“You’ll figure it out. We can’t control the wind, be we can always adjust the sails.”

A very cute romance.

What I liked:

I really enjoyed this cast of characters. Not just our MCs, but the supporting characters as well.

I love me a small town romance. I do wish we got a little more about the town.

Sadie & Noah are very cute together, and they did have some good chemistry.

What didn’t work for me:

There was a bit too much of the D&D campaign for me. It seemed to take a bit away from the romance and the story as a whole. I would’ve preferred a bit more relationship progression and less of the campaign.

Thank you, NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, for the eARC of Roll For Romance 💘⚔️🎲

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️ . 5 / 5

I was immediately interested in reading Roll For Romance when I saw the cover! It’s seriously one of the cutest book covers I’ve ever seen! 🤩

I became very immersed in just about all the characters, but mostly the FMC’s development throughout the story. The MMC is an absolute cinnamon roll! I usually opt for books with a dark and mysterious MMC but now, I think I need more cinnamon rolls!

This novel was flirty, sweet, and humorous at the right times. It’s a contemporary fiction story with a fantasy/romantasy subplot. If you don’t play D&D or don’t care too much for fantasy, I still think this book would be an enjoyable read for you. You don’t have to know how D&D works to read this and enjoy it! BUT if you have played D&D, you will enjoy this book even more!

I really enjoyed this read! Although, some of the details felt a little repetitive and unnecessary. For example, there was a page and a half’s worth just about running. Things like that that had me thinking, “ok, get to the point” 😮‍💨 But overall, this story was cute, fun, swoon-worthy, and exciting! The spicy part was also immaculate 🙂‍↕️🤭

DNF @ 5%

I wanted to love this book -- I love a nerdy romance and have played DnD myself. But something about the way this was written felt stiff, and there was too much info dumping/set up in the beginning. Also I'm confused about the best friend being a man if he is not the love interest? But maybe that would have been explored further if I kept reading.

I think this would be good for people looking for a quick and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Dell, and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced copy! You can pick up Roll for Romance on July 15, 2025.

I am absolutely loving the rise of D&D romances, and this book def scratched an itch I've had since Dungeons and Drama! Sadie, a burnt-out marketer who moves down to Texas to live with her high school best friend, is invited to join his summer D&D campaign to help get her out of her funk. Along the way, she meets some wonderful new friends, starts to feel like she belongs in a small-town community, and pursues a passion she's set aside for years in order to climb the corporate ladder.

And, of course, she meets a sexy lumberjack-esque brewer who loves camping and being a chaotic nomad.

I love how Lenora Woods made the characters match up with and inspire the personalities of their D&D characters. We see bard-like tendencies in Noah, our MMC, while Sadie exemplifies the more cautious, supportive friend in her cleric character, Jaylie. Their romance was sweet and adorable (both in-game and in real life), and I loved the ending. As a burnt out corporate girlie, I hardcore resonated with Sadie's struggle!!

Def pick this up if you love nerdy romances with soft cinnamon roll MMCs who can turn on the spice!

Nat 20! Consider me charmed ;)

While I’m no D&D expert, I thought using a campaign to explore relationships through different perspectives and experiences was such a clever storytelling device. It made the whole book feel fresh and brought in an emotional tie on multiple levels.

As someone who’s also had to figure out who she is outside of her career, Lauren’s journey really hit close to home. Watching her rediscover herself and step into something because she loved it was both relatable and beautiful to watch.

And let’s be honest, Noah is adorable. He had me grinning like I had a crush of my own. I loved every second of the dynamic our MCs had, especially those late night writing sessions!

The vibes? Sweet, adventurous, and just the right amount of geeky charm. If you're looking for a feel-good romance with heart, humor, and a dash of d20-esque magic, I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Okay I loved this!! The sort of dual timelines with real life and the D&D game was *chef’ kiss* and so fun! I loved the found family that Sadie created for herself in Texas. The romance between Sadie and Noah was so sweet with a little spice. I really really enjoyed seeing their romance flourish. As a person that related a lot to Sadie, Noah’s character stressed me out a bit with how freewheeling he was, but I did love the character too. This was just super cute and I would recommend!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so freaking amazing! I loved it so much!

