#charity greenleaf

[jessread-s]

✩♟️💕Review:

*Thanks to @penguinteen and @ever-so-ali for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Who knew Ali Hazelwood would be the one to get me interested in chess?!

“Check & Mate” follows Mallory Greenleaf, a former chess player working as a mechanic to support her family. Eager to leave the sport and the destruction it caused in the past, she plays one last charity tournament. Only, she manages to beat Nolan Sawyer, the current world champion and bad boy of chess. What follows is the opportunity to continue playing for sorely needed cash prizes and cross pawns with her fiercely attractive competitor. That is, so long as she can protect her family from the game that wrecked it. 

I want to begin by saying that I agree reviewers that are saying that this book is new adult and NOT young adult. The characters are 18 and 20. Mature language is used. Sexual content is referenced. Please keep these factors in mind before reading. 

Considering that this is an NA debut, Hazelwood is successful in branching out into this space. I adored Mallory, Nolan, and their rivals-to-lovers romance. The pacing of their relationship contributes to the ease with which I tore through this book. I feel like Mallory and Nolan truly started out as competitors too absorbed in their rivalry to entertain the idea of a relationship before finally giving in to their attraction. I devoured every single page. 

I also really loved the depth of the characters in this book! As the eldest child in my own family, I really connected to Mallory and the pressure she feels to take on more responsibilities, set an example for her younger siblings, and step in as another parent of sorts. 

As with her other books, Hazelwood explores the ways women are treated in male-dominated spaces. In this case, she does so by putting the chess world under a microscope. Going into the book, I knew next to nothing about chess, but Hazelwood made it easy to understand and digestible. It just worked and now I feel empowered to try my hand at it. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[sotwk]

I think Arvellas big brother energy is also just *chefs kiss* but underrated❤️

Agreed! <3 I like to think I gave each Thranduilion personalities distinct enough that you can see how they demonstrate their love and care for Legolas in different ways. Mirion, Turhir, Arvellas, and Gelir passed on parts of themselves to Little Greenleaf, and that's why he turned out to be such a formidable contributor in the War of the Ring. (The books just failed to describe most of it, okay?)

All the Thranduilions are wonderful big brothers, because of the example they saw from their parents! They were raised in kindness and love and taught to serve and protect not only one another, but also their people.

This might sound sappy and too perfect to some, but Thranduil (despite what the movies erroneously showed) book-canonically demonstrates a compassionate heart, and his people followed him loyally for thousands of years, in the best and worst of times. You don't entrust your life to someone with such devotion unless they were unfailingly reliable in their care.

People constantly praise Elrond for being kind as summer and generous in opening up his home as a refuge to others. But I seek to demonstrate and promote the fanon that Thranduil's charity and outreach is greater in certain ways.

You also see in Legolas a person who has been through terrible tragedy and loss but remains cheerful and bright-spirited and self-giving. How does this happen? Because he grew up in a home of great joy (twice as many years of joy as years of sorrow), that included not just loving parents, but big brothers who taught him what it means to be part of a family.

I clearly went off track there, but thank you again Anon, for letting me rave a bit about about this precious family. I do get very emotional about them sometimes and I'm happy to learn that there are others who also care. <3

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist.... As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent...and infuriating...)

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Review:

When a random chess player beats the world champion chess player and runs away, the last thing she expect is for him to want to play against her again and be willing to do anything for just one more match with her... and maybe a chance to win her heart. Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess, or at least she gave it up after her father's death and has stayed away... she's more concerned with taking care of her mom and sisters and financially providing for them. When she agrees to play one last charity tournament she never expects to play against notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer, the current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess... and beat him. Nobody expected Nolan to lose, and what's even more confusing is he wants another match with her, he wants to spend time with her, he just wants to be near her. Mallory wanted to end chess but now Nolan and every other person in the chess world wants her back in it. Mallory can't say no when money from the chess tournaments could help her family... yet the more time she spends with Nolan the more she finds herself doing the one thing she promised never to do: actually fall for someone. Yet when the truth of how far Nolan would go to get Mallory back in the chess world is revealed, will she stay around for another match or is the game already over? I loved Nolan so much, he's such a sweetheart and was an endearing love interest. Mallory on the other hand, I wanted to shake, seriously when *spoiler: Nolan pays for her fellowship, essentially pays her to play chess and covers all her costs and she gets pissed, girl that was the money you needed, the money you kept going on and on about that you wanted to help your family but you just turn it down out of spite??? seriously???*. Mallory got on my nerves, I'm going to be real honest, I understand her guilt and her need to want to support her family, but her anger and her jumping to conclusions and her PRIDE, was so annoying. When Oz calls her out on it later, I just wish someone else would have called her out on it sooner cuz dang, the book would have been so much better if she actually worked on it. It's an overall really sweet read and despite not playing chess myself, I found the plays and the tournaments to be interesting and the romance was really cute. I love Ali's books and this was a cute young adult one she wrote. Definitely give it a go if you like chess and want a unique romance read.

