A review by jaylyn_
The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5 out of 5 stars: hollis starts off trying to prove her boyfriend chris and his friends wrong by showing that she can play secrets & sorcery (D&D but legal reasons and all that jazz) she wants to feel included after being on the outside so long because of the very strict "no-girlfriend rule" implemented by chris' friend landon. also, the way she is treated by landon is honestly such an accurate representation of how a lot of boys act when girls enjoy "masculine" hobbies and it made me so fucking mad?? like the amount of times i said he needs to d word in my annotations is a little insane but hes an ass so its fine (cause why is your new gf allowed to play but now your friend's gf who you've known forever?) anyways.

hollis finds an all girl group of S&S players and from there, we see her transform into a confident and outspoken new version of herself. she also realizes she is, in her words, "not straight" thanks to one aini amin-shaw, who is an absolute darling btw. as the story progressed there were moments where it felt that the gameplay overtook the romance aspect of this story, but after reading it, thats the point is it not? the gameplay and real life begin to bleed together to the point that hollis is unsure of what she's feeling, and whether her feelings are hers towards aini? or is she getting it confused with honoria's feelings towards umber? this also plays into hollis' dynamic with chris because as she grows more confident, they grow apart and this plays a huge role in their eventual breakup. which thank god for that cause he's also an ass??? like my god dude hollis dealt with these boys for 4 years. overall this was definitely a fun read, it feels like this book is not only a romance, but a coming of age story about finding who you are with all of its difficult challenges and i absolutely loved it. an excellent debut from christen randall and i can't wait to see what they put out next!