At a family birthday party this week, I looked across a room filled to the brim with people to see my son not engrossed in a hand held device but playing chess with his uncle's best friend. 

 

A love this quiet fierce game that spans generation, place, time, and culture.  

 

I will admit to sucking at it myself but I don't have to be good at something to like it. 

 

Here is a list of wonderful Romance Novels featuring chess, chess players and chess sets.

 

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy!

 

1.  The Eight by Katherine Neville

 

Computer expert Cat Velis is heading for a job to Algeria. Before she goes, a mysterious fortune teller warns her of danger, and an antique dealer asks her to search for pieces to a valuable chess set that has been missing for years...In the South of France in 1790 two convent girls hide valuable pieces of a chess set all over the world, because the game that can be played with them is too powerful....

 

2.  Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James

 

A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage—until he lays eyes on Roberta.

 

Yet the Earl of Gryffyn knows too well that the price required to gain a coronet is often too high. Damon Reeve, the earl, is determined to protect the exquisite Roberta from chasing after the wrong destiny.

 

Can Damon entice her into a high-stakes game of his own, even if his heart is likely to be lost in the venture?

 

3. Pawn by Molly Joseph

 

High stakes chess competition has always been a man’s game—until Grace Ann Frasier topples some of the game’s greatest champions and turns the chess world on its ear. Her prowess at the game is matched only by her rivals’ desire to defeat her, or, worse, avenge their losses. When an international championship threatens Grace’s safety, a bevy of security experts are hired to look after her, but only one is her personal, close-duty bodyguard, courtesy of Ironclad Solutions, Inc. 

Sam Knight knows nothing about chess, but he knows Grace is working to achieve something important, and he vows to shelter her from those who mean her harm. When she leans on him for emotional support, attraction battles with professionalism and Sam finds his self-discipline wavering. Soon the complexity of their relationship resembles a chess board, where one questionable move can ruin everything—or win a game that could resonate around the world.

 

4. You're the One by Alix Nichols

 

When schoolteacher Natalie meets chess grandmaster Adrien at the Bistro La Bohème, the connection is immediate and real. Romance is in the air -- until life makes a move to test how well they know their hearts...

 

5. One Night Is Never Enough by Anne Mallory

 

From the first glimpse he knew he must have her — even if only for a single night . . .

Powerful, ruthless, seductive—the lord of London’s underworld—Roman Merrick gets anything he wants . . . and he burns for Charlotte Chatsworth, a polished jewel in the glittering ton. So he engages her debt-ridden gambler father in a game of chance, wagering ten thousand pounds against one night with the man’s exquisite daughter. And Roman Merrick never loses.

 

But one night is never enough . . .

 

Charlotte is devastated to learn that her reprobate father has lost her in a card game to the most dangerous man she’s ever met. With the threat of ruin behind every corner, Charlotte embarks upon a perilous path with the man she cannot forget. But in truth, it’s Roman who has everything to lose—for a game undertaken for pleasure alone soon has him gambling his heart. And love and passion unleashed could bring his great, dark empire tumbling down . . .

 

 

6. 74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber

 

Olivia Lockhart-Griffin 

Cedar Cove, Washington 

 

Dear Reader, 

Do you remember Teri Miller? She works at Get Nailed, the beauty salon here in town. Well, Teri got married a little while ago—to Bobby Polgar, the famous chess champion. They've moved into a beautiful house, 74 Seaside Avenue, which has a spectacular view of Puget Sound. 

 

Teri's my hairdresser, and she confided that something seems to be worrying Bobby. When she asked him about it, he told her he was "protecting his queen," and she got the oddest feeling that he wasn't talking about chess, but about her. 

Rachel Pendergast also works at Get Nailed, and I've heard that she has two men seriously interested in her. I also wanted to tell you that Linnette McAfee, who's Roy and Corrie's daughter, recently left town because her love life fell apart. We all know about that kind of trouble. 

