Title: Dating and Dragons - Dungeons and Drama Book #2

*Release date: 12/31/24 | Read: 12/16/24

*Author: Kristy Boyce-I read Dungeons and Drama and gave it 4 ⭐

*Format: eBook 336 pgs.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance, and Kristy Boyce for this ARC🧙🏾 ! I voluntarily give an honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

*Setting: Laurelburg, Ohio

*Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance

*Tropes: D&D campaigns, forbidden romance, female/male friendship, clean romance, cover lover, coming of age, forced proximity, found family

*Look out for: aging grandparent, bullying online

*Synopsis: Quinn has just moved to a new town in Ohio after her friends turned against her. On her first day at a new school, she meets and joins a new friend group that is serious about Dungeons & Dragons. She played with her ex-friends for fun but for Logan and the crew, it's life. She feels a spark of attraction to Logan, but they can't break a D&D rule of no fraternization with members.

*Characters

* Quinn Norton-16, starts new school junior year
* Andrew-15 yr old brother, popular soccer player
* Kashvi + Sanjiv + Mark + Sloane- new D&D crew
* Logan Weber-D&D crew but has a spark w/ Quinn
* Paige/Caden/Makyla/ Travis-Quinn's ex BFFs
* Barbara-Quinn's grandmother
*Chuck-Logan's father, a farmer

*Review: This had much more D&D with live streams than Dungeons and Drama. The romance between Quinn and Logan was second to D&D campaigns, the character builds, and role-playing. Quinn and Logan's relationship started rocking with Logan treating her cold. They bickered until things changed and they worried about their friends' reactions. Quinn and her grandmother were funny, especially her trying to set Quinn up with Logan. I loved Quinn and Kashvi becoming BFFs and starting a business jewelry making. I don't know if I was the demographic because I've never played or had any interest in D&D.

*Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

*Spice level- 1/5 🌶️

Adorable! I liked it even better than Dungeons and Drama and I loved that one too. The characters were all fun and relatable especially Quinn and all of her family and their dynamics. I especially love her grandmother, an unapologetic instigator with the best intentions and keen instinct. This was low stakes fluffy fun with a nice helping of D&D goodness. I felt like we got a bit more of the group actually playing in this book than we did in Dungeons and Drama which I really enjoyed. I thought that it worked really well to showcase the dynamics between the characters both in and out of the game. I have zero complaints and humbly demand that we get more books in this series because I need more of this in my life please.

This book rolled a Nat20!

THANK YOU NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read Kristy Boyce’s “Dungeons and Drama” earlier this year, so I KNEW I would eat this one up!

Quinn, after a devastating fall out with her old friend/D&D group, is adjusting to her new school and wanting to make friends. As fate would have it, she stumbles upon a fun, charming, and adorable friend group on her first day.

She’s invited to sit in on the last session of their campaign and very quickly realizes, this group is SERIOUS and means business. Will she fit into this close-knit group, or will things implode like last time? It doesn’t help that she has eyes for Logan, the charismatic leader of the group. Especially when their number one rule is to not date other members.

The characters were so lovable right from the jump! Quinn’s relationship with her grandmother reminded me of mine. I loved her grandma’s sass! I loved how Quinn and Logan’s relationship blossomed even while facing challenges.

God, this was just absolutely, gut-wrenchingly cute. I love Quinn and Logan. I love their friends. I love grandma.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

A cute and fast read but more juvenile than I was hoping for.

I enjoyed the first one, but this one seem significantly younger than the first. I also feel like there wasn't as much D&D in this one, which is so interesting and fun to read about.

I liked Logan (as much as you can who is more than 1/2 your age 🫠), but I was having issues with Quinn, she just seemed kinda bland and another ones of those characters where you're not really seeing the appeal for their interest.

But I think this is a good series for those who enjoy young adult stores.

I liked how the author was able to craft a tragic event in the life of a teenager that didn't involve someone actually dying or committing a felony. It shows how teens perceive friendship breakdowns and it felt real and authentic!

Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce is a delightful read for young adult fans of romance and high school drama, who will be swept away by the relatable story of a teenager navigating friendships, loyalty, and first love in the unlikeliest of places - a Dungeons and Dragons group.

