A review by kaitlynisliterate
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Ali Hazelwood wanted to write a chess romance but got it confused with romantic chess. This is literally the only way that the chess playing in this book makes sense.

From a story perspective, it's difficult to feel that Mallory has truly earned any of her success when most of her chess training is skipped over in a single sentence.
She never loses against a strong player in an important match, only in random tournament games against players we don't know that are described in a single sentence.