Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and excitement! Set in the quirky world of a high school Dungeons & Dragons club, the story follows a group of misfit teens as they navigate the challenges of both the game and real life. Boyce skillfully weaves together the fantasy elements of the game with the drama of high school, creating a narrative that's both hilarious and heartwarming. The characters are relatable, each with their own unique quirks, and the witty dialogue adds a layer of charm to the entire experience. As a high schooler myself, I found the book to be a refreshing and enjoyable read, blending the magic of fantasy with the all-too-real struggles of adolescence.

What makes Dungeons and Drama stand out is its ability to capture the essence of friendship and self-discovery. The characters undergo personal growth throughout the story, and the bonds formed within the D&D group feel genuine. It's a tale of finding your tribe and embracing who you are, all while battling dragons (both in the game and in real life). Whether you're a seasoned D&D player or completely new to the world of tabletop gaming, this book offers a delightful journey that any high schooler can relate to and enjoy.

🧼 - squeaky clean YA romance. I'm not a huge fan of teen romance, it's usually too cringy, but I LOVED this. It was just delightful and quirky and I couldn't put it down. Riley is a theater kid, Nathan a tabletop gamer, and through a fake dating scheme, they realize those two things are so different. Delightful characters and side characters. I definitely will be recommending this.

Read if you like:
•Forced Proximity
•Enemies to Lovers
•Fake Dating

Looking for a stand-out YA rom-com filled with fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, nerds, theatre kids, and tons of adorable moments? You absolutely must pick up Dungeons & Drama.

This book took me by surprise in the best way possible. Over the last couple of years, I've found myself less drawn to YA romances, because while they can certainly be cute and fun, there's something about the age gap that disconnects me from the story. However, every once in a while, there's a novel that stands out to me and fully captures my attention. That was precisely what happened with Dungeons & Drama.

I saw a lot of myself in these characters. Riley is a theatre kid to the max and since I was a theatre kid in high school, with the same tendencies to wear vibrant clothing and have a flair for the dramatic, it felt a little like reading about myself nearly 15 years ago. Sometimes, she really irritated me with her lack of honesty and inability to communicate, but she experienced so much growth throughout the book and I loved seeing how it only enhanced the best parts of her character.

Nathan is a gamer nerd and I love him to bits and pieces. He reminds me a little more of myself at this stage of my life: more likely to want to stay in for a quiet game night than take the stage for a school production. He had some of the cutest moments in the book since it was absolutely a "he falls first" situation, and I loved every second of it. His interest in Riley, despite her intensity, was really precious.

The romance was adorable in every way. I'm a total sucker for fake dating, and while I don't always love when it's paired with "trying to prove something to my ex," I think it was well done in this book. The author did a great job showing what a healthy relationship can look like versus one that would definitely be filled with toxicity.

I also appreciated the relationship development between Riley and her dad. Things started out really rocky and I felt myself getting frustrated with Riley's assumptions and unwillingness to have hard conversations--leaning towards outbursts instead--but the more I read, the more I understood the dynamics and loved how their growth together was handled.

There's no doubt in my mind that this is a book I'll read again. It gave me the same gleeful feelings I have when reading Emma Lord's YA rom-com books (and she's been my favorite contemporary YA author for quite some time). It's lighthearted, funny, and was one that I couldn't get out of my brain even weeks after I finished reading it. A stand-out novel for sure!

I am OBSESSED with how cute this one was. Fake dating is my favorite trope, and you may think I would be bored with how repetitive it can be, but it gets me in the feels every time. It’s predictable and formulaic, and you can bet your sweet tookus I’m still going to be sobbing anyway when one of them breaks it off because they don’t believe the other one could be in love with them the same way they have fallen.
I enjoyed how these two came from two different interest areas- she’s a theater kid and he’s a gamer guy. Her dad’s game shop is a punishment to her and a safe haven to him. But when they start fake dating— to make the girl he has a crush on jealous, and for her ex to stop hounding her— they find it easier and easier to flirt, and harder to remember it’s all fake. Cue the AWWWWWs.
Thank you to the author and TBR and Beyond Tours for the copy! I loved this one so much.