Dating & Dragons

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🫑 (YA Romance)

My favorite thing about this story was how much I related to the main characters feelings. This story did a good job at capturing embarrassment, nervousness, all the emotions of a teen in a new school. As well as all those warm bubbly feeling when you meet someone you’re in-to…
Although I don’t believe what some of the mmc says to be realistic for a 16yr old boy, I think it’s a good example to set at the same time, and it was cute.
The plot was dramatic (high school can be mean though) and entertaining and I liked the tension and kind of slow burn with the romance. A “will they-won’t they?”

I’ll admit, I’m not super into D&D, I’ve watched my siblings play, but this book def opened up that interest a bit more and I’d love to read more like this!

Thank you to Netgally and the author for allowing me to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Quinn has just moved to town, and she's not exactly torn up about leaving her old school since her friend group imploded. Being the new girl is still tough, so when she meets other students that play D&D, she jumps at the chance to join their campaign. Unfortunately, the cute boy from the first day of school is part of that group and seems to have had a personality transplant - he was super nice, but now it seems like he doesn't want Quinn to join their party. Quinn does it anyway, and is determined to prove him wrong and make new friends. One of the stipulations of joining the D&D group was agreeing to the no-dating-party-members rule, which won't be a problem because Logan seems determined to bait or ignore Quinn. The two grow closer outside of the game due to Quinn's grandmother's meddling, and it seems like maybe Logan is acting distant for a reason.

Dating and Dragons was another fun YA romance from Kristy Boyce set in the world of D&D players. Quinn and Logan are so cute together, and all of the side characters were interesting and fun. Seeing Quinn find a healthy friend group is definitely something that may be beneficial to any teens reading the book. This is absolutely a first purchase for libraries!

3.5 stars - Another delightful and fun teen romance from Boyce! Starting at a new high school in the middle of the school year is never easy, but for Quinn it at least means she's free from both her ex-friends and their D&D group, whose implosion they're blaming entirely on her. So when Quinn stumbles upon another D&D group at her new school, and is invited to sit in on a session and maybe even join in on their next campaign, she knows she absolutely cannot mess this up. It doesn't matter how cute and nice Logan is - well, was - the group has a no inner-party romance rule and Quinn is more than happy to stick to it. Dating is just not worth the risk.

I really enjoyed watching Quinn's journey through this novel, seeing her re-gain her confidence and find support in a group of people who are willing and eager to bring her into their world. I also have to say I loved how unapologetically YA this novel is. It's full of teenage struggles and romance, which might come across as a little dramatic at times, but when you put yourself into the shoes of a teenager, it just *works.* Filled with a charming collection of characters, a slow burn romance, and plenty of D&D, this was a lovely and heartwarming story about family and friendship.

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

These books. I'm obsessed. Quinn and Logan and Kashvi and Sanjiv and Sloane and Mark. They're the best. Barbara and Andrew are hilarious side characters. I can honestly say that I still have no interest in D&D but I will eagerly read any books Kristy Boyce writes about it.

If you like grandmas, D&D, forbidden romance, jewelry, pancakes, and just the swooniest boy, read this one. I love me a good YA romance with a couple so worth rooting for!

Quinn joins a D&D after starting at a new high school in hopes of making new friends. It is even better that the group includes a a charming boy named Logan but the group has a strict no dating rule.

I loved this book, the banter the characters quick wit and the slow burn was so good. This is the second book I have read by this author and I loved both of them. They are quick and easy reads that are super cute.

Dating and Dragons is a fantastic YA romance read. As a D&D player, I adored how Boyce captured what it’s like to play in a campaign and how group dynamics affect the overall enjoyment. I also loved the decision to use short chapters as it made it so easy to devour this book. You could easily sit down and read this book in one sitting. I really enjoyed the found family that Quinn surrounded herself with from the D&D group. The friendships they made was one of my favorite parts. While the romance was a little too instalove for me, it felt in line with high school romance. The absolute best part of this book, though, was easily Quinn’s grandma. I absolutely loved her shameless set ups. Overall, I had a great time reading this and can’t recommend it enough.

