I really enjoyed this! I think it’s actually New Adult and not really YA (characters are 18 and 20) — which is probably a reason why I got on with it. I don’t get why people thought this was too scandalous or ~spicy~ to be YA, though — it’s totally age-appropriate for an 18 yr old to be sexually active and there’s no on-page smut or anything. 

I was also pleasantly surprised by how much actual chess was in the book (especially compared to most sports romances where the sport itself feels like an afterthought), even if it veered into the improbable for the sake of a well-paced plot. I do feel we were robbed of some juicy games in the world championship though — I would have happily read another 100 pages of tense, exciting chess games and relationship development, lol.