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Book Summary and Reviews of Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Check & Mate

by Ali Hazelwood

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  • Published:
  • Nov 2023, 368 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life's moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Filled with the author's signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood's adult fans." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Hazelwood has captured many a reader's heart with her adult rom-coms. Now, she makes her YA debut with a story that sparkles with her signature wit and relatable characters... . This highly enjoyable, emotion-filled romance will attract teens and even loyal fans of her adult novels as it blends wit and wisdom with love's tendency to make pawns of us all." —Booklist (starred review)

"Hazelwood (Love, Theoretically, for adults) makes a seamless transition into YA romance with this well-researched read. Via Mallory and Nolan's complementary personalities and complex histories, Hazelwood crafts a feminist rendering that shedslight on sexist views within the world of competitive chess, all while spinning a swoon-worthy romance." —Publishers Weekly

"Ali Hazelwood is a Grandmaster of romance. Check and Mate is so delightfully hilarious that you won't see the play coming before Hazelwood steals your bishop, sneaks by your defenses, and checkmates your heart. A charming riot of a YA debut! Ali Hazelwood has never let me down!" —New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston

"It's the YA romance I have been starving for and truly, only Ali Hazelwood could deliver. Wickedly smart, highly addictive, fun and emotional all wrapped in a wonderfully heart-clutching book. I can't stop, won't stop screaming about this one!" —Susan Lee, author of Seoulmates

This information about Check & Mate was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Maria G

Review of 'Check & Mate' by Ali Hazelwood
Being a fan of Ali Hazelwood's 'The Love Hypothesis' series, I couldn't help but read her new book, 'Check & Mate'. Even though it's not a science and physics novel, like some of his previous books, I really liked the story and the characters. I've always liked chess, so this book was easy to understand. The only part that I didn't like so much was the fact that, sometimes, you don't need so much information about something. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this new book by the author. I can't wait for the next ones!

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Author Information

Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis, as well as a writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her three feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

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