Thanks to NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

I ate this up in a day! It was adorable and nerdy and just enough teen angst plus swoon-worthy love to make me not be able to put this book down. At this point, I’ll read anything written by Kristy Boyce because they’re so fun!

Rating: 4.25 stars

This series of standalones speaks to my nerdy soul! Dating and Dragons is humorous and charming. It’s about friendship, family, and not letting the past hold you back from living your life. I love the diverse cast of characters. There is a unique quirkiness to all of them that made them felt very genuine and relatable. I simply love the mischievous, scheming grandmother. Her relationship with our main character, Quinn, was very heartwarming. She was definitely the best wingmate! All I can say is ice cream and pickleball is a great start to any romance!

The forbidden romance in this story was simply adorable and will make you smile. It will give you that heart fluttering, butterfly in your stomach type of feeling. Although I enjoyed the banter and the pinning, I did feel the issue that kept them apart dragged longer than necessary. However, the epilogue was super cute and I enjoyed seeing where everyone was at three months later.

This story also expands more on the D&D game, ranging from character designs as well as details about the campaign. However, I felt it was written in a way where it added to the story instead of taking away from it. The characters in the game playfully parallel the relationships of the characters in real life, and I just love the fun dynamic and comradery of the group.

Overall, I am really loving these stories. So refreshing and fun to read. Such a great balance of romance, gaming, and plot. I hope the author continues to write more romance surrounding D&D or other gaming settings. I would definitely pick them up in a heartbeat!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sweet, swoony YA romance. It's a quick, enjoyable read with a ton of heart. Kristy Boyce is an auto-read for me now. :)

It's so hard to read a second book from an author that's similar in subject matter to an offering you loved SO much without comparing the two. I was surprised to find that this wasn't connected to Dungeons & Drama at all. (I was at first a little disappointed not to get to see those characters again, but I digress.) This one isn't for the casual D&D fan. If I hadn't played in high school and had no working background knowledge, I probably would have zoned out. The campaign does take up a good bit of the plot. If that's not your jam, you may not enjoy this one as much. (I enjoyed it, but fair warning for others reading.) Kids who play are going to eat this up.

It does have a lot of good things going for it. The grandmother subplot is just so fun and I loved the strong female friendship. The whole farm thing was also adorable. While it was definitely cute, it lacked the magic of Dungeons & Drama. It's very short, so I think it probably needed more depth. I didn't feel like I knew Logan at all and even Quinn felt underdeveloped. The romance also got a litttttleeee bit silly at the end there (I'll let you all experience that one for yourself), so it impeded my enjoyment a little. (I even said out loud, "Oh, come on!") I know, I know... teenagers. Even still.

Highly recommend for your classroom library. Grades 7 and up. Completely clean. (YAY! Clean YA!)

I was super excited to get an ARC of this upcoming release, so thanks Delacorte for letting me read early. Opinions are, of course, my own.

4 ☆
-
Dating and Dragons is book 2 in the Dungeons and Drama series. This little series is just too cute and very YA!
In Dating and Dragons, we meet Quinn, who is moving to a new high school and wants to make new friends. So she joins the local D&D group with its own livestream and rules. The most serious rule is "No Dating Fellow Party Members." This story was just too cute, and I enjoyed it. It's the first book by this author, and it won't be my last. You don't have to read the first book to read this one.
-
Thank you, Netgalley, and Randon House Publishing for the Ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one. I can totally relate to being the mew kid in town, and I never got to find a group that I fit into. This definitely hit home for me and love seeing stories of acceptance. I love the gaming aspects to this book as always. I have never played d&d but these books make me want to lol. Such a fun story. The romance was cure and exactly what it should be for high school students. Loved this one and love this author!

So stinking cute!!! This was my second Kristy Boyce book and this one takes the cake. It was so well written and didn’t read too young. As a late 30’s woman sometimes it’s difficult to find young adult books that don’t feel too juvenile so this one was such a fun read.

The characters were cute and quirky and carried some sense of maturity while still keeping their essence of youth. I’m not into Dungeons and Dragons but the way Kristy writes about it and her character’s love for it makes me love it. Reading about someone that truly enjoys something is a treat.

