Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advance copy of this, frankly, mesmerizing and heart-droppingly sweet romance. As a lover of both theatre and D&D— I was instantly drawn to the premise. Plus, there’s nothing as frustrating (in the best way!) as fake dating! All that to say that this book was a perfect recipe for success; and it absolutely delivered! I fell in love with the cast of characters so quickly, and the scene that the author paints is lively and jumps right off the page. I felt like I could go visit Boards and Swords— or walk around the high school! There are references that geeks of any type will enjoy, too, but it’s not so overt that readers of any background can’t make sense of it! It is an easy read that I finished in just a few hours— and that’s how absolutely entrancing it is.

To pull us into the narrative— the author first gives us Riley. She’s a theatre girl, but not your average leading lady. Yes, she loves the stage; but she wants to direct. Her hopes come crashing down when the school’s annual show is cancelled, and to top it all off— she’s gotten into deep trouble with her parents and has been roped into working at her dad’s gaming store as punishment. Though she doesn’t know a thing about RPGs or any tabletop game; she finds herself getting settled into a D&D group that plays there. It doesn’t take long before her fellow coworker, Nathan, catches her eye. He’s pining for another in the group, and to prove that she’s over her ex, the two agree to help each other out by fake flirting. What ensues after can only be described as a breathless ‘will they, won’t they’ with Riley coming to an understanding of herself and her potential at the same time.

I went to school for acting and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Arts. I met one of my very best friends in my time as a theatre scholarship student in college. It wasn’t until long after we graduated and moved on with our separate lives that he invited me to experience D&D with him. That game saved my life, much like it ends up changing Riley’s. I come at this story from a very personal point of view, and it makes it incredibly special to me. I cannot recommend this novel enough for fans of musicals, lovers of gaming, or just those on the lookout for a romance that will give them goosebumps and a longing for something they can’t describe. I love that the author has a similar love for the game, and that passion reverberates through every word. If you’re looking for a book that feels like home— this is it.

I absolutely loved this one, I was worried that I was going to have some difficulty getting into this one since I usually don’t read ebooks. However, the plot of this one sucked me in so much and I fell in loved with the characters and the pacing of this story so much. I think Riley and Nathan are so adorable together and I loved how the author was able to tie in two of my favorite troupes which is enemies to lovers and fake dating.

Can I first start by saying I love books that feature young love?? It’s so sweet and soft; truly just warms my heart.

Dungeons & Drama follows Riley, a musical theater obsessed girl that dreams of being a director for Broadway productions. She lets her love for musical theater cloud her better judgement as she takes her mother’s car to drive her and her best friend, Hoshiko to a show despite not having a driver’s license. Naturally, her parents ground her by making her work at her father’s game shop for eight weeks. Riley is kind of distant from her father as her parents divorced due to his father “choosing the game store over Riley and her mom” or at least that’s how Riley sees it. But the punishment commences whether Riley likes it or not, and somehow finds herself in a fake dating situation with one of the employees there that goes to her school, Nathan.

From then on, I have to say that’s when I truly enjoyed the story. The beginning where Riley is whining about the punishment and her parents not understanding that her love for musical theater doesn’t allow for her to think logically made my eyes roll. I understand she’s a teenager and teenagers do dumb things but, I don’t think she understood the gravity of what she did or how badly things could’ve ended up. However once Nathan and his group of friends came in, I enjoyed the dynamics within the friend group. I don’t know much about D&D but I really love how we got to see them play the game and how Riley brought her kind of spin to her character. She finds the similarities of what she loves to do which is sing and act and ties it to the D&D game which is essentially role playing. I have to say Riley is very unapologetically herself, in the way she carries herself by wearing bright loud clothes and not letting anyone deter her from doing so.

The topic of being a child of divorce is brought up and I have to say, the way Riley finds herself changing how she views her father throughout the story is incredible. Not only that but, her father also realizing his shortcomings, apologizing for them, and promising to do better; this facet of the book is very well constructed because it’s gradual.

