Breakaway Books

Authored by Ali Hazelwood; Published November 2023; Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

I know that Check & Mate is technically a young adult novel. I know that. But, to me, it managed to mostly transcend the age group–it could be that I love niche romances, and that I don’t know a lot about this niche, but to me, it was an enticing and funny romance.

The hardest element for me to swallow was the heroine Mallory, an otherwise brilliant person, who continually blames herself for her father’s past misconduct. But, who among us had a level of self-reflection and emotional intelligence to be able to grasp and process trauma at 18?

(The second most difficult element was the somewhat ridiculous degree to which the hero, Nolan, understood what was happening in her psyche. Men can’t actually read minds.)

Those two flaws excepted, I enjoyed the story. I felt the pain of wondering with Mallory whether she had lost her best friend when she goes off to college. I swooned at Nolan’s emphatic declarations of desire and especially how much he appreciated her genius. I cheered for the older woman who had been disappointed by the culture of chess and turned that disappointment into strenuous efforts to make it better for the women that came after her.

I found the heroine’s little sisters weird and annoying—exactly as intended. They felt like real big sister-little sister interactions, especially when the older sister finds herself thrust into a position of greater responsibility. I even loved the peek into the elite world of competitive chess, which is admittedly a game (and culture) about which I know nothing.

Don’t let the YA label fool you. This is a fun romance!