I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Riley's world revolves around musical theater. Just before the beginning of Dungeons and Drama, Riley is so desperate to see a musical that she takes her mom's car without permission or a driver's license to drive her and her best friend to see the show. Her punishment is to spend eight weeks working at her father's game shop and she is not happy about it. Not only will this take time away from convincing her school's administration to allow the students to put on a spring musical, but Riley has a strained relationship with her father, who she feels chose his game shop over her and her mother. To make matters worse, she immediately gets off on the wrong foot with her new coworker, Nathan. The last thing she expects is to enter a fake dating arrangement with Nathan but that's just what they do in order to help Nathan make his crush notice him and to get Riley's obnoxious ex-boyfriend off her back. Riley ends up joining Nathan's Dungeon & Dragons group and making new friends and she's surprised to learn that she doesn't actually dislike spending time at the game shop--or with Nathan.

This book was absolutely delightful! It was fun, sweet, and light-hearted while still tackling complex familial relationships. Fake dating is one of my all-time favorite tropes and this was one of my favorite executions in a YA romance. I was rooting for Riley and Nathan so hard. Another thing I adored about this novel was the D&D aspect. It was so fun to hear about the group's characters and campaign, and I kind of want to find a D&D group of my own now.

I highly recommend this to all fans of YA romance, but especially those who like theater or gaming!

As someone who plays DnD several times a month, there can be a learning curve. I have to use an app to remember my character's stats and spells for a battle. Only then does the power of imagination take over. Add in a love of musicals and a need to make an ex jealous, and you have quite a story.

Riley is in trouble. She borrowed her mother's car without asking to see Waitress with her bestie-- while still not having a license. As punishment, she has to work at her father's gaming store. Riley is bitter about this because her dad chose the store over his wife and daughter in the divorce. Not helping matters is her ex visits, and she lies that the coworker who hates her guts is her new boyfriend. Nathan and she enter a deal, where she will make his crush jealous if they put on the ruse of dating. The plan may work, along with Riley's scheme to save the school musical.

I had no idea that theater could pair well with DnD. It does in this case, however, as Riley is allowed to belt showtunes to save her party, and starts understanding her dad more. You can't blame her for doing anything to see Sara Bareilles in Waitress, but as her mother puts it, driving that far without a license was dangerous. Plus, she knows the logistics of running a show and which licenses to get. Riley is going to be a stage manager one day.

A really fun romp, and a great escape from real life.

This was a cute, fun read! When I first heard about the premise I was like "why would the drama kids and the TTRPG/LARP kids be enemies, they are natural allies???" but um pretty quickly the characters figure that out too soo...good for them.

The cover is absolutely adorable, but I should have known this wasn't going to be up my alley. I'm just not the right audience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.

“Dungeons and Drama” by Kristy Boyce was one of the best YA rom-coms I’ve read this year! The fun and whimsical cover is enough to sell this book, but the characters were adorable, and the story was really well written, so it easily got 5 stars from me.

I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons, so I was a little hesitant to read a book featuring the game, but the main character Riley had never played before either, so getting to learn the game through her perspective made it easy to understand – and laugh-out-loud funny! D&D wasn’t the main focus of the book, so I appreciated that the author focused more on the developing relationships between Riley & Nathan and Riley & her dad.

I would highly recommend this book to teens and young adults who are interested in theater, drama, musicals, and/or Dungeons & Dragons with a good fake dating twist.

I loved this book so much! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I feel this book did it very well. It had the perfect balance of D&D, musical theater, romance, and friendship.

**4.5-stars**

Dungeons and Drama is truly adorable. It made my nerd heart so happy and left me wanting more from this author!

This YA Romantic Comedy features a fake dating trope and lots of cute, fun and witty character moments. In this story we follow Riley, a theater girl, who gets busted taking her Mom's car without permission to go see a show in the city. With her best friend in tow, the girls take the risk, and sadly, don't get away with it. Riley gets grounded. She's allowed no extracurriculars and as extra punishment, she has to start working at her Dad's game store after school.

She's barely ever set foot in the store and has no interest in games. All Riley cares about right now is getting the High School Spring Musical, currently canceled due to budgetary considerations, back on. Her life is a mess without the possibility of the Musical. She can hardly think of anything else. Well, there's a few other things she thinks about: her uncomfortable relationship with her Dad, her ex-boyfriend succeeding in all things theater and the fact that he's driving her nuts.

A new co-worker at the store, cute and shy boy, Nathan, could be exactly what Riley needs. She convinces him to pretend they're into one another. Her ex now thinks she's moved on and the girl that Nathan likes is suddenly more interested in him, eaten up with jealousy because of Riley. All is going to plan, until Riley realizes that flirting with Nathan is no longer much of an act. Have her plans gone too far? Is she falling for the D&D boy at the game store?

This book was so lovey. I read it in a day and got completely swept up in the story. I loved both Riley and Nathan. They were both incredibly earnest and naive, but in a way that felt natural to the story and works for the YA-genre.

I also enjoyed exploring Riley's relationship with her Dad. As a child of divorce, who lives with her Mom, Riley has felt sort of abandoned by her Dad. He's not a bad person, you can tell how me he loves her, but their communication at the start isn't great. I loved watching the time they spent together at the store have such an impact on the way they communicated with one another. I felt like that development was just as satisfying as the romantic portions of this story.

