This is such a cute YA rom-com. The faking dating trope is done really well, the banter is fun. I really enjoyed Riley and Nathan’s story.

Super cute story that made me feel like it was my husband and I all over again. I loved the characters and can't wait to read more by this author!

Riley loves musical theatre. After high school she plans to study theatre and ultimately become a director on Broadway. But how is any of that going to happen if she doesn't get experience now? And when the school board, in all its uneducated wisdom, decides to 'save money' by cancelling the annual musical production, Rile knows she has to take matters into her own hands.

But when Riley borrows her mom's car - without permission - she's grounded and given the worst punishment ever ... she has to spend her after school hours in her dad's game store (where the geeks sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons in the afternoons).

Riley, wise and worldly, spots some romance tension among the afternoon nerds and makes a deal with the geek, Nathan who is having trouble getting one of the gamer girls to even notice him despite his huge crush. Riley promises to 'fake flirt' with Nathan, which she guarantees will make the crush sit up and take notice. In exchange, maybe Nathan can cover for her from time to time as she has plans to for convincing the school to keep the musical. Nathan agrees and even offers to 'fake flirt' back with her to make Riley's 'ex' jealous.

Who would ever expect that there's a lot more behind the 'fake' flirting? Who would ever imagine that there are so many similarities between theatre and LARPing (Live Action Role Play)? Riley's 'punishment' brings two geeky worlds together and also helps Riley connect with her father whom she hasn't spent much time with since her parents' divorce.

I. Had. Fun. This was a really delightful, even if predictable, read. Everyone, even the likely teen reading this, knows that Riley and Nathan are going to get together. This isn't a secret and it's not meant to be. The fun is in the development of the characters (which is very well done).

Although Riley made a mistake and is being punished by her parents, we really like Riley. She is the outgoing but nice girl that every high has (or should have). She's not clueless - except when it comes to the boy closest to her. Even then, though, she thinks she sees something but she doesn't want to put thoughts or words into her head. Riley is the focus of the book and she is very much the most well-crafted of the characters. And while Nathan plays a big role (no pun intended), there's really not much to his character. We never get to know anything about him other than what's important to Riley and that he steps up when it matters.

Although I've never been a teenage girl, I was a musical theatre and gaming geek in my school days (still am in my approaching retirement days), so there was a huge appeal to me. I am glad it didn't disappoint! It was so nice to read a YA book that it overall positive and uplifting and not full of angst and drama (despite the title).

Looking for a good book? Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce is a fun RomCom for teens and geeks of all ages.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, as always, a big thank you to NetGalley and Random House. I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Let’s get into it.

I DNF’d this book. Early too.

Why? A few reasons actually.

The characters felt a little flat which made it hard to really care about them and their motivations. And when describing a character, the author felt the need to describe them all as white aside from I think two POC. Literally, “a white guy” “white kid” “white guy” over and over. Guess we aren’t allowed to have diversity in this one. It was really annoying.

Also, there are mixed kids who look white until you actually look at them, plus white passing Black people. Like, not everyone who looks white is but nah, we have to be told, explicitly, that all these people are white. We can’t get a story with a diverse cast at all.

Next, the main character decides that she wants to go see a musical with her friend, but her friend’s car breaks down. What does she do? Take her mom’s car without permission and drives super far to go see it. Without a license.

What’s her punishment?

Her mom and dad are divorced. Dad runs a game store, mom’s an interior designer. He used to work in IT but this was his passion. And they got divorced over it due to the perceived expense and time drain.

As if being an interior designer leaves you free for all kinds of family time? The mother at one point literally says this is a busy time for her. So it’s kind of good that she’s spending more of it with her father.

Now, back to the punishment.

Spending that time with her father IS the punishment. She has to work at his game store.

“Hey, you know your dad’s dream that I never supported? Talked bad about in front of you and let drive a wedge between us until we got divorced? That’s your punishment! Actually spending time there!”

That’s absolutely disgusting.

There’s no respect for the dad at all. And he’s actually really happy that she’s there too.

I’ve read a ton of stories where the teen MC has divorced parents and is forced to stay with one. And those parents had genuine reasons for getting divorced. This was just infuriating to read. Like, wow. And you’re supposed to be considered a good parent?

