I feel like I hit a Nat-20, a critical roll with this adorable, charming debut from Lenora Woods!

My current hyperfixation is Baldur's Gate 3 and this was a perfect companion piece; the illustration of Noah on the cover is so Gale-coded after all.

The characters, all of them, were so likeable and quirky in their own ways. My heart was so full reading the romance develop both in the characters' lives and in their D&D game. The chapters mostly alternated between the two and it was like reading two stories in one. I really loved everything about this and it is so impressive of a debut. I look forward to more by this author and will be ordering a physical copy for sure.

I could only hope that my Tav has an ending with Gale that compares to Jaylie and Loren.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ROLL FOR ROMANCE is an absolutely ADORABLE and heart-warming debut!!

Sadie shines as an all-too-relatable protagonist: burnt out, exhausted, and unsure of where she should go for her next move. As a chronic over-planner and people-pleaser, she meets her foil in Noah, a burly, manbun-sporting beast of a man who takes life a day at a time.

They first meet each other through a D&D campaign, where sparks start to fly between their characters as well as real life. Lenora Woods does an absolutely brilliant job weaving together both storylines: we get the contemporary romance angle, then the D&D campaign is written as it happens, in almost fantasy-life cutscenes. It's a structure I haven't seen before, and I thought it was pulled off brilliantly.

I had almost zero understanding of how D&D works prior to reading the book, and I thought Woods does a fantastic job of easing the reader into the mechanics of the game and makes it easy to follow!

Overall, this is such a delightful read. I was giggling and kicking my feet, squealing, and tearing up throughout. A lovely debut, and I can't wait to see what else Woods writes next!!

This was like rolling a solid 10 - not a crit, but definitely not a fail either. It had a little bit of everything… subtle real life chemistry between the main characters, entertaining role-playing shenanigans, and just enough adventure to keep things moving. The way the story bounced between their everyday lives and their RP personas was a fun touch, adding some extra depth and plenty of nerdy charm.

That said, the D&D storyline itself felt a bit like trudging through a side quest that overstayed its welcome. It wasn’t bad, just a little… dry for me personally.

All in all, it’s a fun, lighthearted read with a unique premise that’s worth picking up, especially if you’re in the mood for some romance with a side of dice chaos. Thank you for the ARC!

Book Review: Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods
A Natural 20 for Love and Adventure!

Lenora Woods admittedly uses some of her own life experiences to craft a charming experience in Roll for Romance—an enchanting blend of table-top roleplaying games and charming rom-coms of Hollywood. This book delivers a critical hit for fans of tabletop games and tender, heartfelt connections.

We begin with our FMC Sadie. Her big city lifestyle comes to a crashing halt and she retreats to the Lonestar state of Texas to spend time and get reacquainted with Liam, an old friend from her childhood. To help take her mind off of her big apple trouble, she joins Liam's weekly D&D game with a few others.

Woods excels at capturing the camaraderie, banter, and occasional chaos of a D&D group, making it easy to fall in love with the characters both in and out of their fictional campaigns. Their growing relationship feels authentic and layered, balancing lighthearted humor with deeply emotional moments. Roll for Romance does a beautiful job of combining a real-life romance with fantasy world interludes.

As the pages turn, you find that the book is about discovering who we are as we change roles in our daily lives. I love the way that Woods intertwined the classic tropes of found family and friends to lovers to tell a story about finding out what truly matters in life. Though I was never 100% sure of how this one would turn out.

What truly stands out is Woods’ ability to make readers feel like they’re at the table, rolling dice and telling stories alongside the characters. I will say, if you aren’t familiar with D&D or other role-playing games, you might miss a few of the little hints and easter eggs Woods sprinkled in.

What I Loved:
The clever integration of D&D mechanics into real-life themes like trust, risk-taking, and vulnerability.
Well-rounded characters who evolve both personally and within the group.
The humor! This book had me laughing out loud as often as I sighed over the sweet moments.

Who Should Read This?
Lovers of quirky, geeky romances.
D&D enthusiasts or anyone curious about the RPG world.
Readers who enjoy found-family dynamics and heartfelt stories of connection.

Roll for Romance isn’t just a romance; it’s a celebration of storytelling, community, and embracing your authentic self. Whether you’re rolling dice or turning pages, this book is every bit of a critical success.