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[buffyfan145]

I'm a member of GoodReads and I got my monthly email about book recommendations and one of them is called "Check & Mate" and it's Ali Hazelwood's first YA romance novel (she's written a ton of popular adult romance novels/novellas). First off the cover caught my eye as I noticed it looks like Haladriel. LOL :D

Then I read the description and it even sounds like a Haladriel AU fic.

"In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life's moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent...and infuriating...)"

I've read older books that have reminded me of Haladriel but this is the first I've seen that's been published after the show has been released that is similar. Plus knowing chess is a game that's been around since the medieval times and similar to battle. So I for sure will be reading this after it comes out in November. :D

[nysocboy]

A "Righteous Gemstones" precursor, with a gay Kelvin...I mean Kevin

Greenleaf (2016-2020), on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey network, featured "The unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, dark secrets, and lies."

The megachurch is the Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, run by Bishop James Greenleaf and his wife Lady. He has three children: Executive Pastor Gigi, satellite church pastor Jacob, and music minister Charity. I haven't watched any episodes -- I don't even know what the OWN network is -- but from the episode synopses, it looks like a dark soap opera, with everyone out to get everyone else and very few broken hearts mended.

One of th Greenleafs was gay: Kevin Saterlee (Tye White), married to youngest daughter Charity. Kevin - Kelvin. Coincidence?

Uh-oh, traditionally black churches tend to be even more homophobic than evangelical churches. In Season 1, Kevin admits his same-sex feelings to his wife, and all hell breaks loose. Arguments, yelling, being rejected by the family, being told that he's going to hell, attempts to "work things out," attempts to "pray the gay away," depression, custody battles, family therapy, conversion therapy. He does finally get a boyfriend, just before he's written out of the series.

Gulp. Hey, McBride, Kelvin and Keefe don't have to kiss. Not a problem. Just keep the homophobia toned down, and don't write them out.

[fallingpoppies]

My Muses

Elizabeth Swann / 21 / Single / Pirates of The Caribbean and Crossover/ FC-Keira Knightley

“And What Makes You Think I Need Protecting?”

Elizabeth Swann was raised to be an aristocrat, to be a good wife to her husband and raise his heirs. She was being trained since infancy, but in reality Elizabeth was drowning. She hated this life, she wanted more to life than just go to fancy parties and to follow the line. She wanted adventure, freedom, love, to need no man to save her, to pick up a sword and fight like a pirate. Very unladylike things, but it is what her fiery independent soul craved and she would get it.  

MODERN AU

Elizabeth is a young socialite, her Father a Prime Minister in the UK and her mother a baroness who doesn't have time to spare for anyone, much less her daughter. Elizabeth had grown accustom to her parents absence, at 16 she had moved to be with her grandparents in the Caribbean and fell in love with St Lucia. Spending most of her days on the beach and learning how to sail, but after hearing of hearing her Fathers illness she quickly returned to London.

Queen Mary, Of Scots / 21 / Single / Reign and crossover/ FC-Adelaide Kane

“Are you trying to blame a woman for a man’s choices?”

Ever since Mary was born, she was a Queen and the English sought out her life. She had to flee to France, where her betrothed, Prince Francis lived. She stayed in a nunnery in hiding, but soon the enemies found her. Now Mary is back at French court. How will she survive there?

