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.

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.