Be sure to check out TBR and Beyond Tours site for the rest of the tour!

I just love fake dating and this one was the cutest 💕 Riley is forced to work at her dad’s game shop and soon enters into a fake dating partnership with Nathan her classmate and coworker. Riley is trying to show her ex she’s moved on and Nathan wants to make Sophia interested in him. I enjoyed all the parts to this book! The D&D parts, trying to save the school musical, the father/daughter relationship, and of course the oh crap this isn’t fake anymore.

Dungeons and Drama 4⭐️ 1.5🌶️

Young Adult contemporary romance
16yo FMC
Theatre kid
Divorced parents
Fake dating
Opposites attract
Coworker romance

This was a very cute YA romance following two high schoolers, one a theatre geek and the other a gamer. This unlikely pair see sparks fly when the FMC had to work in her dad’s gaming score as punishment for taking her mom’s car for a joyride without being licensed!

The cover makes me think it was a YA contemporary fantasy book instead of just a YA Romance. But it’s a cute cover!

I loved that this was an Ohio setting, since I am from central Ohio. I’m also a theatre nerd! So really this book was right ip my alley.

The pop culture references of Broadway original casts, movie quotes and song lyrics can easily date a book, pigeon holing it into a very specific timeframe. I’m not quite a fan of that, but the references were so well done, I can’t be annoyed.

Some of the topics covered are the hard work and preparation that goes into performing. There was really good flushing out of a child of divorced parents and what that can be like. The book even touched on what toxic crushes can look like. This is an easy recommendation for any high schooler. Bonus if they are a theatre nerd or gamer/D&D geek!

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion

SUPER CUTE!!

Theatre geek meets Dungeons and Dragons gaming master in this YA romance.

Riley is grounded for taking the car without permission. As punishment she’s working at her dad’s gaming store. She struggles with her parents divorce anyway, and doesn’t have the best relationship with him. She’s so much closer to her mom.

Then, the school cancels the Spring Musical, and her ex is pitying her because she’s single. Nathan goes to her school and also works at her dad’s store. He’s willing to fake date in exchange for a favor of his own. Join his DD game and help make his crush jealous.

I liked how Riley’s relationship with her dad grew over time, and how she never lost sight of who she was. She didn’t change for anyone, but grew in terms of understanding and self-awareness. Great pacing, great supporting characters and a really fun read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is wonderful for a middle school or high school library! It is a great combination of theatre and nerdy fun. It is a romance, but very clean and innocent and it has a strong message of life balance between needs and wants/work and fun. This was a really fun, cute read!

I requested Dungeons and Drama from Netgalley because I literally have a musical mad and DnD nerd for a son, and he wanted me to read it. (Thank God I was accepted so I could tell him how good it was!)

Firstly, the cover is so adorable, and I loved how cute the characters look on it - I mean, come on? Nathan has elf ears on because, of course, he does..

The story is a young adult romance and very sweet with a well done fake romance and a great cast of background characters who're an almost found family in the way how tight they all are and I loved how they complimented one another. Riley is a stereotypical musical lover who's obsessed with both the school musicals and longs for a career on Broadway in her future. She's somewhat obsessive about it, and that's what led to her spending time at her Father's game shop as she's in trouble.

The way the store is described is so well done, and I could easily visualise it with the Warhammer style tiny figures and paints, stacks of board games that can be rented or bought etcetera and of course the plethora of Dungeons and Dragons items. Riley has zero interest in and has a prejudice against it because she sees the store as to why her parents are divorced.

Nathan is the kid in school who hates to be there, and the store is his sanctuary and doesn't like Riley one bit, but there's a girl he wants, of course. Riley comes up with the fake dating and it had me giggling as it was so much fun to see Nathan be torn between how he dislikes Riley and how well it works to make the girl become a green eyed monster.

