I so badly wanted to love this one and a lot of the pieces definitely worked for me. For context, I'm both a D&D player and a drama nerd. I LOVED the dynamic of the D&D group and the game shop as a setting. My biggest frustration was definitely Riley. Living in her headspace was just not it for me, even though she did grow on me towards the end. Overall, 3.5-4 stars and one I wouldn't mind giving a second read.

Since I saw the cover of this book I knew I wanted to read it! It was such a fun, light and cute read. It truly had me bursting out laughing in some parts and just screaming in others.
Honestly, the characters and the plot were just both amazing and don't even get me started on how bad I was swooning over Nathan. I think I have given him a piece of my heart that I will never take back. And Riley doesn't stay far behind. I loved how passionate she was and how she wanted her dreams to come true. All of that determination and resilience just gave the book even more of an essence and I really loved that.
I really enjoyed reading this book, it had all my attention and it was just so engaging. I had both my feet in the air when the whole plot of the fake dating started, there's nothing that I love more than a good fake relationship woohoo.
Anyways, this is an amazing book and you should go read it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Y'all this was so cute. It was cute and funny but also very serious at times. My husband's a lifelong D&Der (never a LARPer though) and I love acting but not improv so I never could get into it. We play with my nephew but I don't play in any of my husband's groups. Anywho, I really enjoyed this book! If you're a nerd or nerd adjacent, you'll enjoy it too! The cover is cute but why didn't they use the ampersand?!?!????

An absolutely adorable nerdy story filled with laughter, tears, and romance! Perfect for fans of romance, ttrpgs, and enemies to lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

Fake dating, high school, musical theatre nerd fmc, gamer mmc, jealously pact, top tier banter, pop tarts, dnd group, coworkers to friends to lovers,

I am absolutely obsessed with this book! THIS is the YA romance book I have been waiting for! All the relationships, friendships and romantic, are handled beautifully and feel true to a high school, teenage environment. It was also a hilarious book, there were multiple times I just had to stop reading and laugh at what was going on or cringe at the behavior, but let’s be real, we all did cringy stuff as teenagers.

My biggest concern when starting this book was how large a part dungeons and dragons (dnd) would play in the plot. I have never played it myself, nor do I know much about it. How it is handled in this book is wonderful, it’s described just enough to where to where you know what’s happening in the moment and you can follow, but it’s not information dumping on you. One of my favorite scenes is when Nathan buys Riley a set of her dice, which I know is a very big deal in the dnd realm because the dice are basically a representation of the player. I knew from that scene that he was a goner and we were just waiting for Riley to catch up.

Also, I also would’ve stolen my mom’s car and illegally drive to see my favorite musical. Luckily, I have my own car and license.

A cute ya story that features many facets of geek culture why displaying how teenagers actually act. Riley and Nathan brought out the best in each other while actually being honest about their feelings. The YA genre needs more cutsey stories like this!

Kristy Boyce has done it again! This was a sweet and entertaining read. Aspiring director Riley desperately wants to save her school musical. Her problem? She’s been grounded and forced to work at her semi-estranged father’s gaming store. With fake dating, Dungeons & Dragons, and plenty of theater references, this book appeals to both teens and adults alike. The main focus is definitely on Riley’s situationship with Nathan, but there’s also excellent development in Riley’s relationship with her father and in the friend group that comes together.

I am not well-versed in D&D, but it was explained well enough that I could follow along and enjoy the story.

Thank you to Netgalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Riley is grounded after her impulsivity made her drive without a license just so she could watch a musical. Now she'll need to work with her father at the store she blames for her parents divorce and for how distant her relationship became with him. That's where she meets Nathan. They can't get along when he seems to have be closer to her father than her, but his name is so in her head it's his name she spurts when she wants to prove to her ex-boyfriend she's moved on and is seeing someone new.

Maybe I'm not really inspired to write a reasonable summary, but the story is pretty straightforward. Riley needs to mend her relationship with her father while getting to know Nathan better. And this book was a super light read, I loved the good feeling it would bring me whenever I opened it. Still, I must say this was more of a 3.5 rounded up to 4 than a solid 4.

