Book received for free through NetGalley

I liked the idea of this book but after starting and stopping only got 25% through. The published date has already past so I wanted to submit a review for what I listened to so far. Written and read well; just not my cup of tea.

DNF at 34%. This book was cute. I listened to it with my husband who has been playing D&D for years. We both enjoyed the parenting observations/jokes and he assured me that the D&D jokes were funny. The audiobook performance was good. I ultimately stopped listening to this book because it isn't really a self help book. It's not teaching anything as much as it is making funny comparisons between parenting and D&D. It's cute and humorous but not what I was looking for.

I’d recommend this for a new(er) parent. The early chapters aren’t as relevant when you’re on Kid 2. Although her descriptions of the early stages are pretty entertaining. I was surprised Mazzanoble went to the later stages of parenting a kid. I know hers is roughly a tweenager at the time of publishing. I’m sure DM skills are applicable there

I really liked the section on discipline. It gave good explanations on different styles and how they work. The D&D tie-in to not spoiling your kids works well too. Hearing how popular D&D became and how helpful it was for kids and their schooling was heartening. There’s a lot to enjoy here.

Mazzanoble does her own audio for this and she does a fantastic job. She strikes that balance of not-too-dry, not-too-conversational perfectly. When you’ve heard enough audiobooks getting it wrong, you really appreciate someone getting it right.

My favorite quote from this was: “Someone is comparing themselves to you right now, wishing they could be half as confident and capable as you are.” I believe this but that’s because my kids make me look like a better parent than I am.

Remember, if you’re the kind of parent who reads parenting books and cares about the job you’re doing, you’re doing great.

If you’re not a fan of D&D, skip this. The references are deep. I’ve only played a handful of times and my knowledge is surface level. Several references went right over my head and were Googled. If you’re into this niche, you’ll love it. Everyone else will be confused.

I was entertained and fellow dungeon dwelling parents will be too. 4/5

Initially I thought only a niche audience that will find this useful, but now I would say anyone who is interested in a respectful way of parenting would enjoy the audiobook. Parenting is an adventure, with side quests and mistakes along the way. And it should be fun. The author brings a bit of levity and adventure into her parenting book, and this will be enjoyed by parents who like to have a lighthearted look at life.

This book had interesting information presented in a different way than traditional parenting books. I knew from the title and description that it was related to Dungeons and Dragon, but I did not realize it would relate almost every single point to the game and it did not keep my interest, as I have absolutely no knowledge of the game or how it's played.

I DNF'd this book around 56% as I do not think I am the targeted audience here. This would be a great book for someone who is a new parent and is also very familiar with D&D.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for the honest review.

It’s hard for anyone who grew up in the ’80s not to be taken aback that Dungeons & Dragons, which parents were warned off during the Satanic Panic, is not only still thriving but actively embraced as a sanctioned youth activity. The game involves math and reading and no screens whatsoever…why did it take so long for schools to realize that?

Shelly Mazzanoble’s new book How to Dungeon Master Parenting goes even farther and suggests a little D&D experience might help kids’ parents as well. The volume’s premise is that the skills required to successfully lead a group of players through a quest are transferable to the real-life challenge of leading a child from birth to independence.

Mazzanoble’s challenge is that, as the author of a book that might be a fun baby shower gift or an impulse buy for new parents, she can’t necessarily assume that readers are strongly conversant with either dungeon-mastering or chid-rearing. Nor is the author herself, as she makes clear in the text, necessarily an expert at either. As D&D’s senior brand manager, she specializes in welcoming noobs without alienating hard-core gamers.

Parenting guides constitute a huge, if inevitably awkward, literary genre. How to Dungeon Master Parenting is the first parenting book that, as a new parent myself, I’ve actually finished. I appreciated Mazzanoble’s accounts of a less-than-enchanted experience with official parenting prep. (In particular, I share her befuddlement at how hospitals spend more time teaching parents how to decorate their intended birthing spaces than addressing the nearly one-third possibility that the delivery will happen in a C-section operating room.)

The author’s key insight is that a successful dungeon master knows how to balance freedom and constraint, crafting an experience that players will actually choose to participate in week after week. A kid can’t opt in to having you as a parent, but wouldn’t it be nice if, given the choice, they would?

Because How to Dungeon Master Parenting doesn’t get into the weeds, though, much of it reads like a parenting column with a light overlay of nerdy references. Mazzanoble is the loving mom of a happy kid, which is awesome (as we ’80s kids say), but not a professional qualification for parenting instruction. The book is largely drawn from amusing anecdotes and the hard-won wisdom of one person who has shepherded a child through a decade of life.

How to Dungeon Master Parenting is full of if-you-know-you-know connections between life and lore. Mazzanoble narrates the audiobook herself, but for all the audible engagement she brings to the job, the book isn’t particularly well-served by the audio format: it’s full of lists and headings, and the Dreamscape Media production team doesn’t do anything to help her with musical cues or other ways to signify the relationship between what the author is reading aloud and how the book is formatted.

