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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was so sweet!!! I loved the way it followed both the players real life and the journey of their characters in the campaign. This book did a really good job explaining the basics of DND to someone who may not have experience, and made a lot of sense for people like me who have played before too. I also really like Sadie’s journey, and love how it resolved with her finding what she really wanted.
Spoilers Ahead:
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As someone currently going through work-related burnout, this book was the warm hug I so desperately needed. Roll For Romance is all about rediscovering yourself, finding joy in the small things, and learning that home doesn't always have to be a place - it can be the people you share your life with. It reminded me that, sometimes, healing means stepping back, questioning the roles we've been playing in life, and taking the time to reconnect with who we are underneath it all.
I loved the way the story was structured, alternating between Sadie's day to day life recovering from burnout in the care of her incredibly supportive and thoughtful bestie Liam (giving her little daily "quests" to ease her back into life, ughhh my heart), and snippets of their D&D campaign with a group of local newbies. The way the campaign stayed distinct yet mirrored and supported Sadie’s real-life journey was so perfectly done.
Her growing friendships with the other group members, and her heart-meltingly adorable relationship with Noah, were so sweet and full of genuine connection. Everything about their dynamic felt gentle, respectful, and deeply earned. Noah in particular was such an interesting character - funny, warm, and social on the surface, but with layers of vulnerability that added so much depth.
This book reminded me how powerful kindness can be, and how love - romantic, platonic, creative - can play such an important role in bringing us back to ourselves.
I loved the way the story was structured, alternating between Sadie's day to day life recovering from burnout in the care of her incredibly supportive and thoughtful bestie Liam (giving her little daily "quests" to ease her back into life, ughhh my heart), and snippets of their D&D campaign with a group of local newbies. The way the campaign stayed distinct yet mirrored and supported Sadie’s real-life journey was so perfectly done.
Her growing friendships with the other group members, and her heart-meltingly adorable relationship with Noah, were so sweet and full of genuine connection. Everything about their dynamic felt gentle, respectful, and deeply earned. Noah in particular was such an interesting character - funny, warm, and social on the surface, but with layers of vulnerability that added so much depth.
This book reminded me how powerful kindness can be, and how love - romantic, platonic, creative - can play such an important role in bringing us back to ourselves.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a rom-com, yes, but it's also a beautiful story of a woman discovering what she wants in life. When Sadie burns out in NY and moves in with her best friend in Texas, she's expecting to lay low, relax and take a rest before the next job back in NY. Her best friend convinces her to join his dungeons and dragons group.
Told in between what is really happening and the D&D campaign, this story contains forming new friendships, discovering passions and learning to let go. Very minimal spice, but full of quick banter and a love for D&D.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House/Dell and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review was left voluntarily.
Told in between what is really happening and the D&D campaign, this story contains forming new friendships, discovering passions and learning to let go. Very minimal spice, but full of quick banter and a love for D&D.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House/Dell and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review was left voluntarily.
slow-paced
Like Sadie, Noah, and their new friends, I have no prior experience with D&D. I found their newbie campaign as delightful as they did--it was my favorite aspect of this narrative. There's also some good found family elements here, both within the D&D campaign and in Sadie's new (maybe only temporary) life in Texas, where she's retreated to spend time with her BFF after a professional failure.
Less successful for me was the romance between Sadie and Noah. Their D&D characters had more obvious chemistry than they did, and their romance didn't even start to generate sparks until about 55-60% of the way into the novel. They ended up being cute together, but it took a long time to get there--and had it not been for the D&D campaign interludes, I might have DNFed this around the 40-50% mark.
If you like role-playing games, or sloooow burn romances, or small-town/found family stories, you might enjoy this one.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
Less successful for me was the romance between Sadie and Noah. Their D&D characters had more obvious chemistry than they did, and their romance didn't even start to generate sparks until about 55-60% of the way into the novel. They ended up being cute together, but it took a long time to get there--and had it not been for the D&D campaign interludes, I might have DNFed this around the 40-50% mark.
If you like role-playing games, or sloooow burn romances, or small-town/found family stories, you might enjoy this one.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book! As a D&D girlie who doesn’t get to play nearly as much as I’d like, this story was the perfect fix. The structure was so much fun—interweaving the real-life plot with the group’s in-game Dungeons & Dragons adventure, told with its own narrative flair. I was fully invested in both worlds, and the way the romance blossomed between the characters in the game, as well as between the players in real life, was absolutely adorable.
The friendships—both long-standing and newly forming—were another highlight, giving the story great found-family vibes that I’m always a sucker for. While it’s definitely a treat for D&D lovers, I think even readers new to the game would enjoy it—the book does a great job of making everything accessible without dumbing anything down.
There is a bit of spice, but nothing too intense. Overall, this was such a warm, geeky, joyful read, and I’m so glad it landed for me. Definitely a new favorite!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine (Dell) for providing me the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this ebook for an honest review!
I fell for this book as soon as I saw the cover, and I am so thankful I got a chance to read it early. I am not a full-on newbie to the world of tabletop RPGs, but I am not as involved as many people. I love a good game of Monster of the Week and D&D and that is my only credentials as far as RPG and the authenticity of the game play in this book.
That being said, I feel like Lenora Woods did a fantastic job of introducing concepts of D&D in a way that newbies would enjoy interacting with while also mixing in some deeper themes for those already familiar with the game.
