I cannot say enough about this book! This is the cutest YA romance! A theater girl gets in trouble with her parents and the consequence is that she now has to work at her dad's gaming store, which she doesn't like. And the other kid working there is a boy from her high school, whom she doesn't like. It's going to be a long few months. But then these two high school kids figure out that they could help each other with a fake dating plan (I love a good fake dating plan!).
I loved it. It's cute and wholesome and something I will happily recommend to my YA students to read. There's lots of feelings involved and anticipation, but no spice. There's a great dive into relationships, between friends, parents, and SOs. It's a great representation of high school cliques that are seen as nerdy and therefore often overlooked.
Yes yes yes! Add this one to your TBR!

This story was unbelievably cute! Perfect for the YA audience.
Fake dating, musical references, and dungeons and dragons

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Riley dreams of becoming a director of musicals on Broadway. So when she "borrows" her mother's car to go see a musical with her best friend, she doesn't feel like she's doing anything wrong. Her parents feel differently. As punishment, Riley must spend her days after school working at her dad's gaming store. This is the last thing Riley wants to do. She has seen her coworker, Nathan, around school, but they don't really know one another, which becomes an issue when Riley tells her ex-boyfriend that they are dating. She and Nathan come to an arrangement to make both her ex and the girl he likes jealous. Who would have thought that this plan would backfire on Riley when she starts to realize that she actually likes Nathan? This was a very sweet YA romance.

4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this arc!

I checked almost daily to see if I had gotten approved for my request of this book because, being married to the D&D/MTG/board game nerd and best friends with the musical theater kids in high school, this book was practically calling to me.

Nathan and Riley were the most *authentically themselves* characters, and the entire book just felt like one big hug to the nerdy part of myself I tried to shove down in high school and got to reclaim as an adult.

I freaking loved this book.

An FMC who's "not like other girls" but not in an obnoxious way? Excellent! She owns her love of theater and choir and her loud clothing. She's unapologetic about it, but in a normal way. Riley was great. Nathan was even better. A nerdy, keeps-to-himself kind of guy who doesn't act like this is the first girl he's ever encountered in life? Double excellent. Their fake dating was so cute. I loved that they both had reasons for wanting to do it--it wasn't just one sided with someone pining for the other.

I love love loved how respectful Nathan was to Riley's boundaries! Especially in a YA novel! He was kind and considerate, and his worry over her was so endearingly precious.

I am not a gamer. I am not a D&D person, and this book did such a great job of explaining things without going overboard or making me feel like the author was being condescending about it. Don't let the fear of not knowing Dungeons and Dragons stop you from picking this one up! It is for novices and experts, both.

All in all, I really don't have complaints about this novel. It was so enjoyable, and I can't wait to read it again. Ms. Boyce will be on my list of authors to keep an eye on. 5/5 stars, absolutely recommend to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book came onto my radar when the amazing Liz Parkes revealed her cover illustration.
This is a fun, flirty YA romance full of teens just being goofy teens, with a note of found family thrown in. Riley and her dad's relationship is limping along until she is 'grounded' and put to work in his game shop. What seems to be a drag turns out to be the best thing for her - she and her dad find connection and she also finds a set of supportive, accepting friends. One of which is Nathan, who is more like a son to her dad that she is a daughter. Boyce plays all of these dynamics pretty well and it's great to see that she doesn't jump for super-dramatic, over the top reactions with her characters. Nothing is more of a turn off to teens (trust me, I talk books with high schoolers all day, every day). This is all Riley's POV and it would be fun to have a little more insight with Nathan as their relationship develops, maybe a revealing slip from a friend or something, but alas, his friends are loyal and trustworthy and he is pretty tight lipped as a character. A fun read that reminds of that the worlds of Theater geeks and D&D geeks are pretty much 99% overlapping circles.
Thanks so much for the ARC!

Well, if this wasn't just a damn delight. Let me give you the premise, so you can instantly fall in love. Riley borrows her mom's car without permission to drive her and her friend to a musical (so totally legit reason!), and as punishment, she has to work after school at her dad's game shop. One of her co-workers is Nathan - They get off to a rocky start, but soon realize they can help one another out by pretending to be dating. As a subplot, Riley is also working to bring her school's spring musical back by leading student efforts to make it happen. I adored these characters and all their nerdiness, and it was such a wonderful read. I cannot tell you enough how much I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this January 2024 release!

I adored Dungeons and Drama. This follows Riley, a musical-theater enthusiast, after she is grounded for sneaking out with her best friend Hoshiko to see a musical. Her punishment is that she has to work after school at her dad’s game shop which is where she meets Nathan. He is a D&D gamer who spends all his free time in her dad’s shop and is obsessing over another player in their campaign. Not only does Riley uncover the world of Dungeons & Dragons, but she also makes a group of new friends, gets close to her father who she's been distant with since her parents divorce, and she also begins fake dating Nathan to make his crush and her ex-boyfriend jealous. What could go wrong? Did I also mention that she is simultaneously trying to save her school's Spring musical after it was cut for budgeting?