She’s trash talked this guy and his dream store so much in the last five years that his daughter was surprised to see her dad has friends there! And has fun! And that the store is actually selling! She actually thinks “maybe I just wanted him to be lonely” and that right there comes straight from the mom talking poorly about him.

I couldn’t stand this girl, or her mother. And the way everything was unfolding just bothered me.

I can’t recommend this book. I couldn’t even finish it.

I love Dungeons and Drama. It was well written and I loved how it balenced musicals and D&D. I couldn't put it down and I hope for a sequel because i enjoyed the characters so much! I loved how the 2 groups of friends ended up becoming best friends each bringing somthing different to the story. The chemistry between Riley and Nathan is the perfect balance of wanting, playfulness, and pretending they don't have feelings for eachother. This is the perfect book to read if your looking for something light and entertaining. It had a great mixture of comedy and romance without being too overly detailed with the romance. I highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Dungeons and Drama

Author: Kristy Boyce

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: MM romance side couple, South Asian character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, D&D, Musicals, RomCom

Publication Date: January 9, 2024

Genre: YA Romance

Age Relevance: 13+ (romance, underage drinking)

Explanation of Above: This is a romance book, so there are some cute romance moments but nothing PG+. There are also mentions of underage drinking.

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 304

Synopsis: Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she's grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop. Riley can't waste her time working when she has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan—a nerdy teen employee—to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous. But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn't require as much acting as she would've thought...

Review: This book was so cute. It was so cute that I went out and bought the book recently because I could not stop thinking about it. And I'm also really excited for the second book in this little series. Anyways, this book focuses on our main character Riley who is a big theater geek. She loves musical theater and a lot of her references in the book are devoted to musical theater, but particularly those of classical musical theater and not modern musical theater, which... Eh not a fan. Anyways, in the book our main character is trying to figure out a way to save her school's theater program and she gets grounded from taking her mom's car to a theater performance and ends up at her dad's gaming shop where a group of employees and other kids play D&D on the regular there. The main character meets with one of the other employees whose name is Nathan and yeah it's a YA romance, what do you expect lol. I thought the book was really cute and it did so well at developing all the characters and building this really big story. The world building felt really well fleshed out and I just can't wait to dive back into the world of this book. I also love that the author merged both dungeons& dragons and musical theater in this book. It would seem like a really unlikely pairing, but… ya know bards exist lol.

My only slight thing that I didn't like about it was that the ending was a little quick in my opinion, but also all of the musical references being classical rather than modern. I feel like that's more of a me thing though because I'm more of a modern musical theater lover than a classical musical theater lover, but you know I would have liked to see a little more RENT rather than a little more Hello Dolly.

Verdict: I loved it so much. New fave.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the E-ARC. This is my honest (albeit late) review**

This exceeded expectations! I want more YA romances like this one.

It starts off a little slow but once we reach the point of no return for Nathan and Rileys fake dating plan, it keeps a nice pace.

I love the chemistry between the main couple. It had a touch of enemies to lovers vibes and a whole lot of fun tidbits for the theater and DnD kids. I love the family relationships and friendship dynamics that are explored without losing track of the main couple.

I also love that the FMC may change and gain new interests but it doesn't overshadowed who she is and what she is passionate about.

Bonus points for queer side characters and diverse rep worked seamlessly into the story.

This is what I would consider tame on the teen romance spice spectrum. Internal thoughts and bodily reactions are kept G rated imo. I would 100% be okay with my middle schooler reading this if they wanted with no concerns. Plenty of sweet moments and laugh out loud banter.

This was adorable.

Five reasons to read this one!

1. DND - I have never played DND but after reading these books I feel like I'm severely missing out!
2. Fake Dating Trope - I enjoyed every minute of Riley and Nathan's fake dating to lovers storyline. They were so cute together and it all felt natural in it's development.
3. Friendship - I loved how easily Riley's friend settled into the DND group. They definitely found their people!
4. Family Dynamics - Riley's parents have recently divorced and after taking her mom's car without permission, and with no license, she's been relegated to working at her dad's game shop. Let's just say her relationship with her dad isn't a close one so getting to see them learn to understand each other was one of my favorite parts of this one.
5. Love of the Arts - Riley loves a good musical and I loved watching her bring that part of herself into their DND games. It was fun watching her bring together her classmates and friends to try to convince her school officials that having the musical in the schools is important. It was great!

