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.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

Okay, tbh, I didn't like it at the beginning because it was a slow start but once the fake dating takes off...WHEW. I was drawn to this with the combination of games (board games, DnD, etc.) and the personality of Riley...along with the whole musical thing and the 6000000 other niche interests this book hits. I love Riley and Nathan and their scheme, but I also liked how much of this was about Riley personally too, especially her relationship with herself AND her divorced parents. This was a quick read, and I hit a point where I didn't want to put it down. I deducted a star because of some things that happen after the whole "oh shoot fake dating turned into liking each other" because like....well, the l-bomb and I'm like seriously?? Also, yeah, it took a while to get into it...but it was TOTALLY worth it.

This book has become my entire personality for the rest of the year. Dnd and musical theater? Tell me what better mix is there?!
I hadn't enjoyed a YA contemporary this much in a while. If I had to pick two words to describe the entirety of Dungeons and Drama, I would say: Funny and Cute.
That's it. But like, extremely funny and cute.
This book is everything a romantic comedy should be, it did everything right.
Our main character is ambitious, driven and headstrong, she is passionate and works hard for what she wants, she is a visionary and a dreamer and I just want all her dreams to come true. She was very relatable and fun, and yet she was most definitely not perfect (which made her more relatable and fun). She was judgmental and proud, and her development throughout the story was very enjoyable.
She is a teen with divorced parents. Her relationship with her mom was extremely endearing and enjoyable to me, I loved seeing them share a hobby and obsession and it felt super relatable. The one with her dad was very complicated. I really liked the development of that dynamic as well, while I was on her side 100%, I really loved her dad and thought he was a great character who got an amazing arc and he was such an endearing human. It ended at a very satisfying point.
As for our other main character, he is the cutest boy alive, and I mean that so sincerely. He is likable, realistic and layered. He is also extremely passionate about what he likes and he's a great friend.
Their relationship starts off with them kind of hating each other but I appreciated that it didn't feel drawn out. We see them get to know each other more and become real friends, and that was beautiful.
Now, the angst of friends to lovers fake dating was definitely there and it was EXQUISITE. I loved their chemistry, tension and their moments together.
And finally, this book had so many moments that had me smiling like a fool that I think were so well done and relatable. Her sitting down to play and not even five minutes in being like "Why had I not played this game before? Everyone would love this game!"
Then her getting her own beautiful set of dice for the first time and all the emotions she felt with that?! Every dice goblin origin story! Her defending bards against another player? Hell yes.
And the movie nights with her mom, or them singing Hamilton in tha car.... chef's kiss.
I will say, I am annoyed by how it seemed that the only female dnd player (who wasn't a newbie coming in with slight judgment of it) was the "other" girl who was kind of a dick and not really that invested in the game. I wish we'd gotten better rep of that.
But nonetheless, this is simply a book that made me genuinely extremely happy and I think everyone should read it, teens and adults. You'll find something good here.

Omg this was seriously the cutest YA romance!!! I loved the musical references and the fact that they played D&D!! It was just such a fun geeky story and I absolutely loved it!!!

I so badly wanted to love this one and a lot of the pieces definitely worked for me. For context, I'm both a D&D player and a drama nerd. I LOVED the dynamic of the D&D group and the game shop as a setting. My biggest frustration was definitely Riley. Living in her headspace was just not it for me, even though she did grow on me towards the end. Overall, 3.5-4 stars and one I wouldn't mind giving a second read.

Since I saw the cover of this book I knew I wanted to read it! It was such a fun, light and cute read. It truly had me bursting out laughing in some parts and just screaming in others.
Honestly, the characters and the plot were just both amazing and don't even get me started on how bad I was swooning over Nathan. I think I have given him a piece of my heart that I will never take back. And Riley doesn't stay far behind. I loved how passionate she was and how she wanted her dreams to come true. All of that determination and resilience just gave the book even more of an essence and I really loved that.
I really enjoyed reading this book, it had all my attention and it was just so engaging. I had both my feet in the air when the whole plot of the fake dating started, there's nothing that I love more than a good fake relationship woohoo.
Anyways, this is an amazing book and you should go read it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Y'all this was so cute. It was cute and funny but also very serious at times. My husband's a lifelong D&Der (never a LARPer though) and I love acting but not improv so I never could get into it. We play with my nephew but I don't play in any of my husband's groups. Anywho, I really enjoyed this book! If you're a nerd or nerd adjacent, you'll enjoy it too! The cover is cute but why didn't they use the ampersand?!?!????

An absolutely adorable nerdy story filled with laughter, tears, and romance! Perfect for fans of romance, ttrpgs, and enemies to lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

Fake dating, high school, musical theatre nerd fmc, gamer mmc, jealously pact, top tier banter, pop tarts, dnd group, coworkers to friends to lovers,

I am absolutely obsessed with this book! THIS is the YA romance book I have been waiting for! All the relationships, friendships and romantic, are handled beautifully and feel true to a high school, teenage environment. It was also a hilarious book, there were multiple times I just had to stop reading and laugh at what was going on or cringe at the behavior, but let’s be real, we all did cringy stuff as teenagers.

My biggest concern when starting this book was how large a part dungeons and dragons (dnd) would play in the plot. I have never played it myself, nor do I know much about it. How it is handled in this book is wonderful, it’s described just enough to where to where you know what’s happening in the moment and you can follow, but it’s not information dumping on you. One of my favorite scenes is when Nathan buys Riley a set of her dice, which I know is a very big deal in the dnd realm because the dice are basically a representation of the player. I knew from that scene that he was a goner and we were just waiting for Riley to catch up.

Also, I also would’ve stolen my mom’s car and illegally drive to see my favorite musical. Luckily, I have my own car and license.