4 stars - I really enjoyed this book. It's a low drama, Dungeon and Dragons themed, friend set-up romance. Roll for Romance switches between our main love story line and their D&D campaign where their character also start falling for each other. I think there were a few elements that I would have liked to explore a little further (helloooo roleplay sexting???? I need a bonus chapter asap.) but this was ultimately a really fun story of a woman starting over in a new place with an old friend who sets her up with a friendly hot bartender. Isn't that everyone's dream after getting fired from your boring corporate job? Can't just be me.

Loooooovveee the nerdy representation!! I don’t play D & D but I DO play Mtg and this book immediately drew me in. I loved the premise and setting. It was so sweet and charming. I loved the intertwining of the real life romance between Sadie and Noah and their D & D characters Jaylie and Loren. It was such an interesting read because of this dynamic. Now I’m off to actually learn how to play D & D!!

Thanks for this ARC read! I had such a great time!!

This was incredibly a unique story and definitely different from what I’ve read before. The way this author writes two worlds in this romance was fun to read. Definitely was a fan of their fantasy characters! The best way I can describe the D&D portion is like reading an immersive, ongoing romantic fantasy novella within the whole book.
4 star!

Thank you @randomhouse & @netgalley for this ARC

As a GIANT D&D nerd I absolutely adored this story. I loved the characters and Noah was 10/10. But I am also a sucker for a cinnamon roll character. I really loved how wholesome and natural the relationship was and how it developed. I did struggle to keep up with the pacing, but it didn't really seem to throw off my reading. I am excited to get a physical copy when the book drops!

A story about romance (duh) and adventure (duh again) but also finding your path in life. I loved the way the story switched seamlessly between Sadie’s POV and Jaylie’s.

Pub Date 7/15/25

#rollforromance
#lenorawoods
#netgalley
#rollforinitiative
#dungeonsanddragons

Thank you to Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are completely my own.

This story is different from other stories I read for sure. There’s a heavy focus on Dungeons and Dragons. The characters in the story are new to the game which helped as I myself as not as familiar. It follows both Sadie’s life as well as the campaign her character is involved in. I enjoyed that there was different point of views. Sadie’s story was in first person while her D&D characters campaign was written in third person point of view. I loved how Sadie finds herself after she lost her job and finds herself immersed in old passions once again and makes friends. All of the supporting characters added to the story and the dialogue between them was great! The romance overall was very sweet and I enjoyed it.

This is a sweet and fun read that blends a fantasy D&D story with a contemporary romance!

Former New York City businesswoman Sadie is spending the Summer in Texas with her best friend, hoping to recover from burnout and find a new direction for her life. Sadie agrees to join her friend's Dungeons and Dragons campaign, where she meets a charming and outgoing bartender named Noah. Noah and Sadie's characters find romance within the world of their campaign while their friendship develops into deeper feelings in the real world as well.

I loved how this book tells the stories of the D&D campaign and the out-of-game romance in parallel!

This book features a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, a cinnamon roll MMC, nerdiness, and a burned out woman learning to find joy in life again.

Thank you so much to Random House/Dell Romance and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Roll for Romance is so cute!! I loved that there were two stories at once and that they fell in love in both worlds. Each story was inviting and intriguing.

If you've ever wanted to blend the thrill of a fantasy quest with the heart of a contemporary romance, this book is for you. Sadie Brooks is newly unemployed, emotionally adrift, and suddenly in small-town Texas for the summer. She struggles to decide what to do next, which hits close to home for many readers.

What unfolds feels like two books in one: one in the real world, and one in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign where she becomes Jaylie, a divine cleric. The book is a clever, engaging fantasy adventure and a sweetly heartfelt love story woven together. The dual-world narrative adds such a fun twist, and watching the in-game dynamics between Jaylie and the charming bard Loren mirror the real-life chemistry between Sadie and our MMC, Noah.