The plot was full of both D&D and musical fun, a wonderful cast of supportive friends, and even giggle worthy romance. It was sweet in its coverage of parental relationships (the struggle of having divorced parents and not wanting either one to feel like you are choosing sides), friendships, relationships, and a wonderful message about leaning into your passions even if it makes you over-the-top. The right people will accept you as is, no matter if you sing show tunes or play fantasy games!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Dungeons and Drama was such a FUN read! I had really high hopes when starting the book and was not let down. I wish there had been more books like this when I was in middle school or even high school.
Riley is a die-hard theatre kid. Nathan is gamer boy who works at Riley’s dad’s game shop. If you asked them, they could not be more different. They soon discover that playing a character in D&D isn’t so different from acting in plays and musicals. Riley and Nathan may have more in common than they think.
Riley gets stuck serving out punishment in the form of working at her dad’s game shop. Riley concocts a fake dating plan to get her jerk of an ex to stop pitying her. Nathan is on board when Riley tells him it’ll make the girl he has a crush on jealous and give him a better chance.
I love how unapologetically over the top Riley is and how immediately Nathan not only expects it but also embraces it.
In addition to the wonderfully written teenage chemistry, we get to see Riley’s relationships with her parents evolve throughout the book as well. I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to buy my 13 year old sister a copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A very cute fake-dating romance. They had such believable banter that it made it easy to feel like they were falling for each other and it made sense that the flirting was impossible to tell how much was fake or real. I enjoyed that the audience could tell that Nathan was being genuine even though Riley was unsure. I loved the friends she makes at the D&D game and it made it even better that she was able to successfully bring her awesome best friend in as well. It makes sense that a theater kid would enjoy the acting part of the game and play a bard. I did feel a bit annoyed with how Riley started out whiny and over committing, but it also felt like something teens would actually do, so I have to give it a pass. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a clean romance, and certainly to any theater or gamer kids.

Riley, a musical enthusiast, lands a job at her dad's game shop as punishment for taking her mom's car without permission. She's not a fan of board games or Dungeons & Dragons, but soon finds herself drawn into the magical world of D&D. She starts hanging out with her classmates, including her coworker Nathan. They strike a deal to pretend to date each other, but soon can't tell if their feelings are real.

This book is a charming mix of fake dating, friends-to-lovers, and coming-of-age themes. It's fun to see theatre kids and gamers finding common ground. The romance is fast-paced, fitting the short book, it doesn't feel rushed despite the pacing. The story is full of fun references to fake dating, D&D, LARPing, board games, and musical theatre.

This is a sweet and fun read with lovable characters and a good plot. It's great for romance lovers, especially if they like musical theatre or D&D.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺.

This was such a cute book! It was a little hard to get into but it didn't take long until I was hooked. Nathan and Riley were soo cute! I can't wait to read more books by Kristy Boyce!

Thank you netgalley for the arc

Dungeons and Drama is perfect for the students who wants a fun romance. I kept turning the pages late at night even though I knew I needed to turn the light off.

Riley and her mom enjoy being together and watching musicals. Riley isn't as close to her father because he's more into dungeons and dragons, even owning a gaming store where people play games in the back. She really doesn't enjoy her weekends, feeling that her dad fails to recognize and appreciate her musical talents. After Riley drives her car to a musical without a license and without her parents' permission, she is grounded. She must work for her dad in his store after school and no school activities. Upon arriving for her first day, Riley finds Nathan, a weird gamer who seems to live at her dad's store. There are games going on in the back where she meets other nerdy gamers, both old and young. This punishment is going to be a nightmare.

Riley and her best friend decide to save the school musical when it's cancelled for lack of funding and lack of interest. Now Riley has to put together a budget, pick a musical that people would be interested in, and find a way to make it interesting for the principal to back. She can't tell her parents because she's grounded from all things musical. Now she's keeping up with homework and working at her dad's store. She ends up joining the Dungeons and Dragons game in the back with Nathan and the other gamers when she cooks up a scheme. Nathan wants to date Sophia. Riley wants to make her ex regret breaking up with her, so she suggests they fake date. Yes, I know. Another fake dating book. Please. Rest assured. It works. It works well. Riley finds that playing D & D is much like theatre. There's a story and props.

As the novel progresses, Nathan and Riley find that pretending has made them really know the other person. Riley balances everything, finds that her father and his business are actually more interesting than she ever thought, and discovers the value of friendships and family. It's a lovely rom-com that teenage girls will greatly enjoy for a nice Friday afternoon or weekend reading experience.

This book is exactly what you would expect from the cover art--super cute and fun with an absolutely adorable contemporary ya romance. I related to the board game nerd and musical theater nerd sides of this story. The romance is a little fast paced at parts, but that makes sense for a book this short. This books has adorable fake dating, D&D, LARPing references, board game and Monty Python and The Holy Grail lingo and references, musical theater references (Sound if Music, Wicked, Six, etc.), basically no spice romance, and just so much cuteness!!!

