Fun and fizzy YA rom/com firmly placed in the world of fandom of many forms. Appreciate the fully fleshed teen characters with their own motivations/passions/hobbies/priorities.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

Dungeons & Drama by Kristy Boyce is a good fit for those seeking a lighthearted and humorous romance that explores the ups and downs of fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, and nerd culture, with a touch of hopefulness and heartwarming moments.

I am a tiny bit torn on how I wanted to rate this book. Overall, I would say that I liked it and that I would definitely suggest it to teen readers and to any adults who may want a touch of high school drama or Dungeons and Dragons in their novel. However, I ended up not entirely loving it as much as I wish I would have.

A few issues that I had with the book is that everyone was very much a caricature of what a high school student is. I felt like they were all super stereotypical and not as well rounded as most teens actually are in real life. I felt like Riley was a little more annoying than I typically like in a protagonist.

Also, some of the descriptions of D&D were just NOT accurate at all which made me sad. Case in point, a line later on in the book that really stuck out to me. "I never get to use my accents at D&D since I'm always the DM." Excuse you? From playing once or from watching any of the popular D&D livestreams, that is 100% false. The DM is literally the one who can use accents the most given that they play all the bad guys and all the NPCs? The quoted statement isn't accurate to D&D at ALL.

But other than a couple little picky details I overall enjoyed it. I just wish it was a bit less full of stereotypes (you can absolutely portray a teen that is self involved and all drama nerd or D&D nerd in a better way) and with a few more accurate details about gaming.

This a simple, sweet book about, you guessed it, Dungeons & Dragons and the school musical. It's pretty straightforward, and I really enjoyed that about it. I was in the mood for a book that would keep me entertained and just be a lighthearted good time, and this book delivered. Riley, the main character, is the theatre kid to rule all theatre kids. While some of her dialogue and actions were slightly cringeworthy (breaking out into the opening number of Legally Blonde: The Musical whenever she or her best friend say "omigod" comes to mind), but as a former cringeworthy theatre kid myself, I cannot argue that it is inaccurate. This book feels like high school for me to a T, and it was really fun to vicariously live through Riley.

Such a fun read!!!

Top 5 Reasons to Read:
Strong female lead! “I’m a freaking catch.” Yes you are, young lady.
Total acceptance of diverse hobbies- from D&D to musical theater (and the author added some amazing theatrical references 🎭)
Friendships with an inclusive attitude of “the more the merrier.”
The right amount of teen rebellion…“It’s easy to get your parents on board if you never tell them anything.”
And of course….an adorable fake-dating trope 💕

We are introduced to another rebellious Riley in Dungeons and Dramas. When this Riley takes her mother's car, without permission nor a driver's license, to the city to see the musical Waitress, her divorced parents decide her punishment will be working at her estranged father's gaming store. Not only is she distraught about working there, she is also upset that the school has cancelled this year's spring musical, which she was hoping to direct. When her ex shows up at the store with his new girlfriend, Riley claims her co-worker Nathan is her boyfriend to save face. Nathan is appalled, but agrees to the ruse so that he can make his crush jealous. To make the relationship seem more official, she starts playing Dungeon and Dragons with him and his friends at the store. Of course, she is the bard and finds opportunities to sing at every meeting. The more time she and Nathan spend pretending to be involved, the more lines blur. Meanwhile, she is campaigning to revive the musical by putting on a show for the administrators to demonstrate that there is sufficient interest for them to reconsider their decision. When things go terribly wrong, Nathan and her new friends come to her rescue.

This is SUCH a cute romance! I absolutely loved it and feel like it has such wide appeal. (I do love a good YA and it’s lovely when the story being told truly has a place within its intended audience). The characters are charming and memorable, and it’s just such a fun and diverting read. Highly recommended!

Thank you Random House Children's, Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC so I could provide my opinions!

4⭐
ARC Review - Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Oh my god this book was so cute. I'm very picky when it comes to YA but I was pleasantly surprised with this book. The FMC and MMC personalities are amazing and side characters also have a big part in this story. The fake dating and slow burn in this book were done very well, I was EATING IT UP. Since D&D was a main aspect of this book as well, I feel as though it brought out my nerdy side and I'm hoping it will get readers who enjoyed this book to branch out to it as well! The only aspect of this book I didn't love was the ending, I felt as though it was very rushed and didn't resolve the slow burn that took up most of this book. Please give this book a try! Even if you don't think it will be your cup of tea it's a cute short read.