Our main character is Sadie. After recently leaving what she thought was her dream job, she’s in a bit of a funk. Her best friend convinces her to leave the great big New York City to come stay with him in small town Heller, Texas. Talk about a whole new adventure!

After taking some time to lick her wounds, Sadie starts to really find her place in Heller and with the new group of friends she has found centered around her friend’s latest D & D campaign.

What starts out as a flirtation between characters in the game, slowly builds into attraction in the real world.

Enter our hero of the story, Noah. And let me just say, all the swoons for Noah! A ginger with a man bun, a penchant for flannels, and a wanderlust spirit, does it get more swoony than that?! I think not!

I loved their romance, both real life and in the game, so much! Add in the wonderful group of side characters and shenanigans! It was absolute perfection! And who knows! This story might be my catalyst to finally try my hand at D&D 🤔😂❤️

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was well written even though it is not a genre I would normally read. (Fantasy) I did read this book in one day and I would recommend this book.

It was so hard to get into this book. The premise was so promising to me but I found it hard to keep track of both story lines. I wish there was more of an obvious break between make-believe and real world. I really struggled through it. It felt slow and laggy. Just overall not my cup of tea.

📖 𝙍𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙇𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙖 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨

“𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯?” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺.
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
“𝘛𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.”

This was really fun and unique story! The story telling & roll playing during the dnd scenes sucked me right in! I was so invested in their quest!

I really enjoyed witnessing the love story unfold inside two separate stories! The characters created for the dnd campaign were so well developed I felt like they were truly main characters in the overall plot. The other members of the dnd group were so fun and had me cracking up at their antics!

This was a slow burn romance between Sadie & Noah. They were interested in each other right from the beginning, but took their time to become friends and then something more. There is spice towards the end! 🔥

Mental health plays a roll in learning about Sadie’s story and what brought her to Texas. She’s at a crossroads in her life and just needed to get out of her head to figure out what she wanted her future to look like.

Noah was a great MMC. He was fun and charismatic, and helped Sadie step out of her comfort zone.

Overall, this is a fun story that kept me entertained, start to finish!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
🎲 𝘥𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺
💗 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴
🤭 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 + 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦
❤️‍🩹 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘱
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺

This was absolutely adorable! I’m not a D&D fan so a lot of that piece was lost on me but I thought it was fun to read. The author does a fun job of putting together 2 separate love stories. I’d have loved a little more character development to make me fall in love with them more but otherwise it was super cute and fun to read!

I was so excited for Roll for Romance…it had all the ingredients I typically adore: a geeky rom-com setup, a cozy D&D group dynamic, and a cover that is just absolutely adorable (seriously, 10/10 for design!). As a fan of Kristy Boyce’s Dungeons & Drama, I came in hopeful for another charming, character-driven nerdy romance.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF at about 20%. I found myself struggling to connect with the characters, who felt a bit underdeveloped for my taste. The real-life storyline moved slowly and lacked the emotional depth or stakes I need to stay invested.

That said, the D&D scenes were delightful! The author clearly has a love and understanding of the game, and the worldbuilding within those moments was vivid and engaging. (I actually think I would’ve enjoyed a full-on fantasy novel based solely on that campaign setting…it truly came alive on the page.)

One thing that tripped me up was the introduction of the D&D party, we meet some of the characters in-game before really knowing them in the real world, which made it hard for me to connect the dots and build any emotional attachment.

While I don’t usually rate books I don’t finish, I’m giving this one 2 stars for the inventive and immersive D&D chapters, which I genuinely enjoyed.

Jumping in and out of the D&D story made part of this difficult to follow. We also get almost no backstory so it was difficult to know who was who when they started playing. The romance was cute but also surface level.

I honestly thing i didn't enjoy this as much i could of because I knew nothing about dnd. I honestly kept skimming through the parts when the story changed to the campaign scenes, as it honestly took me out of the book completely. That being said, I did still like Sadie and Noah as characters, I just wish I got more from them.

3 stars

this book was SO CUTE!!! as a DND newbie, and a long time book lover, I was so excited to see this book existed!!! And it DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Sadie is SO RELATABLE; feeling pressured to go back to a corporate job and NYC because that’s always been The Goal, even after a crash out at her old job led to her fleeing to stay with her best friend Liam in a small town in Texas. She’s not so sure NYC is what she wants anymore, especially after starting a weekly DND campaign with her best friend and a HOT, BURLY, BARTENDING NERD. NOAH IS EVERYTHING!! HOT, EMOTIONALLY AVAILABLE, COMMUNICATES OPEN AND HONESTLY, A HUGE NERD. their love story had me giggling and kicking my feet, filled with the glee and joy of a crush that turns into more, softly but fully.