I have saved Riley and Nathan; and the fake dating for last because I am a sucker for the fake dating trope. Riley wants her ex to not pity her for not dating anyone (especially since her ex has seemingly already moved on) and Nathan wants the girl that sometimes joins their D&D sessions to show more interest in him; which starts this entire scheme. And if you’re familiar with this trope, you know this is not going to end well. They’re obviously going to fall for each other as they fake flirt to make their respective counterparts jealous because I mean HOW CAN YOU NOT?? The lines definitely get blurred for the pair as they start growing real feelings for the other but either aren’t sure if the flirting is real or not. Towards the end, I will say we had slight miscommunication as Riley had to work up the nerve to communicate her true feelings to Nathan. But honestly, the story and its character felt realistic. I will say now after reading this book, I am super intrigued about the world of D&D as this is my first time reading a book that features it.

I highly recommend this book if you love young adult romance novels that feature the fake dating trope and do it justice, if you love musical theater as this story packs in a lot of that, and if you love all things games and D&D!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It took me a long time to finally start this book because I believed that it wasn't going to be the right fit for me, and I’m so happy to admit I was very very wrong. Dungeons and Drama focuses on a gamer boy and a theater girl in high school that end up fake-dating for each of their own reasons.

Riley was loud in her passion, and unrelenting in making things she wants happen through hard work, time and dedication. I found her to be a little bit immature in certain moments for a 10th grade high schooler but looking back at high school, who wasn't? I loved reading about Riley’s pov of crushing on someone when you're young and the silly things you do to spend any moment with them. Nathan was my favorite, and I loved how quickly he embraced all her crazy and wanted to be a part of it. He was the sweetest fake boyfriend and even played the jealous boyfriend role for her a little too well.

Another huge plus of this book for me was that it didn't feature drinking, or parties and it was clear they had good grades and respected their parents as well as others. This felt like something I needed in a YA book because it was similar to how I experienced high school, and I enjoyed feeling seen in that element of the book. The friendship within this book was so well done too, and it was the kind I wanted in high school so that felt like a warm hug to my past self.

This book is filled with a cute young romance, a healing father-daughter relationship, and high school nostalgia. I really really loved the cover and the chapter illustrations as well.

4/5 stars.

This was such a cute little YA romance!

Dungeons and Drama centers around Riley, a musical loving theater nerd who is stuck working at her dad's gaming store as a part of her punishment. There she meets her classmate Nathan, a gaming nerd who is head over heels for a girl that comes in for D&D sessions. The two of them strike up a mutually beneficial fake dating scheme: Riley can convince her ex that she's over him and Nathan's crush will start paying attention to him. As always with fake dating, the lines start to blur as they try to keep the ruse up.

This was such a sweet little YA romance where the stakes were so low. It's so fun to read a book like this now and then. I also loved the gaming aspect of this book; I've never played D&D but I know a little bit here and there. I appreciated that they explained D&D for Riley and made it very easy to follow along. It kind of made me want to play a campaign myself!

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacourte Press for this arc, all thoughts are my own!

What a fun fake dating story! Riley is forced to work at her dad's game store after driving without her license. It's supposed to be a punishment, but she soon finds herself having fun and making friends. The main plot is the fake dating, after her ex finds a new girlfriend, she works out a deal with her coworker, Nathan, to fake date and also make his crush jealous as well. Their ploy begins to work and with all fake dating, they begin to fall in love. The fake dating story is played perfectly alongside her overall journey of love: love for her parents, theater, and Nathan, and how they change and grow.

The D&D aspect is very approachable, as it is a relatively small part and it's explained for Riley. The book is very much a note for note YA fake dating story, but the characters are lively and fun, and the nerdy aspect of it adds to readability. Definitely a fun read!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

Omg, I just loved this book so much, it was the perfect amount of YA romance and comedy.

I haven’t read a YA book like this one and I know that others that pick up this book will love it just like I have. This book is about love, fake dating, a little bit of enemies to lovers, gamers, and drama class lovers. I loved this book so much, it really shows you how most of us thought or acted when we were teens and how we would handle situations, and how having a close group of friends can change everything.

