Hey readers! Welcome to the first book review of 2025! In this post, I’ll be talking about a recent read of mine, Dungeons And Drama by Kristy Boyce, a YA contemporary rom-com!

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Curious on how I review my reads? Check out the guidelines here:

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Blurb

When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!

No one loves musicals more than Riley Morris—her dream is to be a Broadway director. But when the spring show is canceled, Riley has to figure out a way to bring it back. Easier said than done—she’s stuck working at her dad’s game store. The place that means more to him than his family does.

Riley can’t waste time at a dead-end job when her entire future is resting on making a name for herself. So she convinces her co-worker Nathan Wheeler—the floppy-haired, glasses-wearing guy she barely knows from school—to help her. In exchange, she’ll help him make his gamer-girl crush jealous. Plus it won’t hurt to show her egotistical ex, Paul, just what he’s missing without her.

Soon Riley and Nathan are “a couple,” and people seem to believe it. But selling the ruse means joining Nathan’s role-playing game. To Riley’s surprise, the game is almost fun. And even more surprising, flirting with Nathan doesn’t require as much acting as she thought it would. . . .

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Personal Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would probably rate this book 4.5 stars, but considering that there’s no half-star emoji, four stars will suffice.

Dungeons and Drama was soooo cute! I don’t usually read contemporary, and I haven’t read a rom-com, and gosh, did it exceed my expectations. The banter was adorable, the characters were vibrant, and the plot was (somewhat) engaging. The romance was really sweet and the fake dating was more fun than I was anticipating. It was adorably predictable.

I enjoyed Riley’s character. I loved the way that she was so exuberant and bright. Her bubbly personality really shone through. I think she had a very strong character and stayed true to it the whole way through the book.

I also loved Hoshiko (pronunciation, anyone?). I could definitely relate to her more than I could Riley, and I love their friendship. The two are adorable together.

And Nathan. He was annoyingly cute for a nerd. Not really my type, but gosh he was such a gentleman and was sooooo cute with Riley and ugh. Why does romance have to be so hard in real life.

I’m not really into musical theater, but I’ve always liked the idea of one day being in one. I’m not a great actor (lol), but I like to sing and dance. I’ve dabbled in Dungeons and Dragons before, but I have found it very confusing and extremely difficult to play (perhaps that’s because I refuse to join a real game with other people who actually know what they’re doing. No, I refuse to let my reputation as a cowgirl be ruined.). But the plot was easy to follow and fun enough to keep me reading!

I wish that Riley’s relationship with her parents was explored a bit more. It fell kind of flat in so many ways. I could relate a lot to the way Riley felt… but I wish it got more page time.

The romance also felt a bit rushed at times, especially at the end.

Also, there is a pretty major plothole. (This does not contain spoilers, don’t worry). So the whole reason Riley is working at her father’s game store is because after her friend’s car broke down, Riley stole her mom’s car and drove (without a license) to a Broadway musical. Now, that would make sense, but her friend had her license. Why didn’t her friend just drive? If my truck broke down, there ain’t no way I’m saying to my sister, who doesn’t have a license, “Hey, so you drive since my truck broke.” NO! I’m going to drive her car!

Anyway.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I devoured it in two days and enjoyed every second.

Tropes

• Fake dating
• Grumpy x Sunshine
• Slowburn
• Musical Theater
• Gaming

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Content Review

Spice

🌶️🌶️

A few kisses, described but not in detail. Lots of touching and hand holding, but nothing inappropriate. Sweet romance.

Language

💬💬

Taking the Lord’s name in vain. I don’t remember if there are any other cusswords but I doubt it.

Violence

🗡️

Some pretend violence during the D&D campaign (made-up characters killing made-up characters). Otherwise none.

Religion

None referred to.

Positive Messages/Influences

Characters working hard to succeed. Friendly characters. Parents telling characters not to blame themselves for something that happened between them. Supportive friend groups.

Negative Messages/Influences

Character is gay and has a boyfriend (not described much, nothing romantic happens between them). Divorce between two characters is seen as justified. Toxic ex. Trying to make someone jealous by fake dating. Character that flirts with many girls.

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Thank you all so much for reading! Did you enjoy this review? Are there any other criteria that you would like me to judge a book on?

Have a blessed day!