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Roll for Love
A second-chance queer romance about two teens whose in-world D&D characters fall in love, but in IRL . . . things are more complicated, perfect for lovers of Ashley Poston and Becky Albertalli. Harper Reid's summer is not off to a great start. After the death of her grandpa, she moves across the country, leaving her friends and Dungeons & Dragons group behind. She wasn’t exactly planning to start her senior year on the farm where she spent her childhood summers, but running into Ollie Shifflet—former best friend and first crush—makes things much better. When Harper discovers Ollie and her friends are starting a new D&D campaign, she quickly joins the group. As Harper and Ollie reconnect in the real world, romantic tension begins to build between Harper’s brash barbarian and Ollie’s proud paladin, but it's all just part of the game . . . right? Ollie's future depends on keeping her bisexuality private while Harper's dreams include an out-and-proud life in their rural town, but as their feelings continue to grow with each gaming session, their relationship begins threatening everything they've worked so hard to build. As the school year comes to a close and the campaign's final boss looms on the horizon, Harper and Ollie must are their feelings more than just a fantasy? Because if they want a second chance at love, they'll have to fight for it, both in-game and in real life.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 8, 2025
About the author
M.K. England
18 books625 followersM. K. England grew up on the Space Coast of Florida watching shuttle launches from the backyard. These days, they live on a micro-farm in rural Virginia packed with video and board games, plants, D&D books, Star Wars memorabilia, and their preschooler's giant personality. They're probably covered in dirt right now. MK is the author of ten novels for kids, teens, and adults and a forthcoming interactive novel with Choice of Games. You can find them at mkengland.com.
For the latest news, you can subscribe to my irregular newsletter updates at mkengland.substack.com. I'm also on instagram (rarely, @mk_england) and on tumblr more informally (mkengland.tumblr.com)
(Just FYI, I don't accept friend requests because Amazon is weird about reviews but follow me on social media above and we can hang out there!)
For the latest news, you can subscribe to my irregular newsletter updates at mkengland.substack.com. I'm also on instagram (rarely, @mk_england) and on tumblr more informally (mkengland.tumblr.com)
(Just FYI, I don't accept friend requests because Amazon is weird about reviews but follow me on social media above and we can hang out there!)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
July 3, 2025
“You can work through things in a fictional world that feel too dangerous for reality”
I’M CRYIN IN THE CLURB 😭🥹😭🥹😭
I’M CRYIN IN THE CLURB 😭🥹😭🥹😭
July 26, 2025
This sold me - cutest video from IG
Read
July 4, 2025that was really fking adorable, oh my heart!
June 5, 2025
“You can work through things in a fictional world that feel too dangerous for reality.”
3.5 stars. I got SO MUCH joy out of this little book; I'm really glad I gave it a try, when I usually only read a few YA books every year. I LOVE D&D and actual play shows and especially Critical Role (I will bite my foot off if the author isn't a critter) and there's something that's really fun about seeing situations like it play out in a book. Like, seeing the character develop a relationship in real life, and then seeing their characters get closer in game. It can make for such cute parallels. This is a sorta second chance situation. Harper and her mother move back to her mother's small town, after the death of her grandfather. They used to visit a lot when she was younger, but haven't in recent years. Upon her return, she reunites with Ollie, her first crush (and unbeknownst to her, she was Ollie's first crush too). They quickly become friends again, Harper integrates into Ollie's group of friends, and they start playing a D&D campaign together. Harper and Ollie have a lot of chemistry and unresolved feelings, and as it turns out, so do their characters in game.
This was just really sweet. The type of second chance that I really enjoy, where the characters knew each other a little bit when they were younger, but most of the development takes place on page in the present. It's dual POV and I loved both girls so much. Especially Ollie, because I couldn't help but feel protective of her when she got all anxious. Lots of adorable flirting and awkward moments and quiet moments of connection. Some parts of this had me absolutely giggling just because of how much I loved these little baby gays. Their combined friend group was so wonderful, and just the aspect of a bunch of queer and questioning teens coming together to be nerdy and play D&D makes my heart so full. There's also a little side romance that I really loved.
I really enjoyed the D&D aspects. I'm pretty sure I caught a few Critical Role references. (Tall guys playing short characters? Surely, we're invoking Sam Riegel himself.) The campaign that they were playing actually sounded really fun, and I loved that the author actually took us into the game and we saw the mechanics and how things worked. Especially when we flipped between the characters and the players during tense or exciting moments at the table. I'm pretty sure this would be easily digestible for someone who wasn't familiar with D&D at all, but there were clearly a lot of little tidbits for people who do love the game. And the visuals of their characters were just so fun. A brash, wild magic barbarian and a stern, law-abiding paladin? Sounds like the romance of my dream. Even though it was pretty short and not a huge part of the book, I like that all the D&D characters had a POV chapter, and we got to explore a little bit of their plotlines.
I really liked the plotline with Harper deciding what she wants to do after school and realising that she doesn't want to go to college, and actually doesn't need to go to college to pursue her dreams and do what she would love doing best. It's kind of nice to see a YA book de-prioritise college, and not in an anti-intellectualism way or anything. I just really liked the discussion of how it's not what everyone wants, and it doesn't make you a failure or lazy to not go to college. Or to instead want to pursue a more labour-intensive job like woodworking, like Harper does. The conflict with her mother was tough, but something that I appreciated exploring.