But yeah, the romance was pretty sweet. It was just so cute, I can't think of another way to describe. I was crushing right along with Riley. Nathan is a pretty special guy. I loved how he got Riley to join his D&D group; which was one of my favorite parts of this story. She ended up really enjoying it and was even able to channel some of her musical talents in her role as a bard.

I think as far as YA Rom-Com stories go, this has to be one of my faves. I feel like it was just really well executed. The character work was fantastic and I loved the messages and themes explored throughout. I would definitely recommend this to any YA Contemporary Reader, particularly if you are a fan of RPGs, or the theater. This was a perfect blend of those things for me!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Kristy Boyce.

I dnf'd this book a few months back, then decided to pick it back up again and it was a super cute read. Sometimes we just aren't in the right headspace for certain books.

I'm not a dungeons and dragons player, but have friends who play. I could definitely see my 16/17 year old self enjoying this read. It brought me a lot of joy and positive emotions. Will be adding this to my high school class's library!

A super cute YA novel about a broadway musical obsessed girl that after getting in trouble for driving without a license to another city with her friend to see a musical, gets grounded and is forced to work at her fathers game shop. After an awkward with her ex in the store she lies and says that she’s seeing someone and blurts out the first name she can think of. Except he doesn’t like her and she can’t stand him. After coming to a fake dating agreement that mutual benefits them both, they enter into a fake relationship. After spending time together for they slowly discover that the faking maybe isn’t fake.

🔹fake dating
🔹 He falls first
🔹D&D
🔹 High school drama

This was absolutely adorable!! What a pleasant surprise. You know it’s a good YA book when you can’t stop smiling and feel giddy the whole time. This has the perfect balance of teen angst, fake dating, and jealousy. Riley and Nathan are a great example of opposites attract. I loved the crossover with D&D gamer boys and musical theater girls. It is one of those books you will finish in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the advance electronic copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Definitely didn't believe all of it--if my unlicensed kid took my car and drove to the city to see a show, she would definitely find herself with a more serious punishment. Also found it pretty predictable. That being said, I was a theatre kid who raised a theatre kid, so I definitely appreciated that aspect of the story. Also appreciated the way it handled the family situation--divorced parents, child lives with one and feels pressured to be loyal to that one.

What I didn't expect was to be fascinated by the Dungeons and Dragons piece of the story. As the drama kids got involved with the game, I wanted to be there playing too. Just ordered my own dice and looking at books for beginners.

A cute book, that actually went a bit deeper than expected about friendship.

I don’t personally play dungeons and dragons, but my husband loves it which is why I was looking forward to reading this book. The cover of this book really caught my eye, also. This book brought me so much joy and other positive emotions I don’t even have words for!

This was such a fun, immersive, sweet YA romcom. I love Kristy Boyce's work, and this one was a fresh departure from her travel romances—learning about D&D and following the twists of this fake dating situation was a total joy. Can't wait for more!

One of my most anticipated books stuck the landing.

As someone who had no idea what D&D was, this is perfect who felt the same way. It explains it really well. I had no idea what D&D was for the longest time and now I finally know.

All the characters were lovable (except for Riley’s ex and Nathan’s crush) and their were other couples in the book who were cute too.

The banter made me laugh and they had amazing chemistry. Their dynamic was really great and didn’t turn into jerky territory. I like that they became friends first before they realized they had feelings for each other. Nathan giving her that die was one of the most romantic things I have ever read about.
Riley was unafraid of what people thought about her “quirky” personality. Reviewers lately have been bashing these types of characters, for being “cringe”. Even though there are plenty of people like that in the real world. Characters that are able to be nerdy without being labeled “cringe” are honestly what makes my heart happy.

What a positively cute and quick read. For someone who is recently into DnD, and is currently playing their first campaign, this book made sense. The characters were light and fun, the story had a bit of everything and the romance was perfect for a YA novel. YA is typically not my favorite but this was a breath of fresh air from my normal reads. Riley was such a great main character that you just wanted her to succeed. Definitely recommend this pallet cleaner to anyone looking for something upbeat.

Thank you NetGalley & Kristy Boyce for an early copy of the book in exchange for a review.

I think this is one of my favorite books so far this year, I enjoyed it so much. As soon as I had the time to start it I basically couldn’t put it down. The characters were so cute and I love faking dating.

This was SO cute! Fans of Critical Role and the Chris Pine Dungeons & Dragons movie will love this. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons itself will love this. This is the YA novel or every theater geek and fandom nerd (it's me. I'm theater geek and fandom nerd).

I really thought that this was really sweet. I loved her free spirit and I loved her reconciling her relationship with her dad. I love board games and I love theatre so this one was so sweet and warmed my heart!!

"Dungeons and Drama" is a super cute book for young adults! It's all about romance and the fake dating idea, which makes it really fun. The love story is sweet and just right for the age group. It's a perfect pick if you want a heartwarming and delightful read.

What makes this book extra special is that it includes Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) stuff. The author explains D&D terms in a cool way, so even if you don't know the game, it's easy to understand. Unlike other books that just talk about gaming, this one takes you right into the action. I loved that! It adds a cool layer to the story. Even if you're new to D&D like me, you'll connect with Riley and learn about the game as she does. "Dungeons and Drama" is not just a love story; it's like a fun adventure into friendship, love, and the magic of Dungeons and Dragons!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I love this fun nerdy romance. I would definitely recommend to another reader wanting a funny romcom but a bit of nerdy-ness.