I loved their chemistry and how the fake dating and close proximity had the effect of making the two start to see they'd misjudged one another. Yes, it's a cliche, but it's a fun one. However, it's not just Riley and Nathan who bring out the fun of the book, but their friends - I may not play DnD but I loved the commentary of their games and my son said it was that chaotic when his group play. Though I doubt despite some of his team, anyone breaks out into actual song! These moments of joy are tangible, and I loved how there are glimpses of how the somewhat estranged relationship between Riley and her dad blossom as he's so proud of her.

This is a fun read, very sweet and I enjoyed it a lot. It reminds me of a chic flick, a story that makes you smile and appreciate a happy ever after with the classic ‘things go wrong’ moment.

This book was so cute! First and foremost, the cover is lovely. Secondly, the inclusion of Dungeons and Dragons is so so fun and unique.

I loved the theater girl/gamer boy dynamic, as well as the grumpy X sunshine and fake dating tropes!

Definitely would recommend!

This book is one that has been on my To be read list nearly since it was announced! It was so good and I can’t wait to read it as a physical copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // 5 stars…if i could rate this infinite amount of stars i would, it was THAT good 😍 this is my new favorite YA book to ever exist and im absolutely obsessed with it 🫶🏻

if you want to read an adorable, clean & sweet romance where gamer boy meets theatre girl, this is for you!! nathan and riley were so stinkin’ cute together and i loved all of the supporting characters just as much as them! 🫶🏻

Read this if you like:
✨fake dating
✨theatre references
✨highschool age main characters
✨dungeons and dragons gaming

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
💖“Sophia better wake up and notice him pronto, because I won’t be able to take much more of Nathan Wheeler.”

💖 “If we’re discussing pop-tart wedding cakes, then I think we’ve officially moved beyond that.”

💖 “Night nathan is different from day Nathan. And I like it.”

💖 “I am so into you. Embarrassingly so. If I could spend every minute of every day just kissing you and talking about pop tarts, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

Two teens agree to a fake relationship so one can fool a crush and the other can fool her parents. As they start spending more time together, they each start wishing they could get rid of the “fake” part. Author Kristy Boyce is back with her latest YA romance in a fun, lighthearted read sure to make adults remember their own high school days in Dungeons and Drama.

In a small Ohio town, Riley is trying not to let the screaming get to her. Her parents’ screaming, that is. Okay, so she did borrow her mom’s car, and she doesn’t have a license, and she and her best friend, Hoshiko, drove long distance to see a cool Broadway musical. She gets why her parents are freaking out, because she and Hoshiko could have been pulled over or died or whatever, but, honestly? No regrets.

Not about the show, but Riley does regret the punishment she’s been handed. She’s supposed to spend from now until eternity—well, eight weeks, anyway—working after school in her dad’s game shop. Riley’s dad loves games of all kinds. In fact, he loves them so much he was okay getting a divorce from Riley’s mom to fulfill his dream of owning his own store. Where Riley will be stuck for infinity.

It doesn’t help that on her first day, she mistakes one of the employees for a thief. Nathan is a classmate, but they’ve never hung out. Now, despite her best intentions, they start to get to know one another. Crazy enough, Riley discovers Nathan isn’t a total dork. Even if he does like playing Dungeons and Dragons with his goofy friends in the back of the store on game nights.

But Riley doesn’t have time for the store. The school’s new drama teacher, Ms. Sahni, has announced that budget cuts have axed the big spring musical. Riley is a hardcore theater kid—it’s her dream to direct on Broadway one day, hence the risk to drive unlicensed—and she’s determined not to let the spring musical become another victim of dumb money decisions. One way or the other, she’s going to save the musical. Except she promised her parents she wouldn’t do anything related to theater during her punishment.

Riley begs Nathan to cover for her when she needs to stay late at school for her “Save the Musical” project. Nathan agrees but wants something in return, so they agree to a fake dating scheme that includes Riley joining Nathan’s ongoing D&D game at the store to make his gamer-girl crush jealous. A bonus is that Riley gets to make her ex-boyfriend jealous at school, and a surprising benefit is that she starts getting to know her dad better.

