The annoucement that Ali Hazelwood was releasing a Young Adult romance novel got a ton of buzz, especially when advanced copies went out in a package of “Penguin Teen blockbusters”. I was lucky enough to nab my store’s box and get my sticky fingers on Check & Mate [Buy Bookshop Amazon]. Then LibroFM offered a copy of the audiobook, so there’s really no getting around the expectations that this book is buzz-worthy.

In Check & Mate, Mallory is so done with chess and has been for years, but her bestie asks her to participate in a charity tournament… so she does. And that’s where Mallory meets (and beats) the world champion and bad boy of chess, Nolan Sawyer. Naturally, she runs away.

When Mallory is offered a paid gig playing chess for a year, she initally says no because she is DONE with chess, but the pressure of providing for her family and losing her job kinda forces her into it. She’s determined to not let chess consumer her, but the need to earn money to keep the roof over her family’s head keeps her pushing hard. However, chess is a boys club and she’s up against some drama to keep the paychecks coming, and Nolan just might be a big part of it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’ve read one Ali Hazelwood book, you know exactly what you’re getting from the rest. Enemies (or rivals, in this case) to lovers. Big guy and tiny, nerdy, genius girl. Only one bed. Ali is nothing if not consistent.

I will give this one a warning that it should be classified as new adult, not YA. It’s much spicier than your average YA novel, and that kinda felt strange. Mallory is 18 and Nolan is a little bit older, so they are of age, but it just felt off for a YA book.

If you’re not a chess person, this might be a little hard to follow in places. There is a lot of talk about chess and board positions and various strategies. It all went way over my head, and I’m sure I’m not alone in just nodding and moving forward.

Otherwise, Check and Mate is a sweet and fun story that flew by for me.

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