I don’t usually read YA romance books anymore, but the cover of this one really caught my eye. When I read the description, it sounded like something I would enjoys, so I was really excited to be approved for an ARC. It did not disappoint! This book was so adorable and had me hooked from the beginning. I read it in two days and stayed up way too late both nights finishing it. This was a very easy and quick read, but so enjoyable!

This felt like a fun mix of Can’t Buy Me Love and High School Musical. I enjoyed watching Riley integrate herself with the gamer group and find a way to make Dungeons and Dragons fun for her. I thought the author did a great job of creating a variety of characters surrounding Riley and Nathan between the gamers and the theater kids. While the fake dating ruse followed a predictable course, I loved watching Riley and Nathan’s relationship grow from animosity to friends to more. They were so sweet together! I really felt the emotion between the two of them the whole way through.

While I did enjoy the wide range of characters, I did think some of the character development was a little under developed. There were a couple interpersonal issues that Riley wasn’t directly involved in that were touched upon but not fully explained. Specifically, I would’ve liked to know more about Riley’s parents relationship (how they got together, when they got divorced, what Riley’s father was like with Riley before the divorce, etc.). I also wanted to know more about Nathan’s parents and his relationship with Riley’s father. I thought Riley and Nathan were going to have some deeper conversations about their parents and other personal struggles eventually, but it never happened.

Overall, although this was a short read and I think it could’ve had a little more, I absolutely loved this story and still would rate it a 4.5, which I’m rounding up. This book left me feeling so happy! I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a sweet YA romance!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. There are some spoilers in this review.

The book is predictable, but I want to say that it's because it does a good job of setting things up. Obviously, Riley is going to develop feelings for Nathan, but the book takes its time and drops these little nuggets throughout the book so when she does come to the realization, it makes sense and doesn't feel like it just suddenly happened. Obviously, the friends she made through her time at her dad's game shop are going to help with her musical presentation when she thinks all is lost, but again, we're given proper build up to it. Nathan mentions that she could've asked her dad to take her to the Waitress showing and she says the thought never occurred to her, she mentions how impressive Josh and Jordan's costumes for LARPing are and how her classmates might be able to take inspiration for that for their musical. The book lays the groundwork.

Something that I feel like the book set up and then fell through on was the parallelism with Riley and her father's passions. It's set up early on that although Riley doesn't understand her father's motivations, they both share something that they are passionate about from the bottom of their soul—and that Riley's mother wants them to focus on "what matters more" over those passions. But nothing comes out of this. The reason for the divorce is never delved into (we know that it's because Riley's dad "chose the shop over his family" but that's purely from Riley's perspective and that's all we see) so we miss the nuance of what is a complicated situation. There was a chance to have Riley better understand the circumstances of the divorce through this similarity, but it simply doesn't happen. But to the book's credit, I did enjoy the relationship that Riley had with her mom (and later with her dad).

There's a fair number of side characters in this book. One things that it does well is that the side characters have distinct voices--but I feel like that's more because they have distinct archetypes than anything else. I get that Boyce needed a lot of side characters because you need to fill the party, and you need regulars at the game shop, but they're all fairly flat.

As someone who is very passionate about D&D and has very strong beliefs on how TTRPG can help teens develop social and emotional literacy, I'm very excited about all the D&D related YA Fic coming out. With that said, there's quite a lot of nitpicky things that irked me as a big fan of the game that I'm sure would also annoy any diehard players among the teen readers. It's probably not a big deal to casual players who pick up this book. It's all small things like... the d20 that's there at the start of every chapter shouldn't have the heart AND 20 visible since whenever custom icons are used, it's used in place of the 1 or 20 (and the 1 is always on the direct opposite side of the 20), or Lucas commenting offhand that he doesn't have a chance to use a Scottish accent since he's always DMing as if he has no NPCs in his campaign, or how paladins don't have a "protect ability" (whereas protection domain clerics do). There are hints to how D&D has helped this group with social literacy too in the way that (most of) the boys are very supportive when Riley is just starting out and going ham with her character voice and performance.

Such a delightful and fun YA romance. It did have my least favorite trope (miscommunication), but it also had a favorite: enemies to lovers! The main character is a delight and her relationship with her BFF is fleshed out and a true joy.

Dungeons and Drama made my nerdy little heart ridiculously happy.

