Introduction
Published back in November 2023, by Ali Hazelwood - a New York Times Bestseller and the staple of what romance should be. Check & Mate is a standalone romance novel centering on chess, family trauma and what can happen when you let love into your life.
A Summary
Mallory Greenleaf swore off chess years ago. It wrecked her family, and she’s been focused on survival ever since - working a dead‑end job, keeping her sisters afloat, and avoiding anything with a checkered board. But one charity tournament later, she accidentally demolishes Nolan Sawyer, the world champion with a reputation sharp enough to cut glass. Everyone’s shocked. Nolan included. And instead of brushing off the loss, he keeps showing up, wanting a rematch, a conversation, something. Mallory knows she should walk away, but winning opens doors she desperately needs- money, opportunity, a way out. As she climbs the ranks, she’s stuck juggling the game she hates, the family she’s trying to protect, and the infuriatingly magnetic man who refuses to stay in his lane. And somewhere in the chaos, she realizes the real battles aren’t always on the board.
Writing Style
Check & Mate is filled with Hazelwood’s typical prose. Sarcasm, internal monologues and heartfelt moments are pumped into it throughout. The chapters aren’t particularly long, between 5-15 pages on average.
My Thoughts
It’s always such a surprising mental shift when I pick up one of Hazelwood’s books because of how unique her style is. As expected, this was such a phenomenal read. I cannot describe how fast I ate this book up, but I can try to explain why I loved it for the sake of this review.
Firstly, the characters felt complex, even more so than with a lot of her other novels. Even the side characters had complexities to them that made them feel whole. The familial aspect took the entire book to another level, with all of the little nuances between how each of Greenleaf’s treat each other is incredibly, and unfortunately, realistic.
The chess aspect is the main reason I fell in love with this book, as I spent many years adoring chess and letting it consume my life (although it feels so long ago now) and it reignited that feeling I used to be so familiar with. This was even commented on in the book, as Mallory was having a similar experience as she was starting chess again after a long break. This parallel between how Mallory felt and how I felt was incredible but definitely not something that would connect with everyone reading.
And how can I not mention Nolan? He makes this the gorgeous romance novel it is. I loved the choice to make him love her long before she even likes him. It makes his actions throughout the book seem adorably sweet and romantic, and gives him much needed motivation to continue his career. This romantic tension between Mallory and Nolan was extremely well done, as we have come to expect from Ali Hazelwood.
I cannot describe how much I loved every second of this.
Recommendation
There’s a reason that Ali Hazelwood is the staple of romance writing, and this book is, for some unknown reason, less talked about than her other ones. I absolutely recommend this to anyone that loves some romance (and maybe a little bit of chess).
