Book Review: Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Another nerdy rom-com from Ali Hazelwood, and let me tell you, I was very pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out 🙂. Keep reading below for my full review of Ali Hazelwood’s first YA novel, Check & Mate.
Book Information
Mallory hates chess. Loathes it actually. She refuses to ever use a chess board again. The thing is, though, she really doesn’t hate chess. She just hates how guilty it makes her feel….
Until her best friend convinces her to play in a tournament where Mallory beats the number one top ranking chess player in the world. Now, Mallory is thrust back into the world of chess with a guy that she can’t stop thinking about. The only thing truly holding her back is what her family will think about her playing chess again, and she’s scared that they’ll never forgive her.Â
Review | Heidi Dischler
So, I almost swore off of Ali Hazelwood after Love on the Brain and Love, Theoretically even though I absolutely adored The Love Hypothesis (I also loved her STEMinist novellas, Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero). The reason I almost swore off of her? Her stories are all…. So. Damn. Similar. I couldn’t take it. It was repetitive and boring and so many other adjectives. Check & Mate, though? It was none of those negative things.
Don’t get me wrong, Ali Hazelwood is not a bad writer. She writes really well actually. I just wish I didn’t get deja vu after reading each of her books. This novel, though, renewed my interest in this author, and I think it’s because she ventured outside of her comfort zone. Still a romance, yes. Still nerdy, also yes. But it was a YA. New territory. It was also about chess instead of science. Also new territory. There was a strong focus on family rather than the romance. There was friendships and many many chess matches, and I absolutely loved every second of it.
Mallory and Nolan were wonderful characters and I loved the way that Mallory interacted with her sisters. I also loved that Mallory’s passion wasn’t necessarily only about herself. It was about providing for her family. In my opinion, this novel had more depth than Hazelwood’s others, and I really appreciated that.Â
Overall, if you like Ali Hazelwood’s writing style but aren’t sure if you’re ready to read another novel of the same old same old, I think you’ll really enjoy Check & Mate because I did. I wish Ali Hazelwood would venture out of her comfort zone more often.Â
 Source: Audiobook from Libby Public Library
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
2 thoughts on “Book Review: Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood”