A cute ya story that features many facets of geek culture why displaying how teenagers actually act. Riley and Nathan brought out the best in each other while actually being honest about their feelings. The YA genre needs more cutsey stories like this!

Kristy Boyce has done it again! This was a sweet and entertaining read. Aspiring director Riley desperately wants to save her school musical. Her problem? She’s been grounded and forced to work at her semi-estranged father’s gaming store. With fake dating, Dungeons & Dragons, and plenty of theater references, this book appeals to both teens and adults alike. The main focus is definitely on Riley’s situationship with Nathan, but there’s also excellent development in Riley’s relationship with her father and in the friend group that comes together.

I am not well-versed in D&D, but it was explained well enough that I could follow along and enjoy the story.

Thank you to Netgalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Riley is grounded after her impulsivity made her drive without a license just so she could watch a musical. Now she'll need to work with her father at the store she blames for her parents divorce and for how distant her relationship became with him. That's where she meets Nathan. They can't get along when he seems to have be closer to her father than her, but his name is so in her head it's his name she spurts when she wants to prove to her ex-boyfriend she's moved on and is seeing someone new.

Maybe I'm not really inspired to write a reasonable summary, but the story is pretty straightforward. Riley needs to mend her relationship with her father while getting to know Nathan better. And this book was a super light read, I loved the good feeling it would bring me whenever I opened it. Still, I must say this was more of a 3.5 rounded up to 4 than a solid 4.

As I said it's a good read. But maybe all those tropes together obfuscated each other? There isn't a feeling of a lot going on, but a lot was indeed going on: Riley wants to save her school's musical from being cut from the budget, she starts participating in Nathan's RPG group in order to make some other girl jealous for him, there is her broken relationship with her father too, and her lying to her parents since she wasn't supposed to be directing a play after school when she was grounded so she'd see a world outside the theater, and there are the side characters. I promise the book isn't this overwhelming, but all this mix took out a little of the emotion. Nathan and Riley are great together, but their feelings develop in the middle of so much I didn't have time to cheer them on until it was too late to cheer for anything. Most of the happenings that were supposed to be memorable became a little bland. I can't say what could have improved the experience, but it could have been better.

My other problem was with Riley herself. She does change in relation to her father, but I'm not so sure she herself changed with this journey. Didn't things just start to conspire in her favor, instead? Plus, she wasn't unbearable, but something about her was mildly irritating. She was lucky her rival was so much worse. But I'm not so sure what's the lesson to get from this despite the ending making us feel as if we should have learned something. There's the father part, but I think she'd have chosen the same before too.

Still, it's worth your time. The characters are great,there is a general feel good going on, and it's probably what made this such a light read. I liked the writer's style and I'd love to read more of her books.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I was excited to read this book just from the cover. Dungeons and Dragons and musicals? That is basically my whole identity. It’s also fake dating which is my favorite trope!

I thought the book was really great. You can tell that Boyce is a true fan of both D&D and Musicals. She captured those aspects of the story very well. The friendship, and budding romance, of Nathan and Riley was incredibly sweet. I just wanted to scream the whole time cause they were so cute and so aloof to the fact that they liked each other. I enjoyed the dynamic of the rest of their group as well. The way they came together in the end had me in tears.

Riley, at times, frustrated me as the narrator. She didn’t think much outside of herself and musicals in the beginning which plays a large part in her growth throughout the book. Nathan also frustrated me with his crush on a girl that was clearly using him. I know it is for the plot but it made me want to scream.

I love a good YA romance and this one hit all the marks for me. It was incredibly heartwarming and just overall a good time!

Thank you NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Kristy Boyce for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a really cute young adult book that follows our main character Riley. She starts working at her dad's store and meets Nathan while learning more about gaming. They agree to a deal to make his crush jealous but end up with more feelings towards one another than they planned. This book is adorable and combines a lot of interesting subjects, such as drama and gaming, to make a realistic and heartwarming romance. I recommend it!

Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours, Random House/Delacorte and Kristy Boyce for an advance copy of this!

This book will be published on January 9th.

"Guys don't tend to skip their favorite things unless they really like a girl."

My gosh. I absolutely adored this book! It was totally swoony worthy and I just absolutely loved Riley and Nathan!
This is my first Kristy Boyce book and if her other YA books are like this, then I need them!

Riley gets in trouble and has to work at her dad's game store. She has always giving a side eye to the store as she believes the store was the reason for her parents divorce. After what turns out to be a misunderstanding meet cute, Nathan and her team up to fake date. in order to make the ones they want jealous. Riley wants to try to win her ex back and Nathan wants to get the attention of fellow gamer Sophia. What Riley was not expecting is how INTO fake dating Nathan would actual get (I was even surprised myself).

I loved the banter between Riley and Nathan and those small moments that as a teen would had me soaring. Nathan is such a cheerleader for Riley and you can tell just how head over heels he is for her. I love hearing Riley's inner monologue when they were "acting" and when her feelings were starting to develop. Anytime they were together it just made me smile and their car ride conversations just were so sweet.

The friendships in this group were top notch. It reminded me of the friend group in Stranger Things without all the fighting/monsters. They just had each other backs and when someone needed help, they all pitched in to help. There is a moment towards the end where this really stood out and just made my heart so happy. This is also a tale for any age to try something new because you never know what you may be missing out on!

I did not do this review justice but trust me I just loved it so much!! And if you need something light, fluffy, swoony YA, with table top role playing game, and theater - read this book!

I loved everything about this! Between the music theatre and D&D this was a wonderful read. I enjoy both of these topics so having them merged together was a treat!

I loved Nathan's friend group so much. It was nice seeing the diverse personalities mixed together especially when they're participating in a campaign. Riley's tenacity was inspiring when it came to making sure her school musical wasn't cut.

Nathan and Riley's fake dating was adorable. I wish this was a dual pov just so I knew what was going on in Nathan's head.

A great YA novel. Recommend!

Dungeons and Drama was perfection. I even joked with Prince Consort B that it was a little like us: me, a show tunes lover and him, a DND player. His response “eh.” Thanks Babe.

But I digress.

There was so much to Dungeons and Drama. Riley’s complicated relationship with her divorced parents; her developing fake relationship with Nathan; the support from all the “nerdy outcasts.” I really felt like I could see Riley’s growth. While she was still very dedicated to the spring musical and bringing it to life, you’re able to see her open her heart to her bumbling father and the DND group. She may not understand the game, but she eventually understands the togetherness and “found family” that it becomes.

Nathan was the perfect enemies-to-lovers fake boyfriend and he turns up the swoon.

Overall, Dungeons and Drama was sweet and lighthearted and such an adorable read. I loved it so much and can’t wait for more from this author.

Thank you to Delacorte Press for the review copy.

This was a cute and funny YA romance and I really enjoyed the theater girl and gamer boy aspect. The romance between the two was sweet with the fake dating trope. The side characters were also fun and enjoyable. I loved how we go to see them all together playing D&D and even a side character love interest. Thanks to netgalley, Penguin randomhouse, and Kristy Boyce for the eArc.

I adored this book from the first page! It was completely adorable and had the best kind of high school released drama. I'm always a sucker for fake dating and this was no exception. All of the D&D details were wonderful especially the dice buying scene and the fact that Nathan's character has the same name as one of my TTRPG characters! So many parts of this book took me back to high school in the best way (including my high school best friend's full name being in the book)! I am so happy I read this and hope others enjoy it as much as I did!

I wasn't expecting to adore this book as much as I did! The storyline was not typically something I would gravitate or relate to, but I found myself drawn to these characters and not wanting to put it down! Thank you for the arc! Happy almost pub day!!

I received a copy of this book as an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher.

What an adorable cinnamon roll of a book with the sweetest little HEA! As someone who loves boardgaming, and enjoys musicals, this was just so geeky, so sweet, so fun, and just the best palette cleanser too.

Riley gets punished for sneaking out to see a musical without permission, and her punishment is to work in the board game store her father runs for the next 8 weeks. While there she meets Nathan, a tall, broody, nerdy guy who works at the store. Then Riley's ex comes into the store and she blurts out that she's dating Nathan, so as not to make her ex think she's pathetic. And also Nathan has a crush on a girl, so they decide to fake date each other to make his crush jealous and want her too.

What ensues is a very predictable but very fun, sweet, and supportive story of friendships, passions, family, and being your authentic self. I highly recommend this quick read if you're feeling slumpy, or if you love musicals and board games.

This book makes me want to fall to my knees in the street and scream “it’s perfect” at the sky. The fake dating was absolutely perfect. The jealousy! The “fake” endearments! The kissing! I eat the trope up every single time GOBBLE GOBBLE BARK BARK.

Thank you to the Publisher for my arc!

Okay i will admit this was definitely one of those books where i had to remind myself that its YA and i shouldn't judge it too harshly but after finishing it. I actually really enjoyed it.