Unfortunately, I didn't love the second half of this as much as I loved the first. Firstly, I really do think that this could have easily been a little bit longer. In my opinion, there were far too many scenes where we were just told of Harper and Ollie spending time together, rather than seeing the scene play out. Like we were told about them going to the store to get paint to do up the barn, then coming back to actually paint, and having little moments with each other. I wish that we hadn't been told about those moments in hindsight, and rather been able to see them play out. I really expected to have at least a few more scenes at school, because of where they are in their lives. Harper especially. She talks about taking this woodworking class, and doing little projects for school, getting really good at stuff. No spoilers, but her woodworking class and teacher play a part in the resolution, and it was actually the first time that we ever saw them on page. I really wish that we had introduced them as characters at some point during the story. It would have made this feel a lot fuller and more developed.
The third act conflict blows up in a way that I found a little predictable and silly, though I guess I can't complain. They are teenagers after all. What I didn't really like was the way that coming out or being closeted was handled. But, of course, I never really like that. There are so few books that handle it in a way that I find satisfactory. I am so so tired of the concept that if you don't come out, then you are doing queer wrong and you're obviously miserable and hiding and living a lie. Obviously, very few books are going to phrase it like I just did, but some of those terms are used, and it annoys me. Especially when I see it in a young adult book. At one point, Ollie said something along the lines of 'I owe everyone honesty' and it's like...no, you actually really, really don't. Whatever, I'm not going to complain about it too much. This is something where mileage varies a lot.
Listened to the audiobook as narrated by Natalie Naudus, Mary Helen Gallucci and André Santana. It was so good! The perfect voices for all the characters. And I loved the fact that there was a third narrator for the D&D scenes. I did kind of wish that the production had allowed for full cast or at least duet narration, because it would have just made the D&D scenes feel more dynamic and more fun. But I still really liked it. This was a really sweet YA contemporary that I enjoyed myself a lot with. Just thinking about the romance makes me smile. I really wish that some things about the end had played out differently, but I still had a great time with it.
“Sometimes pride looks like rainbow flags and parades,” I say, “but sometimes it looks like just living your life.”
June 24, 2025
we love you sapphic nerds!!
April 13, 2025
(rounded down from 3.25)
This was fine. I wanted to like this more than I did, but was sadly underwhelmed. I think my main problem was that while it's a unique idea to dip from the real-life interactions to the in-game scenes and back again but as a result I felt like we don't get enough interaction with the real life friend group and not enough with the in-game party either so I cared about neither of them.
The other massive let down for me was that each of the MCs has a big conflict they are trying to resolve but one's seems almost a non-problem and Ollie is far too resistant to just take the resolution in the end while Harper's is a BIG problem so it feels unearned and too neat.
Overall, an okay read but nowhere near the better ones I've read for TTRPGs and YA audiences.
This was fine. I wanted to like this more than I did, but was sadly underwhelmed. I think my main problem was that while it's a unique idea to dip from the real-life interactions to the in-game scenes and back again but as a result I felt like we don't get enough interaction with the real life friend group and not enough with the in-game party either so I cared about neither of them.
The other massive let down for me was that each of the MCs has a big conflict they are trying to resolve but one's seems almost a non-problem and Ollie is far too resistant to just take the resolution in the end while Harper's is a BIG problem so it feels unearned and too neat.
Overall, an okay read but nowhere near the better ones I've read for TTRPGs and YA audiences.
March 15, 2025
Thank you to Hachette and Running Press Kids for the advanced copy of "Roll for Love".
This book was sweet, fun, cozy, and warm. A love letter to rural queer kids, it shows that being yourself is important no matter where you are in the world. This was not a second chance romance like the synopsis on Goodreads implies. It is more of a friends to lovers situation. Our main character, Harper, used to spend her summers in Clintville with her grandparents, but after her parents get divorced they no longer make the trip in the summers. Fast forward 6 years later, Harper's grandparents have both passed and she is being made to move by her mother in her senior year of high school. The book is quite short and fast paced. I really like how the D&D story was integrated into the main plot and storyline. It didn't feel too overbearing and gave me just enough to always leave me wanting more. But I also cared about both stories, the real world and the D&D world. It was a very harmonious balance. I think the only downsides to this book were that the writing felt a bit more middle grade than young adult for such old characters, and the two female leads voice's were a little bit one note. They blended together for me at times. Otherwise, great story, quick read, and important message to queer kids growing up everywhere, especially the rural south.
This book was sweet, fun, cozy, and warm. A love letter to rural queer kids, it shows that being yourself is important no matter where you are in the world. This was not a second chance romance like the synopsis on Goodreads implies. It is more of a friends to lovers situation. Our main character, Harper, used to spend her summers in Clintville with her grandparents, but after her parents get divorced they no longer make the trip in the summers. Fast forward 6 years later, Harper's grandparents have both passed and she is being made to move by her mother in her senior year of high school. The book is quite short and fast paced. I really like how the D&D story was integrated into the main plot and storyline. It didn't feel too overbearing and gave me just enough to always leave me wanting more. But I also cared about both stories, the real world and the D&D world. It was a very harmonious balance. I think the only downsides to this book were that the writing felt a bit more middle grade than young adult for such old characters, and the two female leads voice's were a little bit one note. They blended together for me at times. Otherwise, great story, quick read, and important message to queer kids growing up everywhere, especially the rural south.
January 14, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Roll for Love is an absolute critical hit! This book rolls a natural 20 for heartwarming romance, self-discovery, and the nerdy magic of Dungeons & Dragons, delivering a story that’s equal parts swoon-worthy and geek-tastic. I may not be a Dungeon Master myself (my D&D knowledge is powered solely by binge-watching Critical Role on YouTube), but the way the game is woven into this story made me feel like I could pick up some dice and start slaying dragons—or at least fall for a Paladin.
Harper and Ollie’s journey? Not one love story but TWO. Yup, that’s right—double the feels, double the romance! Their sparks fly in real life and through their D&D characters, which made me fall for their relationship not once but twice. Honestly, who knew I’d be shipping a Barbarian and a Paladin? It’s genius, it’s adorable, and it had me rooting for them from the first encounter.
