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A review by yas_sezer
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
3.0
3.5 stars
while reading this, i had a really good time. it was exactly what i needed going on holiday, didn’t have to think too hard either. it was a fun plot with a few rather significant scenes i think would be meaningful particularly for a younger audience.
however, let’s get the cons out of the way. picking this up as a “YA” romance doesn’t really feel fitting with the amount of swearing and sexual references. personally i’m fine with it, but recommending this to younger audiences is a bit iffy since normally ya doesn’t include nearly as much as this.
also the number of references to pop culture doesn’t click with me, but that’s not just with this book. in general, normally i find them to be cringey and i get bored of them. maybe for a different audience it would work, but not for me.
the relationship (i liked nolan don’t get me wrong) weirdly felt shallow. take chess out of the equation and what’s left? i felt like everything about them was linked to chess which didn’t give enough substance. their third act conflict even was so bland. it was not nearly as big as a deal as mal made it to be, which fell a little flat. i will note however that i loved oz giving her a slap of reality at her doorstep. respect.
nolan and mal did bring out important aspects of each other, moreso nolan with mal, but even then it wasn’t enough for me to really root for them. he reminded her of her passion for chess and indirectly helped her rebond with her family… then what? it didn’t feel impactful enough for me.
besides all of these negatives, i still really enjoyed the story. i know nothing about chess, but found it fun to go along with the story and the moves and the history. the side characters (we love defne because turkish like me) were fun, even the disgusting ones (koch, gag) added a lot to the story.
i would recommend this as an easy quick read, but the amount of romance in this is definitely less than a regular romance novel. also the relationship kinda went really slow but fast but slow? we didn’t get much of nolan but suddenly he is so infatuated by her? it just felt a bit disconnected and he doesn’t feel developed enough as a character. maybe dual pov would’ve saved that
regardless, cute fun read and it served its purpose
while reading this, i had a really good time. it was exactly what i needed going on holiday, didn’t have to think too hard either. it was a fun plot with a few rather significant scenes i think would be meaningful particularly for a younger audience.
however, let’s get the cons out of the way. picking this up as a “YA” romance doesn’t really feel fitting with the amount of swearing and sexual references. personally i’m fine with it, but recommending this to younger audiences is a bit iffy since normally ya doesn’t include nearly as much as this.
also the number of references to pop culture doesn’t click with me, but that’s not just with this book. in general, normally i find them to be cringey and i get bored of them. maybe for a different audience it would work, but not for me.
the relationship (i liked nolan don’t get me wrong) weirdly felt shallow. take chess out of the equation and what’s left? i felt like everything about them was linked to chess which didn’t give enough substance. their third act conflict even was so bland. it was not nearly as big as a deal as mal made it to be, which fell a little flat. i will note however that i loved oz giving her a slap of reality at her doorstep. respect.
nolan and mal did bring out important aspects of each other, moreso nolan with mal, but even then it wasn’t enough for me to really root for them. he reminded her of her passion for chess and indirectly helped her rebond with her family… then what? it didn’t feel impactful enough for me.
besides all of these negatives, i still really enjoyed the story. i know nothing about chess, but found it fun to go along with the story and the moves and the history. the side characters (we love defne because turkish like me) were fun, even the disgusting ones (koch, gag) added a lot to the story.
i would recommend this as an easy quick read, but the amount of romance in this is definitely less than a regular romance novel. also the relationship kinda went really slow but fast but slow? we didn’t get much of nolan but suddenly he is so infatuated by her? it just felt a bit disconnected and he doesn’t feel developed enough as a character. maybe dual pov would’ve saved that
regardless, cute fun read and it served its purpose