5/5 ⭐️
Five stars!! I had an amazing time reading this book. It took me a little longer to read than it should, only because I kept jumping up and down and giggling. Well except for the times I wanted to punch her Zac Efron wannabe ex-boyfriend.
This story was absolutely adorable. And perfect for me. We had a musical theater girlie who has to work at her dad’s gaming shop as punishment but then finds herself joining in on the D&D games hosted there by a few of her classmates. But mix in fake dating. It was great. It was soooo cute! Though, I will admit, the one slightly unrealistic thing was the love interest’s moves. He was too smooth! Where did he learn these moves. However, that being said, I swooned. I swooned so hard at all his moves. I would’ve jumped him a whole lot sooner than she did. From move one, I was a goner.
I highly recommend this book. Especially for anyone who finds themselves emotionally invested in these kind of teen romcoms, like the Summer I Turned Pretty and etc. I promise it will put you ins good mood.
Thank you to NetGalley and PenguinRandom House Publishing Group for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

I read this in one sitting it was so stinkin cute.

The knowledge I have about D&D is just what they bring up in Stranger Things so I was happy to see some references (if on purpose or not). I loved Riley's love for broadway and musicals and the journey of her really coming into her own was lovely to see.

I loved the found family aspect of this one and exploring Riley's strained relationship with her dad. It was nice to see neither parent painted in a bad light. They both try to be a part of her life as well as they can be and clearly want what's best for her.

The fake dating was A+. Riley and Nathan's relationship was so cute. Seeing them become freinds to lovers and of course having to work out the "I have feelings but they're probably faking" trope was funny, heartwarming, and just a joy to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

I rated this book 3.5 stars! It’s definitely amazing if you’re looking for a YA read! There was no spice, just some kissing! It was a sweet romance and if you like school theater vibes or gaming vibes, this would be a good read for you. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC! I’d read another book by this author!

I just finished this book last night, and I can't stop thinking about it. Was it perfect? No. Does it need a bit of editing? Yes. But was it adorable for my older heart? Also yes.

I'm a millennial, who sometimes likes to read a young adult romance. It soothes my brittle, world weary soul. I need escapism and this provided it. It was exactly what I needed. I also love board games and step my toes into video games (just finished BG3, very apropos) so the book called to me.

Yes, there were some weird parts (to me) where we were told the physical description of each person, which I felt was a little forced, kinda the opposite of show not tell. And some loose threads that I thought would be tied up but weren't. Okay, and also, I thought how FMC treated her dad in the beginning was pretty bad; a bit of brainwashing from the mom.

Overall though, this was a cute, light read, not a lot of (non-theater) drama and would pick up more of the author's books in the future.

Probably one of my fave YA books I’ve ever read. I LOVED every character. Fake dating, found family, nerd/musical theater, everything I want in a YA book. I’ve had this ARC in my kindle library for months and put off reading thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it, I was WRONG. I finished it in less than 24 hours because I could not stop reading.

Kristy Boyce’s Dungeons and Drama is a fantastic YA romance, a fake dating story, and a tribute to all things D&D and musical theater.

After an ill-conceived (and illegal) trip with her best friend Hoshiko to see Waitress—a trip that involved “borrowing” her mom’s car and driving hours away without a license—Riley is sentenced to a life without extracurriculars, working in her dad’s gaming store every day after school. This punishment is extreme: Riley and her dad haven’t had much of a relationship since her parents’ divorce, she hates gaming, and her extracurriculars are the center of her world. But it’s what she has to do if she wants to be released from her banishment from society in time for the musical, for which she is determined to earn a position as student director.

At first, her time at the story confirms all of her fears: she doesn’t understand gaming, the other employee (Nathan) is a jerk, and her relationship with her father is as distant as ever. Her situation begins to change when an awkward run-in with her ex and his new girlfriend leads her to proclaim that she’s also in a relationship . . . with Nathan.

What ensues is a quid pro quo with Nathan: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend to save face with her ex, and she’ll act like she’s head over heels for him as a way to attract his crush, a fellow D&Der who only wants what she can’t have.

Soon, those fake feelings begin to feel more real, at least for Riley.

I enjoyed so much about Boyce’s world here: she describes the passion of devotees everywhere, finding the commonalities between the worlds of gaming and musical theater as Riley performs her way through a D&D campaign as a bard and Nathan and his friends pitch in to help Riley and Hoshiko save the musical (which the school is trying to cancel). Riley is also working on her relationship with her father, and I appreciated the way each comes to appreciate the other’s passion. As both a big fan of musical theater and the mother of a devoted D&D player, it was fun to see the creativity and passion of both realms represented here.