This one was fun. I liked the MCs a lot and it was so sweet to watch them go from irritation to friendship to more.

Things I love that you might also love:

🎲 Fake dating
🎲 D&D campaigns
🎲 The friendships!
🎲 the father/daughter relationship
🎲 Musical references

I just loved how their friendship turned into more, SO STINKING MUCH. Riley isn’t a super likable heroine at first because she seems so closed minded about her dad and about the gaming shop, but as she opens up to it and learns more she becomes more likable. Nathan is so funny, and I love the side characters. Definitely recommend this one.

what can i say besides i absolutely loved this???? there is the perfect balance of joy, anxiety, romanticism, and even teenage annoyance here. i felt attacked with the teenage musical references bc i was in fact that cringey at one point. i have absolutely no qualms with this book, and any i did have were resolved by the end of the novel. i just know my 16 year old self would have been OBSESSED with this.

i loved the inclusion of dnd and would have loved even more game inclusion, but that’s just me<3

Dungeons and drama by Kristy Boyce is a hilariously modern YA rom com full of tropes like fake dating that starts from a dream of Broadway! Riley is MC and lives for the theater world. Until her ex shows up and she tells him she is in a relationship with Nathan (grumpy/might be enemy-ish) while serving her punishment from her parents. Do you remember going to game shops or retro video game stores and feel at home? Making the best friendships with the people you feel out with there? This book READS LIKE IT. I to this day still loving going to retro video game stores it feels like my home away from home. Thank you thank you thank you from the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this beautiful YA Rom-Com!

This was a super cute book! It was such a perfect YA book. I wish I was still teaching so I could recommend this to my theater kids and DnD fanatics. The characters are such teenagers (and I mean that in the best way).

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Romance and nerdy stuff are two of my favorite things so I got really excited when I saw this book. I loved all the mentions of nerdy stuff and getting to see the characters play Dungeons and Dragons.

Riley is a musical and theater nerd who ends up getting grounded and her punishment is to work at her dad’s game store (this sounds like a dream instead of a punishment to me). She’s dreading working there because she has no interest in games. Her classmate Nathan also works there and isn’t looking forward to have her there. They end up fake dating so he can catch the eye of the girl he’s been crushing on and to prove to Riley’s ex boyfriend that she’s moved on. We all know how this will explode in their faces.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dungeons and Dragons? And fake dating? Sign me up!

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce is a YA contemporary about musical lover Riley, who has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she's grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop. Riley can't waste her time working when she has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan—a nerdy teen employee—to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous. But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn't require as much acting as she would've thought...

I'm not always the biggest fan of contemporary novels, but this one hit all the right marks. And I mostly blame on it on the fact that DnD plays a significant role. The characters are perfect, if not a little over the top at times. But the romance was swoony and the vibes were all there. This is one of the rare novels that got the whole nerd boy meets theater girl, actually right.

4.5/5 D20s

Dungeons and Drama is a cute, nerdy romance for lovers of slow-burn, fake-dating romances and fans of theatre and/or D&D. Riley, a theatre kid, is punished with working at her dad’s game store where she meets Nathan, a D&D nerd. They hatch a plan to fake-date to make Riley’s ex jealous and get Nathan’s crush’s attention.
This book has my two favorite special-interests: D&D and Broadway musicals. So much of the book was just about the characters being nerds, and I adored every moment of it. Truthfully, it felt like the romance—while it was adorable and great—was more of a B-plot to the characters’ hobbies.
The development of Riley’s relationship with her parents (they’re divorced, she’s not very close with her dad) was done really well. It was paced well, so we didn’t feel like it changed too quickly or too slowly.
My main complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed in the romance department. The plot wrapped up well, but the romance conflict got resolved so quickly after such a slow-burn buildup. Otherwise, the romance was great.
I will definitely be reading Boyce’s other works (and if she could write a sequel about John and Jordan’s LARPing adventures, that would be great thanks :D)

“I’m unstoppable with you at my side.”

Thank you to netgalley and random house for this arc in exchange for an honest review.


This book initially appealed to me because its gorgeous cover and I loved the concept of the main characters being total opposites but finding solace in one another anyway. I also loved that dungeons and dragons was a huge selling point for this book and was intrigued to read more. The fake dating trope was just the cherry on top.

While this book seemed to target a bunch younger age group than the one I reside in, I was able to look past this aspect as I believe all age levels can find joy in this novel. There are characteristics I believe appeal to everyone. I had such a fun time reading this one and losing myself to the world of musicals and gaming. As someone who as always wanted to play dungeons & dragons but has yet to, this was an enjoyable way to immerse myself into the world of roleplaying without being initially overwhelmed. You follow the characters as they play a campaign and these were among some of my favorite scenes.

On the other hand, Riley is a big musical lover and it’s interesting to get a behind the scenes look at that world along with some great musical references. Who doesn’t love the les mis soundtrack?! This book also deals with some more in depth themes while still being lighthearted. Riley’s parents have divorced and she has trouble connecting with her father. As someone who has suffered from a distant relationship with my own father, I found solace in this.

Overall this is the perfect fun, lighthearted read perfect for high schoolers and beyond who love romance, friendship and found family.

In the midst of a reading slump, I am SO glad I picked up these quick, fun, YA romcom involving some of my favorite themes... D&D and musical theater!