Two-thirds in, the book takes on a new life with Mazzanoble’s account of introducing D&D as an enrichment activity at her son’s school. That yields real insights about managing kids’ experiences in a fantasy realm, and the author’s engagement is clear — in contrast to the fluffier sections of the book in which Mazzanoble compares kids to fantasy creatures, or otherwise draws connections between character sheets and parenting qualities.

A little of that goes a long way, but there’s something to be said for committing to the bit. When Mazzanoble starts to describe how kids can demonstrate various character alignments, she follows through all the way to chaotic evil.

How to Dungeon Master Parenting makes for an enjoyable light listen, but a more substantial book might have taken the D&D enrichment activity as a starting point and focused on gaming with kids, letting the broader life lessons emerge organically. After all, one thing that D&D’s most vocal ’80s critics most assuredly never tried to do was to serve as dungeon masters to a bunch of grade schoolers.

👶🏻 𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝑜 𝒟𝓊𝓃𝑔𝑒𝑜𝓃 𝑀𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this audio arc!

I am a newly first time mum a who happens to love dungeons and dragons so when I saw this title, I laughed out loud and requested it. The laughing didn’t stop either!

This book takes your party of two to a party of three, Shelly (who is also the narrator) did an amazing job comparing parenting to DND in so many funny and engaging ways. She also spoke about serious topics that didn’t completely change the tone of the book and was super digestible.

This is a silly book with some great advice that is throughly enjoyable and I would have read more parenting books if it was interesting and fun as this!

This comes out November 12 and I highly recommend this to anyone who has or is thinking of having children or just loves DND

“In a game of dungeons and dragons you can be a dungeon master or you can be a hero. In parenting, you’re lucky because you get to be both.”

Super fun parenting book. This book makes sure to talk about the needs of the parents, as well as how to incorporate a DM's quick thinking and story telling in parenting. Kids learn best through play - parents can too. I loved this book and I loved reading it. Actually pretty solid advice in it too.

A fun and entertaining parenting manual for all the D&D lovers out there. Full of little stories and tidbits that will make seasoned parents giggle in agreement and will start to prepare new ones for the fantastic chaos that's coming.

Shelly's narration is engaging and easy to follow. As someone not used to audiobooks and whose first language is not English, I had no problems following along, which I think is a testament to her clarity and narrative adequacy.

Now, my children are already well past the baby stages, and I've felt the book hasn't given me any new tools or insight. I've still laughed and enjoyed it, but it would have been wonderful when expecting the first one instead of now. In the same vein, I think it would be best enjoyed as a physical copy that you can easily skim in search for the exact bit of wisdom you need right then, instead of in audiobook format.
But that may be just personal preferences talking, and this is definitely a book I would gift my fellow party members if they ever embark in the ultimate adventure of parenting.

How to Dungeon Master Parenting
Shelly Mazzanoble
☆5
Parenting Nonfiction
Releases 12 November 2024

A humorous yet helpful approach to patenting for new or expecting parents.

Comparisons made between the task of patenting and being a dungeon master in Dungeon and Dragons. I've only played d&d twice, but I could still follow the book without issue.

The audiobook was beautifully narrated by the author. Even though I'm not a new parent, my kids are a bit older, I still enjoyed the book. I found the stories relatable, and the information will be helpful to parents just beginning their journey into parenthood.

Thank you to @netgalley and dreamscape media for allowing me the opportunity to read and honestly review.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

An interesting way to do a parenting book, I liked it. However I do have to try and remember all the things I learned for another 10 Years because I probably won’t be having a kid anytime soon but it’s always good to be prepared. There were quite a few parts I related to my childhood and it was really funny, one of them even relating to my adulthood being the jabbing kid that will follow either my boyfriend or my uncle around everywhere to tell them all of my stories and show them everything I’ve seen or heard today and if they say to shut up I’ll keep going haha.. I’d recommend this to anyone who knows a bit about D&D and wants to have a kid within probably a year or two ahha.

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 26th October and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of November.

Shelley Mazzanoble’s book How to Dungeon Master Parenting is a witty and delightful guide to helping gamers embrace the concept of having IRL children, not just rolling up the children of their favorite role-playing-game (RPG) character (”She’s a paladin - she’s going to have AMAZING kids!”)

For the uninitiated, and to paraphrase one of the author’s jokes, this isn’t a guide about keeping your children under lock and key in your basement. Instead, it’s a primer for parenting from the perspective of the creative and free-spirited folks who enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Mazzanoble’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious and it makes for a quick, propulsive read. The author has done a really masterful job of finding a good balance of directly useful information and funny passages or jokes to keep things light and enjoyable.

The truth is that the author’s premise is accurate; if you have run a game of D&D (or another RPG) as the Dungeon Master, you have some transferable skills that can be used in the rearing of children. Mazzanoble is careful to point out that this means being a good Dungeon Master that cares about ensuring a great experience for players (and kids) through planning, understanding, and knowing when the rules need to take a back seat to the vivacity of life happening.

While my children are grown, I absolutely loved the lessons to be learned and the humor shared throughout this fine book. I’ll be making sure to get a copy for my nephew and niece, new parents and longtime RPG players who will love the thoughtful and compelling adventure to be found in this particular tome.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for access to the audio arc of this book.