I definitely recommend this one!

This was a cute read. If you actually play D&D you will probably get a little more out of it but you can go into it knowing nothing about the game and being just fine. Sweet and cute its got your normal high school tropes, fake dating and lots of miss/no communication. Over all, a light read with a few broken family issues thrown in and a happy ending.

As a lover of all things geek culture, I thought this was absolutely adorable. I thought the family storyline was extremely touching, and all of the characters in this book were so unique and fun.

Dungeons and Drama was a very cute YA book that seamlessly tied the love of drama and D&D together. I thought that the author handled the concepts very well in a way that wasn't too overwhelming for an audience that might not know the ins and outs of the game. It might be my age, but the idea that the main character was literally not punished for going behind her parents back after that being the premise of the story (that she was grounded and need to work at her father's store) showed a lack of character development and forced me to suspend belief. Other than that, the book was cute and I enjoyed it.

This book was so fun


10/10 my new favorite author. I will definitely keep an eye out for her other books

I could not put this book down if my life depended on it
What I loved
Fake dating trope
Drama club meets dungeons and dragons
The best group of characters
Swooney
I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t stop smiling
Such a fun book!

What an absoultely adorable book! I am normally attracted to the thriller/mystery genres, but as the mom of a theatre kid who plays D&D, the description of this book drew me in. Boy am I glad it did!

Riley is on a mission to save her school's musical, but to do that she'll need the help of her nerdy coworker Nathan. In exchange for his help, she agrees to "fake flirt" with him to catch the attention of the girl he is crushing on. As time goes on, Riley isn't sure if she is still fake flirting, or if it has turned into something real.

I loved the characters of both Nathan and Riley and how they were developed throughout the story. The plot was very realistic and I could imagine it happening anywhere. I really liked that the author didn't feel the need to add any unnecessary sex scenes or foul language to the story. Since finishing this story, I have been recommending it to many readers- teens and adults alike! This was my first book by Kristy Boyce, and I look forward to reading more of her works in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Such a fun and nerdy read! Perfect for summertime! Loved the relationships with the parents and how that undertowed the relationships she was learning o have with friends and new friends. Such a good read.

This book is a fun, entertaining read! The romance was very PG but very cute and interesting to follow as it unfolded. The characters were dynamic and relatable, even the "bad guys" of the story. A great read for anyone who loves to play games or has always wanted to try playing. It was also a great story about a daughter building a relationship with her father after her parents divorce, it touches on some issues that a lot of teenagers could be dealing with while going through their parent's divorce.

I would consider this book a YA rom com. Although I don't fit into that genre, I still really enjoyed it. It didn't read as a YA genre. It was funny and cute. This is a fake dating trope and it was really well written. This follows Riley who has dreams of being a broadway director. One day she steals her moms car and gets grounded so she can't help her high school spring concert out. Her mom makes her work at her dads gaming store. There's a boy named Nathan that she get to cover her shifts in exchange she says she'll help make his crush. jealous and what happens when she has to join his Dungeons and Dragons game...theres a whole lot of drama. It was so good, go read it!

Kristy Boyce's writing continues to impress - I always enjoy her stories, although I liked this one less than HOT DUTCH DAYDREAM, I think the main characters were a bit annoying in this book - YA isn't always my cup of tea, and this book had a few of the elements as to why I don't usually read YA. I know Riley was a high schooler, but she was pretty whiney and some of the conflicts seemed trivial (I really don't think parents would care if their kid was practicing after school for a musical). Additionally, the basis for the fake dating wasn't fleshed out as well as it could've been since sometimes the MCs were fake dating and sometimes they weren't, depending on who they were around. I also thought the other relationship with Nathan and Sophie was weird and misplaced - it made it difficult to believe that Riley and Nathan actually had chemistry and were interested in each other when he seemingly kept pursuing Sophie. I didn't dislike this book for all its faults though, so I'm giving it a middle of the road 3 stars. I did appreciate learning more about gaming, especially since my partner loves Warhammer, D&D, and other games mentioned in the book! Thanks so much for the ARC.

This YA romance was so cute! I hope they write an in-universe sequel with the side characters. The cover is very eye-catching and not generic like a lot of YA romance covers are.

Cute YA novel about a drama teen and a D&D one. Their worlds collide and it is so adorable. Lots of angst and pining with such a perfect ending.