The writing in this novel was much stronger than the original Forgotten Realms novels that started in the late 1980s. A good deal of the story felt like ;what you would expect playing through a D&D adventure. I hadn't read the predecessor to this book, and thus there were numerous references and facts about the plot and characters that were lost on me, but it didn't take away too much from the main story line of this book. My biggest complaint is that when I think of D&D novels, I want stories about adventures, quests, battles, treasures, just like playing the game. Though it was only 288 pages long, it easily could have been a good 50 pages shorter had the unnecessary side references to romance and too much character background. There are enough epic fantasy and romantasy novels for people who want that. D&D doesn't need it. 3.5/5*

The Fallbacks return in an all new adventure that sees them face down one of Faerun’s deadliest creatures: dragons!

I had the opportunity to dive into the world of The Fallbacks, an adventuring party introduced in 2024 in The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by author Jaleigh Johnson. The story, and its sequel, is set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, with the party visiting well-known locations up and down the Sword Coast.

After their initial adventure, the titular group of adventurers are back and seemingly in more trouble than ever. In The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons, while the group has received steady work since taking down a lich in their first adventure, there’s still the matter of Baldric’s mysterious foe to deal with, and it soon becomes clear that this entity won’t take “no” for an answer. It’s a race against time to see if Tess and the Fallbacks can save Baldric from this predicament before something deadly happens to the party’s cleric.

Having recently finished the first Fallbacks novel, I was immediately delighted to see how smoothly Dealing with Dragons picks the threads of the story up. The narrative begins a number of months after the conclusion of the first novel and the opening quickly establishes how much the group has grown in skill and power since taking down Lorthrannon. It also wastes little time in showing what issues remain and this is built on throughout the rest of the novel. The Fallbacks, for all their many skills, are still quite fallible and I love that the narrative doesn’t shy away from this.

One of the best parts of this story is how the author layers the mystery of who and what is after Baldric. In true Dungeons and Dragons fashion, the big villain of this story can “appear” with almost no warning, and Jaleigh Johnson makes use of this to great effect more than once. It really helps to build up the suspense, especially in the later chapters of the novel. As terrifying as Lothrannan was in the previous novel, it almost pales in comparison to the foes encountered in this book.

Speaking some more of Baldric, I really appreciated how the author takes a deeper look at why the cleric deals with the gods the way he does. More specifically, I like the way she made the point of “doing things this way has its own risks but you are not at fault for choosing your own path.” It’s a good reminder that choices, even ones that seem to benefit everyone, can have unforeseen consequences. In fact it could be argued that “actions have consequences” is the overarching theme of this story. It seems that everyone in this group has done something in the past and are just now facing the consequences of whatever they did.

Another strength of this story is that while Baldric’s issues are at the forefront of the tale, the narrative still takes the time to follow the rest of The Fallbacks as they continue to work on their own problems, wide and varied as they are. I particularly enjoyed watching Cazrin grapple with her family history while continuing to grow in her powers as a wizard.

Then there’s Lark. The tiefling bard grabbed my attention in the first novel and continued to do so in the follow up. This is a person who is truly starting to come into their own…if only they can survive whatever’s plaguing them. I sincerely hope the next Fallbacks entry puts Lark’s story center stage (pun fully intended) because this story laid plenty of groundwork and my curiosity is piqued. As a musician, I can also appreciate the way Lark’s musical magic is described whenever it is used. Magic comes in many flavors in the Forgotten Realms and I love that Lark’s magic is presented as being separate but no less powerful than Cazrin’s.

Finally, I still can’t get over how well Jaleigh Johnson brings Faerun to life as The Fallbacks move from one place to the next. Be it a sailing ship, the magical Wander Inn, or an archmage’s tower, all of these places are described at a level that brings them fully to life in the mind’s eye. This is a real and thriving world and it just makes it that much easier to sink into the story and forget about the real world for a few hours.

In conclusion, there is so much to love about Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons. The party is continuing to grow, both in power and as a found family. The best part? It’s clear to me that the story isn’t over and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next.

A fun, enjoyable quintessential D&D-in-a-book. Didn't realize this one was a sequel tho -- I was able to understand the characters and dynamics relatively quickly but kept wondering if I should pause and pick up the first book instead. Going to pick it up now!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and absolutely loved it. I am an avid 5e fan and this book combines a compelling story that is true to gameplay, engaging, humorous, and suspenseful. I have not read the previous books in the series, but that is not necessary as it stands alone but informed by the previous books. Absolutely a 5 of 5 situation.

