I think my new favourite niche in romance is D&D... I really enjoyed this book and I thought the plot was really nice. The mix of outdoor adventuring and Dungeons and Dragons and Renaissance Faire was a super interesting combination. The concept of the XP points was also very fun and I thought it was a good way to push both Morgan and Jack out of their comfort zones.

The settings throughout this book were so pretty and fitting with both the characters and the plot. I thought the side characters had enough of their own lives and spotlight without disappearing into the background or overpowering the main couple.

I found the main climax and love declaration to be a bit rushed and it didn't fully fit the direction of Morgan and Jack's development as individuals or as a couple. I would have loved more of the XP plot points to have come in at this point, just to tie everything in really well. Overall though, a great read!

***Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter for an advanced e-reader copy of You've Got Chain Mail by Sam Parks! All thoughts are my own!***

Morgan is learning how to be alone after her best friend moves away for a new job. She dreams for something more, so she goes on a quest to get out of her comfort zone and experience things for herself. And maybe she can become her own knight in shining armor.

Jack comes back to his hometown after a bad breakup. His life then becomes planned for him to take over the family construction business. But he starts to realize after being isolated, he needs to take his life and his career into his own hands.

So first things first, finding out that this book focuses on D&D and Ren Faires, I was immediately sold. The topic itself gave me 5 star vibes. They are literally two of my favorite things in the whole world. And it's set in the UK, which was very intrigued by. I absolutely fell in love with the friend group who made up the D&D party. They seem like the type of friend group you want around all the time and make up a great D&D party.

I loved the Captain Morgana Silversword chapters, where we found out what actually happened throughout their campaign.

My favorite parts of the book were, of course, when they got to the Ren Faire and the good time they had. I loved the montage of the making of their Ren Faire costumes. But my absolute favorite part was when Jack and Morgan took the hiking trail into the bookshop town in Wales and picked out a book for each other that reminded them of the other. I was kicking my feet and squealing; it was so adorable!

I just wish Morgan and Jack had better communication throughout the book. I felt like they were constantly fighting and not talking through their issues, not feeling fulfilled in their respective careers, and their fears of leaving each other. I think they needed to talk more and stop breaking up after every argument.

Overall, I really enjoyed You've Got Chain Mail and it made my nerdy heart happy!

You've Got Chain Mail releases August 13th, 2024!

You’ve Got Chain Mail by Sam Parks was such an entertaining story.
A charming and fun romance story that had me flipping the pages furiously.
It is well written, fast paced and flows really well. I loved Morgan and Jack from the beginning which, for me, is half the battle. The novel is very romantic, funny and witty.

Thank You NetGalley and One More Chapter for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me have an advanced epub of this book. I found this book to be a lot of fun and it combined a couple of my favorite things which are reading,TTRPG’s, cosplay and renfairs. Though I had a lot of fun reading this and the slow burn of it was fine, I was a little disappointed that no more did Morgan and Jack get together they then broke up. I thought they were really cute but they spent most of the book apart and not together. I really liked that they had really problems that they had to work through and they help each other with that. I would definitely recommend this book to friends

Oh my goodness this book is so much fun and felt like something completely new and original to me! I adored the characters and found the role play aspect of the story to be different from anything i read before. A really good read!

You've Got Chain Mail is a sweet and romantic friends to lovers story with some DnD and Ren Faire vibes.

Morgan is feeling a little lonely since her best friend Cara moved out of their house for a new job in London. She joins a colleague's DnD group that meets weekly, and is trying to open up more, but breaking into an established friend group is hard not to mention her sorta crush on fellow player Jack is sure to make things awkward. Meanwhile, Jack's life hasn't quite gone to plan either. After moving home after a bad breakup four years ago, he is set to take over his father's contracting business and has a set no dating policy to avoid any hurt and disappointment. Unfortunately for Jack, his attraction for Morgan is complicating his no dating policy. After a few weekend outings to help Morgan feel a little more brave before the groups trip to America to visit a Ren Faire in the fall, their relationship becomes more than just friends. But can these two get over their fear of being hurt and abandoned by those they love, and open up to each other for good?

This was a cute rom-com, and I loved the DnD and Ren Faire vibes. The biggest issue for our two main characters is their fear of abandonment, or being left behind. The risk of hurt is too great, and they struggle to open up to each other throughout the book, putting up walls and avoiding certain topics, leading to arguments when issues inevitably bubble up. Their relationship felt very real to me, as two people who are struggling to move past the hurt and learn to trust and love again. The side characters are also a ton of fun, and there is an excellent found family vibe with the DnD group. There is a lot of emotional growth and character development going on, in addition to the budding relationship and some sweet and spicy moments. I had a lot of fun reading it, and would love to see more novels with this group in the future.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved the premise of this book and really liked the beginning, but it lost me in the middle. The beginning, when Morgan and Jack have feelings for each other but don't act on them was cute, and I LOVED when they started hanging out.
But (spoilers ahead) pretty much as soon as they hook up, we start getting more of a focus on their problems. The cute happy moments are mostly glossed over (their whole first month as a couple isn't really shown, for example) so I wasn't grounded in the couple when their problems started--so instead of rooting for them to work things out, I honestly kind of just felt like they should recognize they're not particularly compatible and go their separate ways.
I also wished the DND scenes connected just a little bit more to the rest of the book--I found them interesting, but it felt a bit jarring to me to have those second-world fantasy scenes that didn't tie to the themes of the players' lives or parallel them at all. By the time I DNFd there was one moment that seemed like it might tie things together but I wanted a bit more cohesion there.
Overall there was a lot to love but it felt like a slow march to the 3rd act breakup starting around halfway through and that's just not what I want in a romance. I love angst but instead of feeling like delicious tension, it just kind of made me sad for them.

