A review by bookishvicky
Roll For Romance by Lenora Woods

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC of Roll for Romance in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Rating: ★ 4.75 stars

Pub Date: Jul 15 2025

“If the girls were being honest with me and there really is something there… Maybe I should roll for iniative.”

As a casual Dungeons & Dragons player and a sappy romance diehard, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more. The D&D gameplay is lore and mechanic accurate, the stakes are low but just high enough for me to care about Sadie’s dilemmas, and the chemistry between the couple was blazing hot. Some romance books seem to force the two together, but Roll for Romance’s chemistry was perfectly set in motion with Noah fidgeting with Sadie’s ring under the table. Like, sparks flew and then there was a fire of sweet quotes and soft moments.

I loved how we got the story within the story of their D&D campaign, and how it wasn’t just mimicking the events of the story. We see Sadie and Noah’s characters grow close as they do. I was honestly afraid there’d be some awkward in-game moments due to some outside conflict, but both stayed just seperate enough to make it feel believable and tell two satisfying love stories. 

“I’m disgustingly sentimental and bubbling with optimism, and it’s all his fault.”

Noah and Sadie brought out the best in each other, and I think that’s what made it such a satisfying romance story. We can actually see them changing after having met each other, and it was refreshing after some romances where the character’s lives and romance kinda stay separate from each other. 

I highly highly recommend this, even if you haven’t played D&D. Woods does such a good job introducing the gameplay, and since we get the campaign story directly, it eliminates several layers of potentially confusing mechanics and rulebook dilemmas. 

Overall, this book is full of adorable details, two entertaining stories, and fun D&D goodies at the end of the book. Woods, you’re welcome at my table anyday, and you’d always roll with advantage.