As a queer reader, I want to hug this book and then shout about it from the rooftops. The sapphic romance feels so authentic and beautifully portrayed. Yes, Harper and Ollie are queer, but that’s not all they are. This story is about so much more—love, family, friendship, and having the guts to chase your dreams even when it’s scary (or your mom wants you to do something else).
If you’re a D&D expert, a clueless newbie (hello, it me), or someone who just loves swoony, second-chance romances with a geeky twist, Roll for Love is the book you need. I laughed, I swooned, and I may or may not have cried into my popcorn. Bottom line: This is a book I’ll be recommending to everyone in my library, my game night group, and maybe even a few strangers on the street. It’s that good.
Roll for Love is an absolute critical hit! This book rolls a natural 20 for heartwarming romance, self-discovery, and the nerdy magic of Dungeons & Dragons, delivering a story that’s equal parts swoon-worthy and geek-tastic. I may not be a Dungeon Master myself (my D&D knowledge is powered solely by binge-watching Critical Role on YouTube), but the way the game is woven into this story made me feel like I could pick up some dice and start slaying dragons—or at least fall for a Paladin.
Harper and Ollie’s journey? Not one love story but TWO. Yup, that’s right—double the feels, double the romance! Their sparks fly in real life and through their D&D characters, which made me fall for their relationship not once but twice. Honestly, who knew I’d be shipping a Barbarian and a Paladin? It’s genius, it’s adorable, and it had me rooting for them from the first encounter.
As a queer reader, I want to hug this book and then shout about it from the rooftops. The sapphic romance feels so authentic and beautifully portrayed. Yes, Harper and Ollie are queer, but that’s not all they are. This story is about so much more—love, family, friendship, and having the guts to chase your dreams even when it’s scary (or your mom wants you to do something else).
If you’re a D&D expert, a clueless newbie (hello, it me), or someone who just loves swoony, second-chance romances with a geeky twist, Roll for Love is the book you need. I laughed, I swooned, and I may or may not have cried into my popcorn. Bottom line: This is a book I’ll be recommending to everyone in my library, my game night group, and maybe even a few strangers on the street. It’s that good.
June 4, 2025
A cute, easy read about two girls finding love while playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends.
I needed something lighter and fun and this worked great. I did think the issues Harper had with her mom were too easily resolved, especially after the lengths her mom went to. I wish it had played out over more time, rather than an info dump at the end.
I needed something lighter and fun and this worked great. I did think the issues Harper had with her mom were too easily resolved, especially after the lengths her mom went to. I wish it had played out over more time, rather than an info dump at the end.
September 28, 2025
3.75 rounded up. Like the last book I read by M.K. England (which there was a reference to, hello brief Cakes mention!), “Roll For Love” was cheesy, joyful, and a love letter to queer nerd spaces. It was my first time listening to a romcom, and I’m very glad I did, because it brought the action-packed D&D sessions and the frequent one-liners to life in a way I know I wouldn’t have experienced with text alone. As always, Natalie Naudus is wonderful to listen to (her comedic timing is great). This was my second time listening to André Santana’s narration, I think he nailed the dramatics of the D&D sessions. As for Mary Helen Galucci… intensely mixed feelings, I think her voice captured the spirit of Ollie’s character and the tone of the story (she did well with the comedic beats, too), but her actual narration reminded me of an English dub sometimes, and I could not stand her male voices. I will remain curious about her future work, though, because to my knowledge, this is her first full-length narration?
(Plus, if these characters are Southern, why do only some of the side characters have accents and not the MCs? I understand Harper, since she’s not actually Southern, but Ollie?!!! Ev?? Brooks and Colton???)
I also loved that we now have a YA that handles its characters choosing paths after highschool, I never see that as a focus and I enjoyed the several different approaches throughout the cast.
The D&D sessions were a good balance between being fun, and keeping the story’s focus on real life. For that reason, it could get tropey and a little underbaked, but it was easy to tell from the writing that the author themself has been involved in several campaigns, and the Gay Barn group in general was pretty accurate to their ages so it mostly felt natural to read. (At least in my opinion. I remember being a somewhat immature nerd with Tumblr-esque humor in highschool— though, this book’s writing teeters moreso on millennial, to my chagrin.)
Ollie and Harper’s romance was tooth-achingly sweet, too, and definitely one of the things that kept me listening. Their awkwardness was embarrassing, sure, but also endearing, the romance bleeding over from their characters is something I’m sure tons of readers will dream of, and I enjoyed their dates where Harper got to show Ollie the queer side of Clintville. However, the conversations in Ollie’s POV around being out in a somewhat conservative town weren’t addressed well… the ending was overly hopeful, and in general there wasn’t much depth given to the topic. It felt like MK England was trying to have their cake and eat it too— balance out their romcom with hard-hitting commentary, but ditching the realism around 3/4ths through.
I don’t think the writing fully committed to the bits of nuance, but I kind of guessed that would be the case, and for what it’s worth, I still enjoyed it. Through its flaws, this book is fluffy, compassionate, and a blast. The Playaway got me through many an accessioning shift, essay, and spiral, haha.
(Plus, if these characters are Southern, why do only some of the side characters have accents and not the MCs? I understand Harper, since she’s not actually Southern, but Ollie?!!! Ev?? Brooks and Colton???)
I also loved that we now have a YA that handles its characters choosing paths after highschool, I never see that as a focus and I enjoyed the several different approaches throughout the cast.
