I’m always a sucker for a cosy romance, especially if there’s some roleplaying involved *wiggles eyebrows.* This book was an adorably adventurous romp into the land of dungeons and dragons, where chemistry brews between characters both real and created. While I cannot stand man buns, I do love a male love interest with a golden retriever attitude who falls first. The characters are charming and cosy, even as its set in the heat of a Texas summer. If you’re looking for a quick read that brings a bit of heat, then this is going to be the book to add to your TBR.
Sadie Brooks is a young woman on the run from herself. After losing her New York City job, she takes up her best friend’s offer to crash with him for the summer, but also finally joining him on a DnD campaign. She creates a character named Jaylie, blessed by Lady Luck to heal her teammates, and Sadie secretly hopes it may be the distraction she needs to figure out what she wants. What she doesn’t expect is the romance that brews with another newcomer to the game, Noah, and she’s going to have to figure out if the attraction is beyond the characters they are pretending to play.
This book started off on shaky ground for me, partly because it took me a second to make the switch between Sadie vs. Jaylie scenes. It’s a bit disorienting at first, but I do also feel like it does emulate the scenario that a newcomer playing a table-top role playing game might. Of the characters, I loved Noah the most. He’s charismatic and charming, but also sexy and most definitely strikes me as the type of character in DnD that people would fall in love with. While this book is primarily cosy and about exploring the nature of uncertainty, I think Noah is a great foil to Sadie’s character. She’s artistic, but also unsure of herself. Her conundrum is finding the confidence to pursue her true desires. I think both characters experience growth, although Sadie’s is more on page than Noah’s.
Romantically, I felt a little torn. I loved the story, but wasn’t sure how I felt regarding how the lines between the people and their created personas were a little blurred. I did feel like it was addressed, however, adding complexity to a story we thought might be straightforward. With that said, I loved the banter and the roleplay writing that Noah and Sadie did. It gave the story further layers that I think were done creatively and kept me engaged in the story. I wanted to keep going, find out what was going to happen next. I was a little worried that one of the storylines might be more flushed out than the other, but I think Lenora did an excellent job creating balance between Noah and Sadie and their DnD counterparts.
For those of you who might be reading this review wondering about the spice, I would say that it has mild spice. The attraction is there, and when we finally get to the action it is wonderfully done, but it does build over time, more of a slowburn style. It felt very natural for the story, and while I would have loved a little more, it was exactly what this story needed.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. The beginning pacing aside, I enjoyed the back and forth pacing and the characters quite a lot. It was a quick read once I got started, and it would make an EXCELLENT book club book for those that are wanting to try something a little different in terms of their cosy romance. Who knows? Maybe some romance might brew when you create your own DnD campaign.
Roll for Romance is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up Roll for Romance? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
Two fledgling tabletop gamers find themselves falling for each other—both in and out of their weekly D&D sessions—in this cozy, fantasy-tinged romance.
When Sadie Brooks unexpectedly loses her marketing job, she flees New York City to spend the summer with her best friend in small-town Texas, where joining his Dungeons & Dragons campaign is the perfect distraction while she plans her next steps.
In the game, she becomes Jaylie, a powerful human cleric blessed by the Goddess of Luck. But in real life, Sadie believes her luck has run out—until she meets Noah Walker, the outgoing bartender roped into joining their party as Loren, an adventurous and charismatic lute-strumming elf. Just as Jaylie finds herself succumbing to the bard’s charms over the course of their party’s travels, Sadie also begins to fall under Noah’s spell.
As their relationship progresses in both worlds, Sadie wonders if what they have might last beyond the game. But like his traveling bard character, Noah never stays in one place for long. When a new opportunity arises in New York, Sadie must face the truth about why she lost her job in the first place—and whether she and Noah have found something in Texas worth staying for. Torn between her career dreams in the city and the exciting uncertainty of a new adventure, she will have no choice but to roll the dice.