MODERN AU

Mary is a young artist, living in Edinburgh, Scotland, in a small but open flat. Her talent was in sculpting and creating things with her hands. She often created sculptures of people, lovers, singles, warriors or whatever she was commissioned for. She was often with friends on her free time, going to pubs and going to the clubs, but she was never really in any relationships. She found them a waste of time, even though she longed for that great love she reads about.

Arwen Undomiel/ ???/ Lord Of The Rings and crossover / FC-Liv Tyler

‘It is mine to give to whom I will, like my heart.‘ 

Arwen, daughter of Elrond and granddaughter to Galadriel, is a fierce and determined half elf. She is often called Arwen Everstar, as well as being compared to Lúthien, a beautiful elf that gave up her eternal life to be with her love. Many had been awed with her beauty, like Aragon, a young Dunadan who had fallen in love with her at first sight, but she had not returned his love. She had never fallen for any of her admirers. Now Arwen is traveling to visit her grandparents in Lothlórien, maybe she’d find some adventure.

MODERN AU

Arwen is a Countess, living in the country and spending most of her days in her garden. Her temperament affectionate and charitable, it was rare to catch her in a bad mood. She only went to the city when she was throwing her annual charity balls, along side her family. Other times she was there to volunteer her time to help give out food or go to hospitals and help in anyway she could.

Legolas Greenleaf / ??? / Single/ Lord Of The Rings and crossover/ FC-Orlando Bloom

'He stands not alone. You would die before your stroke fell.'

The son of Thranduil, King of the Elves of Mirkwood. As Prince he helped his father rule the woods, guarding his home from the darkness. He also sent messages on behalf of his Father. Which led him to the great elf, Elrond, where he joined the fellowship of the Ring. 

MODERN AU

Lachlan Green was a 30 year old man, who is a went to school to be Doctor to help people, but when he graduated his country went to war. He was drafted and instead of healing, Lachlan found talent in his shooting abilities.

Klaus Mikaelson/ 700 / Vampire Diaries and crossover/ FC-Joseph Morgan

‘Don’t underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it.’

Klaus Mikaelson is an original hybrid, werewolf and vampire. He has been described as a cold, vindictive, malevolent, and quick to anger man. No one can cross him without your heart being ripped out and drained of blood.  He loved no one if you were to ask him, but there was a reason why he carried his family with him. Secretly he was a man who longed for stability and acceptance, but of course he would never tell you that.

Doesn't need a modern AU, Klaus can play in any time period.

William Henry / 25 / Single/ Snow White and crossover/ FC-Sam Claflin

'Do you need a Bowman?'

William, son of a Duke, his duty is to the crown and he would do anything to protect his Kings and Queens. William knew his life was in the service of the royal family. But after an attack on the castle, William fell from the wall and is torn away from his home. He wakes up in a strange land, he must find his way home.

MODERN AU

Williams family had always been in the employee of the crown, so it wasn't a surprise he found himself there working for the Royal family, but he wasn't just some servant. He was actually the Kings bodyguard and personal friend.

Lord Peridan Rys / 30/ Narnia and crossover / FC-Michiel Huisman 

'Warriors should suffer their pain silently.’

Lord Peridan, was a descendant of the noble House of Frank but after the White Witch invaded Narnia. His grandfather fled with his family to Archenland and was in exile. Once the Pevensie’s defeated Jadis, Peridan returned to Narnia and swore his loyalty to his Kings and Queens. Now a Knight and Lord of Narnia, Peridan protected his majesties and land faithfully. Years of peace followed, but all good things must come to an end. His Kings and Queens went on a hunt for the white stag, but never returned. Peridan looked for them tirelessly, desperate to find them to no avail. He had to accept they were gone and stepped up in their place. Becoming King Peridan, The Devoted.

MODERN AU

Peridan was a protector of Narnia, but when he went out in search for his lost Kings and Queens. He instead found a cave and through that cave a new world. What does he do in a world not his own?

Rillian/ 24/ Single/ Narnia and crossover/ FC-Bradley James

'We are young once, so lets not waste it.'

Rillian is a young and brave Prince of Narnia, His father is King Caspian and his mother, a descendent of a star. He never really cared to be King one day, he wanted freedom and adventure, but was tied to his royal duty. He had heard of the many stories of his Father and The Kings and Queens Of Old. He wished he could meet them, sadly, the Pevensie family was never to return. 