I loved so many things about this book! I read it within 24 hours because it was so light and fun - once I picked it up I didn't want to stop! I really enjoyed the fake dating trope used between our two main characters and the found family between all the side characters as well. I loved the relationship growth between Riley and her dad, especially set within the backdrop of her dad's gaming shop. Riley grows from thinking gaming is a dumb hobby to seeing the value in the gaming community. I also loved the high school vibes - like the kids getting ready for homecoming... lunch room scenes... etc! So much fun (:

My only complaint - as a D&D lover, I would have enjoyed even more scenes of them playing! But that's just my personal preference. It didn't take away from the book at all!

HIGHLY recommend this for a heartwarming and fun YA romcom!

This was so goddamn adorable my cheeks hurt from smiling.
Just when I think I'm aging out of the YA genre for good, Kristy Boyce writes a book that was MADE for 15 year old me. President of the drama club, weekly D&D playing, awkward teenage me.
This tugged on all my heart strings, I loved every character, I loved every flirt. I loved every silly nonsense situation that could've been solved by a conversation and a moment of honesty from either party.

Theater kid Riley has Broadway directorial aspirations. A big part of her plan is to bring back her high school's spring musical, but when she takes out her mom's car without permission, not only is she grounded but also has to work after-school at her dad's game shop. Nerdy teen Nathan is an employee at her dad's game shop. They strike a deal-Riley will flirt with Nathan to make his gamer-girl crush jealous, and Nathan will cover her shifts and flirt back to get Riley's ex-boyfriend off her back.

Enjoyed this read more than I thought I would! Gaming plus theater = a perfect recipe for a teen romance. I appreciated how the similarities in gaming and theater are highlighted. I'm not a gamer myself, so I felt like I was getting an insight on D&D, and I liked the musical theater references. Overall, fun, light read!

Very cute! Really brought me back to my high school theatre days. A bit of a baby's first fake dating trope, the characters are 15/16 in age range so on the younger side of YA romance. This book is FULL of musical theatre and TTRPG/Nerdy references, perfect for any teen who wants to get into the romance genre while staying age-appropriate.

The teen drama is REAL, but I really like how low the stakes are. It's a cute, cozy read with a fun lil romance perfect for your inner theatre kid. Riley is unashamedly herself and Nathan is a loveable snarky grump. I liked the divorced parent dynamic, it added some layers to Riley's character and I enjoyed the development of the family relationship. I wish we could have learned more about Nathan's background, but the book is pretty short so I get why not too much was said.

Wish I could have rated this higher, but I think I am a bit old for the writing style. I feel like my 15yr old self would have said this is her favorite romance though, and that says a lot. Worth a read if you need something happy, cute and loveably cringe :)

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It's crazy to me that Dungeons and Dragons is making such a resurgence, but I can definitely see this book being popular at my library! I would definitely recommend it to my patrons for sure.

Thank you to Random House Children's Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This was a book for me as it combines several of my nerdy interests including board games and musicals. Enemies to lovers is such a cute trope to me and I did enjoy Riley and Nate's relationship evolution. Snappy read with a lot of nerd content that I really enjoyed. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a light read that doesn't take itself too seriously. The story's pacing was solid, but I felt like the fake dating aspect got really messy and confusing. While that is arguably a part of the trope, it seemed even more convoluted in this particular story because the love interest was into another girl and trying to get her attention at the same time. The reason behind why these characters decided to fake-date felt contrived as usual; even though the main character's reason to have a fake boyfriend seemed somewhat reasonable, the love interest agreeing solely to make his crush jealous felt way too convenient. Overall, while this story was not very memorable to me, learning how to play Dungeons & Dragons was, and I'm glad I finally understand that game!

A cute enemies-to-lovers, fake dating romance! Riley is being forced to work at her dad's gaming store as a punishment, and she is not happy about it or her new coworker Nathan. After an embarrassing run-in with her ex-boyfriend, Riley pretends her and Nathan are an item, and offers to flirt with him to make his crush jealous if he keeps up the ruse. Soon she has joined his Dungeons and Dragons game, and to her surprise, she likes it. As her and Nathan grow closer, she starts to wonder how much they are faking and how much is real.

This is a cute little rom-com, perfect for gamers and musical theater lovers!

Dungeons and Drama was a delight to tandem read/listen to!

Riley has big dreams in the world of musical theater. While those dreams have been semi-dashed working in her dad's gaming store, she won't let the setback stop her. She's destined to save the school musical with a little help from Dungeons and Dragons player Nathan.

Dungeons and Drama is my favorite Kristy Boyce to date! I enjoyed the relationship growth between Riley and her father as the story progressed and the musical theater references. Nathan's character arc was pretty relatable along with Kristy's descriptions of Ohio roads. Every time I read a book with Dungeons and Dragons, I gain a little more respect for the game and intrigue. While some of the miscommunication was irritating in the last half, I ended the book with a smile on my face. Eva Kaminsky's narration was spot on and made the reading experience enjoyable!

Thank you PRH Audio and Random House Children's for my alc and earc in exchange for my honest review.

This was so freakin adorable! If I could give this a millions stars, I would in a heartbeat.

Everything about this book was perfect. The characters were incredible. The romance was so freakin sweet it melted my heart. I cannot and will not stop gushing over this book.

If you’re looking for a sweet nerdy romance to start off the New Year then I highly recommend picking this one up on January 9th!

Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the e-arc!

This was such a fun read. I liked that it included a lot of different "nerdy" elements they are fully enjoyed. The MC is able to challenge her perspectives and the fake dating hijinks are a lot of fun. I think this was an excellent read! It was charming and heart-warming all around.

An adorable and engaging YA romance about 2 seemingly opposite teenagers. I really enjoyed this one! The pacing was perfect, the characters were nice, and I just loved Nathan. The development of Riley and Nathan's relationship was perfect, and I'm so impressed overall with this. I highly recommend!