This book was heckin' cute. I'm not a musical theater person. I enjoy some of it, but I'm far from being an enthusiast, and I've never played D&D. All that aside I still enjoyed this book. The characters behaved like teenagers, which was a nice change from how teenage characters in other YA contemporary romance books I've read in the past. Although, I don't know exactly how old they are supposed to be, 17 I think?

I didn't really like Riley much for most of the book. She didn't have a lot of depth to her personality until she started getting more hobbies. I didn't do theater in school, but it's healthy to have more than one hobby. Even the theater kids at my school played sports or were in band or choir in the "off-season" of a school play. Some did all three. She also didn't seem to understand the weight of her actions that got her grounded. I know she's a teenager, but I also think she's old enough to know what the law is.

I liked Nathan as a character a little more than Riley, even if he was initially hung up on a girl who wasn't into him unless she could get something from him. I just found him to be slightly more mature than Riley in some aspects. I wish there had been POV chapters for him. I think it would have enhanced the story to see things from his perspective. I don't like just seeing one side of stories like this.

They were cute together though, before they were both willing to admit how they felt, I thought they were cute. Great foils for each other. They balanced each other out. I am much older than the target demographic, but I think this book is good for anyone who likes light-hearted romance, and it's great for teens.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This was such a cute book! I had so much fun while I was reading this that I didn't want to stop once I started. I loved all of the characters. They were all so distinct and the dynamic between everyone in the friend group was great. I really liked how unapologetically herself Riley was.

I loved Nathan and Riley so much! They were absolutely adorable and had amazing chemistry together. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and I thought it was done so well in this book. I constantly found myself smiling whenever I would read a scene with Nathan and Riley.

I loved this book so much and I'm really looking forward to reading more of Kristy's books in the future.

I absolutely adored Dungeons & Drama! It was sweet & cozy and i absolutely love a good fake dating storyline. It’s so refreshing reading a clean YA rom com with well written characters and a plot that flows and makes sense. And even though the plot was predictable and still enjoyed absolutely every minute of it because it was so well done!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for the chance to read this early!

This was a super sweet and fun nerdy YA romance that I wish I had when I was younger. As both a musical theater nerd and a game nerd this book immediately grabbed my interest! This was a great combination of fake dating and fun d&d scenes. Boyce does an amazing job at making the characters feel real and make their choices (while silly) make sense for the characters and the story as a whole! I really had a fun time reading this!

Much thanks to NetGalley and Random House Childrens Books for the ARC of 'Dungeons And Drama' in exchange for an honest review.
As a lifelong theater buff, fantasy game-movie-book-buff, and hopeless romantic, this book had me at hello on multiple levels.
Pure sweet fun all the way with every imaginable YA trope thrown in ..........the joys, and agonies of staging a high school musical, the heartaches of a child of divorce, a grounding punishment into an unlikely job, enemies-to-friends-to-much-more, and of course, a fake dating scenario that inevitably backfires on its participants
Riley's the theater kid with directing dreams forced to work for her estranged, divorced dad, in his store devoted to games like Dungeons and Dragons Not only is she thrust into a game culture she knows nothing of, Nathan, the store's invaluable number one employee immediately rubs her the wrong way. She's also hurting from her breakup with her one time school musical leading man Paul, and even more shaken by the school board cancelling any more musicals due to budgetary concerns.
Her life turns into whirlwind as she attempts to organize students into a mini-musical presentation to impress the board to rescind their decision. On top of that daunting task, she and Nathan fall into a fake dating scheme - for Riley to aggravate Paul who doesn't believe she has a real new boyfriend and for Nathan to generate attention from Sophie, a beautiful girl he's been crushing on. Yes, we know all too well how fake dating ends up, but it's the journey to the end that counts. Since we're rooting like crazy for Riley and Nathan, their stumbling, passive-aggressive and constantly conflicted road to romance becomes all the more endearing.
All these disparate plot elements (plus Riley's growing re-connection with her dad) come together.....as the theater kids and the D & D crowd (who realize they both share a love of high drama) all come together. No surprises whatsoever, but none needed, since reading 'Dungeons And Drama' is like setting down for an evening spent with good friends and bowls filled with your favorite snack. And that makes for a 5 star experience any time.