This was super cute. I can honestly say I've never read a book so focused on Dungeons and Dragons but I can't say I hated that. It's certainly unique. Those scenes in particular held my attention. It wasn't my favorite fake relationship young adult but it was good. I think it could have benefitted from 2 POV. It was all from Riley's POV and I really wish we could have had Nathan's too. I loved all of the musical references! It was overall a very adorable young adult romance and I would recommend it.I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves musicals and/or Dungeons and Dragons.

Riley is a theater-kid who has dreams of being a musical director on Broadway, and Nathan is a gamer who plays Dungeons and Dragons with his friends. After Riley is punished by her parents to work in her dad’s game store, she meets her new co-worker Nathan. Their personal interests couldn’t be any more different. Circumstances arise where Riley and Nathan agree to fake-date each other to help make their crushes jealous. Will it end up morphing into something more?

This book somehow overlaps two vastly different areas of fandom that I personally have. I am a huge gamer of all kinds: I play Dungeons and Dragons on a weekly basis and I also play a variety of video and board games. On the other hand, I currently have season tickets to touring Broadway musicals at a nearby theater and a Playbill binder to collect all of the shows that I have seen. I really enjoyed the geeking out references that were included in this book: both gaming and musical theater. Should I be ashamed that I somehow knew all of the musical numbers that Riley sang in the book? (Though they aren’t all shows that I’ve seen– I have looked up soundtracks). This book also brought to my attention my true need to go see Spamalot. It’s a very cute high school romance story and the characters felt like their age. I listened to this on audiobook and it was a very easy listen for me. It’s not an overly complex plot, and the characters and their romance was cute. I really enjoyed the references, even if I was able to point out some flaws in them. I don’t fault the book too much; it was only a handful, and what kind of nerd would I be if I didn’t have a few… “But actually” moments?

I certainly recommend this to the teenage audience that it’s written for, especially if you are part of the fandom of at least one of the bases represented. For adults, I’d say if you still enjoy cutesy high school romance stories, and especially if you are like me and enjoy both gaming and musical theater.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Looking for quick read full of high school antics of theatre and dungeons and dragons? This is the perfect book. I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, I absolutely loved the story and how cute it was.

If you are looking for a fun weekend read this is the perfect book for you, I am excited to look up some other stories from this author.

I received this book complimentary in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ok ok ok.... I can admit it. I know what dungeons and dragons is. I've played DnD (my boyfrind made me haha. But now I kinda love it too). So when this beauty was suggested I jumped on the chance. Who doesn't love a fun romance with all the nerdy things haha.

The story was just adorable to me. It was cute and sweet and fun.
Plus if ypu are a musical kinda person (like me) you'll appreciate the things happening in the book too.

Now my boyfriend and I met in put late 20s. And with this being YA I can't totally relate to it. But there were definitely small moments that made me think of my relationship and the silly things we did. And how similar even as an adult experiences can be. Especially when I started playing DnD with my BF and his friends. It reminded me so much of those early days of playing. And made me smile.
Maybe I'm just getting old. I don't know.

But I do know I loved this book and all its cute quirky-ness

Sometimes a fake dating trope is all you need to read. It was a delightful afternoon read in which Riley ends up being punished for a little joyride by spending time working at her dad's comic and game shop. After the divorce, she doesn't spend much time there. It'll be miserable she thinks and then she also hears that the spring musical will not be performed at school due to budget cuts. Plus a few months back her boyfriend broke up with her.

All that shifts when she starts working at the shop and Nathan, a classmate and employee at the shop introduces her to a world of Dungeons and Dragons that parlays into a fake dating opportunity because the girl he likes shows up occasionally but seems more interested in him now that Riley is at the shop. And Riley happens to blurt out that her and Nathan are dating when the ex-boyfriend comes in with the ever-popular girl at school. Let the games begin. Until the games are the best part! Riley realizes that playing a bard in the game mixes her talent and allows her to shine. It enhances her drive, with her best friend Hoshiko to win back the opportunity to put on a spring musical.

And the fake dating with Nathan-- works a little too well (as expected and is necessary!) before they both come to their senses and realize they're perfect for one another-- even her dad thinks so. Even Riley and her dad patch things up after a scary incident at the end of the book.

All's well that ends well with the most creative use of D&D in a story (that makes me more intrigued as did Stranger Things) about the game and friendships around it, plus an homage to small businesses like comic/game shops, and awesome friendships. Excellence!