This is the second DnD book I've now read, the first being the Ravenloft one, which means I didn't read the first book of The Fallbacks.

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this one. I like the characters a lot, perhaps more than the ones in Ravenloft. They all have a backstory and different personalities that really work in this book.

As for the plot, it kept going at a steady pace and I didn't expect some of the twists and turns!

Not much else to say except that I'm now looking forward to a potential sequel!

Absolutely love this universe and this cast of characters!! Feels like a real D&D campaign brought to life.

I must admit, despite loving the idea of D&D, I’ve never had experience with it beyond D&D inspired video games and real play podcasts that have a greater emphasis on comedy than the gameplay. Still, the world of Faerûn is definitely burned into my consciousness. Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter, and Icewind Dale are all terms that illicit a certain nostalgia in me, even if it’s not from playing the game itself.

The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons by Jaleigh Johnson is a Dungeons and Dragons novel that follows a group of adventurers known as The Fallbacks. I didn’t read the first book of this series, but that didn’t seem to hamper by ability to enjoy it.

The novel is well written, and the cast of characters is clearly well established. I really enjoyed the action, and just wished there was more of it. The novel has a tendency to cut external conflict short in favour of internal conflicts between characters. In some places, this has the effect of adding depth to the characters, which is welcome, but more often than not, it leans a bit too far into it and comes across as melodramatic.

The novel does a good job of giving each of its characters time to shine, and the characters have realistic motivations that really do come through in the downtime. The only issue is that the majority of the novel is downtime. Apart from a few short forays into combat, The Fallbacks spend a considerable amount of time carousing at inns. The interpersonal relationships are brought to the forefront at the expense of everything else.

The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons had the potential to be a fun novel, and it does have its moments. There’s humour aplenty and the cast of loveable rouges, but the drama gets in the way a bit.

As a fan of D&D novels for more than four decades, Johnson has continued the tradition of fun romps with just enough hints of gameplay to keep longtime players happy as well. This is the second book surrounding the adventuring band known as The Fallbacks. Led by the rogue Tess, this group has once again found themselves pitted against a power far outside their normal range. Picking up shortly after the end of the previous novel "The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin", the party finds itself dealing with the machinations of a greatwyrm as a result of the ill-advised acceptance of powerful magical aid by the group's cleric, Baldric, during the previous encounter. We also get to see how this group has continued to evolve into a true adventuring band as more of the backgrounds and intentions of each of the party members are brought much more to the forefront than in the previous novel.

I applaud Johnson for continuing to keep the focus on the storytelling of this fantasy band rather than getting hidebound by the rules of the game from which it takes much of its lore. Too often, writers of D&D novels focus too much on ensuring the story fits within the limits of the game's power/rules. Johnson stretches the rules of the game but doesn't utterly break them (yep still smarting about flammable grease in another recent D&D novel).

Overall, a great romp and a fun read. I look forward to continued adventures with The Fallbacks.

A huge "thank you" to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey for the opportunity to enjoy this eARC.

Even though I haven’t read the first book, it was easy enough to distinguish the characters and the party dynamics. Everyone was charming on their own and as a group. The action is great and the plot was good. I had such a good time reading this.

Thank you Net Galley for the eARC.

DNF @ 47%

This book started out really intriguing, but unfortunately it started to loose my interest. I loved the first book quite a lot and still really enjoy these characters, i just wish there had been a bit more action! overall i would still recommend this book. it just didn't hold my attention. it's one of those DNFs though that i could see myself trying again maybe someday in the future.

I got to return to the Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party The Fallbacks with the next novel, Dealing with Dragons. This time we get to dive deeper into one of the party member’s storylines that we had gotten as a setup in the first novel. This was something when I reviewed the first book that I talked about as a positive with how Jaleigh Johnson treated the Fallbacks as individuals that we got to examine. In Dealing with Dragons we get to explore the cleric Baldric and his complicated relationship to the gods as well as the mysterious entity that has been haunting him. This was one of the storylines I was excited to explore along with the strained relationship between Anson and his brother Valen who claims to no longer be attached to the Zhentarim after the events of Bound for Ruin. While these are some of the main focuses of the novel, much like Bound for Ruin, Jaleigh Johnson finds a way to give all of the party a chance to shine and have their own growth. I really enjoyed returning to this party and I’ll always be excited to return to the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons. I also found things interesting that we got to go to the, in my opinion, rarely visited Luskan. To me this is a part of the Forgotten Realms that holds a lot of lore significance but never gets a chance to truly shine in a lot of stories. All together if you want a Dungeons & Dragons book filled with high fantasy and actually containing dragons, The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons is definitely the book to check out. While I’d recommend starting with Bound for Ruin, you can easily jump into Dealing with Dragons right away.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. While I can appreciate diving right into the action, this book was incredibly overwhelming, throwing names and creatures at me from the very start. I mean, it opened with the cast in the middle of combat, and again... I LOVE being thrown right into the action. But when you're several pages in and you have no stability, no idea where they are or why they're in combat, or what anyone looks like... It's just really hard to get your bearings.

