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A review by oolawuyi_
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
3.5
A rocky start in my opinion (I’m not really sure why the book needed the prologue) but things really take off once Nolan and Mallory meet obviously.
Mallory is an interesting character because reading her POV is like if my life was narrated by all the anxiety I experience: has a few truths but is mostly unreliable. She’s in so much denial and is so repressed that it felt hard for me as a reader to fully know her, but I guess that’s the reality of being 18 (lots of self discovery).
On the other hand, I loved Nolan. He’s just a baby boy. I would almost argue he’s too flawless a character. He’s so confident (especially of his feelings for Mal) and emotionally mature, I wish we got to see him go on his own tiny journey.
I also wish we got his POV because while I love the idea that Nolan learns about Mal through chess, where her moves are a way of communicating that only he can/cares to understand, but I wish we got a look at what he saw during those games. It would have been great to see the version of her he saw not just the one she twisted herself into (as Oz said - I didn’t always like that version of her).
Mallory is an interesting character because reading her POV is like if my life was narrated by all the anxiety I experience: has a few truths but is mostly unreliable. She’s in so much denial and is so repressed that it felt hard for me as a reader to fully know her, but I guess that’s the reality of being 18 (lots of self discovery).
On the other hand, I loved Nolan. He’s just a baby boy. I would almost argue he’s too flawless a character. He’s so confident (especially of his feelings for Mal) and emotionally mature, I wish we got to see him go on his own tiny journey.
I also wish we got his POV because while I love the idea that Nolan learns about Mal through chess, where her moves are a way of communicating that only he can/cares to understand, but I wish we got a look at what he saw during those games. It would have been great to see the version of her he saw not just the one she twisted herself into (as Oz said - I didn’t always like that version of her).