“Dungeons and Drama" by Kristy Boyce is a delightful romp that seamlessly combines the worlds of romance, gaming, and high school escapades. Riley, a musical aficionado grounded for taking her mom's car without permission, finds herself navigating an unexpected twist of fate—working at her dad's game shop to serve her sentence. In an attempt to save her beloved high school musical, she strikes a deal with Nathan, a nerdy teen employee. Their agreement involves fake flirting to make Nathan's gamer-girl crush jealous, but the catch is joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game.

The chemistry between Riley and Nathan is like a fireworks show, and their journey from fake dating to maybe-it's-not-so-fake unfolds with humor, charm, and a touch of unexpected romance. Riley's character, portrayed in her own voice, feels authentic to the high school experience capturing the ups and downs of teenage emotions. I felt like I was back in high school myself at some points! Well, until Riley would drop a metaphorical bomb, like mentioning she was in elementary school when Hamilton had a cast recording or referring to music from the 80s as “oldies”. Oof! I get it, I’m no longer the intended audience.

While the story sparkles with humor and heart, there are a few notes to consider. Riley's musical theatre expertise occasionally seems more entry-level than one might expect from her proclaimed passion. Additionally, a subplot involving her parents' divorce feels somewhat unresolved, leaving room for further exploration.

Nevertheless, "Dungeons and Drama" is a fantastic read, especially for high schoolers who appreciate a blend of humor, romance, and the quirky charm of both gaming and theatre culture. Boyce has crafted a tale that celebrates the joy of embracing one's passions and finding unexpected connections in the most amusing of circumstances. Grab it for the laughs, the feels, and a healthy dose of both D&D and romance.

May your rolls be natural 20s, and your heart be as full as a Broadway audience on opening night!

Anyone who knows me knows I love fake-relationship tropes. Combine that with musical theater and D&D and I am sold. The sweetness of the relationship that develops between Riley and Nathan, as well as the friendships that develop between the characters made this a fun, satisfying read. The side story about Riley's relationship with her parents was likewise very well done, handling divorce and its fallout in a way that felt authentic and relatable. I will admit that I wasn't sure I would enjoy this one at the start, but once Riley joined the D&D campaign and found out about bards, I was sold. This one made me laugh and cry and though I got a little frustrated with the lack of communication between Riley and Nathan (and it being a cause for emotional angst), it felt authentic for the ages of the characters and the resolution was quite satisfying. Fun, light, but heartfelt. Recommended!

Thank you to Random House Delacorte and NetGalley for the opportunity to read early in exchange for a review of Dungeons and Drama.

I adore that this book showed the diversity in friend groups. Showed that being the real you, obsessed with whatever still gets you some amazing friends!
I knew absolutely nothing about theater or D&D going into this but it was still so fun! Seeing Nathan and Riley get closer was adorable!
The chapter headers are so cute too!
The only issue I had was some descriptions of the characters. One example is right after she saw Nathan for the first time she wrote about him going behind the counter and then said “It’s a white kid”… idk why that was thrown in, felt random and like she needed to point out the kid who took cards was white. Just threw me off a few times in the book!

This book is so much fun!!! Riley is a huge musical theater fan. She lives for the high school musicals each year and wants to be an assistant director. Nathan is a huge gamer, especially games like D&D. Nathan just so happens to work at Riley's dad's game shop. Riley has been punished for 2 months and made to work in her dad's store because she took her mom's car without permission and drove to "Waitress" the musical without a license.
Nathan and Riley don't hit it off at all. But when she needs Nathan to help her fake a relationship in front of her ex, things could become blurred.
I loved everything about this YA book. It is clean, funny and sweet.