The book starts off with Riley getting in trouble with her parents because she took her mom’s car to see a musical that was far away and the cherry on top was that she didn’t have her license yet. She gets her punishment from her parents and it’s that she has to work at her father’s game shop for 8 weeks, right after school and right home after work. So, she has no time to hang out with her best friend or find a way to help the school save their musicals that they always put together. She must find a way to juggle everything, work, saving the school’s musicals and now having to fake dating one of her father’s high school workers. Can she do it all?

I loved this swoon worthy book so much. Also, I better just let you know now it's not all swoon worthy in this book, but a lot of scenes had me saying AW! I loved that Nathan really doesn’t come off as being a great knight and shining armor but wow, this guy has it done to the tee. He knows just how to pull off the fake dating with jealousy, sweetest, caring and being helpful and can we talk about the banter between the main characters, and the side characters. It was done so well in this book I found myself laughing out loud at parts and smiling throughout the whole book. I thought the pace was perfect for a YA romcom and I didn’t feel at any point that the book was slowing down. When reading this book you will find yourself happy with the wrap up of the book and hoping without any complaints.

I can’t wait to read more books from Boyce, and I hope that she will write more and more YA romcoms just so I can read more from her.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to review this book.

*I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book to review*
3.5 Stars - I thought this book was really sweet! It is definitely intended for a younger audience (which I am no longer a part of), but I still found it enjoyable. After being grounded and forced to work at her dad's gaming store, Riley finds herself surprised by the appeal of D&D (and a certain co-worker). This book has corny jokes (in the best way), character growth, and a classic fake-dating storyline. Initially I found the book to be a bit too cheesy, but it definitely grew on me as time went on. It reminded me of my younger days enjoying a Disney Channel show.

Overall, I would recommend this to tweens/teens looking for a lighthearted read, especially if they have an interest in music and D&D.

A romcom lives or dies by the main characters. And maybe it’s because back in high school I had friends like both Riley (with her insane love of theater) and Nathan (big gaming nerd), but I loved Dungeons and Drama. It skews a bit younger than the majority of romcoms I tend to read, but fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this story is just so much fun. I’d like to thank Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Dungeons and Drama.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2OHII9P1YVL7Z/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

What a sweet book! I am both a fan of D&D and musicals, so this was just the right book for me. I enjoyed the characters of Riley and Nathan, as well as the supporting characters both at the store and in school. While this followed the route of a majority of YA RomCom stories, it was quite enjoyable and left me feeling light-hearted on a dreary and rainy day. I would recommend this to any teen who likes a fun, light-hearted story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook ARC of this title!

Riley absolutely adores musical theater. She loves it so much, in fact, that when she and her friend have tickets to attend a musical in the city and her friend’s car breaks down, Riley uses her mom’s car to take her friend last-minute so they won’t miss it. Problem is, she doesn’t have a license, and she didn’t ask permission to use the car.

So her parents agree that a serious consequence is in order. Riley is sentenced to work after school for eight weeks at her father’s gaming store. She’s barely even stepped foot in it in the five years her dad has run it, and she has never had an interest in board games or video games or Dungeons and Dragons, etc.

But here she is, stocking and working the register — and slowly getting to know more about this passion of her dad’s.

On her first day, Riley meets another employee, Nathan, who goes to her school. Nathan doesn’t just work there: he loves what he does and plays D&D and other games in the back room open every night for dedicated gamers.

Riley notices Nathan has a huge crush on a pretty girl who comes to play some nights, and when Riley’s ex-boyfriend comes into the store with his new girlfriend, she and Nathan come to an agreement. They will pretend around Sophia and Paul that they are dating. It should make Sophia more interested in Nathan, and Riley can save face with Paul about not having a new boyfriend yet.

That agreement leads to Riley even joining the D&D game, and as time goes on, she finds it’s actually fun. She can burst out into song and use her acting skills to role play.

