ARC Review | Chessboxer by Stephen Davies

ARC review

Publisher: Andersen Press
Expected Publication: October 3rd, 2019
Genre: Young Adult
Buy Links: Kinokuniya Malaysia | MPH Online [Link will be updated once the book is available at respective stores)
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Source: Huge thanks to Pansing for sending me the review copy in exchange for an honest review
Rating:

 Blurbs

Leah Baxter is a genius. She's a few wins away from becoming a junior chess grandmaster, and her life is on course to achieve everything her mom and coach want for her. 

But Leah is at stalemate – grieving for her father, and feeling suffocated. She decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and quit chess. But chess doesn't want to quit her. Soon Leah discovers her new gambit: chessboxing, a dangerous hybrid sport which will test her body and mind to their limits. Can the pawn become the queen?

thoughts


I doubt myself at first whether or not I'm going to love this book since it is about Chess and I am bad at chess. Boy oh boy, I was wrong because I really like this book and even, the characters!

I was hooked right from the very first page of Chessboxer. It isn't about the classical chess game. Instead, it was a combination of chess and boxing. It was different and I am curious on how it is played. The fact I'm not going to spoil much here since the book is set to be out in October so, I'm going to leave it here the way it is. 

The main character is Leah. She is full of energy, very ambitious, certainly not a person who you can play with since she can shot you down right there with her words and she loves chess so much. She has been playing chess since she was a kid. But after the death of her father, she becomes a different person. She self-destructs herself in the chess games she enters. Leah, she is dealing with grief and pressure. She decided to quit and try to find other things to do. Although she might be a sarcastic person but I do like her character and I admire the way she lives her life and she will give her very best in everything she does and not afraid to try something new.

"I don't know what came over me. And I think I get what you're saying about growing to encompass the grief. It's like you're playing White in a complicated middlegame and a pesky black knight has gone and found itself an outpost on f4. It's a total monster and you can't see any way to dislodge it. You can resign right there and then, or you can find a way to, I don't know, work around it." Stephen Davies, Chessboxer.

I love the way the author has written Chessboxer. It was in a blog post concept and being a blogger myself, it makes me wheeze through the story easily. It was a fast pace story and definitely a page-turner! You can read it a day or two but I did in a few days as there are unforeseen things caught up on me, so. 

Anyway, Chessboxer is an amazing read. Though you may not have a clue on how to play chess (like me!) but rest assured, you find it easy to get through reading Chessboxer. It's highly recommended! The book is available at all bookstores in October 3rd, 2019.

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