As a former thespian and D&D player, I loved this book so much! There's theater, role-playing, supportive parents, and fake dating!

As punishment for taking her mom's car without permission (or a license) to go see a musical, Riley is being forced to work at her dad's gaming store with Nathan. Meanwhile, her school is cancelling the spring musical, and Riley has to figure out how to save it, even if that means enlisting the help of her ex. Nathan desperately wants Sophia's attention, and Riley wants to prove to Paul she's over him, so they concoct a fake dating scheme, but are they good enough actors to pull it off?

The story is so cute, and the friend group is phenomenal. I laughed multiple times. I even cried because of Riley's scare with her dad's health since I recently lost my dad to the same thing. I absolutely recommend this sweet, mostly lighthearted book and would definitely read another by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy.

When I started reading Dungeons & Drama, I was hoping for a fluffy YA that felt like a warm hug & left me feeling cozy and happy. This is literally just what I got but also paired with real emotion from characters who were relatable and honest.

I loved the chemistry between Riley and her mom& dad. It felt like a normal teenage relationship, where you just don’t know how honest you can be with your parents for fear of being judged. Where you don’t know quite know how you fit in or if they accept the things that you absolutely love.

I loved how they shared their D&D games and brought you into that world. I really loved the relationship between Riley and Nathan as their fake dating evolved to real feelings.

This was such a good read for someone who just wants a fun & enjoyable book that is also full of emotion.

I listened to the audio and really enjoyed Eva Kamisnky as the narrator. She had a lot of expression in her narration and really brought the story to life.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and thank you to Delacorte Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dungeons and Drama was absolutely adorable. A YA Romcom that will have you laughing and breezing through it but not ever wanting it to be over. This is my first book by Kristy Boyce but I see that she has 3 others in her backlist and I will definitely be checking those out!
In this our female FMC, Riley, has gotten in trouble and is now grounded. Her parents are divorced and while her parents do co-parent her punishment is to work at her gathers gaming store for 8 weeks. She is only to go to school, the store and home. Her parents are the only ones that will be driving her as well.
She has a deep love for anything musical theater related and this is initially what got her into trouble in the first place.

Our MMC is Nathan. He works at the store her father owns, he also goes to school with Riley. In an attempt to help Nathan win the attention and hopefully get a date with the girl he is crushing on Riley and Nathan Agree to fake date.
Now I will say fake dating is not my favorite trope.. but even though it is the main trope we see throughout this entire book I could not put it down. You put my favorite things in one book…gaming, musical theater. It had me laughing the entire time. I generally believe that this is a book I will be coming back to time and time again to reset when I am feeling like I am in a reading slump and just to have as another comfort read. I can’t wait to read more Kristy Boyce.

4.5 rounded down. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the eARC!

Dungeons and Drama was like a warm fluffy adorable puppy playing with a cute chick while a baby watches giggling. That’s me. I’m the giggling baby. 😂

This book was just so whimsical and cute and adorable. Our FMC, Riley, is so brilliantly confident and sure of herself and I loved that. I loved every second of her narration and her attitude. Nathan, our MMC, was the slightly cocky and a tad bit arrogant, but also loyal as heck gamer who felt like this little pixie was intruding into his world. The two just worked together splendidly.

I enjoyed the side characters as well but felt there were a lot for this short of a book: perhaps a bit too many. I wished we had gotten 50-60 more pages for these characters to develop more. I think for me that’s where this book fell a little flat (and where I need to not give it outright 5 stars.) it felt like the book lacked some of the substance I usually see in YA because of this and it was more straight romance.

There were also an immense amount of name-drops. I loved the board games, Magic, and all the ones that had to do with the store. I also loved alllll the musicals. All of that made perfect sense. But add to that, Monty Python? And not just referencing it but quoting it? It’s a little overboard and felt like Boyce was trying a bit too hard.

Overall though, obviously, I really REALLY enjoyed the book and I think most gamers and YA lovers will too!

