Review #431
I give this sweet/clean/easy romance a 4.4/5 stars. All written in one point of view (Mal), I enjoyed the relatable theme of “don’t want to be a burden to others.”
How Ali Hazelwood made chess sexy is crazy lol.
I assumed Check & Mate was an adult romcom since I read Ali Hazelwood’s other books and I’m pretty sure they were in their later 20’s with careers in science. So when this started, it surprised me that it’s YA since Mal is 18.
The cute trending covers of comic illustrations are confusing when crossed over multiple genres from adult romcom, YA romcom, etc. (After finishing…) The whole story has shifted back and forth between YA and NA feels and her abrupt freak out near the end is more representative of YA insecurities & impulsive.
Mal is too young to be financially responsible for her two younger sisters and her chronically sick mom. Her best friend is about to go off to college and even though Mal has gained scholarships, she has taken it upon herself to stay home to take care of her family.
Her best friend asks for one last hoorah during their last summer together by competing in a chess tournament together like back in the day, even though Mal has sworn off chess.
Mal happens to beat Noah, the world’s best chess player at a charity event and calls it a fluke then runs away because she had promised herself she was done with the game of chess years ago.
If she’s that desperate for money it doesn’t make sense that she declines Nolan’s offer to play her.
At the halfway point their tension is great.
“I don’t know if I can stand to be near him, and I don’t know if I can stand not to be.”
Chapter 23’s first sentence- I predicted that…
The ending felt abrupt and I wanted to see them in action a bit but I understand the author’s choice. As I was getting near the end it did feel like there weren’t enough pages left for what I still needed as a reader.