he needs to atone for the sins of his father.

This emotional landmine leads us to the finale of the book, the endgame, where Jaime must grapple with his own behavior towards Scarlett and sets about asking those closest to him that age old question of our time: AM I THE ASSHOLE? Unanimously, the response is: “dude, YES, OBVIOUSLY” leading Jaime to finally realize that ultimately, how you feel about a situation is not necessarily the actual truth of the situation.

This review is already too long, so I don’t want to say much more than this: the way this book is laid out, from the characters arcs to the plot points does feel, in its own way, like a tightly crafted, well played chess game. Again, this is from someone who barely knows how each of the pieces on a chess board are supposed to move but regardless, I was thoroughly entertained and riveted and on the edge of my seat to see just how this second chance romance would play out.

Bold Moves is a second chance romance about two characters coming together to work on a project, but they have to work through their past and present emotional issues before they can become something again. In this book, I really enjoyed the development of the characters. Jaime and Scarlett have been through a lot, both together and apart, and that shows up on the page in their interactions and event the way they behave with other people. I enjoyed how as Scarlett returned to Musgrove, the town became it's own character. Emma Barry is such a talented writer, and I'm excited for her next book.

I'd recommend this book to people who like their romance with deep character insights and emotional relationship development.

Content notes: reference to the opioid crisis

Dear Emma Barry,

I played a (very) little chess as a teen, so I know how the pieces move but I have never watched a match played by others. Even so, I was happy to dive into the world of competitive chess in Bold Moves. Scarlett Arbuthnot is one of the top female chess players in the world and has been fighting against the establishment and the gender segregation of the sport for years, with limited success. She grew up in Appalachia, daughter to a single mother. They moved around a lot and didn’t have much. Chess was Scarlett’s way out of poverty.

She moved to Musgrove after her junior year and went to the local high school where she met Jaime Croft. He was the high school golden boy, moneyed, gorgeous, talented.

Scarlett is and always was, prickly and defensive.

Scarlett only had herself and her smart mouth, and so she had to wield both like weapons. If she didn’t, she might fall into the trap of imagining that she was defenseless.

She didn’t want to “date” Jaime. He didn’t want her to be a dirty little secret but he’d take what he could get. It didn’t stop him inviting his “friend” over for dinner and he was never ashamed to be seen with her but Scarlett drew boundaries he had to respect. Jaime was deeply in love and completely wrecked for her. He used his influence to get a school chess club started and funded so that she could begin to live her dream.

Shortly after Jaime graduated from high school, his wealthy, respected, doctor father was arrested and later gaoled, for trafficking oxycodone and Jaime’s life was thrown into turmoil. His mother didn’t quite know how to cope and his younger sister needed support. Scarlett was off to Tokyo to compete in her first international tournament. Jaime needed to stay behind to look after his family. Scarlett, for her part, loved Jaime deeply (still does) but couldn’t see a way forward for them.

Now, 17 years later, Jaime is a successful documentary/film-maker, having made an Emmy-nominated documentary about his father and the impact of what he did on the community around them. Given a virtually unlimited budget from “Videon” he approaches Scarlett to make a series about her autobiography, Queen’s Kiss. To date, Scarlett has resisted any and all efforts to adapt her memoir for the screen. But Jaime… well, he’s different.

Both Jaime and Scarlett bear scars from their earlier relationship. Jaime doesn’t understand exactly what went wrong between them and and Scarlett has a secret (which is not too hard to figure out, or at least get within the vicinity of for readers) which she is sure will change everything if Jamie knows.

The deal they make though is that they will write the script together and because reasons, this happens in Musgrove. They live together in Jaime’s house while they’re writing and over the course of the weeks they’re working so closely together, the connection between them only grows. They’re like magnets, always drawing each other closer and it’s only a matter of time before the pull between them is too great.

Even though it looks from the outside that Scarlett is the difficult one in the relationship (and it’s not untrue), Jaime has his own demons to deal with. He has built his life, since his father’s arrest, on competence. On looking after everyone else and protecting everyone else. He even helps in Musgrove, trying to make amends in some way for his father’s sins. He runs a local support group for families of incarcerated persons. He visits his dad regularly. His dad, who will likely never leave prison. Not alive anyway.

Jaime knew he’d made his own mistakes in not realizing what his father had been up to, not being able to stop all that harm. That was exactly why he always strove to be competent and in control. He never wanted to miss anything that important ever again. He had no excuse for being ignorant now.

Jaime! You were just a kid!! Give yourself a break!

But Jaime doesn’t really give himself a break. He holds himself to an incredibly high standard and he tends to have tunnel vision about certain things.

So, when that secret Scarlett was keeping comes out, he reacts badly.

The story then skips ahead some months until filming of Queen’s Kiss the series is to begin. Scarlett is the chess expert on set and is also an executive producer. So they have to be in each other’s space all the time again.

I don’t want to give away too much because spoilers, but there is another time jump after filming to when the show is to air. That was my disconnect with the story; so much time in between each act. In terms of page time, there was no gap at all – the story focused on when they were together or about to be. But I kind of hated that they were apart for so long, more than once, marinating in angst and being unhappy and/or angry with one another and pining.

Somehow, he was going to have to make those four months on set enough to last a lifetime. Maybe he could find a way to snip up the way she made him feel and sew it together into a quilt, one he could huddle under when she left and the nights were cold again.

It felt a little disjointed to me too, even though I understood the why of it in the narrative.

Scarlett learns to let people in – something which Jaime says is his biggest issue with her (but is it really Jaime? Or, is it more about you?) and Jaime takes far too long to get the stick out of his butt over things and understand why Scarlett did what she did and to let Scarlett protect him sometimes rather than him being the one always in charge. Yes, he was mostly lying to himself but I was surprised as his own lack of insight, all things considered.

There is a rich subtext to why they each do what they do and how they feel about one another and a melancholy to the overall tone of the story. In many ways it’s a story of missed opportunities and “what ifs” as much as a story of a couple destined to be together finally getting it right.

As I’ve come to expect from this author, the writing is very good, with strong word play and tight allusions. I especially liked this one which was apt on a number of levels:

Them together forever wasn’t some absurd sci-fi thought, like a functional Congress or a natural deodorant that worked as advertised. It could happen.

It could totally happen.

Bold Moves was set in the world of chess but readers don’t need to know the game to understand the story. There’s chess in the book but it is completely accessible. I had the sense that the documentary making/film-making part was realistic also and I appreciated the sensitivity the author had about the opioid crisis and the damage of it. While it wasn’t my favourite of all of the Emma Barry books I’ve read, it was a solidly enjoyable book and one which, thinking about it later, has even more layers to it than might initially meet the eye.

Grade: B

Regards,
Kaetrin

As a lover of chess I definetively loved this book, specially what I loved most was female representation. Scarlett hook me in because, as I read more and grow, I definetively relate more to characters who are grey in how they navigate life and I'm so hyped up how there are more authors who write this flawed characters with so comolex backgrounds. And also I loved that this comolez characters dynamics have HEAs for themselves.
Totally recommend this book to anyone who knows chess and who doesn't know it at all because Emma really did writed in an engaged and easy way.

I have loved Emma Barry’s writing since I first read the Fly Me to the Moon series she wrote with Genevieve Turner starting back in 2015. I just vibe with her writing. All of her characters are complex, fabulously messy and complicated, but her female characters have tended to be a little more emotionally mature than their love interest. With Bold Moves she has given us Scarlett, who is unapologetically and strategically difficult. I love Scarlett so much. So. Much! And so does Jaime, but before he can be with her, he needs to dig his hole so deep that he finally realizes that he is the source of his own problems. This second chance romance is so good we get a third chance romance too.

The first thing we learn about Scarlett is that the doorman at her building thinks she’s, “one of those femme fatales.” Scarlett grew up poor, moving around a lot with a mother who was more focused on herself than Scarlett. Chess became Scarlett’s way out and she is mad about it. She is mad that she has to be extraordinary just to get a foot in the door and even then, the chess elite don’t want her to succeed. Scarlett has made herself into a legendary wrecking ball and very few people see that her chaos is actually strategically aimed at destroying the systems that keep people out. She wrote a bestselling book about her life in chess, which has not endeared her to the people in power.

Jamie Croft is one of the rare people who see her. They were in a complicated situationship in high school, made messier when Scarlett turned Jamie’s father in for, essentially, dealing opioids. After holding his family together, he made a docuseries exploring the opioid crisis in Appalachia, and his father’s role in it. Now he wants to adapt Scarlett’s memoir. She agrees with conditions, conditions that force them to work together closely. Jamie thinks he’s so mature and in control now. He gets his ass handed to him and watching him realize he did it to himself was chef’s kiss.

All the things that drew them together as teen flare to life in a messy and passionate glory. It was such a joy to read, I loved the ways they came together and drove each other away. They work through a lot of their messy past and learn each other as adults. As with many romance main characters, Scarlett and Jamie have to figure out how to get out of their own way. Sometimes this can be frustrating, but here I delighted every time they made their own lives harder. Both of them, but especially Jaime, kept digging holes to avoid confronting themselves. And good for them, because they hit the bottom and realized that the good isn’t in being flawless and limitless, the good is in being flawed and limited together.