This is such a sweet opposites attract YA novel. I was swooning over Riley and Nathan’s fake dating turned scheme. Very much looking forward to sharing this once it’s published!

Everything about this was my favorite. The quirkiness, the banter and overall nerdiness was just perfection. This book was written just for me I swear lol

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Super cute YA, fake-dating romance between a musical theater lover and a table top gamer.

I really enjoyed this fake dating/enemies to friends romance. I'm a musical theater lover and the parent to a gamer. We have always enjoyed where our interests intersect and sharing our fandoms with each other. I love the idea that people who are truly passionate about something, be it theater, music, books, or games, can connect even if they don't share the exact same passion. Despite initial hesitation, Riley and Nathan quickly develop a banter and relationship that makes sense. I also thought it was great that Riley figured out how to become comfortable in the gaming store and with her father.

This was a super quick, enjoyable read.

This was a fun YA fake dating romcom that sees a drama geek teen girl forced to work in her father's boardgame store after she 'borrows' the car without permission. I loved all the references to some of my fav tabletop games (ie Ticket to ride) plus the way that the FMC becomes caught up in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, learning to love it. Add in all the teen drama of a fake dating love triangle plus the drama of directing a school play and there was no end to entertaining antics. Good on audio too and recommended for fans of books like Roll for initiative by Jaime Formato (a middle grade D&D lovers book). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Musical lover Riley wants nothing more than to focus on the upcoming spring musical, but after getting caught joyriding with her best friend, she's sentenced to working at her dad’s game shop. Riley hasn't been close with her dad since her parent's divorce, and she hates working at the shop. When she gets involved in a fake dating plot with her co-worker, Nathan, she starts to blur the lines between fake and real.

This was a fun fake dating romance. I really liked the main characters. It seems like Riley learned a lot about herself and her dad, and she was able to expand her horizons and form new opinions about gaming, which she really hated. She conflated gaming with her dad not being interested in her, and it was nice to see her learn differently. Nathan was a great fake boyfriend and the romance between him and Riley was so cute!

I don't know much about musicals or D&D, and it was fun learning about them and how much crossover there is. RIley was able to incorporate her singing (as a bard!) and love of performing with D&D, which was a pleasant surprise for her. It was also nice seeing her parents apologize to her and own up to their shortcomings.

This is a fun, fast=paced read and I'd recommend this to anyone who loves contemporary YA.

This was such a fun read! It was so funny that I happened to read this just after reading Who We Are in Real Life, which is another YA book featuring a D&D game!

Dungeons and Drama is a fun, sweet YA Rom Com that pulled me right out of a reading slump! Reflecting the vibe of the cover, this book just feels bright and delightful. And whether you were in high school performing on stage and playing D&D a month ago, 5 years ago, or that was never for you, I really think you'll enjoy this read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for granting me an ARC of Dungeons and Drama!

Soooo cute!!! Adding this to the list of books I wish I’d had as a teenager along with everything Elise Bryant, Michelle Quach, and Anna-Marie McLemore ever write. I’m looking forward to going back and reading the author’s other books. I love all the characters and everything felt so real and believable and raw in the way only good YA writing can feel. This book had me laughing out loud and getting second hand butterflies and I am here for it. A musical theater fanatic gets grounded and her “punishment” is working at her dad’s gaming store for 8 weeks. She is trying to revive the canceled spring play but gets sucked into the world of D&D. What starts as part of her cover fake dating Nathan so her douchey ex boyfriend stops pitying her and so Nathan’s crush will get jealous and finally give him the time of day quickly turns into an “is this real or just part of the act” as the two start to fall for each other. This felt every bit the teenage dream of exploring the world beyond what is right in front of you and finding friends in unlikely and unexpected places. This book is for Dungeons and Dragons fanatics, musical theater enthusiasts, and readers of sweet romance and young love. I am definitely buying the physical copy when it comes out January, 2024, and will be on the lookout for the author’s other books as well.