This YA romance delivered all the musical theater, Dungeons and Dragons, high school, first time falling in love feelings. Theater nerd Riley is having to work at her dad's game shop as a punishment after taking her mom's car for an unauthorized joyride. She's never been a huge fan of games, but she quickly gets roped into a Dungeons and Dragon group which meets at her dad's shop. Opting to be a bard, she discovers that theater and gaming have more in common than she thought. Nathan, her co-worker/nemesis, has a massive crush on another girl in their group, and Paul, Riley's pompous ex, is being a jerk, so Nathan and Riley agree to a fake-dating scheme. Because that always works out so well. Naturally, as Riley and Nathan get to know each other, they start to develop real feelings.

The plot is super simple and straightforward, and there are lots of typical teen moments--drama, lack of communication, hiding things from parents, and so forth--but honestly, this book just made me smile. The entire time. Was it super deep? No. Is it supposed to be? Also no. Did it fill me with nostalgia for my high school musical days and wish my D&D group had been half as cool as theirs? Absolutely.

If you love all things nerdy, this book is for you. It's so freaking fun. And the cover is SO STINKING CUTE.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. Thanks to the publisher for advance review copy.

This was a very cute and fun book. I loved every part of it. I loved Riley and also Nathan. The two of them were very sweet together also. I liked how the book actually had the parents be important in it. In many YA books you don't see that. It was refreshing and nice. It was also well written and fun!

I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a campy and fun read and it makes me smile knowing that there's a ya book releasing that's all about board games and dungeons and dragons. There's some weight to the story as well with the MC figuring out how to connect with her dad after her parents divorcing and her mom creating distance between them. It's done in a way where the mom realises what she's been doing and is actively trying to make it right. Fake dating is one of my least favourite tropes, but it was done well here with the characters figuring things out along the way and growing through it. All in all there was a good mix of humour and seriousness. The end kind of wrapped up quickly, which could have been prevented if the FMC and MMC communicated sooner, but that's just a preference thing. Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the eARC.

Dungeons and Drama is so nerdy and cute! I absolutely adore this story! I couldn't get enough of it! Riley gets grounded and forced to work at her dads gaming store which she hates. She's dreading spending all her free time around the gamers who play Dungeons and Dragons and the boy who works there hates her. Nathan and Riley do not get along but when Riley's old boyfriends comes into the store Riley pretends their dating. Nathan decides to go along with it make his crush jealous. I loved watching Riley experience new things and make new friends. The Dungeons and Dragons scenes were really fun to read as well. I seriously loved this book.

This was a really sweet YA romance! It's got fake dating, opposites-attract, "annoy-ers"-to-lovers, and a teeny bit of found family. The plot is relatively straight-forward and predictable, but thoroughly enjoyable, and all the tropes felt fresh rather than overdone. The main characters have very well-developed personalities, so it was easy to believe their motivations. There's a decently large group of characters, so given the length of the book (short and sweet), the side characters ended up a bit two-dimensional. Regardless, they're all lovable and the banter and jokes among the group are really fun and feel realistic.

I'm a high-school-theater-nerd turned D&D-adult, so I definitely had that connection with the characters, but I think even if you aren't involved in theater or tabletop games, the book doesn't dwell on the mechanics and intricacies of either to a point that it'd turn people away. (It helps that the main character knows very little about D&D and the love interest knows very little about theater!) In fact, I'll definitely be recommending this to any readers interested in the fake-dating and drama tropes, regardless of their knowledge of theater or gaming.

Thank you for the e-ARC! I will post this review to Goodreads and Storygraph two weeks before publication, and will post a staff review on my library's public catalog after publication/after acquired by my library.

This book was heckin' cute. I'm not a musical theater person. I enjoy some of it, but I'm far from being an enthusiast, and I've never played D&D. All that aside I still enjoyed this book. The characters behaved like teenagers, which was a nice change from how teenage characters in other YA contemporary romance books I've read in the past. Although, I don't know exactly how old they are supposed to be, 17 I think?

I didn't really like Riley much for most of the book. She didn't have a lot of depth to her personality until she started getting more hobbies. I didn't do theater in school, but it's healthy to have more than one hobby. Even the theater kids at my school played sports or were in band or choir in the "off-season" of a school play. Some did all three. She also didn't seem to understand the weight of her actions that got her grounded. I know she's a teenager, but I also think she's old enough to know what the law is.

I liked Nathan as a character a little more than Riley, even if he was initially hung up on a girl who wasn't into him unless she could get something from him. I just found him to be slightly more mature than Riley in some aspects. I wish there had been POV chapters for him. I think it would have enhanced the story to see things from his perspective. I don't like just seeing one side of stories like this.

They were cute together though, before they were both willing to admit how they felt, I thought they were cute. Great foils for each other. They balanced each other out. I am much older than the target demographic, but I think this book is good for anyone who likes light-hearted romance, and it's great for teens.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This was such a cute book! I had so much fun while I was reading this that I didn't want to stop once I started. I loved all of the characters. They were all so distinct and the dynamic between everyone in the friend group was great. I really liked how unapologetically herself Riley was.

