Check & Mate

by Ali Hazelwood Narrated by Karissa Vacker

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The YA debut of an adult fantasy breakthrough, Ali Hazelwood is back with all her STEM quirkiness, built around the ups and downs of chess. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Stephanie Perkins.

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...)

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

09/11/2023

Bisexual 18-year-old Mallory Greenleaf was once a talented chess player, but ever since her Grandmaster father abandoned the family four years ago then died, she’s given up the sport and instead prioritized caring for her arthritic mother and two younger sisters. Rather than attending college, Mallory gets hired as an auto mechanic; things take an unexpected turn, however, when she reluctantly agrees to play in a charity chess tournament and beats 19-year-old Nolan Sawyer, the current world champion. When she loses her job—and realizes that she can earn decent money by competing in tournaments—Mallory accepts a paid fellowship for potential pros at a local New Jersey chess club. And as Mallory navigates sudden acclaim alongside grief and guilt over her return to chess, she grows closer to Nolan, who turns out to be her biggest supporter. Hazelwood (Love, Theoretically, for adults) makes a seamless transition into YA romance with this well-researched read. Via Mallory and Nolan’s complementary personalities and complex histories, Hazelwood crafts a feminist rendering that sheds light on sexist views within the world of competitive chess, all while spinning a swoon-worthy romance. Protagonists read as white. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Check & Mate

A Best Book of 2023 for NPR, Kobo, and Amazon

"Ali Hazelwood is the queen of smart rom-coms, and Check & Mate is her best book yet. Filled with snappy banter, clever characters, and crackling tension (and lots of chess!), this is the perfect rivals-to-lovers romance. Check & Mate will have you swooning, laughing, staying up all night, and smiling so much your face hurts. This book is my new obsession. Who knew chess could be so romantic?" —Alex Aster, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lightlark 

"Ali Hazelwood brings her signature wit to YA and the result is nothing short of delightful! Check & Mate stole my heart from the first page — it's at once an irresistible romance, compelling character study, and fascinating peek into the world of chess. I couldn't put it down!" —Rachel Lynn Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of We Can't Keep Meeting Like This 

"Ali Hazelwood is a known master of deeply clever, ridiculously satisfying 'JUST KISS ALREADY!!' slow burns, and this book is all of that and so much more. Readers are going to ship Mallory and Nolan hard enough to break their sails. If you’re not ready to swoon and gasp and cackle in front of strangers, read this book in public at your own risk." —Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of When You Get the Chance

★ “Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Hazelwood has captured many a reader’s heart with her adult rom-coms. Now, she makes her YA debut with a story that sparkles with her signature wit and relatable characters. . . . This highly enjoyable, emotion-filled romance will attract teens and even loyal fans of her adult novels as it blends wit and wisdom with love’s tendency to make pawns of us all." —Booklist, starred review

"Hazelwood (Love, Theoretically, for adults) makes a seamless transition into YA romance with this well-researched read. Via Mallory and Nolan’s complementary personalities and complex histories, Hazelwood crafts a feminist rendering that shedslight on sexist views within the world of competitive chess, all while spinning a swoon-worthy romance." —Publishers Weekly

“Ali Hazelwood is a Grandmaster of romance. Check and Mate is so delightfully hilarious that you won't see the play coming before Hazelwood steals your bishop, sneaks by your defenses, and checkmates your heart. A charming riot of a YA debut! Ali Hazelwood has never let me down!”—New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston

“It’s the YA romance I have been starving for and truly, only Ali Hazelwood could deliver. Wickedly smart, highly addictive, fun and emotional all wrapped in a wonderfully heart-clutching book. I can’t stop, won’t stop screaming about this one!”—Susan Lee, author of Seoulmates

DECEMBER 2023 - AudioFile

Karissa Vacker shines brightly as she immerses listeners in the world of professional chess. Mallory Greenleaf once loved chess but put it aside to help support her mother and sisters. Agreeing to play in one last tournament, she unknowingly defeats the current world chess champion, the infamous "Kingkiller," Nolan Sawyer. Nolan is intrigued and wants to cross pawns with Mallory again. As she narrates in the first person, Vacker's vibrant, expressive tone captures Mallory's conflicted and passionate personality. Vacker flawlessly transitions from character to character, creating a unique voice for each while also presenting various accents. Listeners will enjoy learning about the world of competitive chess and fall in love with Mallory and Nolan as they go from rivals to lovers. J.J.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2023-08-26
Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut.

