I'll confess that the only Ali books I've read are her novellas, but that in no way makes me less excited for CHECK & MATE. The first page already mentions "Gen Z sex symbol" and "Bill Nye erotic fanfic" so needless to say I was instantly intrigued. I'm not in love with the "MC is suddenly thrown into the spotlight for xyz reasons" trope but I do love that this is entirely about chess. I haven't played it in years and was never really any good, but it's always interesting to see how stories are able to make you feel as if lives could be on the line for things that you wouldn't expect (think: anime like Chihayafuru). I also like that this is upper YA, bc the MCs are in a much different place than your typical YA protagonists and I'm curious to see how they'll navigate being chess prodigies. Like will the ending have them go on to become chess professionals? Will they still go to college? And what about how chess ruined Mallory's family's life? I'm looking forward to reading more!
Also - I love that Lilly has become the unofficial-official cover artist for Ali haha. The cover for this book does not disappoint! It's distinguished enough from Ali's adult books and yet similar enough that you would immediately be able to tell that it's one of hers.
Also - I love that Lilly has become the unofficial-official cover artist for Ali haha. The cover for this book does not disappoint! It's distinguished enough from Ali's adult books and yet similar enough that you would immediately be able to tell that it's one of hers.