The No-Girlfriend Rule

LoveReading Says

Finding your tribe, finding love, finding the magic of female friendship, and finding confidence — Christen Randall’s The No-Girlfriend Rule has all the finds and all the feels!  Following the stirring journey of an avid table-top gamer who discovers she has a place at the table in life and love — alongside being a badass queen at the gaming table — it’s heart- warming, true-to-life and alive with body positivity.  

Frustrated by the “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule of her long-time boyfriend’s gaming group, seventeen-year-old Hollis steps out of her comfort zone when she joins a “new girl- friendly, LGBTQIA+-friendly campaign” i.e. a female gaming group led by the creative, inspirational Gloria Castañeda.  

Though nervous and initially reluctant to unleash the fullness of her imagination (and self) as the girls play a “story-driven game of Secrets & Sorcery”, Hollis is welcomed with fulsome friendship and understanding. Meanwhile, back at the ranch of the guys’ group, Hollis has to put up with sexist snipes and homophobic remarks about her all-female gaming crew.  

As the game intensifies and Hollis finds her flow, her in-game character develops a crush on another character, played by the impossibly cool Aini. When the lines between play and real-life are blurred, Hollis’ world is well and truly rocked. 

Unsure of her feelings, Gloria comes to Hollis’ rescue in sisterly style, explaining, “When we can look at things in a different way, sometimes the things that would usually frighten us seem a little less frightening. The game can give us a safe space, with safe people, to explore parts of ourselves we might not be comfortable with”.  And these sage words get to the heart of the magic of The No-Girlfriend Rule — it’s a joyous novel about self-discovery in the company of friends you can trust, alongside being a tingly love story.

Joanne Owen

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