 

Oh, by the way, Teri says we should come in soon for a manicure and a chat…. 

 

Olivia 

 

7. Queen's Gambit by Marie Treanor

 

The Grand Master of her body—and her fate.

 

Ever since a jealous wife cursed her, Christi Blythe has lived seven hundreds years of a half life, trapped by day in the black queen of a chess set. She lives only between the hours of dusk and dawn, waiting for the one true love who is willing to sacrifice a vital game of chess to break the curse.

 

Now, years after she has given up hope, her remote Highland hotel is hosting a chess match between two high-profile Grand Masters of the game. One of them is the brilliant but erratic Russian, Andrei Zuvaran.

 

Andrei suspects there is something different about the luscious barmaid and her chess set. One hot night with her—and one shocking dawn—confirms it. But he can’t afford to lose this match. Not even to free her.

 

He’s got more riding on it than money, more than his heart. His next move could cost a life.

 

8. Game of Kings by Anthea Carson

 

Something is rotten in the world of chess. Darla Martin is perfectly content to live in Denver, work at a library, and play chess every night. That’s before she meets Mikhail, a mysterious and proud Russian grandmaster. And Maxwell, who is charming and handsome and speaks of dark things. And Fred, who warns her not to look into his eyes. Before she knows it, Darla’s comfortable world is turned upside down.

 

9.  Miss Gabriel's Gambit by Rita Boucher

 

Beautiful Sylvia Gabriel has more cause than most to despise the Game of Kings. Chess has been the ruination of her life—ending her engagement, filching her fortune and reducing her to poor relation. But when she finds herself falling in love with chessmaster David Rutherford, the new Lord Donhill, Sylvia stakes her heart, her future and her reputation on the riskiest gambit of all

 

10. Finessing the Contessa by Wendy Soliman

 

Lord Robert Forster hopes to meet his match—on the chessboard. He jumps at the chance to cross rooks with the renowned Sicilian widow Contessa Electra Falzone. However, the lovely foreigner's bold opening gambit raises concerns about her politics when she finds her way into his bedchamber, not with seduction in mind, but to steal state secrets.

 

Electra Falzone has always avoided scandalous liaisons, until blackmail forces her to turn thief and risk her reputation in the arms of the handsome Lord Robert. If her manipulators were threatening only her, she would confess all to her fellow strategist. But given who will suffer if she fails, she can't afford to take that risk.

 

Drawn to the exotic contessa, Rob won't allow her to be used as a pawn by an unscrupulous schemer. But if Electra is determined to play this dangerous game for reasons of her own, nothing Rob can do will stop her.

 

 

Let me know if I missed a Chess Romance you love!

 

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Checkmate: Chess in Romance Novels

Wow. I've been waiting to read a book like this. I've been pretty vocal about my lack of 5 star reads so far this year. It's March 1st as I am writing this review, and this is the first book I have read that I am giving that rating to. It's the only book that gave me that emotional extra feeling that I need for a book to go above and beyond my expectations. It's a personal thing, reading. A lot hinges on whether a book will be a favorite for each individual reader, but the one thing that generally makes or breaks a book for me is the characters. It just so happens that I very much related and understood the characters in this book, and in order to explain that, I need to get a little bit personal, and I will, but first I need to state that this is why reading is so subjective. I related to and loved these characters because of my personal experiences which are not the same personal experiences that you share, so who knows if this will be as special a book for you as it was for me. But all I can do is report how I feel and why it worked for me. And so I shall.

