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A review by angethology
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
1.5
"There are two types of players: the artists and the warriors."
I didn't necessarily have high expectations for a YA romance book and just kind of wanted a bit of fun, especially with the chess aspect. But this was so cringe-worthy with the constant pop culture references — the first page is already chock full of it and even though this was released in 2023 it feels like it's on the cusp of aging poorly. It's a typical case of a millennial writing about gen z stuff — and nothing wrong with that of course, but I promise you can still make a book relatable and a fun read if you don't mention TikTok every other page.
I think the romance had absolutely no build up, nor did Nolan and Mallory had chemistry that felt like their attraction to each other and 'romance issues' were earned in any way. It was rife with clichés about miscommunication that were too manufactured for the sake of having a conflict in the plot.
I also think it's kind of wild for Mallory to actually checkmate the world champion of chess — she actually had to announce it for Nolan to realise he lost and he was completely taken aback (as opposed to him resigning like pro chess players usually do when they're in a losing position). A laughably unbelievable scene. Mallory initially is so insecure and has too many "idk what I'm doing" moments after a huge hiatus but keeps winning — there's no build up practice, or steady progression of becoming better. It just feels like her natural talent completely overrides persistence, confidence, and mental fortitude, which doesn't feel deserved at all considering her huge break from the game.
You can tell that the author at least scratched the surface of the chess world: there's the big dogs of the past, sexism still being very present in the sport, the current impact it has online, and the way chess players obsess over their moves. When it comes to the actual games in the book, I think the author never went so in-depth where you can actually truly scrutinize the moves and determine whether they're that "good" or "bad" besides the basic terminology thrown around (which is not the point anyway, and that's fine for a YA book that is not necessarily targeted at chess players). It just seems that Hazelwood looked at iconic games and copied some of them (which she did confirm at the end). But I feel like that this book is so influenced by external factors, including other media like The Queen's Gambit that it doesn't have a life of its own.
Also fuck Sabrina, she was such a little shit.
I didn't necessarily have high expectations for a YA romance book and just kind of wanted a bit of fun, especially with the chess aspect. But this was so cringe-worthy with the constant pop culture references — the first page is already chock full of it and even though this was released in 2023 it feels like it's on the cusp of aging poorly. It's a typical case of a millennial writing about gen z stuff — and nothing wrong with that of course, but I promise you can still make a book relatable and a fun read if you don't mention TikTok every other page.
I think the romance had absolutely no build up, nor did Nolan and Mallory had chemistry that felt like their attraction to each other and 'romance issues' were earned in any way. It was rife with clichés about miscommunication that were too manufactured for the sake of having a conflict in the plot.
I also think it's kind of wild for Mallory to actually checkmate the world champion of chess — she actually had to announce it for Nolan to realise he lost and he was completely taken aback (as opposed to him resigning like pro chess players usually do when they're in a losing position). A laughably unbelievable scene. Mallory initially is so insecure and has too many "idk what I'm doing" moments after a huge hiatus but keeps winning — there's no build up practice, or steady progression of becoming better. It just feels like her natural talent completely overrides persistence, confidence, and mental fortitude, which doesn't feel deserved at all considering her huge break from the game.
You can tell that the author at least scratched the surface of the chess world: there's the big dogs of the past, sexism still being very present in the sport, the current impact it has online, and the way chess players obsess over their moves. When it comes to the actual games in the book, I think the author never went so in-depth where you can actually truly scrutinize the moves and determine whether they're that "good" or "bad" besides the basic terminology thrown around (which is not the point anyway, and that's fine for a YA book that is not necessarily targeted at chess players). It just seems that Hazelwood looked at iconic games and copied some of them (which she did confirm at the end). But I feel like that this book is so influenced by external factors, including other media like The Queen's Gambit that it doesn't have a life of its own.
Also fuck Sabrina, she was such a little shit.