As I said it's a good read. But maybe all those tropes together obfuscated each other? There isn't a feeling of a lot going on, but a lot was indeed going on: Riley wants to save her school's musical from being cut from the budget, she starts participating in Nathan's RPG group in order to make some other girl jealous for him, there is her broken relationship with her father too, and her lying to her parents since she wasn't supposed to be directing a play after school when she was grounded so she'd see a world outside the theater, and there are the side characters. I promise the book isn't this overwhelming, but all this mix took out a little of the emotion. Nathan and Riley are great together, but their feelings develop in the middle of so much I didn't have time to cheer them on until it was too late to cheer for anything. Most of the happenings that were supposed to be memorable became a little bland. I can't say what could have improved the experience, but it could have been better.

My other problem was with Riley herself. She does change in relation to her father, but I'm not so sure she herself changed with this journey. Didn't things just start to conspire in her favor, instead? Plus, she wasn't unbearable, but something about her was mildly irritating. She was lucky her rival was so much worse. But I'm not so sure what's the lesson to get from this despite the ending making us feel as if we should have learned something. There's the father part, but I think she'd have chosen the same before too.

Still, it's worth your time. The characters are great,there is a general feel good going on, and it's probably what made this such a light read. I liked the writer's style and I'd love to read more of her books.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I was excited to read this book just from the cover. Dungeons and Dragons and musicals? That is basically my whole identity. It’s also fake dating which is my favorite trope!

I thought the book was really great. You can tell that Boyce is a true fan of both D&D and Musicals. She captured those aspects of the story very well. The friendship, and budding romance, of Nathan and Riley was incredibly sweet. I just wanted to scream the whole time cause they were so cute and so aloof to the fact that they liked each other. I enjoyed the dynamic of the rest of their group as well. The way they came together in the end had me in tears.

Riley, at times, frustrated me as the narrator. She didn’t think much outside of herself and musicals in the beginning which plays a large part in her growth throughout the book. Nathan also frustrated me with his crush on a girl that was clearly using him. I know it is for the plot but it made me want to scream.

I love a good YA romance and this one hit all the marks for me. It was incredibly heartwarming and just overall a good time!

Thank you NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Kristy Boyce for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a really cute young adult book that follows our main character Riley. She starts working at her dad's store and meets Nathan while learning more about gaming. They agree to a deal to make his crush jealous but end up with more feelings towards one another than they planned. This book is adorable and combines a lot of interesting subjects, such as drama and gaming, to make a realistic and heartwarming romance. I recommend it!

Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours, Random House/Delacorte and Kristy Boyce for an advance copy of this!

This book will be published on January 9th.

"Guys don't tend to skip their favorite things unless they really like a girl."

My gosh. I absolutely adored this book! It was totally swoony worthy and I just absolutely loved Riley and Nathan!
This is my first Kristy Boyce book and if her other YA books are like this, then I need them!

Riley gets in trouble and has to work at her dad's game store. She has always giving a side eye to the store as she believes the store was the reason for her parents divorce. After what turns out to be a misunderstanding meet cute, Nathan and her team up to fake date. in order to make the ones they want jealous. Riley wants to try to win her ex back and Nathan wants to get the attention of fellow gamer Sophia. What Riley was not expecting is how INTO fake dating Nathan would actual get (I was even surprised myself).

I loved the banter between Riley and Nathan and those small moments that as a teen would had me soaring. Nathan is such a cheerleader for Riley and you can tell just how head over heels he is for her. I love hearing Riley's inner monologue when they were "acting" and when her feelings were starting to develop. Anytime they were together it just made me smile and their car ride conversations just were so sweet.

The friendships in this group were top notch. It reminded me of the friend group in Stranger Things without all the fighting/monsters. They just had each other backs and when someone needed help, they all pitched in to help. There is a moment towards the end where this really stood out and just made my heart so happy. This is also a tale for any age to try something new because you never know what you may be missing out on!

I did not do this review justice but trust me I just loved it so much!! And if you need something light, fluffy, swoony YA, with table top role playing game, and theater - read this book!

I loved everything about this! Between the music theatre and D&D this was a wonderful read. I enjoy both of these topics so having them merged together was a treat!

I loved Nathan's friend group so much. It was nice seeing the diverse personalities mixed together especially when they're participating in a campaign. Riley's tenacity was inspiring when it came to making sure her school musical wasn't cut.

