Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Queen's Gambit

I know for a FACT I would not have loved this book that much had I not watched the Netflix series first and would have probably given it 4-4.5 stars. The series, for me, was probably deserving of five-stars! After listening to this title, it was definitely interesting, but I found the show to be more iconic. I liked the narrator and I thought they perfectly encapsulated the generally reserved but driven Beth Harmon.

Even though I know little to nothing about chess, I still found the many parts of this book that reference chess to be interesting and found that I was still able to understand what was happening enough to stay intrigued.

While this book follows Beth Harmon who ends up at 19 at the end of the book, this is not a YA title; this book almost read like a nonfiction title. I would recommend this book for people who liked the show, enjoy stories about women's empowerment, and would enjoy reading about 1960's society.

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orshi999's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.0

I mostly read the book the find the differences between it and the series. While Anya has my whole heart I'm more fond of book Beth. The series did a good job at showing her drive and her genius but in my opinion left out a lot of the flaws that made the character so complex in the book. Beth in the series has a dependency on the pills, in a way it looks like she needs them to function but finds out she's just fine (even better) without them. In the book Beth is aware how pills and alcohol affect her and as a result avoids them, it's forms more of a dependency on chess because chess is her drug and without it she spirals into others.
Many of the tournaments were either squished together or cut because of the limited episodes which makes sense but they add a lot of complexity, Beth loses more often in the books and when she does she gets angry and develops as a person especially as she gets older
. All in all it was a very interesting read even though I don't understand chess and sometimes to descriptions of the games made no sense the author makes up for it with visuals. Someone who understands it better might have a better opinion on that.

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gracexsprouse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

honestly i was questioning whether or not I would like this book since I have never played a game of chess in my life but it is so interesting. The character of beth is very memorable and i thoroughly enjoyed her coming of age story.
there was a perfect amount of side characters and they all added so much to the plot in exactly the right moments. I wouldn’t say the writing is extremely mind blowing but it’s done in a way to keep you engaged.
definitely one of my favourite books i have read this year and I’m definitely going to watch the show because i haven’t yet :)

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merle98's review against another edition

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dark inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Shamefully I must admit that I did not know the Netflix show I watched and loved was based on a book, but when I found out I knew I had to read it. Even after watching the show which surprisingly closely follows the plot of the book, the book was captivating from start to finish and, as my lovely book vendor told me, goes much deeper into the psyche of Beth which massively improves the story. I do feel that the start of the book is a little stronger than the end and there was a lot of fascinating but incomprehensible chess speak (to an outsider like me) but these are just minor grievances: Would highly recommend.

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