Scarlett, in true Emma Barry fashion, is still a touch more together than Jaime, even though she’s an agent of chaos. I really loved Bold Moves.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Montlake and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Bold Moves by Emma Barry

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Even though I personally don’t play chess, I am always so excited to read books about the game. I find the sport fascinating, and the structure surrounding it intriguing. I honestly was hoping for a little more of the chess world in Bold Moves, but it felt like we just kind of danced around it the entire time. Not to say it was bad, but I just wanted more!

Scarlett Arbuthnot is one of only a handful of female chess grandmasters on the planet, and she scratched and clawed her way to get there. Now, she’s written a memoir detailing her experience with the misogyny and sexism in the chess world, a memoir she is quite protective of. She won’t trust just any old filmmaker to adapt it either, but when Jaime Croft, her high school sweetheart, shows up in the lobby of her building with high hopes and a blank check, Scarlett decides to take him up on the offer … but only if she can co-write and co-produce the show right alongside him. However, Jaime has stipulations, too. He wants to write the show in Musgrove, Virginia, their hometown and where they fell in love as kids. But unbeknownst to Jaime, Scarlett has carried around a secret for the last 17 years that will shake his foundation to the core.

I was really enjoying this book in the beginning. It had promise and kept me hooked to see what was going to happen next. The tension and chemistry was there and strong. Then, it started to get a little repetitive. It felt like Jaime and Scarlett were just a pendulum swinging back and forth, taking turns hurting each other. I hate a third act breakup, but that would have required them to work out their issues and even be together in any sort of meaningful way in the first place, which they never were. It felt very superficial and lust-fueled, even though you could definitely tell they were in love with each other the whole time.

I really wanted more chess in this. I wanted to see Scarlett take on the misogyny in a game, not just read about it. We don’t get that until the very end. I think it would have added so much more depth and dynamic to her character that was lacking. She comes off very egotistical and arrogant and not as intelligent as I imagined her to be. I get why she painted herself that way, but did she have to act that way with Jaime, too?

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It would be great for fans of The Queen’s Gambit or Ali Hazelwood’s Check & Mate.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Barry, and Montlake for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated are my own.

I had really high hopes for this one! I always love a second chance romance and was super intrigued that our FMC, Scarlett, is a chess grand master. How cool! The book begins when Scarlett reconnects with her high school ex, Jamie, as he adapts her successful memoir for the screen. I liked how emotional their backstory was and I thought the glimpses we got of their younger years added a lot of depth to the characters. While there was definitely physical chemistry, I’m not sure I 100% bought into their emotional connection, especially in the end. That said, I was rooting for them the whole time! It was a unique story and I enjoyed it!

With second chances being my bread and butter, I couldn't wait to see what Emma Barry was going to bring us in Bold Moves. The whole promise of a fierce grandmaster FMC teaming up with the love of her past to adapt her memoir to a tv show. I really loved the first half of the book and just seeing everything unwind between them. Naturally, there's no doubt that something is still simmering between them, but there's definitely something that needed to be said.

They have a lot to work through individually and together as well. And I did struggle with Scarlett's character a little because at time it just came off as my way or the highway. I totally understand that because of her upbringing, but it brought in this new element that I haven't quite read about. However, it's something she recognizes and wants to work on in the future.

With Jaime's hang-ups, while I understood his decisions, it really brought in the angst a bit.

I feel like this book won't work for everyone because you're getting a dynamic that you don't always see in romance. For me, it was fresh, and it had me looking at both sides very deeply. There was more push and pull than I would have liked, but overall, I really enjoyed this one!

Bold Moves is an emotionally gritty second chance love story between two high school lovers that were destined to orbit one another and eventually collide with an explosive impact.

Jaime and Scarlett had amazing chemistry and energy from the moment they met their junior year of high school. However, it wasn’t enough to build a relationship. Scarlett grew up poor, with a single mom who was more friend than parent, so at an early age, she learned to be independent and rely on no one. Jaime lived a life of comfort with his respected and stable family and large home. Her dreams to become a world-class chess player took her out of Muskgrove as soon as she graduated, leaving Jaime behind to pick up the pieces of his heart while holding his family together after his father was sent to prison for dealing opioids.

Fast forward seventeen years and Jaime is an award winning television show producer, his first series a docu-drama about his father’s arrest. Scarlett is a celebrity, taking the chess world by storm, with her recent autobiography a huge success. After denying all others the right to adapt her book, she agrees to work with Jaime, selling him and his studio the rights to her book, Queen’s Kiss.

