⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
4.5 rounded to 5 stars

Ali Hazelwood does this thing where she makes feminist men super hot. She draws male characters who look at the heroine with admiration and deep respect. In all of the books I’ve read by her, the man’s love feels grounded and enduring- usually with a feminist awareness about it. It makes her books emotional, but not in an angsty way, more in a filling way.

Nolan is hot AF. Fun twist that he’s a virgin! Mallory’s stubbornness sometimes annoyed me, though we do get to see her examine this part of herself and grow (a little bit).

Also, chess is apparently quite sexy. Who knew ?! I went into this book knowing next to nothing about chess, and left in awe of the amount of intelligence and practice that goes into the sport and how much variation there is in style of play.

Although considered YA, this book is def a good read for adults. The themes are universal and don’t feel juvenile.

I finished it in one night and highly recommend it.