I was EQUALLY invested in the plot of the DND campaign! It’s written like its own story rather than recited by the characters playing a game, so you’re essentially reading two books in one. The campaign’s plot had me on my toes and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it.

This was such a lovely story of finding friends and found family and love in a place you might not have expected, to believing in yourself and trusting your gut, and to follow your dreams even if it means letting go of something you’ve been told you should want.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy to review!

This is cute, upbeat, fun and sure to be enjoyed by romance readers and absolutely adored by D&D fans. A story within a story is frequently a tricky device to write and Lenora Woods does an admirable job. Keeping track of the characters/ the characers' characters was a little chaotic and, for me, the game's storyline was a little too intricate. That said, I'm entirely certain there are readers that will absolutely love it.

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to DNF this for now. I was drawn in by the premise, but the D&D aspect of the book is almost too immersive, to the point it feels like a separate story. I expected to feel Sadie in her role as Jaylie, or find connections to the way she comes out of her shell as Jaylie in ways she wishes she could in real life. Unfortunately, the D&D world and Sadie’s life felt too disjointed, and the book feels like two separate stories. I may come back to this another time - I wanted to enjoy it and I can tell it has an audience and potential, but I’m just not finding it right now.
—
Thank you Random House Publishing | Ballantine & NetGalley for this complimentary ARC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 7/15/2025

Hooked from the very first page, I couldn’t help but be invested in both the players’ romance, but their characters’ as well. Perfect for fans of DND and for people new to the game.

How often do you get two romances in a book? Not only do we get to see Sadie and Noah fall in love, but we also get to see Jaylie and Loren, their characters, fall in love. I was kicking my feet giggling at both romances, loving the way the two romances blending and influenced the other.

The dnd aspect of the book is the perfect level for both newbies and experienced players. The spells are left vague so you just see their effects, but it lets the experienced dnd players realize what spells they’re actually doing. The rounds are subtly mentioned to be 8 seconds, an unimportant detail that made me grin.

The book had a strong supporting cast. Both the players in the party and their characters were fun and different, especially the feminine mom being a dark barbarian. I really liked Liam, the way he supported Sadie throughout the book made their friendship so nice to see.

I can’t wait to see what other books the author writes, I will absolutely be picking all of them up. Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this book!

WOW!!

This was a cute and immersive read! It was like getting to read both a Contemporary romance and a Fantasy at the same time!! The Noah and Sadie Journey was so sweet and cute and I loved how it mirrored Loren and Jaylies adventures in DnD.

I love the friendship that Liam and Sadie have and how he did not hesitate to go get his best friend and let her stay with him when she was having a hard time. I also loved the friendship that developed between all the members of the DnD group and how they all accepted each other for who they were.

The DND scenes were some of my favorites of the book. They were so immersive, I felt like I was present at game night playing along with them!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine-Dell for providing this early copy for review.

Cute cover and blurb got me interested. I've read a few romances with D&D gaming interwoven that I've enjoyed, so I expected to really like this one. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me.

I appreciate stories where characters are in kind of a rut like the FMC Sadie. She lost her corporate job, and now she's unsure what her next steps are. When she moves in with her best friends, she's given a chance to re-evaluate her life-she learns how to play D&D, rediscover her passion in drawing, explore new places, and meet new people and perhaps pursue romance. Love that for her! I think these storylines are relatable. Then we have Noah, bartender and also new in town. He's a man who can't be tied down to one place. Overall, he's a cooly guy, friendly, attractive, and maybe the summer fling (or maybe not fling), Sadie needs.

This was a low stakes, light romance with "nerdy/geeky" element! Really like that! Sometimes you just need a romance that doesn't have so much drama! There are two storylines happening in this-one is their D&D campaign, and the other of course, the real world. Sadie and Noah show their chemistry on and off the game.

>>> Friends to lovers
>>> Starting over
>>> Small-town
>>> Geek/nerd culture