Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Shakkimatti by Ali Hazelwood

59 reviews

filipa_maia's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

After reading 'Bride' I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. I think my brain was conditioned to expect one thing and got the exact opposite.

I loved this story so much. I really like Mallory (although I found her annoying sometimes) - I appreciate her sense of family and the fact that she simply feels like supporting them; and I really like Nolan - he's just a good guy who learned the hard way how to grow up alone surrounded by cameras. They are perfect for each other.

And I loved the ending - everything was exactly as it should be.

P.S.: I love Oz, he is my favorite character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexism, Death, Dementia, Medical content, Grief, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident and Sexual harassment

gemma_00's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Good, easy read. Focusing on sexism and gender stereotypes in a competitive environment.
Mallory is slightly annoying in a 'main character of a romance' type of way.
Nolan is a walking contradiction. Don't know how else to explain him. 
But looking past plot holes, inaccuracies, the characters' similar personalities and mannerisms; its an enjoyable and investing read.
Cute epilogue

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Content Warnings

Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

sinoclock's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

It was a fun read. The characters were consistent and I could appreciate that, even if I didn't totally relate to some of their decisions. I think Hazelwood gets some flack for having common themes in her writing but this one definitely stands apart to me (and not just for the lack of explicit scenes).  Overall really enjoyed it even tho she admits she kinda made some stuff up chess-wise lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Dementia

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This is my third Ali Hazelwood novel and she did her lil thing with this one im ngl 😋 I’m obsessed with Nolan and how smitten he was with Mallory after she outsmarted him and won their chess game. Also the fact that she is bi and has a supportive family is just 🥹🫶 bc we rarely get to see rom-coms where the mc’s in a heterosexual relationship have different sexualities other than being straight, so this was refreshing. I do agree with some people opinions that this should’ve been marketed as a new adult instead of YA bc even if it wasn’t incredibly descriptive, the spicy scene in the book was hardly fade to black either. I will definitely continue to read books by this author bc I enjoy her writing and how each book sheds a positive light on feminism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Dementia, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content

sundayfever's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Classism, Chronic illness, and Infidelity

Minor: Dementia, Car accident, and Alcoholism

emilyferrise's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked this one more than her more adult STEM books. A good bit of pining, which I historically haven’t loved, but am coming to appreciate more. Romcom meets Queen’s Gambit (Netflix). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Dementia, and Infidelity

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was SO fun and so cute. I absolutely loved Mallory and Nolan and their relationship! This one had so many good moments and the banter was gold. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Alcohol, Mental illness, Grief, Infidelity, Dementia, Sexual content, and Sexism

mikaylawood's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Dementia

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism

witcheep's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.5

This is a sweet YA story of love, where a shared passion for chess brings two very different people together through various hesitations and obstacles. Hazelwood writes the emotions into her story well, and the reader can't help but live through them with the characters.

The main take seems to be similar as in Hazelwood's adult romance books: one must come to terms with themselves before they can effectively communicate with others, and good communication is key for all sorts of healthy and loving relationships. This is a great message to convey in a YA book, since the target audience is in a life stage when they are generally figuring out who they are or who they want to be. As secondary themes to the plot, Hazelwood brings up important themes of sexism and gendered bias or inequality as something to rectify, and also shows how publicity can be both cruel and aspire to bring out a change for the better.

Same in Finnish / sama suomeksi:

Tässä suloisessa YA-rakkaustarinassa jaettu intohimo shakkia kohtaan tuo yhteen kaksi hyvin erilaista ihmistä epäröinnin ja vaikeuksien kautta. Hazelwood kirjoittaa tarinaansa taitavasti tunteita, eikä lukija voi välttyä kokemasta niitä kirjan henkilöiden kanssa.

Pääsanoma vaikuttaa samankaltaiselta kuin Hazelwoodin aikuisille suunnatuissa rakkauskirjoissa: täytyy olla sinut itsensä kanssa ennen kuin voi kommunikoida muiden kanssa tehokkaasti, ja hyvä kommunikaatio on avainasemassa kaikenlaisissa terveissä ja rakastavissa ihmissuhteissa. Tämä on erinomainen sanoma YA-kirjan välitettäväksi, sillä kohdeyleisö on elämäntilanteessa, jossa selvitetään, keitä ollaan tai keitä halutaan olla. Juonessa esiintyyviä toissijaisia, mutta tärkeitä teemoja ovat seksismi sekä sukupuolittunut vääristymä tai epätasa-arvo epäkohtina. Hazelwood osoittaa myös, kuinka julkisuus voi olla sekä julmaa että pyrkiä saamaan aikaan muutosta parempaan.


Review written 18.3.2024  (I listened to the audiobook as a Finnish translation).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Chronic illness

Minor: Car accident, Dementia, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Sexual content

whatrobynsreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

This was fun but not one I will think about often. I liked the diversity of characters and family dynamics and exploring those but Mallory pissed me off - lol another classic Ali Hazelwood FMC. I also appreciated how this wasn’t another woman in STEM romance but still a woman thriving in a male dominated field. Also it is not YA like it is marketed. It is a normal romance between younger adults - still has spice!! 
I kinda want to learn how to play chess hahaha

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Car accident, Addiction, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Chronic illness