The D&D sessions were a good balance between being fun, and keeping the story’s focus on real life. For that reason, it could get tropey and a little underbaked, but it was easy to tell from the writing that the author themself has been involved in several campaigns, and the Gay Barn group in general was pretty accurate to their ages so it mostly felt natural to read. (At least in my opinion. I remember being a somewhat immature nerd with Tumblr-esque humor in highschool— though, this book’s writing teeters moreso on millennial, to my chagrin.)
Ollie and Harper’s romance was tooth-achingly sweet, too, and definitely one of the things that kept me listening. Their awkwardness was embarrassing, sure, but also endearing, the romance bleeding over from their characters is something I’m sure tons of readers will dream of, and I enjoyed their dates where Harper got to show Ollie the queer side of Clintville. However, the conversations in Ollie’s POV around being out in a somewhat conservative town weren’t addressed well… the ending was overly hopeful, and in general there wasn’t much depth given to the topic. It felt like MK England was trying to have their cake and eat it too— balance out their romcom with hard-hitting commentary, but ditching the realism around 3/4ths through.
I don’t think the writing fully committed to the bits of nuance, but I kind of guessed that would be the case, and for what it’s worth, I still enjoyed it. Through its flaws, this book is fluffy, compassionate, and a blast. The Playaway got me through many an accessioning shift, essay, and spiral, haha.
May 13, 2025
If I had a nickel for every DND queer book that I've read this year, that has an audiobook narrated by Natalie Naudus AND that ends up, pulling on all my heartstrings, I would have two nickels, which is pretty damn great.
March 19, 2025
You know the rules!! Books that make me cry get 5 stars!!!
E-Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley.
I absolutely loved this rural, queer, DnD enthused coming of age story!
After her beloved grandfather's passing, 17 year old DnD-loving lesbian Harper Reid is forced to move back to the small farm town where she spent the summers of her childhood. She reconnects with her neighbor, Ollie, picking up their friendship from childhood and joining her all-queer DnD group. Feelings start to develop between the girls as they navigate college applications, family dynamics, grief, and being comfortable with what they want.
This was a delight to read. Every one of the characters is fun, easy to love and care for. I really felt the love between Ollie and her family, Harper and her grandfather, and their passions like farming, gardening, woodworking, EACH OTHER, and of course Dungeons and Dragons. I also loved seeing the DnD campaign narratively - it's written well and adds a great fantasy flare to the story.
There's great depictions of the struggle of living in small rural town while being queer, both inside the family and out, but it never becomes too heavy or despairing. The town in fact, is relatively cool with queer members of the community! There's so much to love about this town and it's palpable through Ollie and Harper's eyes. But as always with teenagers, the threat of rejection is still real. Each issue is handled with care from my experience, and very effective.
Overall a great YA Queer coming of age story with romance, great care for rural communities, and super fun DnD sessions.
E-Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley.
I absolutely loved this rural, queer, DnD enthused coming of age story!
After her beloved grandfather's passing, 17 year old DnD-loving lesbian Harper Reid is forced to move back to the small farm town where she spent the summers of her childhood. She reconnects with her neighbor, Ollie, picking up their friendship from childhood and joining her all-queer DnD group. Feelings start to develop between the girls as they navigate college applications, family dynamics, grief, and being comfortable with what they want.
This was a delight to read. Every one of the characters is fun, easy to love and care for. I really felt the love between Ollie and her family, Harper and her grandfather, and their passions like farming, gardening, woodworking, EACH OTHER, and of course Dungeons and Dragons. I also loved seeing the DnD campaign narratively - it's written well and adds a great fantasy flare to the story.
There's great depictions of the struggle of living in small rural town while being queer, both inside the family and out, but it never becomes too heavy or despairing. The town in fact, is relatively cool with queer members of the community! There's so much to love about this town and it's palpable through Ollie and Harper's eyes. But as always with teenagers, the threat of rejection is still real. Each issue is handled with care from my experience, and very effective.
Overall a great YA Queer coming of age story with romance, great care for rural communities, and super fun DnD sessions.
July 26, 2025
I wanted to like this book but I don’t lmao. It’s a holiday in the states, so I’m posting this to remember to get my thoughts together.
EDIT July 23: I kept thinking about reviewing this and "it's not that deep" and yeah it is for me. It has to be, I can't shut up and enjoy the words when my brain's throwin question marks.
So first off, I was really hype for this book. It looks cute, it's got some DND nerd shenanigans, and it's a girl goin country from the big city while in high school. It all has to be rife with some sorta fun drama and I was looking for a good time.
It all starts at the cover for me. Harper's a Barbarian. Ollie's a Paladin. Ollie's the tan-skinned character on the cover, but their characters are reversed. I thought the novel was setting up them respecing like "oh hey actually so-and-so's skills and things look more fun i wanna be that" but nah it's some covert racism shit to me. Ollie's a tan white girl cuz she's into the farm life, but i guess she's dark enough to fall prey to dark skinned savage tropism because yeah what.
Then we get into the book! Spoilers because it's going over the whole book now.
I read this book with people who didn't have the problems I did which had me feelin that 'it's not that deep.' But it is because this could be done better.
EDIT July 23: I kept thinking about reviewing this and "it's not that deep" and yeah it is for me. It has to be, I can't shut up and enjoy the words when my brain's throwin question marks.
So first off, I was really hype for this book. It looks cute, it's got some DND nerd shenanigans, and it's a girl goin country from the big city while in high school. It all has to be rife with some sorta fun drama and I was looking for a good time.
It all starts at the cover for me. Harper's a Barbarian. Ollie's a Paladin. Ollie's the tan-skinned character on the cover, but their characters are reversed. I thought the novel was setting up them respecing like "oh hey actually so-and-so's skills and things look more fun i wanna be that" but nah it's some covert racism shit to me. Ollie's a tan white girl cuz she's into the farm life, but i guess she's dark enough to fall prey to dark skinned savage tropism because yeah what.