I loved Nathan and Riley so much! They were absolutely adorable and had amazing chemistry together. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and I thought it was done so well in this book. I constantly found myself smiling whenever I would read a scene with Nathan and Riley.

I loved this book so much and I'm really looking forward to reading more of Kristy's books in the future.

I absolutely adored Dungeons & Drama! It was sweet & cozy and i absolutely love a good fake dating storyline. It’s so refreshing reading a clean YA rom com with well written characters and a plot that flows and makes sense. And even though the plot was predictable and still enjoyed absolutely every minute of it because it was so well done!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for the chance to read this early!

This was a super sweet and fun nerdy YA romance that I wish I had when I was younger. As both a musical theater nerd and a game nerd this book immediately grabbed my interest! This was a great combination of fake dating and fun d&d scenes. Boyce does an amazing job at making the characters feel real and make their choices (while silly) make sense for the characters and the story as a whole! I really had a fun time reading this!

Much thanks to NetGalley and Random House Childrens Books for the ARC of 'Dungeons And Drama' in exchange for an honest review.
As a lifelong theater buff, fantasy game-movie-book-buff, and hopeless romantic, this book had me at hello on multiple levels.
Pure sweet fun all the way with every imaginable YA trope thrown in ..........the joys, and agonies of staging a high school musical, the heartaches of a child of divorce, a grounding punishment into an unlikely job, enemies-to-friends-to-much-more, and of course, a fake dating scenario that inevitably backfires on its participants
Riley's the theater kid with directing dreams forced to work for her estranged, divorced dad, in his store devoted to games like Dungeons and Dragons Not only is she thrust into a game culture she knows nothing of, Nathan, the store's invaluable number one employee immediately rubs her the wrong way. She's also hurting from her breakup with her one time school musical leading man Paul, and even more shaken by the school board cancelling any more musicals due to budgetary concerns.
Her life turns into whirlwind as she attempts to organize students into a mini-musical presentation to impress the board to rescind their decision. On top of that daunting task, she and Nathan fall into a fake dating scheme - for Riley to aggravate Paul who doesn't believe she has a real new boyfriend and for Nathan to generate attention from Sophie, a beautiful girl he's been crushing on. Yes, we know all too well how fake dating ends up, but it's the journey to the end that counts. Since we're rooting like crazy for Riley and Nathan, their stumbling, passive-aggressive and constantly conflicted road to romance becomes all the more endearing.
All these disparate plot elements (plus Riley's growing re-connection with her dad) come together.....as the theater kids and the D & D crowd (who realize they both share a love of high drama) all come together. No surprises whatsoever, but none needed, since reading 'Dungeons And Drama' is like setting down for an evening spent with good friends and bowls filled with your favorite snack. And that makes for a 5 star experience any time.

“Dungeons and Drama" by Kristy Boyce is a delightful romp that seamlessly combines the worlds of romance, gaming, and high school escapades. Riley, a musical aficionado grounded for taking her mom's car without permission, finds herself navigating an unexpected twist of fate—working at her dad's game shop to serve her sentence. In an attempt to save her beloved high school musical, she strikes a deal with Nathan, a nerdy teen employee. Their agreement involves fake flirting to make Nathan's gamer-girl crush jealous, but the catch is joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game.

The chemistry between Riley and Nathan is like a fireworks show, and their journey from fake dating to maybe-it's-not-so-fake unfolds with humor, charm, and a touch of unexpected romance. Riley's character, portrayed in her own voice, feels authentic to the high school experience capturing the ups and downs of teenage emotions. I felt like I was back in high school myself at some points! Well, until Riley would drop a metaphorical bomb, like mentioning she was in elementary school when Hamilton had a cast recording or referring to music from the 80s as “oldies”. Oof! I get it, I’m no longer the intended audience.

While the story sparkles with humor and heart, there are a few notes to consider. Riley's musical theatre expertise occasionally seems more entry-level than one might expect from her proclaimed passion. Additionally, a subplot involving her parents' divorce feels somewhat unresolved, leaving room for further exploration.

Nevertheless, "Dungeons and Drama" is a fantastic read, especially for high schoolers who appreciate a blend of humor, romance, and the quirky charm of both gaming and theatre culture. Boyce has crafted a tale that celebrates the joy of embracing one's passions and finding unexpected connections in the most amusing of circumstances. Grab it for the laughs, the feels, and a healthy dose of both D&D and romance.

May your rolls be natural 20s, and your heart be as full as a Broadway audience on opening night!

