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eileenbrooks 's review for:
Check & Mate
by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this one! I don’t typically like reading about teenagers (or even college kids), but once I got over that, this was pretty great. Nolan is a hot, mysterious, caring but cold, super smart nerd. Mallory is a cool character. Really smart but doesn’t think she is. Her sisters and mom leaving her to take care of the whole family is rude and kind of annoying but the sister is a teenager so she gets a pass and the mom explained herself in the end, but I still think she’s got some major problems as a mother.
I also really liked the chess nerdiness. It seemed like Ali Hazelwood tried to do her research (very Queen’s Gambit, honestly super similar chess context). So that was fun. A good one :) Not too spicy, but enough. Probably too much for what I would’ve defined as YA, but not as graphic as Ali Hazelwood’s other books. Well-rounded romcom.
I also really liked the chess nerdiness. It seemed like Ali Hazelwood tried to do her research (very Queen’s Gambit, honestly super similar chess context). So that was fun. A good one :) Not too spicy, but enough. Probably too much for what I would’ve defined as YA, but not as graphic as Ali Hazelwood’s other books. Well-rounded romcom.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content