ARC Review: Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods

Roll for Romance
Author: Lenora Woods
Publication: Dell (July 15, 2025)

Description: Two fledgling tabletop gamers find themselves falling for each other—both in and out of their weekly D&D sessions—in this charming, 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.

My Thoughts: ROLL FOR ROMANCE was a nice contemporary romance. Sadie Brooks has left her high-paced marketing job in New York City and is spending the summer with her best friend Liam in rural Texas. They have been best friends since childhood and had shared the same New York City dreams. But when he had a chance to move to Texas to settle his grandfather's estate, he decided that he preferred the small-town lifestyle. He's a gay math teacher and dedicated gamer.

Liam convinces Sadie to join him in a Dungeons & Dragons session with a group of those new to the game while she summers in Texas. There she meets some of his friends and develops a new character as Jaylie who is a cleric with some magic and a sense of adventure. She is joined in the game by a barbarian with a big axe, a knife-wielding rogue, and a bard. 

The bard is Noah Walker who is also new in town. He's helping his college best friend set up a brewery which is also a restaurant and bar. Both in real life and in the game, Sadie and Noah begin a romance. But it looks like it can only be a short-term romance because Sadie thinks she's going to tackle New York City again in the fall and Noah never stays anywhere for long. 

The story is told in parts. Both real life and the D & D world that is being created get equal play in this story. In the real world, Sadie finds herself dusting off her background as an artist and creating and painting a mural at Noah's new business...and having second thoughts about her career plans.

Fans of romance and gaming will enjoy this story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.