This was the first Ali Hazelwood book I read, but definitely won't be my last!

Mallory Greenleaf is a lot of things: 18, responsible for her family, a mechanic, a commitmentphobe, and the world's most reluctant chess prodigy.

Mallory has a complicated history with chess. It was what bonded her and her late father, but she hasn't played a match in years, until she finds herself in a charity match as a favor to a friend, across the board from The Kingkiller, aka ...

Nolan Sawyer; 20, famous for being the current chess world champ and a so-called Gen Z sex symbol, infamous for his anger issues and lack of interest in anything besides chess.

When Mallory actually beats Nolan, she's suddenly bombarded with attention---from the media, chess fellowship sponsors, and Nolan himself, wanting a rematch. Despite her insistence that she's been done with chess for years, the prize money for tournaments is looking pretty good. And so is her new rival ...

Check & Mate reads like a more modern, bubblegum version of The Queens Gambit, and elements of Nolan's personality remind me of Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds--which, if you know me, is the highest of compliments. He's too smart for his own good, obsessive, and hilarious, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. I loved him as a character and how secure in himself he was, and Mallory's way of viewing the world and her place in it were (at times unfortunately) relatable. They both felt like three-dimensional people with flaws and realistic personalities and traumas, and the way the two of them fit together was so swoony!

There were a lot of pop culture references in this, and a good 90% of them made me snort out loud, so if that's your humor, you're in luck. I'd be curious to hear what any actual Gen Z'ers think of their portrayal here. It felt accurate to me, but I am kind of that HELLO FELLOW KIDS gif (even typing this probably dates me) which makes me wonder if it actually reads as just what millennials think Gen Z are like.

I know this is the author's first YA book, so I was not expecting any spice, but the amount of thought and discussion of sex there was had me wondering if I was wrong ... until it cut to black. I read books without smut in them all the time, but this felt a little more jarring than I was expecting, just because of the promising lead-up, I think. Mallory was a very sex-positive character even before meeting Nolan, so it did feel a little strange to leave that portion of the story out of her book, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of their story.

I received a physical ARC of this book, and the details in the print copy were so fun! The book was divided into sections named after chess terms: Opening, Middlegame, Endgame. The section break pages were chessboard patterned, and the chapter headers were cute chess piece doodles.

All in all, this book was a lot of fun. I'll be checking out Ali Hazelwood's backlist and doing a rewatch of The Queen's Gambit soon to keep the vibes going. Thanks to BookishFirst for the chance to read this one early--definitely add to your November TBR!