Have you read Roll for Romance? Share your favorite moments in the comments!

thanks netgalley for an e-arc of this in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 rounded up

i am so glad i was able to snag a copy of this book! there's so much to love about this. i was swept off my feet and very pleasantly surprised by the connected stories. i wasn't expecting the actual d&d campaign to be written in the book, which at first i wasn't so sure about, but changed my mind pretty quickly!

first, and i think really important, is a special note of appreciation for the geeky portions of the story. you can tell instantly that this is an involved labor of love on woods' part. she knows her stuff! truthfully, i was a bit skeptical upon receiving this, because too often in stories we see a very birds eye view of geeky/nerd culture, oftentimes with no underlying knowledge about the subject to the point of being insulting. this book is the opposite. i was very pleased to see a kindred spirit in the space!

woods' prose was right up my alley in pretty much every way. the humor hit, the descriptions were vivid, the swap from first person (sadie) to third person (jaylie) was easy, and she somehow wrote text exchanges in a book that *didnt* make me gag. (okay, a couple of them were a liiiittle on the edge of cringe, but in the perfect way. maybe it's just because that's how my friends and i type and reading them had me doing a double take). similarly, the roleplaying. i was ready to cringe out of my seat, but it was actually so endearing and sweet and fun to read.

i loved the natural progression of sadie and noah's relationship, which felt very realistic. it was a great balance of friendship, romance, and physical intimacy, which i thought was extremely refreshing. this made me realize how deprived i'd been of romances that incorporate true friendship! and that's a little sad lol. the "spicy" scene(s) were a total win for me as well.

the d&d campaign portion was well written and interesting, weaved in pretty seamlessly to the main story. the interjections we get from the players are very few and far between, but i thought they were funny/well done, and honestly would have liked to see a couple more. it was cool to pull back the curtain, so to speak, and see the party's irl reactions versus what was happening in the game. plus, jaylie and loren's in-game romance was very cute, and sometimes i even liked the banter more there than the real life stuff.

also, i literally teared up at the final mural reveal.

i do have a couple things that i didn't enjoy as much;

** spoiler warning **

pretty much everything at the midpoint lost me for a bit. first, there was sadie's reveal about why she was actually no longer working at incite. i get that she had a lot of internal conflict about this, and blames herself for her burnout (very common and unfortunate), but it felt like there were no stakes for this to be so focused on. liam immediately tells her it's fine, nobody else comments about it, and we just move on. there was a lot of build up for little payoff there. this does come back later to influence her final choices, but at that point i was less invested. most of her job stuff, though, made me feel more eye-rolley than sympathetic, which i was sad to feel.

second part of the midpoint: jaylie's death. very cool concept, i was extremely intrigued by how they'd take this, but this whole scene really surprised me. it felt very slow and disorienting. and the end result didn't bring anything together for me. sadie's reaction to it all felt off in ways i can't fully explain.

the other thing is that her willingness to stay in heller feels a little too noah-focused. a lot of the choices she makes are centered around him, even though i think we are fed the idea that they aren't. nothing wrong with that, per se, but i liked sadie's quirks that sort of opposed noah's freeform spirit, and i feel like her just going along with what he wants (literally saying she'll pick up and leave when he wants to) was a tiny bit of a let down. staying in heller was a choice i was happy to accept, but they never do anything sadie-first. i wish they had! (i really thought she'd take noah to new york, but...)

** end of spoilers **

overall i think this was a fantastic read, i really enjoyed it and would no question pick up further stories from this author! thank you again netgalley for the arc.

4.5 ⭐️

This book was so cute and is perfect for the D&D lovers.

I love how Sadie and Noah’s love story develops right alongside Jaylie and Loren’s. As a reader, I found myself rooting for both pairs. Same with the real life story versus the D&D story. I was equally invested in both halves of the story. I particularly loved how the campaign was portrayed narratively, with the story told in the third person with like its own story, rather than us reading the characters themselves doing dice rolls and improv. It was a smart way to get the reader invested in that part of the book as well.

Super adorable book, would love to read whatever Lenora Woods writes next.

I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately it's really hard to follow if you're not familiar with D&D and how the game goes.