I’m on the fence about this book. For me the d&d character stories just didn’t work. The rest of the book with Sadie, Liam, Noah, etc was fun and cute. I guess I just wasn’t invested in their character stories.

This book was very well written; however, I don’t think this book was for me. I chose it honestly based on the beautiful cover

I felt that Sadie and Noah’s romance played out more in the game with the characters they created rather than in real life. I also felt that the story within the game took over and dragged out in some parts, and i felt myself getting a bit bored. i do think readers who enjoy a blend of real-world and fantasy games will enjoy this one more.

The story follows Sadie, who visits her best friend in a small town after losing her job. She joins her friend’s D&D campaign to take her mind off things. There, she meets Noah, a bartender and bard in the D&D campaign, and their in-game chemistry starts to mirror real life. Sounds fun, right? Unfortunately, it felt way too familiar. The quirky FMC....the effortlessly perfect love interest. The predictable push-and-pull. I’ve read this before—just swap out D&D for another hobby.


If you’re curious about D&D, this could be a great intro—especially if you're also a romance reader. It weaves in a lot of beginner-level information about the game. I wouldn’t recommend it to readers of high fantasy, but contemporary romance fans might enjoy the unique blend.

This started so well but I started losing interest the more I read, maybe because I don’t play D&D I couldn’t get into it? Which is a shame because Sadie and Noah were cute together and I really liked Liam.

Was not really my style. Two "timelines" were confusing. I was kinda expecting more out of the premise, but I got bored fairly quickly.

Lighthearted and Cozy
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Out of a job, Sadie goes to visit her best friend, Liam, in Texas for an extended visit. Liam convinces her to finally play D&D. Little does she know, the adventure is only beginning! The story alternates between the real world and the game. In the game, we get the perspective of Jaylie, Sadie's character. There were aspects of the story that I really enjoyed and a couple of in game moments that pulled me completely out of the story. It's cute, cozy, and fun for a lighthearted read.

This was such a cute book! The characters felt very realistic, and I absolutely adored the Dungeons & Dragons theme woven throughout the story. The structure was especially clever—chapters alternated between Sadie and Noah in real life and their D&D characters interacting with each other. That dual perspective turned out to be such a fun setup, and it kept me turning the pages.

I learned a few things about D&D along the way. I do play some myself—not a die-hard by any means—but my family definitely is, and I loved seeing how the game was used as a backdrop for the romance. It made both the campaign and the love story engaging in their own ways.

If you’re a fan of D&D and also love a sweet romance, this is a definite win. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to other cozy romance readers who like a nerdy, heartfelt twist.

As the daughter of someone who literally helped invent the game that would later go on to become Dungeons and Dragons, and as a lover of geeky romances, I was sure reading the premise of Roll for Romance that I was going to enjoy it. I was not wrong.

What I loved about this book, aside from the nerdy characters who had complex issues that they were trying to sort out, was the layout. Having Sadie and Noah sort through their feelings while roleplaying in front of a group of essentially strangers was certainly a roll of the D20, but for this book, it strangely worked out. The D&D storyline was tightly written and I appreciated how it was written as if the characters had truly come to life. The author also pulled no punches in the real life complications Sadie and Noah faced as both had issues that they needed to work out and pasts and futures they had to decide upon. I greatly appreciated in the very adult way that both of them handled their relationship and wish more books showed that level of maturity between characters. My only complaint is that the text roleplaying was a bit on the dull side and I expected it to turn spicier when it was just saccharine sweet, but not entirely necessary for the plotline.

I would recommend this book for fans of Rainbow Rowell and any others who want to escape into a sweet D&D romance. There is a good level of spice in this one that I would rate as a 3.5 on the spice-o-meter. out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell, and Lenora Woods for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had to come back to this book. The concept is completely unlike any book I’ve read before. You have the romance between the main characters and then you get the romance between the board game characters. Such a cute read, I couldn’t put it down 😩

This book was a little too Dungeons and Dragons heavy for me. It would be great for someone who is more into DND and understands the game more than I do. I dnf'd at 18%.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was pure magic. As a DnD player myself I LOVE the authors use of PoV shift into the game. I could see hints of what the table might have looked like during those scenes (what kinds of rolls and checks were being made, etc). I liked how the time spent in session was fully character and you never get the “how to play DnD” parts because I think it makes it more accessible to readers who don’t or don’t want to play DnD. I hope this book gets more people to try their hand at it though!!!

I really loved the romance in this one, it felt realistic and sweet. I loved all of the secondary characters but wish we got a little more time with the other party members outside of the game. I love that everyone felt like people and not placeholders, everyone had their own lives to live and it made them feel more substantial.

This book grabbed me from the first chapter and is absolutely one of my top books of the year so far!!

Cute Romcom with a happy ending. I think if you don't know how to play D&G (like me) it might be confusing in the beginning as they do spend some chapters as if they are in the game playing, which was confusing at first. Sadie and Noah were adorable enough in this gaming Romcom. I did like all the side characters that were included in their game and the found family vibe. Overall, a cute romance.

This book was cute! Nothing wild and crazy, and sometimes the plot was a bit much going on and there were some definite plot holes. Overall, fairly enjoyable and easy read though! Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️


This book was really cute. Lenora Woods is great at contemporary romance, but during the full immersion D&D scenes she really showcased a remarkable ability to write straight fantasy (which was actually really awesome and I loved diverting to the campaign characters and I really could have read an entire book about them. D&D/Critical Role should reach out for her to write one of their next books!).

