Check & Mate

I can see why this is Ali Azelwood's favorite child. Check & Mate is a wonderful YA and I was enthralled by the story from the beginning.

While the story is not one bit believable, it was a fun read and I can see a lot of young adults and people from generation Z relating with the characters.

Mallory is a great female lead: she is strong willed, caring, smart and funny. Her insecurities are understandable and make the final conflict believable. I loved to see her grow and was quite surprised by seeing her admit to her flaws and apologize.

Nolan is the sweetest character and I only wish we could have seen more of him and their romance. He is tall and broody, falls first, but reads Mallory better than a book. He is caring, protective, vulnerable and mature. In one word: Wonderful

Ali knows her readers well, and I'm sure most will appreciate all the pop culture references. This is, however, one of my pet peeves and I wish someone would advise Ali against it. It just dates the books, and not only might presently alienate some readers, it will certainly alienate future readers, while adding absolutely no value to the story. This is a pity because this book actually shows character growth, as opposed to most of YA I've read lately. I would be quite willing to show this to my daughter, but as most of the problems teenagers face cross generations, their “interests” vary. Honestly: TikTok, AO3, Percy Jackson, Riverdale, Timothy Chalame, Goodreads (and I bet some Taylor swift codes which I blessedly won't be able to find) probably won't even be cool next year.

Ironically, this is the book that treats sex in a healthier and positive way.

Gorgeous cover, good romance, great character development. You did great job Aly