Weirdly enough, Riley also finds as time goes on that she is getting feelings when Nathan pretends he likes her. But he must be a pretty good actor too.

Life is getting more complicated than she had anticipated, all because of this forced job at her dad’s store.

Dungeons and Drama is predictable but cute, and any reader who has any bit of gaming and/or drama nerd inside will have a good time with it.

I haven’t read many young adult romances, but this was definitely one of the cutest and most fun. It’s got fake dating (my fav) and enemies to lovers, which was not annoying, but more snarky and playful. That is what made me love Nathan and Riley’s fake relationship so much. The book lives up to its title, with the mashup of Dungeons & Dragons talk and musical references since Riley is a theatre geek. I have never played Dungeons & Dragons before, but reading this book really makes me want to give it a try.

The people Nathan and Riley were trying to make jealous were, of course, the two most annoying secondary characters, but I loved all the other ones, especially when new friendships and relationships developed between them all.

This was incredibly cute and right up my alley. Musical theatre, D&D, board games, role playing, new found group of friends, Monty python, repairing parental relationships, driving adventures, and a trope I’m new to - fake dating. This book took me back to high school in the most wonderful way. Could my love for playing D&D grow even more? It may just have.

I will 1000000% get this for my school library and recommend it to all the YA romcom fans I know! This book is about nerdy stuff (DnD, drama, gaming, fandom in general), but its charm will resonate with anyone who enjoys a good romantic comedy. I greatly appreciated that the spice level—while still swoony, don't get me wrong—was quite tame. I'll be able to recommend this book to younger middle school students, which doesn't happen very often with romance books!

This book is just FREAKIN' ADORABLE! Read it now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC of this book that has brightened my week so much.

I am a dork. I read, play video games, play board games, and wish I knew enough people to play D&D. So when I was looking for romance books to read, this absolutely caught me. Total cover choice. Sometimes those go well, and sometimes you're left wishing the cover and insides matched.

This was so much fun! A girl steals mom's car to see a musical. As punishment, she has to work at her dad's board game store. She pretends she's seeing someone to save face with her ex, which ends up causing her to make a deal with nerdy classmate and store employee; they pretend to date to help her while making his crush jealous.

Sounds like a plot to an 80s/90s romcom movie, and even though I'm not much of a romance reader, I love those silly movies so much. What made it even more enjoyable is I pretty much knew these characters in high school and my early 20s, so all these situations were more relatable, even when there were some moments that stretched believability for me - and there were a few, but it didn't take me away with the story, and helped the plot move along. Plus, what 80s/90s romcom doesn't have those moments either?

The characters are fleshed out really well so even the side characters have some strong personalities to them and I ended up enjoying their moments just as much as the the main characters. This is YA, but it is not written in a way that this can't be enjoyed by adults also, especially those who love certain movies like I do.

I’ll admit that I’m a little older than the target demographic for this novel, but I love occasionally reading young adult novels. The emotions are so pure and in the case of Dungeons and Drama, the plot was too cute. I enjoyed this novel very much! The story mixed humor, nerdiness, and great family dynamics. I felt for this cute teen girl who’s parents are divorced. She has drifted apart from her father and isn’t sure she can handle working in his store, which she sees as the catalyst for her parents divorce. When she enters that gaming universe she’s definitely a fish out of water which creates some pretty funny scenarios. Her interactions with Nathan and the other boys who game D&D in the back room are pretty great, the dialog is spot on and so funny!

The romance portion of this novel was very sweet and totally PG. A lot of young adult novels read like an adult romance but in this novel the heat was very mild and was totally appropriate for young readers. In fact, I was so surprised at the emotions this novel wrung out of me considering my age in comparison with the demo target. This author did a great job of writing for all ages!

If you love sweet romances that make you reminisce about your high school days, pick up this novel! The writing was great and the story was fun and engaging. You can’t ask for much more than that!

This is a really sweet clean romance!