This was such a fast paced quick read that you can’t put it down. You just want to cozy up and finish it in one sitting. A must read!

Thanks so much NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the eARC.

I really do love a cute, quick, gamer centered read. I read Dungeons & Drama by Kristy and it was just as cute. This, like its predecessor is a YA book, so take that as you will. Sometimes I need a break from the heavy and traumatic things I read, so this was just the thing I needed. Thank you to Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for this ARC. Give this a read when it publishes December 31st, 2024!

Dungeons and Drama was one of my favorite books of the year, so I’ve been SO excited for this one ever since it was announced, and I’m so so grateful to NetGalley and the lovely folks at Random House for giving me an advanced copy!

This book was SO stinking cute. I loved how relatable these characters were as a dnd nerd myself. And the dice jewelry? 10/10 would buy all of it.

The characters were so fun. It just reminded me of how badly I want to find a good dnd group to get integrated into, because it is such a fun dynamic, and this book captured exactly what it feels like.

The only downside of this book to me is that the characters are high schoolers, and that’s not anything to hold against the book because it’s YA and I’m not the target audience for it. That being said, I think it’d be fun if the author considered writing more books similar to this style but about college students. I would loooove some college dnd romance novels! But this one and Dungeons and Drama have both been so adorable and so enjoyable and I absolutely adore them both.

I do wish we’d gotten a little bit more of their actual dnd games. I loved their characters and was intrigued by the plot of their campaign, so that would’ve been fun to see more of. But even so, the book was so wonderful and charming as it was.

Thank you again NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warning: bullying, cyberbullying

I LOVED Dungeons and Drama, and so I though I’d read this one by the same author. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ If you like Dungeons & Dragons (the game), you will probably enjoy this book. I’m neutral about it. I loved it in the previous book because it combined the game and the drama kids. I think this one is just most about D&D, which gives me more insight into the game.

+ The romance is cute, Quinn has joined a D&D group but one person in the group, Logan, doesn’t seem to want her there. It’s only because he doesn’t want his attraction to her to disrupt the group. Also Quinn is trying not to let her past haunt her.

+ The friend group was fun and I thought Quinn’s grandma was quite a personality!

Dislikes:

~ I’m an older reader, so I might just be too old for this kind of book now but there were some angsty, dramatic stuff that made me laugh. This one is definitely for the teen readers!

~ I thought it was interesting how for the most part the attraction is held back but when they couldn’t fight it anymore, Logan was saying some heated stuff and I thought, whoa this guy is 16? That was a little off to me.


Final Thoughts:

Can I just say I love whoever did the book cover for this book and the last one? This is what some of the adult romance books need for their cover art, especially when they do the cartoonish designs. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I loved Dungeons and Drama but I think teen readers will really like this one!

I’m actually obsessed with these books. This was so fun and engaging and I love that it’s different than a lot of other ya romances I have been seeing. I love that it includes aspects of d&d and diverse characters. I hope there are more!

This book was so cute! I loved the first book in the series, and this was a beautiful follow up! Can't wait to buy it when it comes out!

3.5 ⭐️

Another wholesome, quick teen romance with a cute D&D connection. I liked the change of scenery with this one, namely a fresh cast of characters and D&D being incorporated via livestreaming.

The supporting characters, namely Quinn's grandmother and her elderly companions, were the standout. The pickleball scene was just too cute!

I know I'm not the target audience for these being a ~40-year-old laaady~ but I'm glad I had a good roll of initiative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Romance for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

hehe this book was so cute. i loved Quinn and Logan. and just the whole group of friends. they were all so great together and i loved that they rallied behind Quinn and didn’t blame her when her old friends were being asshats. i also thought Quinn’s grandma was hilarious and the inclusion of pickleball was perfect. the dynamic between quinn and logan was adorable, they could literally do any activity together and have a good time. those small little romantic tension areas were a nice little addition and i wish there was more but i know this is a YA book lol. i read her first one and seriously loved it and thought it was so cute and this was so different. i found myself chucking and cringing a lot, but in a good way lol. also a sucker for cute and colorful covers

thank you netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 ☆
⤿ 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴: 💌 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴

✧.➛ "𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥."

scandalous for a YA, if I must say...