Nathan and Riley's fake dating was adorable. I wish this was a dual pov just so I knew what was going on in Nathan's head.

A great YA novel. Recommend!

Dungeons and Drama was perfection. I even joked with Prince Consort B that it was a little like us: me, a show tunes lover and him, a DND player. His response “eh.” Thanks Babe.

But I digress.

There was so much to Dungeons and Drama. Riley’s complicated relationship with her divorced parents; her developing fake relationship with Nathan; the support from all the “nerdy outcasts.” I really felt like I could see Riley’s growth. While she was still very dedicated to the spring musical and bringing it to life, you’re able to see her open her heart to her bumbling father and the DND group. She may not understand the game, but she eventually understands the togetherness and “found family” that it becomes.

Nathan was the perfect enemies-to-lovers fake boyfriend and he turns up the swoon.

Overall, Dungeons and Drama was sweet and lighthearted and such an adorable read. I loved it so much and can’t wait for more from this author.

Thank you to Delacorte Press for the review copy.

This was a cute and funny YA romance and I really enjoyed the theater girl and gamer boy aspect. The romance between the two was sweet with the fake dating trope. The side characters were also fun and enjoyable. I loved how we go to see them all together playing D&D and even a side character love interest. Thanks to netgalley, Penguin randomhouse, and Kristy Boyce for the eArc.

I adored this book from the first page! It was completely adorable and had the best kind of high school released drama. I'm always a sucker for fake dating and this was no exception. All of the D&D details were wonderful especially the dice buying scene and the fact that Nathan's character has the same name as one of my TTRPG characters! So many parts of this book took me back to high school in the best way (including my high school best friend's full name being in the book)! I am so happy I read this and hope others enjoy it as much as I did!

I wasn't expecting to adore this book as much as I did! The storyline was not typically something I would gravitate or relate to, but I found myself drawn to these characters and not wanting to put it down! Thank you for the arc! Happy almost pub day!!

I received a copy of this book as an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher.

What an adorable cinnamon roll of a book with the sweetest little HEA! As someone who loves boardgaming, and enjoys musicals, this was just so geeky, so sweet, so fun, and just the best palette cleanser too.

Riley gets punished for sneaking out to see a musical without permission, and her punishment is to work in the board game store her father runs for the next 8 weeks. While there she meets Nathan, a tall, broody, nerdy guy who works at the store. Then Riley's ex comes into the store and she blurts out that she's dating Nathan, so as not to make her ex think she's pathetic. And also Nathan has a crush on a girl, so they decide to fake date each other to make his crush jealous and want her too.

What ensues is a very predictable but very fun, sweet, and supportive story of friendships, passions, family, and being your authentic self. I highly recommend this quick read if you're feeling slumpy, or if you love musicals and board games.

This book makes me want to fall to my knees in the street and scream “it’s perfect” at the sky. The fake dating was absolutely perfect. The jealousy! The “fake” endearments! The kissing! I eat the trope up every single time GOBBLE GOBBLE BARK BARK.

Thank you to the Publisher for my arc!

Okay i will admit this was definitely one of those books where i had to remind myself that its YA and i shouldn't judge it too harshly but after finishing it. I actually really enjoyed it.

5/5 ⭐️
Five stars!! I had an amazing time reading this book. It took me a little longer to read than it should, only because I kept jumping up and down and giggling. Well except for the times I wanted to punch her Zac Efron wannabe ex-boyfriend.
This story was absolutely adorable. And perfect for me. We had a musical theater girlie who has to work at her dad’s gaming shop as punishment but then finds herself joining in on the D&D games hosted there by a few of her classmates. But mix in fake dating. It was great. It was soooo cute! Though, I will admit, the one slightly unrealistic thing was the love interest’s moves. He was too smooth! Where did he learn these moves. However, that being said, I swooned. I swooned so hard at all his moves. I would’ve jumped him a whole lot sooner than she did. From move one, I was a goner.
I highly recommend this book. Especially for anyone who finds themselves emotionally invested in these kind of teen romcoms, like the Summer I Turned Pretty and etc. I promise it will put you ins good mood.
Thank you to NetGalley and PenguinRandom House Publishing Group for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.