After giving up playing chess years ago, Mallory finds herself returning when money is tight.
Check & Mate is the first young adult book by stem-romance author Ali Hazelwood. It follows Mallory, who used to be very good at chess but now works as a mechanic trying to get money for her family. When her best friend asks her to play one tournament to help her out, Mallory wins...a lot. She then finds herself across the board from the world's #1 player, Nolan Sawyer.
Nolan is known for his attitude and hatred for losing, that is until Mallory wins against him then disappears from his life.
When Mallory is approached to join another chess team under a fellowship, that will pay enough to keep her, her sisters and her mom comfortable, she has to decide if her hatred for chess is going to keep her from fixing her family's situation. Mallory soon finds herself in a the midst of chess world drama when she is rumored to be dating Nolan and ends up winning a game where her misogynistic rival cheated.
I very much enjoyed this book, as I do most of Ali Hazelwood's book because it is common for the characters to be smart, at least school wise. This book does have a lot more drama in the sense of how Mallory views her place within her family and her duty to them. There is a decent amount of talk about how to process trauma and how to still make the best choices for yourself. Mallory is also a queer protagonist and is a woman finding herself pushed into a world usually known for having men, which I think happens to a lot of scientists too.
Mallory, and Nolan, both grow a lot in their expectations for themselves and the world around them, both together and separately. There is definitely an emphasis on if you enjoy something because YOU like it or because someone in your life has forced it onto you.
Though young adult, I do still think there is enough talk about sex, relationships and even trauma to make this book more suitable for people over 16, though any scenes that would be more adult are 'fade to black'.
Definitely a book to look into if you enjoyed the Queen's Gambit on Netflix, though there is definitely less drama from Mallory. The chess references are in there, but it wasn't overpowering, even for someone who knows very little about the game. Overall, this was a 5 out of 5 star read for me. I love Ali's writing style and to me there was noting really different, outside of age group, between this and her other novels.
Check & Mate is expected to be published November 7, 2023
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