Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Shakkimatti by Ali Hazelwood

57 reviews

sarahcar_63's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Sexism and Infidelity

Minor: Grief, Alcoholism, and Chronic illness

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

I put off reading this despite my absolute love for Ali Hazelwood (I've been pre-ordering her books since Love on the Brain, lol) because I'm not a huge fan of YA romance - unfortunately, I need my smut, lmao! Thankfully, as my favorite book Instagrammer Beach Reads & Bubbly put it in her review, this book is absolutely brimming with sexual tension, and despite no overt sex scenes, there is a lot of steamy content. Ali is so good at taking opaque and esoteric fields that are not that easily digestible to a layperson and making them make sense - I know nothing about chess, and I was able to follow all of this relatively easily - and she always exposes the sexism and misogyny inherent in those fields with a deft and light touch. I loved Mallory as a character, and I adored her family and the way their ecosystem operated. That was one benefit of Ali writing YA - in her other books her characters are grown-ups and we don't get to see a lot of how they grew up, and of course Mallory's family is so central to her story. As usual, the found family aspect is also quite strong. I just love Ali's books so much! I'm pumped to read Ali's newest book Not in Love, which is supposed to be her steamiest yet, squeal!!!

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Content Warnings

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

hjb_128's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexism, and Medical content

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content

atamano's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia, Car accident, Violence, Cursing, Infertility, and Alcohol

ka_schulze's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Dementia

dkamada's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Queens gambit energy + no one writes sex scenes as well as Ali!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Grief, Chronic illness, Misogyny, and Sexual content

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

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

reedandright's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Bullying