Check & Mate
Ali Hazelwood
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
4.13
· Steam/Spice level: 2 of 5
Behind closed doors [?]
· 299 ratings · 362 pages · Published: 07 Nov 2023
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 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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Tagged as:
- contemporary 26
- virgin hero 23
- poor heroine 21
- bisexuality 20
- working class heroine 18
- rich hero 17
- slow burn 14
- take-charge heroine 14
- new adult 13
- competent heroine 13
- grumpy/ice queen 12
- nerdy hero 11
- friends to lovers 10
- funny 10
- grumpy/cold hero 10
- m-f romance 10
- young adult 9
- female rake 9
- gifted/super-heroine 9
- height difference 9
- independent heroine 9
- enemies to lovers 8
- class difference 8
- angst 6
- sports 5
- found family 4
- caretaking 4
- forced proximity 2
- neurodivergent mc 1
- sweet/gentle hero 1
- demisexual hero 1
- Add topics
- content warnings
- death / grief 7
- misogyny 7
- mental trauma 5
- past child neglect 5
- geography
- usa 8
- north america 5
- new york state 4
- new jersey 4
- canada 4
- nevada 3
- pennsylvania 2
- Format
- Audiobook
- first person pov 19
romance tags