MODERN AU

Ever since he was a young boy, Rilian looked forward to joining the military and when he was able to join, he did. Going through vigorous training, Rilian soon found himself on the best team he could join. Soon him and his team were deployed on a mission and lets just say things didn't go to plan.

[genieinanovel]

Review: Check & Mate

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world…

[ismahanescorner]

Check & Mate | Book Review

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Genre: YA/NA Romance

Publisher: Sphere

Release Date: 07/11/2023

Rating: 3.5/5 🌟

Synopsis:

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist.... As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent...and infuriating...)

Review:

CW/: loss of a parent, parent illness, mental illness. this book has soooo many f words for a YA.

i saw this book on a YA display table in my library and thought to myself “hmm, let’s pick it up and see if ms. hazelwood learned how to describe heights” (she didn’t!!). anyways, this was a fun and cute love story! both the mc and li were loveable and not overly annoying! yeeey!! umm, the one gripe i have with the book is that middle game dragged!! still, i liked it a whole bunch! the epilogue was *chef’s kiss* finding out who won it all!! aaahhh!

Honestly, it spiked my interest in chess, so I may start watching tournaments! ♟️ Definitely recommend!

[dkehoe]

This Chick Read: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Mallory Greenleaf gave up chess four years ago but her best friend has asked her to take an open spot on her team in a charity tournament and guilted her into playing. As she knocks off one challenger after another she finds herself facing the #1 player in the world, the “kingkiller”, Nolan Sawyer… and wipes the board with him. Nolan’s loss to an unknown player shocks the world and Mallory is…

[ao3feed-tolkien]

Season 3: Episode 6

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yLICctH

by Frodobelle

Cedric Snape has brought the Dark Lord from Rod McKay and Cedric "Charlie" Snape's universe, and it's up to Devanye's friends and the Golden Trio to come up with a plan to defeat Voldemort (again), rescue Carson Beckett's clone, and capture Michael before he can cause any more damage than he already has. Two billion people have already died because Cedric convinced Michael and Carson that they needed to for the timeline to remain intact. Can they save the billions more that could if the Hoffan virus spreads to all the Wraith culling grounds?

Words: 2740, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Series: Part 25 of Atlantis: A Monster Crossover

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling, Stargate Atlantis, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Severus Snape, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, Rodney McKay, Jeanie Miller, Minerva McGonagall, John Sheppard, Clone Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Draco Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass, Scorpius Malfoy, Delphi (Harry Potter), Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, Voldemort (Harry Potter), Evan Lorne, Charity Burbage, Ellia (Stargate), Radek Zelenka, Kaleb Miller, Madison Miller, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Legolas Greenleaf

Relationships: Carson Beckett/Devanye Hansen/Severus Snape, Ellia/Radek Zelenka, Charity Burbage/Evan Lorne

Additional Tags: Asexual Character, Polyamory, Bipolar Disorder

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yLICctH

[itsadevereauxthing]

I just finished watching Greenleaf and wow. Never have I watched a tv series where I was so deeply moved. I wasn’t just moved by the series itself but by every single character on the series. I felt so many emotions while watching the series and I felt and went through them all. This series and the characters taught me many things and many lessons. Each and every character touched me in some way whether it be with their truth, flaws, brokenness, faith and love. This show and it’s characters will remain with me for a long time. The talent of every single person that was apart of this series should be proud that they were apart of something so extraordinary. I am thankful for them all and the fact that this series has been shared with the world. I am sad it’s over but also happy and grateful that I got to experience the beauty of this series. From the stories that were told, from the struggles and joy, from the talent and the characters. It was all worth it. Thank you, just thank you. And the running line throughout the series “god is good... all the time.” Amen.

[moonsbijou]

tho her parents treat her like a bald-headed stepchild at times that was no reason for charity to take it out on grace so yeah i can’t feel sorry for charity on that front...god sophia and even zora at times only likable when they ain’t dealing with some peanut headed boy and acting real dumb in love

[jipuragi]

Me, to Charity after watching all four seasons of Greenleaf

[mad-for-the-hatter]

Charity isn’t so great either. Not a fan.

[stanleighsnickers]

Greenleaf 🕊

Extra dramatic, like a soapie but I'm here for it. So much drama. Them Christians doing the most!!