A review by watson_my_shelf
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

4.0

 
This romance is centered around chess & two young adult chess players. And it is so fun! I had such a good time reading this. I personally have never played chess, so did not understand the moves they were making, but loved the story nonetheless. And the ending!! So cute. This one made me giggle! 

We get to see a lot of growth from the main character. Also, there are fun side character friends who will make you laugh. 

I originally classified this as insta-love, but a friend pointed out it was not really insta-love but sort of insta-want. And that made me realize why I enjoyed it more than I usually do insta-love. 

Despite really enjoying this one, I did not enjoy how much the mom puts on her 18 year old daughter. Or allows her to take on. It almost made me give up on the book in the beginning, but I am glad I stuck with it!!