Then we get into the book! Spoilers because it's going over the whole book now.
I read this book with people who didn't have the problems I did which had me feelin that 'it's not that deep.' But it is because this could be done better.
June 27, 2025
3.25 rounded down to 3
I find the premise of this book really interesting and fun. I also like the theme of big city kid moving to a small town - feeling a bit displaced yet able to find "their people" and cultivate lifelong friendships. The lynchpin for the group of teens finding friendship has to do with all of them being either gay, bi, trans, or ACE, and loving Dungeons & Dragons. It's very clever that there's a parallel storyline where the story involving the avatars of the D&D friends is told and in which the one teen who's reluctant to come out is able to be her true self in the context of role play and develop of a f/f relationship with the avatar of the friend to whom she's attracted but want let herself admit that desire for more than friendship. The D&D adventure in the story was a little harder for me to track, but I thought made for a great alternative reality where the friends can be very bold and brave versions of themselves.
The strong friendships and coming of age stories were good. Lots of reality-based teen angst and confusion, such as balancing what your parents want for your future versus what you want, dealing with grief, and trying to find the courage to make hard choices. This is an optimistic story that includes a romance that's not too sexy because it's geared for the younger reader. Thank you.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed that there were multiple narrators: Mary Helen Gallucci, Andre Santana, and Natalie Naudus.
I find the premise of this book really interesting and fun. I also like the theme of big city kid moving to a small town - feeling a bit displaced yet able to find "their people" and cultivate lifelong friendships. The lynchpin for the group of teens finding friendship has to do with all of them being either gay, bi, trans, or ACE, and loving Dungeons & Dragons. It's very clever that there's a parallel storyline where the story involving the avatars of the D&D friends is told and in which the one teen who's reluctant to come out is able to be her true self in the context of role play and develop of a f/f relationship with the avatar of the friend to whom she's attracted but want let herself admit that desire for more than friendship. The D&D adventure in the story was a little harder for me to track, but I thought made for a great alternative reality where the friends can be very bold and brave versions of themselves.
The strong friendships and coming of age stories were good. Lots of reality-based teen angst and confusion, such as balancing what your parents want for your future versus what you want, dealing with grief, and trying to find the courage to make hard choices. This is an optimistic story that includes a romance that's not too sexy because it's geared for the younger reader. Thank you.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed that there were multiple narrators: Mary Helen Gallucci, Andre Santana, and Natalie Naudus.
February 11, 2026
this was so fine that I quite literally read it at some point last year, forgot that I read it because I never reviewed it or marked it as read for some reason and then when I went to go read it again I thought the cover looked familiar enough but it wasn't until about 10 minutes into the book that I realized I had already read it. so it was fine. I don't remember anything bad about it. I think the only thing worth noting is that I did enjoy the fact that there was this strong emphasis on supporting people who don't want to go to college. college is not the only option and I liked that that was a factor for this book.
September 22, 2025
I thought this was super cute and I loved the narrators! I don't read many book with D&D because I don't play but now I'm intrigued enough that I think I want to go back and watch someone play it on Youtube because there has to be a video for it. First half of the book was good, second half felt really slow and I did find myself spacing out some.
June 18, 2025
"The four heroes whiled away the rest of the evening, dreaming up plans for their futures together and reveling in the warmth and security that comes with knowing you're surrounded by your people. The ones who have your back, hold you close, love and accept you for who you are. The people your heart is safe with."
4.5 ⭐️ Rounded up
This was such a cute read!! I loved how the story alternated between the characters and their d&d campaign. Fun characters, witty dialogue, good book!
4.5 ⭐️ Rounded up
This was such a cute read!! I loved how the story alternated between the characters and their d&d campaign. Fun characters, witty dialogue, good book!
April 24, 2025
So cute! I teared up a bit towards the end. 🥹
The D&D storyline was a neat touch, although I definitely preferred the real-life storyline, haha.
The D&D storyline was a neat touch, although I definitely preferred the real-life storyline, haha.
March 5, 2025
Read as an E-ARC via NetGalley!
Filing this under books that would have changed my brain chemistry if I’d had access to them as a teenager. M. K. England had me at the first mention of Food Lion. Roll for Love was everything a YA romance should be: sweet and funny and surprisingly gut-wrenching, except I hope I never start being surprised how much a gay little YA novel can make me feel. I wasn’t quite like Ollie and Harper growing up—I couldn’t wait to get out of the south and embrace living in a big city, far from everything I’d ever known. And that last line still brought me to tears, because the south is so much more than anyone makes it out to be, and there will always be a part of me that’s a queer country girl, too.
Filing this under books that would have changed my brain chemistry if I’d had access to them as a teenager. M. K. England had me at the first mention of Food Lion. Roll for Love was everything a YA romance should be: sweet and funny and surprisingly gut-wrenching, except I hope I never start being surprised how much a gay little YA novel can make me feel. I wasn’t quite like Ollie and Harper growing up—I couldn’t wait to get out of the south and embrace living in a big city, far from everything I’d ever known. And that last line still brought me to tears, because the south is so much more than anyone makes it out to be, and there will always be a part of me that’s a queer country girl, too.
August 17, 2025
I keep waffling between a 1 or a 2 star for this, so I think I’ll go with a 1.5/5 rounded down.
