Review: Spikes, Dice and Other Variables by Harper Kinsley

Spikes, Dice and Other Variables
by Harper Kinsley

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Life is over for Riley McMahon.

Well, it isn’t really, but when you’re the star setter of the volleyball team and on the brink of academic ineligibility, the actual End of Everything™ feels closer than you think. Terrified of failing math and losing her spot on the team, she’s desperate to do anything to save her grades.

So when she finds out about the gaming club run by Simon, the smart kid in her math class, she joins without a second thought in order to convince him to tutor her. The problem? She sort of told him she loves the roleplaying game he plays.

She’s never rolled a single D20 in her life.

But as they spend time together, Riley realizes she might feel something other than friendship towards Simon. Riley’s been avoiding relationships her whole life, and as her friends start to notice her not-so-platonic feelings for Simon, she’s forced to face her discomfort around dating and what being in a romantic relationship means for her. Balancing her own fears against society’s expectations, Riley must figure out what matters most to her and how to let everyone else’s expectations go.

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This one caught my eye when I saw it on Netgalley, the ace and neurodivergent main character as well as the tabletop roleplaying aspect both appealed to me. I was glad to receive a copy and started reading it shortly after that. This was such a great read and I wished this book had been around when I was a teenager as I related a lot to Riley and it would’ve helped me so much back then.

This book is about Riley who loves volleyball, but to stay on the team she has to do well with her grades as well and that’s where she struggles. When she meets Simon she has the idea to ask him for help with math and studying, so she joins the tabletop roleplaying he is part of so he will like her more. The two grow closer and Riley has to figure out how to handle things as she feels romantic feelings, but doesn’t want to have sex. While at the same time trying to keep her grades up so she can keep playing volleyball.

I really liked reading about Riley, she was such a relatable main character. I struggled a lot in high school too and some of her struggles felt very relatable and I also felt like I was broken and like I worked so hard, but it wasn’t enough. I do appreciated that Riley eventually does get some help and support, but her parents don’t understand her and that was tough to read about. I think Riley is an ADHD’er, but this never actually gets stated in the book, but her learning struggles and concentration struggles point in that direction. I liked seeing her figure out she’s ace and how much peace and clarity that gives her and how she eventually comes out to her friends as well.

I really liked the sweet romance between Simon and Riley. I liked seeing the two of them grow closer and get to know each other. There are some great scenes involving the two of them. I liked seeing Riley get into the tabletop roleplaying game, which was fun to read about. And it was nice seeing Simon try to learn more about volleyball. Both of them just felt so real and so did their relationship. There is a bit of conflict later on in the book, but I think it felt realistic how that got dealt with and got resolved.

This book has a bunch of great side characters, from Riley’s best friends Adri and Cooper, then there is Riley’s brother, the volleyball team and the tabletop roleplaying party of Renee and Finn. I liked reading about these characters and also liked how supportive everyone was. There are also some teachers and the volleyball coach that play a role in the story as well. There is also a lot of diversity and representation among the side characters, everything from hypermobility to a nonbinary side character, a lesbian side character and an autistic and I probably am forgetting a few more or some that are hinted at.

I just wish this book had been even longer, but that’s just because I loved it so much. There were some things I would’ve liked to see and I just wanted to read more about these characters. I wondered whether Riley ever talks to the teacher who sits in during their club meetings about being ace. And I would’ve liked to read the scenes when Riley comes out to some of her friends, which now got skipped over. I also would’ve loved to see Riley figure things out about being neurodivergent. And at the same time I do think the ending was great and very fitting for the book.

This book was so hopeful and encouraging. I just loved the messages this book had about being yourself and figuring out who you are. And the supportive group of friends was just so awesome to read about.

To summarize: I really liked this book. It’s a great YA novel about figuring out who you are with a hopeful and supportive message. Riley figures out she is ace in this book and I am pretty sure she’s neurodivergent as well. There’s a lot of representation and diversity in this book in the form of realistic and likable characters. I liked reading about Riley, she felt so relatable and I am so glad she had a great group of supportive characters around her. Her romance with Simon was so cute and I really liked seeing the two of them grow closer. I really liked the tone and vibe of this book. It was so relatable and hopeful and I really liked it.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.