It isn't just a romantic romp. It's also a story of self-discovery and finding your passion. Sadie is a woman trying to figure out what's next after a sudden career detour, and the book balances some significant introspection. Her connection to Noah and hesitation about their future as she searches for herself adds emotional depth that will resonate with the reader. This book rolls a 20 for originality. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Dell for the opportunity to review and provide my honest feedback.

This was so good. I loved the plot and characters. It was paced perfectly. I didn't wanna put it down and was on the edge of my seat

This was such a fun surprise. As someone who loves romance and has a soft spot for anything tabletop gaming-related, this book hit a lot of the right notes. You can tell the author really knows the world of TTRPGs—the details felt authentic and added depth without overwhelming the story.

Sadie and Noah were charming and relatable, and their chemistry felt natural both in and out of the game. Watching their in-game flirtation spill over into real life made for a cozy, satisfying read. I liked how the story balanced the fantasy elements with real emotional moments, and I found myself genuinely invested in both sides of their connection.

While I read a lot of romance, this author was new to me—and I’m definitely interested in seeing what they write next. This one felt fresh, nerdy in the best way, and just really enjoyable overall.

This was a perfectly fine romance book. It didn’t knock my socks off, but it was also pretty good. I appreciated the lack of third act breakup. I think this will be a great read for anyone who’s a big D&D fan.

4.5 ⭐ || 2.5 🌶️
OMG! This book is perfect for the romantic nerds who love tabletop gaming (aka me). You can tell the author has passion and extensive experience with TTRPG--which I heavily appreciated as they wove a wonderfully engaging story both on and off the DM's table.

Sadie and Noah are so adorakable, their characters felt incredibly relatable and had perfect on page chemistry. Who hasn't wanted their original characters to fall in love and hoped the heavy flirtation would continue? Carrying their romance into their real lives felt like a natural transition that left me wanting more from both the magical fantasy and cozy romance side of this book. No need to roll for persuasion, because this sold me!

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All
Opinions are my own.

This was good! I enjoyed it. I read a lot of romance, but I always love new to me authors and this was one. I enjoyed the writing style and think this was super good! Definitely intrigued to read more.

Thank you to Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are completely my own.

This romance story is a little different from other books that I've read, focusing heavily on Dungeons & Dragons. Most of the characters in the book are new to the game, so I didn't feel lost even though I've never played D&D myself. We end up with a story within the story, since we are following Sadie (FMC) in the real world, plus her character's adventure in D&D. I liked that the "real world" was in first person while the "game world" was in third person, making it easy to differentiate between the 2 storylines. It's not surprising that a lot of the more exciting and surprising parts are in the D&D storyline, but I still enjoyed Sadie's real world story as well. It was nice to see how Sadie finds herself again after losing her job, rekindling old passions and making new friends. I thought it was an interesting take on how we all play different parts in different aspects of our lives. I liked all the characters we met along the way, and I thought the romance that developed was sweet and enjoyable. I'm impressed that this is the author's debut book!

Roll for Romance felt like a book written personally to me. A heartfelt tribute to D&D and Texas with a romance and friendships that felt like a reassuring hug. I got anxious all by myself during the third act, but I had nothing to worry about— just like our main character Sadie learns about her life.

I don't usually like instant attraction relationships, but I really enjoyed it with Sadie and Noah! A big factor was Liam's teasing of Sadie. It made that aspect of the plot a lot more relatable, funny, and realistic! I could picture my best friend doing the same to me.

Noah and Sadie had such healthy communication. Sadie's anxiety rubbed off on me when I was at the 70% point, but there was no 3rd act break-up and the healthy couple continued to be healthy throughout the whole story which was refreshing to see in a romance at no expense to the tension.

I also loved the inclusion of text RP in the story. It took me back to very nostalgic days of D&D and nerd-dom for me. Text RP out of game such a specific aspect of D&D that not every player does. I can tell this book was written by a kindred spirit and is a labor of love to fantasy fans.

Thank you to Random House/Dell for sending me an ARC through Netgalley.

