Back of Book: 

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... 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A nerdy romance that combines theatre and D&D in an explosive fake dating arrangement that had me constantly giggling aloud! 

Riley Morris isn't just a theatre kid—she is an aspiring director who will do quite literally anything to commit to the show. Even if that means "borrowing" her mother's car and driving without a license to see an off-Broadway production of "Waitress." Now, she is grounded and forced to work at her father's gaming store, which she has literally zero interest in. And to make matters worse, she is forced to work with the annoying Nathan Wheeler. After a series of unfortunate events, Riley and Nathan find themselves in a fake dating arrangement in order to make their ex and crush jealous respectively. Little do they know that a fake relationship is hard to keep up, even as a serious actor and roleplayer. The two begin to walk a dangerous line between what is real and what is fake. Is it so wrong of Riley to wish for more, even though she knows that Nathan's heart yearns to be with someone else? 

I was so excited to read this one as soon as I realized it existed. I can't quite call myself a theatre kid or a D&D enthusiast, but they are both art forms that I have dabbled in and enjoyed my time with immensely. And this one did not disappoint! It fed both nerdy niches perfectly and combined them in such fun ways that had me fangirling alongside both Riley and Nathan. 

Speaking of Riley and Nathan, these two are so cute together! I love their banter from their first interaction and every time they graced the page together, I knew that I was in for a treat. The way these two communicate with each other is adorable, and I love the inside jokes that form between them as this novel progresses. Uniting these nerds is so pure, and I was happy to see them slowly thaw to each other's presence as they spent more time together. I'm usually not a huge fan of fake dating, but I found myself immensely enjoying the romantic tension between these two that it created. I still don't love that they were only together to make others jealous, but the results were mostly harmless in the end. 

All of the friendships presented in this book are also amazing. Everyone needs someone that they can unapologetically be themself with; Riley and Hoshiko are definitely that for one another. Their love for musicals really brought them together, but it is great to see all the other common ground that cemented their best friend status. The D&D troop features quite a bunch of colorful characters and I found myself appreciating what they each have to offer (even Sophia, who is a major jerk played her role well). Mr. and Mrs. Morris are also characters who I adore and came to love each in their own right. They are truly great parents to their daughter, despite their shortcomings they both possess. Also, I love when parents have personalities and hobbies; it makes them feel more real. Books often have pretty caricature parents in them, but Riley's are fully fleshed characters, which I picked up on right away. 

The passion that Riley feels towards theatre is honestly inspiring. She will do anything in her power to ensure that the show goes on, even if it takes devoting most of her free time to do so. If everyone in the world cared as much as Riley does about theatre, the world would be a much better place. 

One thing that still has me scratching my head about this book though is part of the premise. Riley takes her mom's car because Hoshiko's wasn't working and drives it some distance to see "Waitress." I understand why her parents were so angry at her for doing this for multiple reasons, but why didn't Riley let Hoshiko drive? Hoshiko at least has her license and Riley's parents would have been a lot less worried about their daughter's safety on the road at least. This is a minor thing, but something that had me wondering if Riley was just that stubborn or what. 

Overall, "Dungeons and Drama" is the pick-me-up romance that I needed right about now. It is fluffy, nerdy, and even swoonworthy at times. It is also hilarious, and frankly, it's super adorable! The focus on acting is front and center in this book, which I am always a huge fan of. Exploring both theatre and D&D in great detail made this romance extremely comforting to me personally. I also loved the execution of fake dating, which isn't something that I can often say. This was the perfect book to keep me company on Valentine's Day, and I am super excited to check out the rest of Boyce's books in the future!  

Back of Book: 

From the author of the nationally bestselling Dungeons and Drama comes another gaming romance that's sure to win you over!

Quinn Norton is starting over at a new high school and hopes that joining a D&D game will be the trick to making friends. The plan sounds even better when she’s invited into a group that includes Logan Weber, the cute and charming guy she met on her first day of class. But this isn’t your average D&D campaign—this group livestreams their games and enforces strict rules: no phones allowed, and no dating other group members.

Quinn is willing to accept the rules, even if it makes Logan off-limits. And she quickly learns that doing so won’t be a problem, since Logan goes from charismatic to insufferable as soon as she agrees to join. As their bickering—and bantering—intensifies inside and outside the game, Quinn can’t help wondering: Is Logan’s infuriating behavior a smokescreen for hidden feelings? Quinn is risking it all, and the twenty-sided dice are rolling! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Kristy Boyce does it again with another nerdy D&D romance that had me absolutely cackling by the end! 

Quinn Norton finally has the chance to start over after her family moves cities to be closer to her aging grandmother. Quinn is grateful to leave her old town after her ex-friends and previous D&D group turned against her. When she ends up stumbling into Logan Weber on her first day of class, things are really starting to look up. That is until she joins his D&D troupe, and he starts acting rather icy towards her. Unsure why the charming boy is now turning stone cold, Quinn still can't help but feel inevitably attracted to him. The more time they spend alone together, the harder it gets for Quinn and Logan to not crave each other's presence. 

I absolutely adore "Dungeons and Drama," so I snatched this one up as soon as my library added it to their newly purchased shelf. I wasn't as immediately hooked on this one as I was the first novel, but it didn't take long for Quinn and Logan's relationship to grow on me either. 

The tension between Quinn and Logan is electric. From the very start, I could tell how badly they wanted to get to know each other deeper but were scared due to the fact that their D&D group has a rule specifically stating no romance between party members. Seeing them be so successful at avoiding acting on their feelings only adds to the tension as I patiently waited for their wills to finally break down. Quick note, the things that Logan says are actually so hot, like come on, who does he think he is teasing Quinn like that? 

My favorite part about this book has to be Quinn's mischievous grandmother. She was constantly meddling in Quinn's life and making up excuses to have Logan around. The fact that Grandma shipped these two so strongly really had me wheezing with laughter; I can't say no to a great matchmaker! And all the messages about growing older, embracing life to the fullest, and not letting age constrict one's lifestyle were also very potent. Go Grandma! 

The overall nerdiness was turned up to the max in this one. This one featured a group of D&D geeks who go as far as to livestream their sessions like Critical Role. They attend a comic con together, make jewelry from dice, and just have the darndest time hanging out with one another. If only everyone had a group of friends like this in real life. 

I was literally cackling by the time I came to the end of this one. The grand reveal at the end was so funny I couldn't help but laugh aloud. The entire scenario was just too good, and it definitely had a big rom-com grand gesture feel to it. No spoilers, but man, it did some good for my soul. 

Overall, "Dating and Dragons" was such a hysterical good time that oozed with the nerdiest of romances. I adore the cast of characters (especially Quinn's grandmother) and couldn't get enough of the hilarious interactions between everyone. The "will they, won't they" pull in the relationship added just the right amount of tension to this perfectly gooey sweet romance. I can't wait to devour more of Boyce's books in the future, the nerdier the better!