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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wait, is chess hot? Was I sleeping on all the chess club guys when I was in high school?
In all seriousness thought, this was a super refreshing, very different story from Ali Hazelwood. My issue with some of her adult books that I’ve read are that they all seem so similar. This one was very different.
My only issue with it was that I felt like I didn’t fully understand why Mallory and her mother and sisters hadn’t had more of an open conversation about all the issues they have throughout the book much much sooner. And about the whole situation with their dad. Mallory blames herself for it, but at the end of the book a simple conversation with her mother solves that whole issue, so why didn’t they just do that sooner? I get that some of it is for YA drama and some of it is explained by her mother’s chronic illness and just not having the energy for that. But I feel like this story would have been just as impactful and I probably would have actually liked it more if the whole family drama element hadn’t been there and we’d just focused on the chess and the romance.
In all seriousness thought, this was a super refreshing, very different story from Ali Hazelwood. My issue with some of her adult books that I’ve read are that they all seem so similar. This one was very different.
My only issue with it was that I felt like I didn’t fully understand why Mallory and her mother and sisters hadn’t had more of an open conversation about all the issues they have throughout the book much much sooner. And about the whole situation with their dad. Mallory blames herself for it, but at the end of the book a simple conversation with her mother solves that whole issue, so why didn’t they just do that sooner? I get that some of it is for YA drama and some of it is explained by her mother’s chronic illness and just not having the energy for that. But I feel like this story would have been just as impactful and I probably would have actually liked it more if the whole family drama element hadn’t been there and we’d just focused on the chess and the romance.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cute story. Rivals to lovers and it tackles the rampant sexism in traditionally “high thinking” hobbies like chess.
i picked this one up sort of spontaneously and read it while sitting in the library. i'm glad that i did not bother to check it out because i did dnf at the end of chapter 23 because i knew exactly what would happen.
i'm realizing i'm just not into protagonists unrealistically and unreasonably blowing up their life. which it's fine if that's your thing but it isn't mine. i did find the love interest to be an interesting character but that's probably the only reason i stuck around past the first part.
i do not think ali hazelwood is the writer for me seeing as i also semi-dnfed the love hypothesis and i read that one on kindle.
i'm realizing i'm just not into protagonists unrealistically and unreasonably blowing up their life. which it's fine if that's your thing but it isn't mine. i did find the love interest to be an interesting character but that's probably the only reason i stuck around past the first part.
i do not think ali hazelwood is the writer for me seeing as i also semi-dnfed the love hypothesis and i read that one on kindle.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes