Check & Mate Audiobook By Ali Hazelwood cover art

Check & Mate

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Check & Mate

By: Ali Hazelwood
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
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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…)

Accolades & Awards

Goodreads Choice Award
2023
Goodreads Choice Award Literature & Fiction Women's Voices Romantic Comedy Contemporary Heartfelt Romance Sports Fiction Funny Feel-Good
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Engaging Chess Storyline • Heartfelt Romance • Excellent Character Voices • Feminist Themes • Masterful Voice Range

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This story made me want to play chess!! I loved Nolan SO much!! I laught so much at Malory and her sisters!! I loved them both so much that the only critique I have is that I wanted more of their love story…

Loved it!! But wanted more!!

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This is my second Ali Hazelwood book and I really enjoyed it! An excellent YA Debut! A beautiful He Falls First book set in the world of chess with a HEA ending.

This is an “invisible string” story that helps save our protagonist, Mallory Greenleaf, from a life of repressed anger and needless codependence and sees her flourish into the chess master she was born to be.

With sassy sisters, a ride-or-die childhood friend, the sweetest cinnamon roll “rival”, and a great cast of characters, this lovely foray into the world of chess was very enlightening and very entertaining!

Karissa Vacker gives an excellent performance!

Very Enjoyable RomCom!

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I hooked and rooked right away. The story is cute and interesting. The reader does a fabulous job.

Captivating

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Hazelwood’s writing is so fun and often reminds me of Gilmore Girls’ smart dialogue! I didn’t realize this was a YA, so the teen angst took a little getting used to again haha. (Building out that Gen Z audience! )Overall I enjoyed this book, it is kind of a classic teen rom com but the chess scene backdrop was pretty interesting! I’d have loved to have some more female chess players featured. Also, the authors note was pretty cool and the topic of sexism in chess is something I had heard a bit about, but this book really shined a light on it.

Not exactly what I was expecting but overall a fun read

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Such a great story! Loved the premise and the characters. So glad I read it!

Didn't expect to love this as much as I did

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