At first, Riley, ever the theater kid, sees the D&D game as another performance. Soon enough she finds herself getting into it. Even more strange, Nathan doesn’t seem like such a nerd anymore. In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she could swear she’s starting to like him.

Nathan seems to be enjoying himself with her too. And once her parents hear that they’re “dating,” they get all gooey-eyed about it. Now Riley doesn’t know when, or if, she’ll be able to tell them the truth about sneaking behind their backs to work on the musical. All she knows is that she’ll have to figure out something fast if she wants to save the show and, maybe, her relationship with Nathan too.

Author Kristy Boyce writes with an ease and familiarity of her target readership. The coy flirtations and sweet blushes feel real and grounded. Riley and Nathan’s individual predicaments as well as their collective need to keep up the charade of dating will bring out lots of laughs and grins from readers.

At times the book comes across as a little cheesy, and as is common with so many other YA books the adults seem clueless. Riley’s ultimate proposal to save the school musical is simplistic, which might leave some astute readers wondering why Ms. Sahni didn’t come up with it herself. Riley’s attraction to Nathan, too, is easy to spot. It’s a wonder Riley doesn’t figure out sooner that she’s no longer faking her feelings.

For the most part, however, the book is fun and lighthearted and will leave its readers smiling at the end. Those looking for a classic YA romance with a fresh twist in its references to and uses of Dungeons and Dragons will definitely love this one.

I wasn't expecting to love and adored this book so much. I also wasn't expecting for this one to have fantasy elements because I genuinely thought that it was going to be a straight ya romance but I was pleasantly surprised.

Riley and Nathan interaction were the epitome of cuteness and they had me smiling most of the time. This book felt like this book had "Jumanji" vibes and that made it even more fun.

My only critique is that it was a little hard for me to connect with Riley because I felt like she would just take the most illogical decisions all the time but I get that she's a teenager and that's probably normal.

5/5

What a wonderful book!!! It has been a while since a book has given me such warm and fuzzy feelings. This book was well written with characters given depth and personality, I could envision it all. Loved reading it and couldn't stop!

I absolutely ate this book up and finished it in one sitting. It reminded me so much of my first love and how I felt at the time which is so special. 💖

Riley has big aspirations to one day be a broadway musical director. She needs the schools play to ensure her future, but unfortunately for her she’s grounded and the play has been cancelled due to funding. Could the start of this year get any worse? Yes it can.

Being forced to work at her dad’s game store feels like torture until Riley sees Nathan. He works at her dad’s store and protests her joining his friends Dungeons and Dragons game. When she notices his puppy love for a girl on their team, Riley suggests they fake date. This will help her get her ex off her back and will help Nathan get the girl he truly wants.

But what happens when role playing for D&D and fake dating start to blur? And also what happens when you start falling the boy you can’t have?

Read this book if you like:
▫️fake dating
▫️sweet coming of age romance
▫️witty & funny love bullying
▫️nerdy representation (hell yeah!)

All three of my kids enjoy Dungeons and Dragons and my youngest is a musical theater buff so when I saw this on NetGalley I was immediately drawn to it.
Riley loves everything to do with musical theater and hates everything to do with gaming, so when she borrows her Mom’s car without permission her parents agree the best punishment is for her to work in her Dad’s gaming shop for 8 weeks. Riley is trying to get the school to keep the spring musical so she asks her co-worker, Nathan, to cover for her and in exchange she’ll fake flirt with him to help make him more noticeable to the gamer girl he likes. What Riley didn’t realize was that meant having to join his Dungeons and Dragons group. Over the next few weeks she comes to realize that not only does she really like D&D, but she’s also starting to really like Nathan, making the whole fake flirting thing even harder.
This is such a cute YA romcom and a very easy read. I especially loved all of the details about Dungeons and Dragons Kristy Boyce included. It makes it very easy for someone who has never played to follow along with those parts. I also loved watching Riley’s relationship with her Dad grow into something deeper.
I loved all of the characters and the character development and I especially enjoyed how lighthearted this book is. It’s a perfect read for after something heavy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s & Delacorte Press for an advanced copy of this book. This hit the shelves on January 9th.