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗻𝘀 is a love letter to high school - the good, the bad and the inbetween - the broken friendships, giddy crushes and new d&d groups?

⤿ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩, Quinn has switched schools leaving behind irreparable friendships. Fortunately, the new school has a d&d group but they're kinda extreme with their livestreamings and no dating within the group rules. Unfortunately, Quinn has a crush on one the players and he might just reciprocate...

𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙖𝙣 ₊˚⊹🧸 a farmer boy, charm extraordinaire, sweet talker of the grannies and hopelessly gone for Quinn.

𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙤𝙣 ₊˚⊹🫶🏼 rival to Betty White, matchmaker straight from a soap opera, pickleball champion and the coolest granny alive.

- ~ -

4.02 / 5☆

Thanks to Random House. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Dating and Dragons” somehow tops Boyce’s best selling ‘Dungeons and Drama’ with its addictive pace and romance!

The book follows Quinn, after moving to a new high school she joins a live-streaming D&D group with strict rules against dating— and of course sparks have already flown with one of the players.

You’ll fall in love with Quinn and as many others have said the breakout character of this book is definitely her Grandmother! I absolutely love their dynamic and Boyce does a really good job at balancing the hardships of taking care of an elderly grand parent with how wonderful it can be.

I loved the D&D aspects of the book and even if you don’t really know anything about the game you will enjoy reading this! (and you’ll probably want to join your own campaign!)

The romance is sweet and I really feel the immediate chemistry between Quinn and Logan.

Overall I had a really enjoyable time reading this book and it’s a great palate cleanser from adult romance! Highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun lighthearted nerdy YA romance!

I was beyond excited to get the ARC for this book from #NetGalley. I read Kristy Boyce’s previous novel Dungeons and Drama, back in April and I absolutely loved it. So when I saw that she was writing a second book I could not wait to get my hands on it. So much so that I signed up for #NetGalley specifically to be able to read this book.
.
Dating and Dragons follows Quinn as she relocates to a new high school in the middle of the school year. She has had some drama in her previous school, where she lost both her best friend and her D&D group. When her chaotic good grandma drives her to school on the first day of school she meets a group that have the makings of a good D&D party. With the excuse of making new friends she joins them at their new campaign. They are a lot more serious about their D&D tho, they have rules and they live stream every session. But not every member is happy that she is joining, Logan goes from charming to obnoxious when he finds out that Quinn is their newest member, but why?
.
The book is super cute and wholesome with the slowest of burns in the best way. It features a very intriguing D&D campaign that made me want to take my dice out and play along. Highly recommend Dating & Dragons, it comes out December 31th. With a Special edition cover from Barns and Noble can’t wait to get a physical copy of it. Thank you Netgalley and Kristy Boyce for allowing me to read this before release. Can’t wait for you guys to read it.

This was a beautifully written, lighthearted delight of a book! I read it in one sitting. I was giggling and having a great time with these characters! The main characters were so sweet. I’m a sucker for mutual pining, and this delivered! I am obsessed with grandma. I am her biggest fan. I loved the friendship and family relationships in this book. In summary, this book is now a favorite and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

3.5

I think this book was cute and fun, I would have enjoyed it more if I knew about D&D but that's my own fault lol! It didn't take away from the book at all that I have never played or learned to play. I enjoyed it! I don't typically reach for high school romances but it was a quick fluffy easy read!

Oh my goodness DnD, forbidden love, nerdy references, strong friendships what more could you ask for in a rom com!!! I absolutely adored this book and characters I felt like I was part of the group oh heck I wanted to be part of the group! I loved how each character was developed and world building was fantastic I will definitely be reading more by this author!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

This was exactly what I needed to read. It is a cute, cozy, nerdy YA book that had me giggling and rooting for Logan and Quinn the whole time. While I was disappointed that Riley and Nathan weren’t in the story, it was nice that this was just a standalone story where the only commonality with Dungeons and Drama is the Dungeons and Dragons part. 4.5⭐️