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Dungeons and Drama is my favorite type of YA romance – the kind that keeps me smiling the whole time. And, of course, it incorporates some of my favorite tropes and themes: fake dating, enemies to lovers (but where neither person is an actual jerk at the beginning, so I’m still fully rooting for them), theater, and Dungeons and Dragons. I breezed through this book really quickly and enjoyed every minute of it. I appreciated watching the main character fighting for something she loved the school musical) and also learning to love new things (D&D!). And the secondary characters all won me over too, especially Riley’s best friend Hoshiko, who has her back throughout the entire book and gets a subplot romance of her own. This book is also fantastic for younger YA readers, which is something I always have my eye out for as a bookseller. So much to love about this one!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this, I was really excited to read it. D&D and a fake dating trope? Count me in. I started reading it, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish it, because I could not stand Riley. However, I kept going, and I'm glad that I did. I ended up really enjoying it. The characters were great, and the D&D campaign scenes were really enjoyable. All in all, it was a fun read.

First, this book was released January 9th in the US, so it is available now. I had actually intended to review it for release day, and obviously I wasn’t really blogging last month, so it didn’t happen.

If it hasn’t already been established by now, if a book talks about the characters playing TTRPGs, then I’m going to pick it up, and so long as the author actually either knows how to play or has done their due diligence researching it well enough to fake it, then I’m going to enjoy it. Oh, and I’ll also say that I’ve read three D&D books this year, plus one at the end of last year that comes out in March, so if you love D&D-style books, we are in for some pretty nice times……..especially if I can get my own book written (I hope).

For the first 30 percent or so, this book was just okay for me, but it really started to pick up from there and I really got pulled into it. By the last 5-10 percent, I was definitely having some emotional reactions to how the story had built up. So yeah, not my favorite story with D&D in it, but overall it was still pretty good.

Now, I will say that the book synopsis is actually misleading, because yes, Riley agrees to flirt with Nathan to make his crush jealous, but she does it because HER ex comes into the store with his new girlfriend and flirts with her. So to try and make him think that she’s moved on, Riley needs Nathan to be her pretend boyfriend. The shift covering doesn’t happen until after they agree to fake-flirt/fake-date while around Nathan’s crush and Riley’s ex.

I can definitely say that Riley acted like a teenager. I’m not complaining about it, especially since I am a 35 year old woman, and I know that this book is not written with me as the target audience. It is aimed at young adults, and the teen years are sometimes known for big emotions and drama and what seems like immaturity to adults, but teens are going through a lot. I remember it feeling like a lot when trying to figure out who you were going to be and what you were going to do with your life, especially heading towards graduation and people are asking about life plans as if you’re supposed to have it all completely planned out already.

So yeah, I’m not going to complain about Riley’s dramatics…she is a theater girl, after all.

I really enjoyed getting to know everyone at Riley’s dad’s game store. Since we get so much of the story from Riley, it was interesting to see her views and opinions change on everyone as she got to know them. Because, at first, I admit that I was ready to put the book down because of how she was describing and thinking about people who frequent game stores. It was that negative stereotype view of things, and as a loud and proud geek, I did not like it. Thankfully, I gave Riley a chance, and was happy to see her views shift. Because, in the end, this book really shows off the awesome community that is built from a shared love of these geeky hobbies.

I got a bit emotional towards the end, when everyone started rallying together to make something awesome happen in spite of the hurdles and speed bumps thrown their way…and I say this in a vague way to not actually spoil the details, but it honestly made me want to have more stories, possibly following some of Riley and Nathan’s friends. It probably won’t happen, because this does feel very standalone-y, but if it led to a series of inter-connected standalones, I wouldn’t complain.

This was such a cute read!!! I loved every minute of it and the chemistry between the two main characters. Highly recommend!

High 4 stars! ✨

This is the way I imagined Better Than the Movies should have been like: a near-perfect young adult romance, with just the right touch of pop culture references. I adored this book. It's a nice short read but perfectly paced, there's the perfect amount of things going on + side character storylines. I really loved Riley and Nathan. I really enjoyed the overall vibe of the book, from the nerdy game side to the theater geeks, the sweet, spice-free romance, and how it even touched on divorce and parent relationships. I can't wait to let my own kids read this book someday!

I LOVED this book, I found myself hooked reading from beginning to end and seeing Nathan go from "I'm annoyed by you" to "ACTUALLY I really wanted to kiss you since the day of the dice" had me swooning and honestly, this guy did SUCH a good job playing fake boyfriend, I am HERE for it. We need more cute books like this honestly, with uniquer concepts like people falling in love via Dungeons and Dragons (such a good idea honestly!)