Oh, this was such a fun, adorable, dramatic and swoony read! It’s something you can easily read in a single sitting (I know I did) and get up feeling joyful and happy!

- Riley was a great YA protagonist. She was confident, driven and achieved whatever she set her mind to! I also loved how passionate she was about theatre!
- Nathan was the perfect love interest! He was sweet, attentive and a cinnamon roll! I also loved how Riley got to meet and make so many new friends because of Nathan.
- Their friendship + romance was so sweet! It felt gradual and realistic. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes out there and this one was definitely super funny and entertaining! There was also a lot of romantic drama but I wasn’t all that put out by it since the story itself was really cute.
- I love a good, supportive group of friends and this found family was one of nicest!! I loved all of them (together and separately) so much, especially Lucas and Hoshiko!
- I have never been a theatre kid but I’ve loved reading about it in books so that was definitely a bonus and one of the main things that attracted me to this book (a theatre girl and a gamer boy?! SIGN ME UP)
- I have also never been into gaming but our MCs’ D&D shenanigans (and Riley’s dad’s shop, Sword and Board Games) has me convinced that I should definitely check it out since those parts were some of my absolute favourites in the story!!

I have all nice things to say about Dungeons and Drama but there were just a couple of things that I didn’t like (which is why I have reduced a star):
I didn’t get Nathan and Riley’s earlier animosity at all. It was totally unnecessary and didn’t make sense to me.
There were lots of questionable decisions and actions on both Riley and Nathan’s parts which I can blame on them being teenagers in the book. Their actions were kind of unrelated to their previous ones which confused me but I’m not complaining too much about it lol.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick and fun read!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sending me an ARC of this wonderful book!

First I want to thank Random House Children's for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the story of Riley, musical theatre nerd, who after getting caught driving to a performance of Waitress is punished by having to work in her dad's gaming store with Nathan, classmate and D&D nerd. After an awkward run in with her ex, Riley convinces Nathan to be her fake boyfriend in order to not be caught by her ex and convince the girl Nathan's been crushing on that he is a catch. As the two spend more time together and Riley joins Nathan's D&D campaign their plan begins to work and lines start to blur. All while she is getting to know her dad, post-divorce, and fighting to save the spring musical at the high school.

What I Loved:
- Game Store Regulars, one of my favorite parts of going to Comic Con each year are how nice the people are and I think the regulars at the game store epitomize those type of people so nice, fun to talk to and helpful
- Fake Dating, I freaking love a fake dating trope especially when those lines start to blur between fake and real and I think this book did an amazing job at playing with that line for a good portion of the story
- D&D, I have never participated in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign myself but after reading this and Riley's experience with the game I think I'm gonna have to give it a try
- Musical Theatre, I love musical theatre and the references to all the different shows throughout the story just made me want to listen to cast recordings all day
- Riley and Nathan, I love how throughout their friendship/relationship they learn more about each other and their hobbies without judging and their banter throughout

Overall this was a sweet and fun young adult romance that I could not put down. It has all of the aspects of a young adult romance with some teen angst, a LOT of overthinking, everything is important and everything is felt more with a side of a lot of nerdiness. If you are a fan of D&D/games, musical theatre, young adult romance, and/or an ensemble group of characters/friends then you MUST go check this book out as soon as possible.

If this cover doesn't catch your eye, I don't know what will. Say hello to one of the best YA romances I've read in a while. It really took me back to my Dungeons and Dragons era and everything gaming related. I loved reading about young teenagers learning and playing the game, especially our protagonist, Riley.

Riley is big on musicals, hoping one day to make it to Broadway as a director. Unfortunately, her love for the arts gets her in trouble. She takers her mom's car without permission to go see a show with her best friend. Of course, she will be grounded, and both her mom and dad decide on a punishment. Riley will work at her dad gaming store called Sword and Board Games. There, her life will change forever. She will truly understand the passion a lot of people have for board games and maybe learn that sometimes role playing will take a mind of its own.