Check & Mate
Ali Hazelwood
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
4.20
· Steam/Spice level: 2 of 5
Behind closed doors [?]
· 202 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…)
Tagged as:
- contemporary 23
- virgin hero 21
- poor heroine 18
- bisexuality 18
- first person pov 17
- working class heroine 15
- rich hero 15
- new adult 11
- slow burn 11
- take-charge heroine 11
- competent heroine 10
- grumpy/ice queen 9
- friends to lovers 8
- funny 8
- nerdy hero 8
- m-f romance 8
- young adult 7
- female rake 7
- grumpy/cold hero 7
- gifted/super-heroine 7
- height difference 6
- independent heroine 6
- class difference 5
- enemies to lovers 4
- sports 4
- angst 3
- neurodivergent mc 2
- found family 2
- forced proximity 1
- tortured heroine 1
- caretaking 1
- childfree 1
- betrayal 1
- tortured hero 1
- Add topics
- geography
- usa 6
- north america 4
- new york state 3
- new jersey 3
- canada 3
- nevada 2
- pennsylvania 1
- content warnings
- death / grief 4
- misogyny 4
- past child neglect 4
- mental trauma 3
- alcoholism 1