Eighteen-year-old Mallory Greenleaf is no longer interested in chess, not since her hypercompetitive dad left—the game calls up painful memories. But she grudgingly agrees to play in a charity tournament as a favor to best friend Easton Peña. After she unexpectedly beats current world champion Nolan Sawyer, she’s offered a fellowship that will prepare her to play professionally. Even though Mallory doesn’t want to play anymore, she needs the money that winning would provide; she’s delayed college to support her family, since her mother is chronically ill with rheumatoid arthritis and is unable to work regularly. The more time she spends with Nolan, the more Mallory comes to like and respect him—and the more time she spends playing chess, the more she remembers how much she loved it. But when she learns that Nolan has been keeping a big secret from her, she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to move past it to build a relationship with him. Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans. Mallory and Nolan are both cued white; there is some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Mallory and Easton are queer.

Readers will devour this swoonworthy romance in one sitting. (author’s note) (Romance. 14-adult)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178282403
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	301,630

Read an Excerpt

Prologue

“I am reliably informed that you’re a Gen Z sex symbol.”

I nearly drop my phone.

Okay: I do drop my phone, but I save it before it splashes into a beaker full of ammonia. Then I glance around the chemistry classroom, wondering if anyone else heard.

The other students are either texting or puttering around with their equipment. Mrs. Agarwal is at her desk, pretending to grade papers but probably reading Bill Nye erotic fanfiction. A hopefully-not-lethal smell of ethanoic acid wafts up from my bench, but my AirPods are still in my ears.

No one is paying attention to me or the video on my phone, so I press Play to resume it.

“It was on Time magazine two weeks ago. On the cover. A picture of your face, and then ‘A Gen Z sex symbol.’ How does that feel?”

I am expecting to see Zendaya. Harry Styles. Billie Eilish. The entirety of BTS, crammed on the couch of whatever late-night show the YouTube autoplay algorithm decided to feed me after the pH experiment tutorial ended. But it’s just some dude. A boy, even? He looks out of place in the red velvet chair, with his dark shirt, dark slacks, dark hair, dark expression. Intensely unreadable as he says in a deep, serious voice, “It feels wrong.”

“It does?” the host—Jim or James or Jimmy—asks.

“The Gen Z part is correct,” the guest says. “Not so much the sex symbol.”

The audience eats it up, clapping and hooting, and that’s when I decide to read the caption. Nolan Sawyer, it says. There’s a description explaining who he is, but I don’t need it. I might not recognize the face, but I can’t remember a moment in my life when I didn’t know the name.

Meet the Kingkiller: The No. 1 chess player in the world.

“Let me tell you something, Nolan: smart is the new sexy.”

“Still not sure I qualify.” His tone is so dry, it has me wondering how his publicist talked him into this interview. But the audience laughs, and the host does, too. He leans forward, obviously charmed by this young man who’s built like an athlete, thinks like a theoretical physicist, and has the net worth of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. An unusual, handsome prodigy who won’t admit to being special.

I wonder if Jim-Jimmy-James has heard what I’ve heard. The gossip. The whispered stories. The dark rumors about the golden boy of chess.

“Let’s just agree that chess is the new sexy. And you’re the one who made it so—there has been a chess renaissance since you started playing. Someone was running commentaries of your games, and they went viral on TikTok—ChessTok, my writers tell me it’s called—and now more people than ever are learning how to play. But first things first: you are a Grandmaster, which is the highest title a chess player can achieve, and just won your second World Champion‑ ship, against”—the host has to look down at his card, because normal Grandmasters are not as famous as Sawyer—“Andreas Antonov. Congratulations.”

Sawyer nods, once.

“And you just turned eighteen. When, again?”

“Three days ago.” Three days ago, I turned sixteen.

Ten years and three days ago, I received my first chess set— plastic pieces, pink and purple—and cried with joy. I’d use it all day long, carry it everywhere with me, then snuggle it in my sleep.

Now I can’t even remember the feel of a pawn in my hand.

“You started playing very young. Did your parents teach you?”

“My grandfather,” Sawyer says. The host looks taken aback, like he didn’t think Sawyer would go there, but recovers quickly.

“When did you realize that you were good enough to be a pro?”

“Am I good enough?”

More audience laughter. I roll my eyes. “Did you know you wanted to be a pro chess player from the start?”

“Yes. I knew all along that there was nothing that I liked as much as winning a chess match.”

The host’s eyebrow lifts. “Nothing?”

Sawyer doesn’t hesitate. “Nothing.”

“And—”

“Mallory?” A hand settles on my shoulder. I jump and tear out one pod. “Did you need any help?”

“Nope!” I smile at Mrs. Agarwal, sliding the phone into my back pocket. “Just finished the instruction video.”

“Oh, perfect. Make sure you put on gloves before you add the acidic solution.”

“I will.”

The rest of the class is almost done with the experiment. I furrow my brow, hurry to catch up, and a few minutes later, when I can’t find my funnel and spill my baking soda, I stop thinking about Sawyer, or about the way his voice sounded when he said that he never wanted anything as much as chess. And I don’t think of him again for a little over two years. That is, until the day we play for the first time.

And I wipe the floor with him.

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