Jaime and Scarlett’s romance takes place over the course of years, with fits and stops along the way. They never deny their bond which draws them together regardless of drama, time, and emotional well-being. Both feel better when they are with the other, but there is always something that blocks them from a true emotional connection. First, it’s Scarlett’s need to leave Muskgrove. Then it’s a huge secret that Scarlett has held on to for seventeen years. And then it’s Jaime’s pride and need to be the fixer. The couple ebb and flow, at times a trickle and others the rush of Niagara Falls.

Bold Moves was tougher on me than the author’s previous titles. But I am such a sucker for emotional second chances. And honestly, if I didn’t know and trust Barry as a romance author, I would have been worried for the ending. There just seemed to be so many obstacles keeping the pair from finding their HEA. Both have baggage that they need to unpack. For years, the chip on Scarlett’s shoulder kept her from letting anyone in; she holds any potential friends at arms length, believing they wouldn’t want to know the “real” Scarlett. But also, she doesn’t want to be vulnerable and exposed. She views life as a challenge to overcome.

Meanwhile, Jaime is driven to take care of his broken family and fix problems. He needs to be in control and sees the world sometimes as black and white. When her learns Scarlett’s secret, he’s not hurt so much by what she did as that she didn’t give him the chance to participate in making a decision that impacted his life, as well as mad at himself for not seeing what was happening in his own home.

It takes time and work to bring these two to their HEA. Scarlett learns to trust others and that life is better, richer when she’s not going it alone. And really, that’s what Jaime learns… he doesn’t need to be the one fixing everyone/thing. I have to admit, I was a little mad on behalf of Jaime that no one took “his side.” While he needed to figure it out his feelings and grow from the experiences, I do wish someone had told him, you have the right to be angry… and then get over it.

Bold Moves is gripping, emotional, and ultimately rewarding. My heart broke when either Jaime or Scarlett would bare their soul, only to be ignored or turned away. It’s an up and down journey that needs the time to blossom into an HEA, and it’s a journey worth taking along side the pair.

My Rating: B

This is a second chance romance trope with heavy themes of the inner world of professional chess and film making. I really enjoyed learning about chess (previously knew nothing), and the romance is hot and steamy. I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing the ARC.

This book was kind of a dumpster fire, to be honest.

This is a second chance romance featuring Scarlett, a chess grandmaster with a chip on her shoulder and an independent streak a mile wide, and Jaime, the up-and-coming filmmaker who wants to adapt her biography into a television series. These two were formerly together in high school, although it's really unclear as to why they were and why that particular relationship ended up being the one thing they both hold onto well into their 30s.

Over the course of the book, you learn a bit more about what their relationship was like, and more about the characters themselves. I found Scarlett to be infuriating most of the time. There's independence and there's outright refusal to let someone into your life. And unfortunately, Scarlett falls into the latter. Her attitude is catty and mean, she says things she knows will wound, and I genuinely found her incredibly unlikeable.

Jaime isn't much better. He operates through life with these optimistic rose-colorer glasses on, and his naivete gets him into trouble. He and Scarlett butt heads, especially when it comes to her decision making, as he wants to be included. But he came off as very immature, which is not an attractive quality for men in their 30s.

One of the best things about second chance romances is the yearning that comes from being in close proximity to each other. This book had none of that. It made it difficult to see how and why Jaime and Scarlett rekindled their relationship, or even why they wanted to date each other in the first place.

Not my favorite book.

Jaime Croft has an open checkbook from Videon after the original docuseries he wrote and produced received multiple Emmy nominations. There’s only one story Jaime is dying to tell: the story of chess phenom Scarlett Arbuthnot. Scarlett’s memoir, Queen’s Kiss, was a runaway bestseller and Jaime is dying to adapt it. The only problem is, Scarlett and Jamie have a past that neither of them wants to revisit.

This angsty second chance romance hit all of the right notes for me! I couldn’t put it down. The chemistry between Jaime and Scarlett was palpable from the moment they first reunited in Scarlett’s lobby.

It was interesting to watch these two struggle with their feelings while they worked in extremely close proximity to write the episodes for the Queen’s Kiss adaptation. Jamie’s affection for Scarlett was always close to the surface, but Scarlett was harder to read. Once Scarlett revealed the real reason she left Jamie behind seventeen years prior, my heart broke for both of them.

Part of their third act frustrated me a bit, because they both acted immature at times. I did love the ending, though, and how Jaime showed up for Scarlett and helped show her that she could need people.