I highly recommend this book to all theater, board gaming, LARPing, and D&D fans, but I definitely recommend this to people looking for a cute ya romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. The thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

This book was absolutely adorable. I cannot wait to buy a copy for my classroom to have my students read it as well. PG forced proximity but not really enemies to lovers. Fake dating all the way. After Riley gets in big trouble for "borrowing" her mom's car to head to a musical in the city she is forced to work in her dad's nerdy gamer shop as punishment. While there she meets her dad's most trusted worker, Nathan, who is from her school and his geeky gamer friends. In a mega deal, Nathan and Riley pretend to be dating --- and we can all imagine where this leads...hysterical things ensue. A super cute book that is easy to read.

I don't normally go for YA romance, but I was a theatre major and as a board game lover as well, I just couldn't resist. The first two games mentioned in the book are even on my shelves. And I may serenade my cats with Broadway hits frequently.

This is a super quick and sweet read. The FMC can definitely be a bit much with her bard frequently breaking out into actual show tunes during D&D, but I needed something lighthearted when I picked this up and it hit the spot. Her determination and relationship with her bestie is great. This has all the feel-good, cheesy fun of a good high school romcom.

You've got fake dating, friends-to-lovers, plus some good coming of age and friendships going on. Loved seeing the theatre kids and gamers come together and find things in common. If you're not familiar with tabletop and role-playing games or musical theatre, there may be some references that go over your head. Nothing that wouldn't make the story make sense though.

This book is so adorable!

Musical-loving Riley is forced to work at her dad’s Sword and Board Games shop as punishment after getting caught taking her mom’s car to a musical without permission or a driver’s license! Riley’s never seen the appeal of board games nor heard of Dungeons & Dragons, but she gets sucked into the magical (and musical) fun that is D&D and starts hanging out with her classmates who are regulars of the store, including her coworker Nathan. After some awkward encounters with crushes and exes, Riley and Nathan strike up a deal to help each other out: she’ll pretend to flirt with him during their D&D games to make his crush jealous, and he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend at school to prove to her ex that she’s moved on. While Riley loves all things drama and acting, she can’t figure out if she and Nathan are acting anymore or if they really have feelings for one another.

I thought this YA romance novel was very cute! However, I may be biased due to the fondness I have for my local comic book store, the days when I used to play D&D with my friends, and musicals! The story is predictable, but it’s sweet in the friendship Riley builds with her classmates and the store patrons. Idk if it’s because I’m getting older, but I also liked the parts about Riley and her dad (divorced) and how working at the store helps repair her relationship with her dad. It’s all very sweet!

If you’re looking for a nerdy YA/high-school story with enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and fake-dating tropes, then check our Kristy Boyce’s Dungeons and Drama!

Dungeons and Drama is a YA book that explores the unlikely friendship between two groups of high school students: the drama club and the gamers. The author skillfully blends humor, romance, and adventure as the characters navigate their personal and social challenges. The book is a fun read that celebrates diversity, creativity, and teamwork. It also offers a positive message about overcoming stereotypes and finding common ground with others. Dungeons and Drama is a book that will appeal to fans of both fantasy and realistic fiction.

TROPES:
- “enemies” to lovers
- forced proximity
- fake dating

READ IF YOU LOVE:
- gaming
- theater
- young love
- father/daughter bonding

I wanted to read this book because my husband loves playing D&D and the cover and title drew me in. Since I myself don’t play D&D, I was worried that I would be confused a lot. The author did a great job of explaining some aspects of the game just enough to where I was only slightly confused and not REALLY confused (lol).

As a person in their mid 20’s, I did find this book to be a bit cringe at times. But that is the reality of having crushes in your teens. I expect and somewhat enjoy that aspect in a YA romance novel. I will say, by the middle/end of my reading experience, I was giggling and kicking my feet at some of the things that Nathan did/said. He reminded me so much of my dorky husband. :)

I think the most impactful part of this book for me was the relationship between Riley and her father. I really loved watching them bond and form a better relationship, and I even shed a few tears. I think a lot of daughters can relate to not having as strong of a relationship with their father as with their mother. Her new friendships she formed by playing D&D were very special, too.

I found that I was not as interested in the plot line of saving the play as much as I was interested in their fake dating and working together plot line. I found myself skimming some parts of that plot in the beginning. I did enjoy how everything turned out in the end with the play, but in the beginning I just wanted to get back to Riley and Nathan bickering and playing D&D at the store.

Overall, I recommend this book! I thought it was very cute and realistic, and I had a fun time reading it. Plus, that cover??? So well done. When this book is published on January 9, 2024, I will be adding the paperback to my bookshelf. Happy reading!

Dungeons and Drama had all the makings of what I love in a YA novel. Fake dating trope, nerdy characters, misunderstandings. I really enjoyed the interactions between Riley and Nathan, and the progression of their relationship. Unfortunately, I felt that other parts of the book overshadowed them sometimes.
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Random House Childrens', Delacorte Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.