This is an angsty novel about two lonely people involved in a weekly role-playing game and planning to participate in a Renaissance Fair. Though it’s called a rom com, I didn’t find it lighthearted or funny. The writing is good, though, if this sounds like something you’d like.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

This is a cute, romantic comedy book with a little touch of spice!

I must admit this book took a bit to get into BUT for me it is because I am not in to fantasy/cosplay etc but when I got my head around that I really enjoyed it.

We follow Morgan and Jack, two lost souls longing for adventure and love through the world of role playing! Jack is still dealing with the effect of a bad breakup and Morgan is finding herself after the departure of her best friend. Their weekly game role playing sparks a fire between them and can it blossom in the real life?

I was routing for Morgan and Jack from the get go and I got fully invested in finishing this book and seeing their HEA! There is also another super cute HEA for another little cutie!

Overall I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it!

It was refreshing to read a romance with a different theme. The settings and atmosphere for YOU’VE GOT CHAIN MAIL were done well. The characters took plenty of time and lots of drama getting over their issues. I found that to be a little tedious at times.

I didn’t read the book on consecutive days, so I found myself having to check back to previously read parts to figure out where we were in the story timeline. I base my opinion on an advance copy of the book I received from NetGalley. If you love the whole Ren Faire/D&D vibe, you will enjoy the atmosphere created.

The first half of this book is pretty fun, I liked the big friend group, the actual d&d playing, and the friendship with a scoop of yearning between the Jack and Morgan. But there’s only so much self-inflicted angst I can do in a contemporary romance before it gets old, doesn’t quite land in the second half. “Neither of us know what we want with our lives” is a weird place to make people root for these nerds.

When I saw this ARC, I can't tell you how quickly I smashed that Request button! I'm a huge Ren Faire and D&D fan and I'm always looking for romances featuring those interests! I was doubly excited when I realized the Renaissance Festival the characters would be traveling to was my home faire - Carolina Renaissance Festival!

Things I loved about this book:
-The main characters are so easy to relate to
-The segments written in their campaign are a perfect representation of D&D
-The friend group is so endearing and lovely and it feels like they could be real life people
-The brief amount of time spent at the Renaissance Festival

Things That Weren't My Favorite:
-Minor spoiler, it takes a LONG time to get to the Ren Faire, there's way more D&D than Faire. I wanted more. even if it was just a bonus chapter or something.
-The argument between the couple had me STRESSED. I think the snarky remarks are probably very realistic, but I didn't see it coming from these people I cared so much about as a reader!

Overall, I think if I had better expectations about how little time we would spend at the renaissance festival, this would have been a 5 star read for me, but because I felt a little mislead, it bumps to a 4.5. However, I will recommend it with that caveat!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. I love that D&D is becoming a more popular subject in books. I liked how the author went back and forth between the characters’ real lives and the D&D campaign to contrast their lives. I did find myself a little annoyed at first because there didn’t seem to be much of a conflict; the characters obviously liked each other but talked themselves out of believing it. The conflict did become more believable as the story went on though. The way the characters talked about America was a bit odd to me but I guess it’s always odd to hear people in another country talk about yours like it’s foreign (which it obviously is to them). Learning that the author was American adds another layer of confusion. I was also a little disappointed that the You’ve Got Mail reference was in title only, not actually in plot. Overall, I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars rounded up

4.5 stars!

This book felt like it was made for me: D&D, Renaissance Faire, costumes, romance, competency porn. I did go back and forth between 4 and 5 stars because at times the characters were a little unlikeable (but honestly aren’t we all?) and they avoided conversations that would be really beneficial (and they both need therapy) but I liked them overall. Plus it was a fun read! I don’t know if the campaign chapters are everyone’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed them. The accuracy of the Carolinas Renaissance Festival bumped it up for me too!

I would definitely be into this group of friends continuing in a series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book! It was a cute feel good plot with some nice chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of You’ve Got Chain Mail.

I liked the story of Morgan and Jack. I’ve never played DND but I enjoyed the chapters that flashed to the story within a story.

I recommend this book!

This was a pretty cute read, I really liked the chapters that flashed back to Morgana. (Actually, can the author write a high fantasy book next time??)

I had a hard time connecting with the characters and story… and this was such a slow burn I chose to dnf it. I am sending for feedback to the publisher but will not leave a review on Goodreads as it wouldn’t be a complete/fair review.

First of all, Thank You Netgalley for the ARC granted. This was such an enjoyable and compelling romance. I liked the RPG world construction (since The main characters were in a medieval fair). I liked a lot!