Woods wrote a very unique story; she incorporates a fantasy story as a side world within the book itself, but you never feel lost, and the ending to both is still pretty satisfying! That was my biggest concern. I was so happy to end the book feeling like the story wrapped up well on both sides.
I deeply relate to Sadie's struggles with burnout, recovery, and learning new healthy habits.I also enjoyed the way Liam introduces the crew to DnD. There are times when Sadie is a bit too much in how she has this perfect opportunity hander to her and a slight lack of connection to reality in the consequences of her actions long-term, but honestly, it makes the story a bit more real (we've all avoided reality before, especially when trying to recover from burn out).
Again, I can not stress enough how fun this book is. I really loved that we almost got two books in one, between the campaign side story and the main story about Sadie and Noah! It was so entertaining watching the characters develop and the friendships grow.
I adored this book, and my DnD-loving heart fell hard for the story. But honestly, even if you've never had any interest in RPGs but you love a good sweet romance, you'll still love this book. I can't recommend it enough.
I fell for this book as soon as I saw the cover, and I am so thankful I got a chance to read it early. I am not a full-on newbie to the world of tabletop RPGs, but I am not as involved as many people. I love a good game of Monster of the Week and D&D and that is my only credentials as far as RPG and the authenticity of the game play in this book.
That being said, I feel like Lenora Woods did a fantastic job of introducing concepts of D&D in a way that newbies would enjoy interacting with while also mixing in some deeper themes for those already familiar with the game.
Woods wrote a very unique story; she incorporates a fantasy story as a side world within the book itself, but you never feel lost, and the ending to both is still pretty satisfying! That was my biggest concern. I was so happy to end the book feeling like the story wrapped up well on both sides.
I deeply relate to Sadie's struggles with burnout, recovery, and learning new healthy habits.I also enjoyed the way Liam introduces the crew to DnD. There are times when Sadie is a bit too much in how she has this perfect opportunity hander to her and a slight lack of connection to reality in the consequences of her actions long-term, but honestly, it makes the story a bit more real (we've all avoided reality before, especially when trying to recover from burn out).
Again, I can not stress enough how fun this book is. I really loved that we almost got two books in one, between the campaign side story and the main story about Sadie and Noah! It was so entertaining watching the characters develop and the friendships grow.
I adored this book, and my DnD-loving heart fell hard for the story. But honestly, even if you've never had any interest in RPGs but you love a good sweet romance, you'll still love this book. I can't recommend it enough.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Roll for Romance is pure nerdy fun, but that doesn't mean it isn't layered. As someone struggling to find footing while unemployed I could relate to Sadie a lot. Her struggle with burnout and finding who she is outside of her job is something I think lots of people can understand. Each character in this story is in a different point in their life, and I liked seeing how that was reflected in the choices they made with their DnD characters.
When it came to the DnD side of the story, I had a lot of fun. I felt like I was getting two stories in one in some ways, and I think the narrative of their campaign makes this a great contemporary romance for fantasy readers. As a fledgling DnD player myself I also felt it didn't go too far into campaigning in a way that might lose the interest of those less interested. It was very accessible and easy to follow.
The narrative was tight with a fantastic emotional ARC, and I'm excited to see what's next for the author.
Thank you to Random House, Dell Romance, and Netgalley for the ARC.
When it came to the DnD side of the story, I had a lot of fun. I felt like I was getting two stories in one in some ways, and I think the narrative of their campaign makes this a great contemporary romance for fantasy readers. As a fledgling DnD player myself I also felt it didn't go too far into campaigning in a way that might lose the interest of those less interested. It was very accessible and easy to follow.
The narrative was tight with a fantastic emotional ARC, and I'm excited to see what's next for the author.
Thank you to Random House, Dell Romance, and Netgalley for the ARC.
Very cute, low stakes book that will be adored by both table top role play games (TTRPG) newbies and veterans. The game terms are all explained well and was very approachable without overexplaining which would turn off veteran players. The characters (both book and TTRPG) were super loveable and even the side characters got a little extra added dimension which wasn't necessary but was a very nice bonus. My favorite part was that even though this isn't a queer romance it was a very queer accepting and friendly book. The friend group felt like someone I wanted to hang out with on a Sunday evening.
The romance was a nice slow build though a little frustrating at times. Very cute couple and very cute book but I just felt a little disbelieving that a transient cad would be this willing to give everything up and settle down. At the end I found myself thinking wow this will be a great relationship for 1-3 years then utterly destroy her and make her go through this life re-making again but WISH THEM THE BEST AND HOPE I'M WRONG. Maybe it's just because I've seen what kind of undergrads come out of CU Boulder lol. Overall good beach read book that had a great double layer TTRPG and real world story lines that kept the pages turning but it's not going to revolutionize the publishing world.
The romance was a nice slow build though a little frustrating at times. Very cute couple and very cute book but I just felt a little disbelieving that a transient cad would be this willing to give everything up and settle down. At the end I found myself thinking wow this will be a great relationship for 1-3 years then utterly destroy her and make her go through this life re-making again but WISH THEM THE BEST AND HOPE I'M WRONG. Maybe it's just because I've seen what kind of undergrads come out of CU Boulder lol. Overall good beach read book that had a great double layer TTRPG and real world story lines that kept the pages turning but it's not going to revolutionize the publishing world.