I really liked the concept and the cover was originally what drew me into this book. It should’ve been an incredibly cute romance between two childhood friends who were apart for so long, but. It barley felt delivered on? The pacing on this was WAYYY too fast—it felt like we barely spent any time on anything and, to be completely honest, I could’ve done without the D&D portions. Quite frankly, I found them boring and my eyes glazing over every time they showed up. If they had added more to the story, I would’ve been here for it more but the portions that were in the D&D sections felt completely predictable and only a few of them seemed to even be relevant to the plot outside of the D&D sessions. Beyond that, parts of this felt so incredibly preachy. I’m sure that there are many people who appreciate this and felt seen by the rants about college not being the end all, be all, but it wasn’t done with very much subtly. Kind of just like a brick hitting me over the head with it.
I was originally somewhat enjoying this, up until about the halfway point when the actual drama and plot were ramping up. But then the last half just made me angry the whole time I was reading it. Especially this strange part where Harper and Ollie are talking to Jimmy and Frank who are gay and work a stand at the farmers market. They gave a whole lecture—on their soapbox—about how community is community and so you should be neighborly and friendly with your Republican neighbors? Now I’m sure things were different when this book was being written but in the current political climate, I find this completely distasteful. Yes. You should be neighborly and kind to everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should have to tolerate living in a community where people are voting your rights away—and flying the Confederate flag! So Ollie and Harper both feel at home in Clintville, but it felt like the book was downplaying the harm that Republicans and Confederates can and do cause.
Beyond that, which was the most infuriating to me, the climax was not done very well. Like I said before, the pacing was off. This should’ve probably been at least a hundred pages longer as it felt like we were speeding through every scene (and then dragging on forever through the D&D portions). Also, Harper’s mom changes her tune in a single chapter after being so harsh and telling Harper the whole novel that she HAS to go to college but actually it’s okay now and she’s seen the error of her ways? What? Everything resolved way too fast at the end and Harper and Ollie were pissing me off before that through the entire second half of the novel.
The other thing that made me so angry was that Harper basically just abandons her friends in Portland! By the second half of the novel, she doesn’t text them even ONCE. Like???? You’ve been friends with these people for that long and you’re just going to abandon them?? She doesn’t text them, she doesn’t call them, she doesn’t put in any work to actually have a conversation with them and keep up with them. What a shitty friend lol. And I get that she didn’t want to go to college (once again, whacked over the head with this) but she could have told them that she didn’t want to?? She could’ve set up a separate chat with them so that she wouldn’t have to see them planning stuff? She could’ve done so many things other than the way she just let their friendship die. I would be so mad if I was Cam, her Portland friend. But I guess Cam dodged a bullet when Harper moved away then lmao.
I’ll give it 1.5 stars because I liked the concept and the beginning was good enough.
I really liked the concept and the cover was originally what drew me into this book. It should’ve been an incredibly cute romance between two childhood friends who were apart for so long, but. It barley felt delivered on? The pacing on this was WAYYY too fast—it felt like we barely spent any time on anything and, to be completely honest, I could’ve done without the D&D portions. Quite frankly, I found them boring and my eyes glazing over every time they showed up. If they had added more to the story, I would’ve been here for it more but the portions that were in the D&D sections felt completely predictable and only a few of them seemed to even be relevant to the plot outside of the D&D sessions. Beyond that, parts of this felt so incredibly preachy. I’m sure that there are many people who appreciate this and felt seen by the rants about college not being the end all, be all, but it wasn’t done with very much subtly. Kind of just like a brick hitting me over the head with it.
I was originally somewhat enjoying this, up until about the halfway point when the actual drama and plot were ramping up. But then the last half just made me angry the whole time I was reading it. Especially this strange part where Harper and Ollie are talking to Jimmy and Frank who are gay and work a stand at the farmers market. They gave a whole lecture—on their soapbox—about how community is community and so you should be neighborly and friendly with your Republican neighbors? Now I’m sure things were different when this book was being written but in the current political climate, I find this completely distasteful. Yes. You should be neighborly and kind to everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should have to tolerate living in a community where people are voting your rights away—and flying the Confederate flag! So Ollie and Harper both feel at home in Clintville, but it felt like the book was downplaying the harm that Republicans and Confederates can and do cause.
Beyond that, which was the most infuriating to me, the climax was not done very well. Like I said before, the pacing was off. This should’ve probably been at least a hundred pages longer as it felt like we were speeding through every scene (and then dragging on forever through the D&D portions). Also, Harper’s mom changes her tune in a single chapter after being so harsh and telling Harper the whole novel that she HAS to go to college but actually it’s okay now and she’s seen the error of her ways? What? Everything resolved way too fast at the end and Harper and Ollie were pissing me off before that through the entire second half of the novel.
The other thing that made me so angry was that Harper basically just abandons her friends in Portland! By the second half of the novel, she doesn’t text them even ONCE. Like???? You’ve been friends with these people for that long and you’re just going to abandon them?? She doesn’t text them, she doesn’t call them, she doesn’t put in any work to actually have a conversation with them and keep up with them. What a shitty friend lol. And I get that she didn’t want to go to college (once again, whacked over the head with this) but she could have told them that she didn’t want to?? She could’ve set up a separate chat with them so that she wouldn’t have to see them planning stuff? She could’ve done so many things other than the way she just let their friendship die. I would be so mad if I was Cam, her Portland friend. But I guess Cam dodged a bullet when Harper moved away then lmao.
I’ll give it 1.5 stars because I liked the concept and the beginning was good enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2025
Needed to sit with this one for a minute before I gave an actual review because while I really enjoyed the book there were some things that bugged me.
At the end of the day though I really enjoyed this book and I would still give a solid recommendation of 8/10 being worth your time. I don’t know that I agree with second chance romance? But it could be.
