Last week was spring break. Naturally I planned a lot of reading time into each day along with other relaxing activities, plus housework and to-do list items. There are the quick reads, the fast-paced reads, the slower reads, the savory reads, the brain breaks, and the in-betweens. Based on my interest level or mood, I can tell pretty quickly what kind of book it’ll be.

I had been sent a galley copy of Ali Hazelwood’s YA due out this November called Check & Mate. This is where I confess that while I’ve seen Hazelwood’s books for adults everywhere, I haven’t read one yet, but a YA, now that was music to my high school librarian ears. And it’s punny chess title was also a bonus. Another confession- I’m not an avid chess player, I can rarely hold my own against my teenage sons, but I do play a little. I also watched The Queen’s Gambit. And I have joyously celebrated the return of raucous chess matches in our library (years ago that’s all our teens did was play chess, we had 5-6 that went out per period, then there was a die-off, but now it’s back again).

Back to the book. I picked it up off the pile and thought it would be an enjoyable stopover before the next book. What I got was an intense sprint/marathon battle for the next several hours. I literally wanted to sprint through it to know how it all ends (of course I knew how it HAD to end, but just in case). And I literally wanted to pace myself too because I didn’t want to it to end because if it ended it would be over and I couldn’t go back again.

I loved the prevalence of chess in the story– not too much, not too little. I fell in love with Mallory and her family, especially her littlest sister and the indifference when readers meet Mallory at the beginning of the story. Cue Nolan. Then came the witty banter, the sly hints about the past, the tournaments amplifying the pressure. It was exactly what I wanted. It was exactly what I needed. And when I found out I would have to stay up WAY past my bedtime to pick up my sons returning from a trip, I continued to sip my tea and read. I brought it in the car as I waited in the parking lot. I was thisclose to the end. The boys were back home and it was close to midnight. Do I wait until morning to finish it just so I can extend it a few more hours?

No. I must finish it.

And that I did. I fell into bed tired and book drunk. Is that a thing? It needs to be. The enemies to lovers trope won’t ever get tired in the capable hands of Hazelwood. Nor will romance ever be dead. The last thing that I want to give credit for is the topic of sex in the book, from the humorous scenes to the serious ones. It’s an age relevant topic and I want more of this in YA.

It’s not out until November, so you have plenty of time to sign up for publisher giveaways and preorder it, but put it on your list.