I loved the whole cast of characters, both main and side. But I admit I did have a little bit of trouble aligning with Sadie’s career choice at the end of the book. Everything about that job sounded exactly what she was looking for and it paid a mint (literally enough for her to live ALONE in manhattan???)! I realize that many people wouldn’t make the same choices as me, so this shouldn’t deter you from reading, because as I said I really enjoyed this and thought it was a really cute little love story.

Notable Tropes ——

🎨 Friends to Lovers
🎨 Immersive Tabletop Gameplay
🎨 Big City Girl hiding in a small town
🎨 NYC —> Small Town Texas
🎨 Anxiety Representation
🎨 Drastic Career Change
🎨 Friend Group Dynamics


Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the eARC and the chance to read & review and give my honest opinion.

3.25 stars.

This was genuinely a mid-tier book for me, in that there were aspects of it that I loved and wanted more of and there were aspects that didn't work for me and those things were about even.

Here is what worked well for me:
- Most scenes that happened in "real life"
- When Noah and Sadie wrote to one another as Jaylie and Loren.
- Alora and Shira (I wanted way more of these queer icons!)
- Liam and Sadie's friendship
- Sadie's friendship with Morgan and Julie (again, I wanted way more of this!)
-As i partially listened to this as an audiobook, Ellie Gossage is such a great narrator! This is my 2nd listen from her.

Stuff that didnt work as well for me:
- In general, the D and D storyline was just too long and ornate. For the length of the book, the amount of detail in these sections was a little too much for me. This was especially true of the beginning, when getting to know the "real" characters was taken up by getting to know their "d and d" characters.
- Sadie's job search was a little too straight forward.
- Sadie had, like, a pretty major episode of anxiety/burn out that led to her having to quit her job. This is discussed one time, with Liam, and then never discussed again. The fact that Noah doesn't know this happened really bothered me. He would have made different choices in their relationship had he known. To me, this is the most frustrating part of the things I didnt like.

Roll For Romance by Lenora Woods is such a charming, one of a kind romance that had me blushing and kicking my feet the entire time.

Sadie loses her corporate job in New York, and when her friend convinces her to spend the summer in Texas, she ends up joining a D&D campaign for the very first time. What follows is a story within a story—we not only see the romance unfold in real life, but also through the D&D characters’ POVs, which made this such a fun and unique read that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Noah, our MMC, completely stole my heart. He’s a free spirit, the absolute sweetest cinnamon roll, and this was also his first time playing D&D. I loved that they were both figuring it out together. He was so gentle, supportive, and always eased Sadie’s worries—I was literally kicking my feet and blushing while reading.

This romance is full of charm, healthy communication, and genuine friendship. And now? I really want to try D&D myself.

⭐ 5 stars
Highly recommend if you want something fun, sweet, and a little nerdy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell, and Lenora Woods for the ARC in exchange for an honest

Thanks to Random House/Dell for this e-arc! Roll for Romance had a great concept, blending the lines of a d+d campaign story with the story of Sadie, who seems to be hitting rock bottom when we meet her. It's fun to see her open up, let her art bloom, and eventually fall in love with enigmatic wanderer Noah. I think the book struggled a little in its execution of having you swap perspectives between these two stories - the game and real life - at the expense of feeling like the connection in the main romance wasn't quite as deep as I'd want in a book tackling some of the things it was grappling with around burnout and creativity and living authentically. That said, I think if you vibe with the premise, it's worth the initiative roll to check it out!

This was fun! I never played D&D before, but I still enjoyed that aspect of the story. The scenes as their characters were a little cheesy to me though. Noah and Sadie were cute together. This one had my attention from the start.

I received a digital ARC of Roll for Romance from Random House Publishing Group, through NetGalley. As a Dungeons and Dragons player, I absolutely adored this story. I love that the author used this as an opportunity to share how someone can explore different roles through games. This book includes romance (With a couple chapters of spice) between two people who meet at their Dungeons and Dragons game night. The main character also finds a wonderful group of friends to surround herself with in this little town. In this book you follow along inside and outside of the game as our characters figure out who they are and what adventures they are ready to take on.The story is entertaining and a nice light read; the romance had me smiling for them. And as a Dungeons and Dragon’s player myself I was interested to see where the campaign part of the story would go. This book is written for the nerds. You could really tell that the author has played the game with the references made. It felt like I was sitting around the table with my own friends playing the game.

I will say, I have zero clue how our main character Sadie, got her painting finished with the amount of making out she was doing in the backroom.

I really enjoyed this one!

Roll for Romance was one of my most anticipated reads for this summer and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

I think this was unlike most romance reads in that we spend most of our time seeing Sadie’s transformation rather than Sadie and Noah’s. At first, that through me off a bit but eventually it really let me appreciate what Sadie was working through and how’s she really navigated such a rough time of uncertainty on a lot of different fronts.

I was not expecting to spend as much time as we did in the minds of the D&D characters and that was actually a really fun surprise!

Definitely recommend this one for the table-top peeps looking for a romance read with a little extra self reflection worked in!

Roll for Romance was a welcomed fresh take on my romance list of novels to read. This nerdy, reflective story of friends to lovers, and finding where you're meant to be had me hooked. I loved the slow build of romance between the FMC and MMC. I actually didn't feel like the typical romance tropes were over done or obvious. There is a parallel story line that I thought was an interesting way to deepen your experience with the characters and it did a good job of making the connections. Even though the Dungeon and Dragons storyline was a parallel story, when in that world I really felt like I was in it. I just kind of forgot about the "real" world for a few pages and then jumped back into the human world but it still kept the story moving! I'm a fantasy lover to I'd actually be interested to read more about Dungeon and Dragons world!