The issues - I always do my best to give spoiler free reviews because that’s what I personally prefer. That said… there are real life issues that come up in this that are scary - on or them involving financial instability. This is not addressed in any way after it’s introduced which makes the books resolution harder to swallow because that stuff doesn’t just go away. There’s a secondary issue that ties in with that one… a really big conversation happens.. but not in the book. We don’t get to see it happen. It takes away so much resolution because it makes it seem like a magic wand was waved to fix things. My final issue is there’s an apology that should get made and that doesn’t. I had to go back and just and literally the thing that hurts the most doesn’t get addressed… which almost feels like it was justified? But most certainly was not.
What I loved - self awareness, self acceptance, coming out and growing up and making decisions for your life are all legit things and we actually see multiple possibilities not just from Harper and Ollie but their friends and family as well. Rural area life for LGBT+ at its most wholesome and also anxiety inducing. I enjoyed how intelligent this book is written with things like emotional bleed, systematic racism and sustainability being dropped in conversation and the author not belittling her YA audience by explaining those things in detail.
I enjoyed Harper and Ollie’s story. There’s a lot of good in this book and it’s well worth a read.
At the end of the day though I really enjoyed this book and I would still give a solid recommendation of 8/10 being worth your time. I don’t know that I agree with second chance romance? But it could be.
The issues - I always do my best to give spoiler free reviews because that’s what I personally prefer. That said… there are real life issues that come up in this that are scary - on or them involving financial instability. This is not addressed in any way after it’s introduced which makes the books resolution harder to swallow because that stuff doesn’t just go away. There’s a secondary issue that ties in with that one… a really big conversation happens.. but not in the book. We don’t get to see it happen. It takes away so much resolution because it makes it seem like a magic wand was waved to fix things. My final issue is there’s an apology that should get made and that doesn’t. I had to go back and just and literally the thing that hurts the most doesn’t get addressed… which almost feels like it was justified? But most certainly was not.
What I loved - self awareness, self acceptance, coming out and growing up and making decisions for your life are all legit things and we actually see multiple possibilities not just from Harper and Ollie but their friends and family as well. Rural area life for LGBT+ at its most wholesome and also anxiety inducing. I enjoyed how intelligent this book is written with things like emotional bleed, systematic racism and sustainability being dropped in conversation and the author not belittling her YA audience by explaining those things in detail.
I enjoyed Harper and Ollie’s story. There’s a lot of good in this book and it’s well worth a read.
June 26, 2025
3.5 stars!
This was a cute little sapphic romance!
I liked the characters a lot, I feel like there was a good amount of diversity and individuality between the them!
I loved the D&D characters too, and the struggles that they and the real characters both experienced
I think that both the characters, Ollie and Harper, had their flaws and their good moments, but could eventually communicate their feelings pretty well once the anguish and upset feelings cleared
Also I loved the way the D&D world was set up!
I loved actually reading the story of their characters and how it started and ended :3 overall a feel good story and we love being gay 💅
This was a cute little sapphic romance!
I liked the characters a lot, I feel like there was a good amount of diversity and individuality between the them!
I loved the D&D characters too, and the struggles that they and the real characters both experienced
I think that both the characters, Ollie and Harper, had their flaws and their good moments, but could eventually communicate their feelings pretty well once the anguish and upset feelings cleared
Also I loved the way the D&D world was set up!
I loved actually reading the story of their characters and how it started and ended :3 overall a feel good story and we love being gay 💅
April 5, 2026
3.8 ⭐️ Very cute, happy, and easy to read! I love how we get to see their campaign and the eventual ending, but really wish we could have gotten more fleshed out side characters. There is a lot of potential there and it felt hollow to not have any deeper character to them. Overall, loved it and loved discussing at Read Between the Spines! I’m going to miss hosting this book club after July 💔
June 7, 2025
i have never read a book that calls me out directly more than this one. was the author in my walls growing up??
because it certainly feels that way.
10/10 pride month read, i may have cried
because it certainly feels that way.
10/10 pride month read, i may have cried
February 11, 2026
very very sweet and heartwarming☹️🫶🏻
July 28, 2025
possibly the gayest book I've ever read
February 19, 2026
This was an incredibly sweet little story that I'm surprised doesn't have more attention! If you like YA literature, romance, TTRPGs, LGBTQ+ representation, and/or the Dungeons & Drama series by Kristy Boyce, I think you will find something in here to enjoy.
Roll for Love tells the story of Harper and Ollie, who once grew up in their small, rural town together but ultimately grew apart when Harper moved across the country. Unfortunately, Harper's grandfather passed away not long ago, and she and her mother move back to his property for Harper's senior year. This stirs up feelings between the openly-out Harper and the closeted bisexual, Ollie. With D&D as an ever-convenient vessel to experiment with feelings and relationships, the question soon becomes if the sapphic duo will let their relationship blossom as they have accomplished with their characters thus far.
Before I comment on the text itself, I have to air a personal grievance. On the cover, you will notice Ollie portrayed on the right and Harper portrayed on the left. You will see this further supported with the depiction of their minis below and the image displayed on top. However, based on the descriptions given of these characters' demeanors, styles, and levels of physicality, I would have thought Harper was the one on the left (more classically lesbian with the flannel fit, could also be hiding her muscles) and Ollie on the right (spends a lot of time outside so likely lighter hair, more classically feminine, not buff, less demonstrative, etc.). When I found out approximately halfway through that I had the two mixed up according to the cover, I could not stop thinking about the disparities. Don't get me wrong, the illustration is truly beautiful! But it just doesn't make sense with what we hear about them in the story.