This was sooo cute, and fun, and creative, and different!!

As a newbie to DnD myself, (just started my first campaign as I was reading this) I thought the way the author was able to blend in the fantasy story and the main story was perfect. The romance was so sweet and realistic.

Overall, the perfect light summer romance with a fantasy twist.

I think this book will definitely work for someone, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. I think the immersive dnd element will be something people either love or hate and unfortunately, I didn’t care for it. I also feel like the intended audience (someone who is familiar with dnd) would feel a little bored given how this is coming from the pov of someone who’s never played dnd before.

Thank you to Dell Romance and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: Our FMC has been run ragged in NYC and has just been let go from her job. Her best friend talks he into spending her summer with him in a small town in Central Texas to get away from it all. He also convinces her to finally give D&D a try with a group of other newcomers to D&D. As our FMC learns to deal with no longer working at her fast paced marketing agency in NYC she learns to love D&D but struggles with making choices for her future in the job market and in love.

Overall thoughts: As a D&D nerd I absolutely loved this book. I love how beautifully the author switched back and forth between the real world and the story being told in the game. It's like we got 2 books in one. I also found all the characters (both in and out of the game) utterly charming. The MMC is an absolute delight and I'd like to know where I can pick one up. The author is clearly from Texas and her descriptions of Texas heat and humidity ("the Texas summertime heat is like a slap in the face...") made me feel like I was right back there. Also I always play clerics in D&D and it was lovely to see some cleric representation in a book!!
I also really loved how the author wrote both old and new friendships. The decade long friendships leading to serious razzing all with a note of love. The new friendships exploring new grounds and giving space. It was beautiful.

However, as someone who went to high school in a small Texas town and someone who currently resides in NYC for the last 5 years I had a few things that struck me about this book that took away from it being a perfect 5 star. New York is great. It has it's issues but it's not as bad as the book makes it seem. It dose seem like the author hasn't lived there for long period of time though. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how it comes across. I also felt small town Texas was painted in too charming a light. I know it's just a book but even just a hint at the bigotry is not enough. It's real, it's there, it's scary. Maybe it's because I'm a liberal, queer, Jewish woman but it did spark a bit of unease at how easily the bigotry of the TX small town was brushed under the rug to make the town so quaint. I never truly felt safe in a small TX town. However, it is just a book. And clearly the author loves Texas and so many of my friends and family do as well. Just needed to note that as how both locals were described did take me out of the story as I have personal connections to both.


What made my weirdo heart happy:
D&D, cats, coffee, nerds, & flirting!
"I doubt either of our characters are a high enough level for nacho-sorcery."


Will I read more books by this author?: Yes. Absolutely.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?: Yes. Absolutely. Especially to fellow D&D nerds.

I loved this story so much. You get the best of both worlds: a fantasy story where two characters fall in love, and a contemporary romance where the same happens.
This one really hit me where it hurts in the best way. They’re both running from something that happened to them that feels like their fault and they’re doing so in very different ways.
Noah is almost literally running, constantly moving from one place to the next, never able to settle down anywhere, feeling like he has to be the life of the party or be left behind.
Sadie had something happen at her dream job and ended up no longer working there. She went into a deep depression from that and her best friend tried to rescue her by bringing her home with him to another state and playing a game of DnD with a group of new friends to take her mind off it while she recoups. She’s struggling with not knowing what the future holds and feeling out of control, she’s paralyzed by having to make a decision in her life that will change everything she’s seemingly worked so hard for up until this point. She feels incapable, defeated, and worn down. She uses her character in DnD to play through some of these problems in a character that has traits she wished she could embody more of.
The romance was really well done as well, there’s no third act break up! They communicate with each other and while they are really scared to be vulnerable, they take that chance with each other and talk about things that are big and scary and important.
This book really has everything I want in a romance book. And I’m so happy we FINALLY have some adult DnD romances happening! I need more of these in my life and I’m so glad this one exists. It’s a phenomenal debut novel.