I really dug this D^D adventure! The Fallbacks may not be heroes of myth in Faerun, although they are the unique and chaotic adventurers that I know I've seen at my very own table. The story has fun twists & turns, great action & a compelling party that works well off each other.

In this second book of Jaleigh Johnson's Fallback series, the rogue Tess and her gang of misfits deal with growing pains as the group settles into their role as an adventuring party, trying to balance their needs as individuals and as a group.

The main plot revolves around cleric Baldric as he searches for the evil entity that has been invading his thoughts while he bargains with the gods. Meanwhile, the fighter Anson continues to contend with his brother's involvement with the Zhentarim, and Lark the bard finally lets the group in on a secret he's been hiding from the beginning.

The "walking pack of bad decisions and dangerous skills" have another exciting adventure that immerses the reader in the world of Dungeons & Dragons in a story that's simultaneously familiar to players of the game while being accessible to those new to it who only know the name. Here's to hoping for more Fallback stories in the years to come!

4/5 stars

Read as an ARC from Netgalley:

This was fantastic, easy to pick up Dungeons & Dragons book with a fantastic cast. Despite not reading the first book, I was easily able to pick up on the characters, and their dynamics.

Johnson does a great job writing fleshed out, 3-dimensional characters, who all have their own wants/desires.

The action is magnificent, and the plot has plenty of fun twists/turns.

High recommend!

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
I’m an avid DND player and it was so much fun to read what feels like a campaign with your friends.
I was stupid and didn’t realise this was a continuation but I didn’t struggle once I got into the story.
The way it’s written was so fun and exactly like you imagine yourself whilst playing DND.
I will definitely be looking for more of these when they’re published!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore.

I love D&D, so naturally I was intrigued when I saw this on NetGalley!
I was actually surprised by this, as it was quite good! It's my first time reading a novel like this, it was a good palate cleanser between heavy fantasy novels. It was well written and went at a good pace.
The Fallbacks are a group of adventurers whose characters are likeable and there is good chemistry throughout, bonus points go to Uggie, and her constant demands of bacon. I've played a couple of campaigns within the Forgotten Realms, which I think helped with the visualisation and storytelling.

3. stars :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I love this series. I love the characters, I love the familiarity of the Forgotten Realms, and I love the adventures that the characters get involved with. As someone who has played and run many D&D games, I can almost tell which moments would be where the dice rolled poorly or rolled fantastic if this was an actual campaign being played. I truly can't wait for the next one.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5, thank you Netgalley and Random House for the ARC copy, this is my honest review.

I have to start by admitting that I did not read the previous book, so at the beginning I was a bit at lost with who was who and what had happened before with the Fallbacks, but, honestly? It felt even more like a DnD campaign like that.
Once I started reading, however, I got to know these characters, this little band of adventurers who, as I continued reading, felt more and more like a found family.
Every single one of them has their own issues, secrets and demons they need to fight, and we deal with one of those issues (and tackle a bit a couple more) in this book.
The dungeon crawling felt like a game of DnD, the battles were action-filled without being overbearing and the characters (even Uggie, or better said, specially Uggie) were charming on their own and as a group.
I might have started this without having read the previous one, but let me tell you I will read every single one that comes after (and the first one), because I need to join these adventurers in all their quests from now on.

This continues the story started in Bound For Ruin but is essentially is a standalone. New to D&D? I guess you could start here, though Bound for Ruin makes more sense. Familiar with Forgotten Realms? I have more words. If you have been ok with the hollowed out lore of 5e, you’re probably not a big fan or otherwise easy to please. If you’ve read many of the old stories set in the Realms, this doesn’t read like them. This is for a younger audience. It’s not the Realms I care for much. If you can get over that, Johnson is a Realms veteran it treats it with more respect than Wizards has for a decade. And she writes good easy heroic fantasy. That’s nothing to complain about.