Cute teen geek romance revolving around DnD (thank you for giving me ideas for future on shots lol). The drama ws real, giving me flashbacks of how vicious high school kids could be.

Yes, I saw the reveals from a mile away, but that was probably experience talking. This actually pointed to how relatable the characters were even though you might not have been in the same exact situation. We could all remember the fuzzy feeling with our first teenage love and the pain from toxic friendship.

Nothing special but not bad either.

Review posted on Goodreads.

This book was a cute, fun read about a girl in a new town with hobbies that followed her from her old one. An avid D&D player, Quinn is fortunate enough to find a new squad to play with fairly quickly.

I really liked the premise of this book, though for me it was just YA enough to lose my interest fairly early on. That being said, I do think that lovers of D&D and Teen Novels will really like this work.

I thought I knew exactly how this plot was going to go, but then it became far more complicated than I expected which was so investing, however, I still feel like the ending felt a bit rushed and was too easy once they got there. Still super cute and I like the other topics it touched on like friendship, self-confidence, and betrayal. And for a YA novel, this got a little steeamyyy

Finding books that have some of my nerdy interests always makes me happy! I loved the 1st book in this series and this title was just as good! I think its super awesome to read about characters who play D&D, and other games that I do to compare if I have had any of the same issues. The author is really great at making characters relatable and lovable. I hope there were be more books like this to come!

After really enjoying Dungeons and Drama, I was so excited that Kristy Boyce decided to write us another book in this world. I'm familiar with Dungeons and Dragons. While I'm not really fanatic, I love seeing it in books. Dating and Dragons is a book I read in just about one sitting and it left me with a big smile on my face.

Our main character Quinn moves halfway through her junior year. I know how hard it is to move and start a new school. She had her worries, but was also really glad to leave a toxic environment with ex friends at her old school. I loved seeing Quinn try to find new friendships and open up about a favorite hobby of hers. She grows a lot in this book and it was so nice to see.

The group of friends Quinn makes when she starts playing Dungeons and Dragons were so much fun. These kids clearly have been friends for a while an I loved their dynamics. They're very serious about their game and even stream it. This leads to rules to make sure nothing can mess things up. One of those rules includes not dating other members. Which of course makes her attraction to Logan complicated. I will say that while I loved the slowburn romance between Quinn and Logan, the friendship aspect of this story was way more important to me. Dating and Dragons isn't just a young adult romance, but also deals with change, growing up, friendship, and daring to be yourself.

I do have to say that Quinn's grandmother stole the show in this story. She had me laughing out loud and was an amazing grandmother. It was cute seeing her trying to set Quinn up with Logan. Family is important and I love we got a lot of family time as well. I enjoyed Dungeons and Drama, but Dating and Dragons has become my favorite out of these two books. If you're looking for a heartwarming young adult romance, I highly recommend picking this one up!

My review will also be posted on https://thebookdutchesses.com on December 21st.

If ‘Dungeons and Drama’ was great, then ‘Dating and Dragons’ is superb! This story definitely pulled me in more than the first (but the bar was set high!).
This book is a cute, nerdy romance centering around a friend group that plays D&D, so it fits a specific crowd, but is fun and easy to understand with limited or no knowledge of D&D and nerd culture.

Some things I LOVE about ‘Dating and Dragons’:

-The author is really good at creating a fun, lighthearted atmosphere throughout both novels, even during conflict points.

-The characters are all lovable and written with distinct personalities.

-D&D. Need I say more?

-I liked seeing the other hobbies that everyone the group had. It made them more relatable and those small details really made the characters shine.

-Quinn’s grandma is right that Orange Sherbet is the best.

There was absolutely nothing I didn’t like about this book except that it ended. I hope a third book is coming!

*Huge thanks to Kristy Boyce, Random House, and NetGalley for proving me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for honest review.*

This was cute! Definitely geared for jr high readers and or those just getting in dnd. Characters were decently relatable and had normal teenage problems. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend!

I was giving this book as an eARC in return for a review.

I had so much fun with this book! It was a blast.

This friend group is so wholesome and great. All of the characters were fun and I had a great time on their journey.

The ending was resolved perfectly. I loved the epilogue!