As for the actual novel, I thought it was lovely and definitely accurate to many personal experiences as well as stories I've heard from folks even farther south than me. There were some huge callouts here, particularly with Ollie's mom late in the story, that were like a punch to the gut in the best way possible. The integration of D&D with the intermittent third person chapters was also cool and very clever on the author's behalf, in my opinion. There were a few issues pertaining to Ollie specifically that I wish the text was a bit firmer against narratively, but the experiences themselves were faithful to many people's real journeys with identity exploration and change.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to lovers of romance books and D&D! Even if you have transcended most of the YA genre, you very well may enjoy this. You might shake your head and laugh at some of the teenage antics, but that's simply the nature of teenagers as a whole. Mostly, you'll just get an easy read with enjoyable characters and a unique outlook at embracing queerness in farm country.
Roll for Love tells the story of Harper and Ollie, who once grew up in their small, rural town together but ultimately grew apart when Harper moved across the country. Unfortunately, Harper's grandfather passed away not long ago, and she and her mother move back to his property for Harper's senior year. This stirs up feelings between the openly-out Harper and the closeted bisexual, Ollie. With D&D as an ever-convenient vessel to experiment with feelings and relationships, the question soon becomes if the sapphic duo will let their relationship blossom as they have accomplished with their characters thus far.
Before I comment on the text itself, I have to air a personal grievance. On the cover, you will notice Ollie portrayed on the right and Harper portrayed on the left. You will see this further supported with the depiction of their minis below and the image displayed on top. However, based on the descriptions given of these characters' demeanors, styles, and levels of physicality, I would have thought Harper was the one on the left (more classically lesbian with the flannel fit, could also be hiding her muscles) and Ollie on the right (spends a lot of time outside so likely lighter hair, more classically feminine, not buff, less demonstrative, etc.). When I found out approximately halfway through that I had the two mixed up according to the cover, I could not stop thinking about the disparities. Don't get me wrong, the illustration is truly beautiful! But it just doesn't make sense with what we hear about them in the story.
As for the actual novel, I thought it was lovely and definitely accurate to many personal experiences as well as stories I've heard from folks even farther south than me. There were some huge callouts here, particularly with Ollie's mom late in the story, that were like a punch to the gut in the best way possible. The integration of D&D with the intermittent third person chapters was also cool and very clever on the author's behalf, in my opinion. There were a few issues pertaining to Ollie specifically that I wish the text was a bit firmer against narratively, but the experiences themselves were faithful to many people's real journeys with identity exploration and change.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to lovers of romance books and D&D! Even if you have transcended most of the YA genre, you very well may enjoy this. You might shake your head and laugh at some of the teenage antics, but that's simply the nature of teenagers as a whole. Mostly, you'll just get an easy read with enjoyable characters and a unique outlook at embracing queerness in farm country.
June 5, 2025
Content warnings: homophobia related to being in a small town, transphobic comment from Harper (paraphrasing) "I'm lesbian, I don't need a dick" (massive fucking sigh), controlling parent, references to grandparent death, references to toxic parents.
Rep: Harper (MC) is cis, white, and lesbian. Ollie (MC) is cis, white, and bisexual. Side queer POC characters, side queer characters, side enby character.
This one was short and sweet. Harper moves back to town after being away for several years, and the girl next door is the girl that helped her realise she likes girls. Ollie, who also had Harper to thank for her own queer awakening, is both elated and "omg she's back! I still like her" which was really cute to read.
Ollie goes through some self-acceptance regarding her bisexuality and it was really sweet to see.
The entire story was quick, easy, and enjoyable.
Rep: Harper (MC) is cis, white, and lesbian. Ollie (MC) is cis, white, and bisexual. Side queer POC characters, side queer characters, side enby character.
This one was short and sweet. Harper moves back to town after being away for several years, and the girl next door is the girl that helped her realise she likes girls. Ollie, who also had Harper to thank for her own queer awakening, is both elated and "omg she's back! I still like her" which was really cute to read.
Ollie goes through some self-acceptance regarding her bisexuality and it was really sweet to see.
The entire story was quick, easy, and enjoyable.
December 8, 2024
eARC
Disclosure: The author and I were both New Jersey librarians at the same time and knew each other casually.
Roll for Love is another nerdy, feelings-drenched hit from M.K. England, who writes YA books about and for actual young adults. It's a second-chance book about queer country girls, which is tough to do when the characters are so young, but England pulls it off while shining a light on some real truths about queerness and conservatism in small Southern towns.
Disclosure: The author and I were both New Jersey librarians at the same time and knew each other casually.
Roll for Love is another nerdy, feelings-drenched hit from M.K. England, who writes YA books about and for actual young adults. It's a second-chance book about queer country girls, which is tough to do when the characters are so young, but England pulls it off while shining a light on some real truths about queerness and conservatism in small Southern towns.
April 30, 2025
I love books about fantasy games and this one was really cute.
I highly appreciate a YA coming off age story where most of the characters DONT go to college because you rarely ever see it. Doing an apprenticeship instead is also an option and I feel like college gets pushed onto everyone nowadays, when it’s simply not the only option but sometimes even the wrong choice for someone and also EXPENSIVE!
I feel like the drama with the mom was solved a little too late and too sudden and I didn’t super feel the romance because these two barely interacted irl. Having them kiss through their D&D characters online for the first time felt a little weird.
This was a rather short book and you could feel that.
I highly appreciate a YA coming off age story where most of the characters DONT go to college because you rarely ever see it. Doing an apprenticeship instead is also an option and I feel like college gets pushed onto everyone nowadays, when it’s simply not the only option but sometimes even the wrong choice for someone and also EXPENSIVE!
I feel like the drama with the mom was solved a little too late and too sudden and I didn’t super feel the romance because these two barely interacted irl. Having them kiss through their D&D characters online for the first time felt a little weird.
This was a rather short book and you could feel that.
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