The NoGirlfriend Rule, Christen Randall
The NoGirlfriend Rule, Christen Randall
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

The No-Girlfriend Rule

Author: Christen Randall

Narrator: Natalie Naudus

Unabridged: 9 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/05/2024


Synopsis

An instant USA TODAY bestseller
Four starred reviews!

Julie Murphy meets Heartstopper with a D&D twist in this “magical, heartwarming” (Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling author of She Gets the Girl) queer romance about a teen girl whose foray into fantasy tabletop roleplaying brings her new confidence, true friends, and a shot at real, swoon-worthy love.

Hollis Beckwith isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. Their relationship isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in.

Enter: Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria’s cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost.

But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis’s character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis’s stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants…or if she’s content to just play pretend.

About Christen Randall

Christen Randall (they/she) is a queer, fat, neurodivergent author of queer, fat, neurodiverse books, including Junior Library Guild selection and instant USA TODAY bestseller The No-Girlfriend Rule. When they’re not writing joyful stories for the next generation of geeky gay kids, you can find them making zines about neighborhood cats, nerding out doing readers’ advisory as a library associate at their local library branch, or at home planning all the D&D campaigns they’ll run one day, they swear. Christen lives in Covington, Kentucky. Visit them online at ByChristenRandall.com and on social media @ByCRandall.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anna on May 01, 2024

I can't even describe how much I adore this cover. So often with fat characters on book covers they are the "right kind of fat" meaning they have curves in the right places and no double chins etc. This cover is so real and I'm in love with it. Thankfully I'm just as in love with the actual book. We......more

Goodreads review by Rachels_booknook_ on July 12, 2024

I like the messaging but the characters felt pretty flat to me, and it was frustrating that Hollis didn't develop a backbone until a pretty significant way through. The boyfriend/his friend group were cartoonishly villainous. Even when she finally stood up for herself a bit, she felt kind of weak to......more

Goodreads review by Johanna on March 14, 2024

I liked Hollis and she was cute with Aini. But this didn't feel like a romance, I think this was more about Hollis finding herself. And because I thought I was reading a romance I was a bit disappointed. This had way too many long and detailed scenes where a group was playing a roleplaying game. I w......more

Goodreads review by Leah on March 17, 2024

This was very, very cute! There is A Lot of the role playing game. So, if that isn’t your thing you may wanna stay away.......more

Goodreads review by Celine on September 17, 2024

say hi intrepid heroes!! felt like a sleepover! so deeply vulnerable yet safe and cozy!......more


Quotes

"Narrator Natalie Naudus voices the teen characters authentically. Naudus is able to help guide the listener by ciphering subtle changes among the wide cast of characters, making it easy to follow the character-driven narrative...An excellent listen for teens who enjoy true-to-life stories with a wide cast of characters."