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

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

New favorite book alert!⁠

I adored The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall! This is a book about finding your people, finding queer joy, and embracing the fabulous nerdiness of TTRPGs (table-top role playing games).⁠

Y'all. I want to hug all the characters in this book—the girls, anyway. (The boys are trash and I wanted to punch them every time they were on the page.) They all have such strong personalities, and by the end of the book I wanted to be friends with them.⁠

I was also super impressed with how Randall integrates the S&S games. I thought it would be boring to read about a campaign, but I found it just as engaging as watching something like Critical Role! ⁠

The only thing I struggled with in this book was Hollis's wound; I couldn't quite grasp why she was hanging out with the group of asshole boys in the first place (besides happenstance). I wanted just a bit more out of her back story to provide that foundation.⁠

That didn't diminish my joy of reading the book, though. I hugged it when I finished reading it!⁠