I’m near a couple decades into running my adventure party of 6, and it’s been a good long while since the heady days of devouring parenting books trying to work out the cheat codes while swinging and shushing and replacing hundreds of dummies into my now adult firstborn, but still had a lot of fun with this book.

The gamification tips and thoughts, and drawing parallels between play style/archetypes and translating them into real (parenting) world situations were really, REALLY good. Insightful and funny and easy to step back and see how we can make everything a bit lighter and more fun for all involved with some understanding of individuals and desire for collaboration (or boundaries, or lore, or quest/adventure etc, personality/class dependant!)

I did have a couple of moments where I wished the author didn’t describe her personal outlook/opinion on methods of parenting as ‘fact’ (eg Stating that ‘attachment parenting’ - described here as being with baby always for first 6 weeks! (I’d kind of assume 6 weeks of close proximity being highly USUAL, regardless of parenting choices?) leads to children being developmentally held back - a definite lack of insight into actual early childhood development and psychology (which, yes, my degree studies *were* in, not ‘just’ my expertise and experience as a mum of six here…)
However this is par for the course with parenting books, so I’m not going to hold a grudge as if we are debating Dr Spock.

Will absolutely be grabbing a copy as a gift for my newest family member’s parents (who are avid role players and I hope will enjoy and get some feeling of comraderie as well as laughs from reading!)

How to Dungeon Master Parenting is a fun parenting book that will take your party through the birth with a handy bag of holding and an arsenal of tricks until your young heroes are ready to venture off on their own. Equal parts how-to and anecdotes, and eminently relatable, this book is full of humour and lighthearted tips to get you through the more challenging aspects of bringing up young gamers.

This is the perfect parenting book for D&D/RPG players, and leans heavily on the quick-thinking, storytelling skills of a DM. I wish I had it when my kids were younger, but I will definitely make use of it as they navigate the barbed minefield of tweenhood.

One thing I do like about this book is that it does draw attention to the needs of the parent (especially the one going through all the hormonal and physical trauma of becoming a parent) as well as those of the child. Happy DM, happy party.

I received this from NetGalley as both an ebook and an audio book (narrated by the author) . The narration was clear and engaging, and felt like the author was chatting to me.

A fun, useful twist on a parenting book - and a reference book I'll go back to.

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

OMG!! This is pure gold! Now I haven’t had to think about a parenting book in 13 years but because of the title I decided to request if. I am soooo glad that I did.


I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media so I can leave my voluntary review.

This book is geared to those who have experience with Dungeons and Dragons however you could know less than nothing about the game and still thoroughly enjoy this book. It gives solid parenting advice to boot plus if you are familiar with the game but don’t have or aren’t expecting a child, you could still enjoy it.. seriously.

The author senseless and accurate comparison a between the game and parenting making it so engaging. She also narrates the audiobook and I highly suggest reading the book in this way. While I would speed it up a touch she does a fantastic job her theatre degree goes to good use.

I know what I’m getting my adventuring party for the holidays this year and no, none of them will be having another children and are 1-2 decades past the baby years but that’s how much this can be enjoyed.

It comes out on November 12th 2024. It will make the perfect gift for the expected parents as the “advice” is solid and will help new parents get off on the right foot.
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for sending me an audio-ARC in exchange for review.

4.5 stars

First I’d like to start off by saying I am not a parent nor am I a pregnant individual, though it is likely in my near future.

I mainly just love dungeons and dragons and saw this and thought wow that sounds quite silly and could potentially have some helpful future tips. It delivered on all of the above.

The author, who is also the narrator (I love when this is the case) delves into scenarios and styles of parenting how-to’s with comparisons that relate to DND in hilarious ways. Personally I’m terrified to become a mother in not the nicest feeling way and this gave me a new outlook that yes it’s going to be normal to struggle, and yes it’s alright to not be fond of children before you have your own but that’s the common experience and I can have fun putting my own nerdy spin on things (even if it’s just an internal monologue about mimics and dexterity saves).
It also felt very fitting that I live in the same area as the author because her personality really comes through in a way like oh I’d totally be your friend if we knew eachother chill vibe. While I am still incredibly anxious for future endeavors in my life this book did calm me quite a bit so thank you for turning this anxiety from FeyWILD to FeyMILD.

Though I may foresee a future rogue parenting style 😂

Thank you so much for this!

"How to Dungeon Master Parenting" by Shelly Mazzanoble is an engaging and clever guide that creatively blends the world of Dungeons & Dragons with the realities of parenting. Mazzanoble uses humor and relatable analogies to help parents approach common challenges, such as finding support (your adventuring party) or equipping themselves for life's quests (parenting essentials). The narrative strikes a balance between practical advice and playful D&D references, making it a refreshing resource for parents who want to "level up" their skills while enjoying the journey. Whether you're a seasoned player or new to both D&D and parenting, this audiobook offers an inventive perspective on raising future adventurers.

This book has such many new parenting points that I just had never thought of. So good to hear that a lot of us are barely surviving as parents. There is a lot of references to dungeon and dragons not sure what I was expecting when its in the title. But dose a great job explaining the reference. Only about half way done but so far so good.