⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 — Nolan Sawyer walked in and suddenly I believe in love again.
Let me just scream this from the rooftops: NOLAN SAWYER IS MY HUSBAND. Not boyfriend. Not book crush. H-U-S-B-A-N-D. In a world full of boys, he is a gentleman. Quiet, brooding, brilliant, respectful, slightly unhinged on the inside, and OH so supportive?? I love him with every cell in my being.
Ali Hazelwood really said “enemies(ish) to lovers + chess + secret pain + that kind of slow burn” and then gave us a story that genuinely mattered. The mental health rep? The female empowerment? The plot that goes beyond just romance and explores grief, family pressure, and learning how to play again—for yourself? 10/10. Chef’s kiss. Beautiful.
BUT (and this is why it’s 4 stars and not 5): THE ENDING. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but it sped up just when I was ready to sink deeper into the reunion and watch them really talk it out and fall even harder. I wanted pages of Nolan groveling, loving, worshipping. GIVE ME THAT CLOSURE, HAZELWOOD.
Also… I can’t believe I’m saying this… but for the first time ever, I wished Ali Hazelwood had written smut. 😩 LIKE MA’AM, YOU OWE ME THAT AFTER ALL THAT TENSION.
Still—Nolan Sawyer deserves every one of those four stars. And so does Mallory, because she’s complex, real, and I loved how her journey was hers first. But Nolan? Nolan is the kind of man who ruins you for all fictional men after. I will never recover. Ever.