I grew up an only child in a household with two parents who loved me very much, but my mother was the one that was in my life the most, because my dad seemed to always be working. He worked his ass off so we would be provided for, and this didn't leave him with a whole lot of free time, and he did the best he could to spend time with me and my mother and be huge parts of our lives. It is for this reason that the time I spent with my father as a kid stands out to me in my mind probably the most. SO many of the childhood memories I have involve him and the things we did together: fishing, racing cars down the hall, and I still remember him giving me these HUGE portions of food while my mother was off at bingo with my grandma. He thought I could eat way more than I could and I would sit there and not be able to finish, but he wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate most of it. I laugh now, but at the time it was traumatizing. Most of the memories I have are great. Carving pumpkins, trick or treating...so when I got into this book and started to grow attached to Daniel and his father (who works many hours and doesn't have much time to spend with his son), obviously the closeness and awkwardness that they share touched me in a very sentimental way. Daniel's a teenager now, and his dad doesn't really know how to talk or communicate to him that well (I relate to this as well, as an only-child teenage girl with boy problems, what is a father to do?).

So the fact that this book is about chess and a chess tournament never even really mattered to me. I requested it because I thought it was an interesting concept, and I wondered if the author could actually pull this off and make a book about chess (just about the most boring game EVER to watch) exciting. the answer to that is yes. This book is so well paced that it moves like an action film. Every word has importance. Every sentence flows into the next. It's a page turner, and at only 227 pages, it is a book that I was able to finish in one sitting, which is an admirable feat for me. My attention span has been short for a while now, and for a book to be able to hold my interest all the way through like that, well it's something. 

The plot goes a little something like this. Daniel goes to a private school where chess is not as nerdy as it is in public school. Some of the boys on his chess team are the most popular kids in school, and one in particular is a monstrous bully and asshole to everyone around him. Well, he talks Daniel into participating in a father-son chess tournament in New York City. See, Brad has found out that Daniel's father was a Grandmaster 30 years ago, and with him on the team, they know they can win. The only problem with that is there is a reason why Daniel's father quit playing chess in the first place. Obviously, I am not going to tell you this because it would be a huge spoiler, but you should know it is worth reading to find out. I would really like to see this book be made into a film. Honestly. There is also an incredibly cute romance that has enough of an impact but doesn't take over the plot. All the characters are vivid with lovely ARCs. I cannot recommend this book enough. 

I have one small complaint, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention it. It's not nearly something that is worth knocking off even a half star for though, so you really shouldn't worry. But there were a couple of times in the narrative where I felt it was obvious that Daniel was not a teenager. There are words he uses that I do not feel a teen would use. For example:

I love the fact that I can do this feature on BookLikes, as far as connecting books to your status updates.  

 

In case you guys are wondering what books I've recently been approved for on NetGalley, here you go.  Browse the pretty. =)  (Only featuring 5 for now, may make this a bi-weekly thing here.)

This was a surprising and very enjoyable free read. It was a page turner plus I could not break away from it, I had to finish it.I will buy more from this author, I loved her pacing, descriptions and her characters.This short is about a vile man who abuses women and children in the most horrible and disturbing ways.(not graphic, thankfully) But the story is not about him, it's about one of the young girls he hurts, one who goes on to become more. She is rescued from an unending torture where she choses to train and grow and to seek revenge. There is a hint of a possible romance down the line. I hope so, for her.I had images of the movie Kill Bill many times while reading this.

First things first I have to admit that although I had heard the name "Grandmaster Flash" I had absolutely no idea who he was, what his group was called, what songs he had released or why he was relevant to the world of rap / hip-hop music. It's not a genre of music I had any real exposure to until I met my husband. When I saw this book in the store I figured I'd give it a shot and see if I could learn a bit about the man who seemed to have inspired so many artists in the rap world.

I'll say I was extremely happy with this book. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected that I would. When Flash was talking about his young life with his parents, his sisters, and the Greer school my heart broke for that little boy. I enjoyed the tale he wove about how his life built around music, then women, then drugs. It was hard to read about the shady business, the collapse of his dreams but heartwarming again to read about his re-entry in to the music world.

All in all it was a great book. It was a personal tale and full of honesty and genuine emotion. I still don't listen to rap music and I still don't know a single technical thing about DJ'ing but I have developed a whole new respect for the genre and the music pioneers, like Flash, that made it all possible.