ROLL FOR ROMANCE

Two newbie gamers fall for each other both inside and outside their Dungeons & Dragons session.

Sadie Brooks has never felt more adrift. After losing her marketing job in New York, she’s retreated to small-town Texas to spend the summer with her best friend, Liam, while trying to figure out her next move. In the meantime, she finally lets Liam talk her into joining a D&D campaign. After creating her character, Jaylie, a confident cleric who serves the Goddess of Luck—and who just so happens to be everything Sadie wishes she were in real life—the next step is meeting the other people Liam has roped into the game. Everyone in their party is likable, but Sadie instantly takes notice of bartender Noah Walker, and it’s not just because of the impressive muscles beneath his flannel. He’s confident, friendly, and outgoing, and seems to have life all figured out solely by virtue of not trying to plan things at all. That carefree perspective matches that of Loren, the traveling bard that Noah’s created for himself to play, but it conflicts with Sadie’s desire for more certainty about what’s next. As their D&D campaign begins, Sadie and Noah find themselves falling for each other both in and out of the game, but their relationship may have a real-world expiration date. Noah doesn’t make a habit of staying anywhere for long, and Sadie finds herself courted by an exciting potential employer back in New York. Woods’ debut is an extended love letter to D&D and the perfect entry point for readers with only a cursory knowledge of the iconic fantasy game, allowing them to understand the beats of playing through a campaign. Yet it’s the inclusion of parallel narratives that really makes the novel sing. Jaylie and Loren’s romance plays out in an immersive fantasy timeline alongside Sadie and Noah’s more grounded contemporary story, and it’s clear to see how the former influences the latter as these two fall for each other over time.

This cozy D&D-infused romance doubles as a swoony summer rom-com.