Riley loves theater. When her choices (driving to the city without a license to see a show) get her in trouble, her mom "punishes" her by making her work at her dad's game shop. To make her life worse, her school decides to cut the spring musical. What can she do to bring back the school musical, stop working at the boring game store, and show her ex boyfriend she's moved on? One way is starting to fake date Nathan, who works at her dad's store and goes to her school. Nathan benefits as well, as he is crushing on Sophia, who is part of the store's weekly D&D game.

But fake dating can lead to real feelings for both of them. When Riley gets everything she wants, what will she decide to do?

This book was fun to read as the mom of a teen D&D player! It is full of great friendships, and the romance is so sweet. People looking for clean romances for teens will love this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

*Actual rating is 4.5 stars*

Dungeons and Drama is a light hearted YA contemporary, about a girl who is forced to work at her dads Board Games shop after being grounded. What starts out as a punishment, slowly turns into something more when Riley discovers that TTRPGs and theater aren’t completely different things. As a board game nerd this book was such a delightful read. It really showed the joy and fun that comes with playing board games. Especially having a DnD character that you get into with heart and soul.

Speaking of the DnD in this book. It’s essentially a nerdy found family plot in this book. As Riley becomes part of a DnD group that regularly plays in the shop, it just results in this really sweet friendship group that is always there for each other. Riley is the star of the show, or well book. She's a go-getter drama kid of the best kind. Her antics are just really fun and it adds so much charm to the story. She lightens the mood. Actually, the whole cast of characters are great, and I would love to be friends with all of them!

The books main point is the fake dating between Riley and her nerdy co-worker Nathan. He tries to woo a girl by being hard to get, while Riley is trying to show her ex she’s over him. The fake dating in this book is probably one of the best ones I’ve read. The reason for this is because Riley and Nathan constantly communicate about their boundaries. Which I appreciate. And the suspense of the whole “will they or won’t they really fall in love?” thing is still there.

Ya contemporary has been a genre that’s either hit or miss for me lately. The ones I enjoy are not focused on High School and being a 17-year old, but instead on storylines and characters that could have been set in a college or uni and the book would have been the same. Essentially they don’t feel juvenile. While in Dungeons and Drama there is a focus on the school musical, the core of the story is about a girl growing as a person and finding friends in the most unlikely places.

I genuinely think this book was made for me specifically. Fake dating? yes, please. Found family vibes? sign me up! Did I mention that I am a theatre major who DM's on the side? Everything about this book was tailor-made to my interests and I loved every second of it.

This book was the perfect way to start the year. I had just so much fun reading it! every other page had me giggling and kicking my feet like a little girl. The relationship that formed between Riley and Nathan was so fun and endearing that I had no choice but to root for them. and don't even get me STARTED on the D&D party. They were all so wonderful to read about, honestly, I would love to have books about each of them.

The plot and stakes both felt pretty on course with the setting. Sometimes I think fake-dating in a high school setting can get too dramatic or "dangerous" but this felt like it could be feasible. maybe. My only drawback about the book is that in the beginning, it felt a little cheesy with all the theatre references. Riley felt more like a freshman or sophomore than a senior. However, once the plot got started, that all fell away and I got hooked.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for scenes where the MC's friends come through and help them finish something important to them, bonus points if the love interest is in charge of the effort. This one really caught my heartstrings, not just because of all the friend's help but also the support from the adults at the gaming store. Seeing them come together to support Riley made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like she had found her people.

I loved this book, and I am so glad I got to experience my high-school theatre days again (even if just in a book).

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.

This thoroughly enjoyable YA romance manages to be an homage to gamer nerds AND to musical theatre kids, a combo that I would have thought impossible. It all comes together in Riley, a hard-working high schooler who is determined to make her musical theatre dreams real...until the program is axed at school. Meanwhile, she is expected to put in time working at her dad's game shop.

I relished the friendships in this book. I adored Riley's introduction to the gamer geek world, and how much she ended up appreciating it. I especially loved the chemistry between Riley and Nathan as they bristle a bit, then become friends through fake dating, which becomes real when they both turn out to be true friends for one another. It's not all about chemistry--which is there--but the real side of friendship and relationship: trust and belief in one another.