Anyone who knows me knows I love fake-relationship tropes. Combine that with musical theater and D&D and I am sold. The sweetness of the relationship that develops between Riley and Nathan, as well as the friendships that develop between the characters made this a fun, satisfying read. The side story about Riley's relationship with her parents was likewise very well done, handling divorce and its fallout in a way that felt authentic and relatable. I will admit that I wasn't sure I would enjoy this one at the start, but once Riley joined the D&D campaign and found out about bards, I was sold. This one made me laugh and cry and though I got a little frustrated with the lack of communication between Riley and Nathan (and it being a cause for emotional angst), it felt authentic for the ages of the characters and the resolution was quite satisfying. Fun, light, but heartfelt. Recommended!

Thank you to Random House Delacorte and NetGalley for the opportunity to read early in exchange for a review of Dungeons and Drama.

I adore that this book showed the diversity in friend groups. Showed that being the real you, obsessed with whatever still gets you some amazing friends!
I knew absolutely nothing about theater or D&D going into this but it was still so fun! Seeing Nathan and Riley get closer was adorable!
The chapter headers are so cute too!
The only issue I had was some descriptions of the characters. One example is right after she saw Nathan for the first time she wrote about him going behind the counter and then said “It’s a white kid”… idk why that was thrown in, felt random and like she needed to point out the kid who took cards was white. Just threw me off a few times in the book!

This book is so much fun!!! Riley is a huge musical theater fan. She lives for the high school musicals each year and wants to be an assistant director. Nathan is a huge gamer, especially games like D&D. Nathan just so happens to work at Riley's dad's game shop. Riley has been punished for 2 months and made to work in her dad's store because she took her mom's car without permission and drove to "Waitress" the musical without a license.
Nathan and Riley don't hit it off at all. But when she needs Nathan to help her fake a relationship in front of her ex, things could become blurred.
I loved everything about this YA book. It is clean, funny and sweet.

As a former thespian and D&D player, I loved this book so much! There's theater, role-playing, supportive parents, and fake dating!

As punishment for taking her mom's car without permission (or a license) to go see a musical, Riley is being forced to work at her dad's gaming store with Nathan. Meanwhile, her school is cancelling the spring musical, and Riley has to figure out how to save it, even if that means enlisting the help of her ex. Nathan desperately wants Sophia's attention, and Riley wants to prove to Paul she's over him, so they concoct a fake dating scheme, but are they good enough actors to pull it off?

The story is so cute, and the friend group is phenomenal. I laughed multiple times. I even cried because of Riley's scare with her dad's health since I recently lost my dad to the same thing. I absolutely recommend this sweet, mostly lighthearted book and would definitely read another by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy.

When I started reading Dungeons & Drama, I was hoping for a fluffy YA that felt like a warm hug & left me feeling cozy and happy. This is literally just what I got but also paired with real emotion from characters who were relatable and honest.

I loved the chemistry between Riley and her mom& dad. It felt like a normal teenage relationship, where you just don’t know how honest you can be with your parents for fear of being judged. Where you don’t know quite know how you fit in or if they accept the things that you absolutely love.

I loved how they shared their D&D games and brought you into that world. I really loved the relationship between Riley and Nathan as their fake dating evolved to real feelings.

This was such a good read for someone who just wants a fun & enjoyable book that is also full of emotion.

I listened to the audio and really enjoyed Eva Kamisnky as the narrator. She had a lot of expression in her narration and really brought the story to life.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and thank you to Delacorte Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dungeons and Drama was absolutely adorable. A YA Romcom that will have you laughing and breezing through it but not ever wanting it to be over. This is my first book by Kristy Boyce but I see that she has 3 others in her backlist and I will definitely be checking those out!
In this our female FMC, Riley, has gotten in trouble and is now grounded. Her parents are divorced and while her parents do co-parent her punishment is to work at her gathers gaming store for 8 weeks. She is only to go to school, the store and home. Her parents are the only ones that will be driving her as well.
She has a deep love for anything musical theater related and this is initially what got her into trouble in the first place.

Our MMC is Nathan. He works at the store her father owns, he also goes to school with Riley. In an attempt to help Nathan win the attention and hopefully get a date with the girl he is crushing on Riley and Nathan Agree to fake date.
Now I will say fake dating is not my favorite trope.. but even though it is the main trope we see throughout this entire book I could not put it down. You put my favorite things in one book…gaming, musical theater. It had me laughing the entire time. I generally believe that this is a book I will be coming back to time and time again to reset when I am feeling like I am in a reading slump and just to have as another comfort read. I can’t wait to read more Kristy Boyce.