Book Review : Dungeons and Drama

Dungeons and Drama (Dungeons and Drama, #1) by Kristy Boyce
Series: Dungeons and Drama #1
Published by Delacorte Press on January 9, 2024
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org
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When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn't hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!
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...

As someone who just participated in her first ever Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) game about two months ago, I was really excited to pick up Dungeons and Drama, which sounded like such a fun read. And thankfully, I was right, Dungeons and Drama is delightful—a fun and fast romp filled with likable characters and a cute romance between a theater kid named Riley and a D&D geek named Nathan. When Riley is forced to work in her dad’s store as punishment for absconding with her mother’s vehicle and driving to a musical without a license, she meets her coworker Nathan, who she has more in common with than she ever thought possible.

Thankfully, even if readers aren’t into D&D, they will be able to understand everything in the novel.  Because Riley is a complete and utter newbie, Nathan and the rest of his friends take their time introducing her to the game. I was a little disappointed that the novel didn’t get more into the nitty gritty of the game, as someone who is interested in learning more about it, but I can’t really complain, as instead the focus is given to the romance. But those looking for very in-depth descriptions of character creations, stats, or details of their campaign might be disappointed.

 

“You play it cool with Paul. If he asks, you can say we’re dating and if he sees us together at school, then we can pretend we’re more than friends.”

“When did we become friends?” I roll my eyes. “Fine. More than mutually annoyed coworkers. And in exchange, I’ll do the same with you at the store.”

 “And what exactly does that mean?” 

“I’ll make Sophia jealous. I’ll…I don’t know…” I have to push down a shiver of revulsion. “I’ll flirt with you.”

 

Faced with her ex, Paul, Riley panics and blurts out that she’s in a new relationship as well, naming Nathan as her brand new boyfriend. Despite his distaste for Riley and her attitude, Nathan agrees to fake date Riley as he hopes it will make the girl he likes, fellow D&D player, Sophia, jealous. As time goes on and the two spend time together in and out of the store, they come to see each other in a different light. Their bickering quickly turns into flirting.

What I like most about their blossoming relationship is that Nathan and Riley see and celebrate each other as they are, not who they could be. There is no makeover to make geeky Nathan look more attractive. He gets to keep his glasses. Plus, Nathan and Riley support each other’s hobbies. Neither one has to stop doing what they love in order to be in their fake relationship. Though they both initially had their reservations about the other’s obsession, D&D and theater respectively, the two realize that there is quite a lot of overlap between role playing and acting.

“You’re going to love it, Riley,” Dad says. “I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before, but D&D is perfect for you. Just think of it as acting practice.”

 “Acting?” 

“Yes. You’ll be playing your own character—deciding how they’re going to speak, what they’re going to wear, who they’re going to kill. It’s all up to you!” He beams at me. “I have a good feeling about this.”

 

I also really enjoyed that Dungeons and Drama doesn’t just focus on the relationship between Riley and Nathan. The novel also spends quite a lot of time showing how things like board games and D&D can bring people together. Through her time at the store, not only is Riley able to make friends with Nathan and the rest of his D&D campaign friends, but she’s able to reconnect with her dad, who is divorced from her mom. It was another really sweet storyline.

The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about was the portrayal of Sophia. Dungeons and Drama barely passes the Bechdel test. Riley does have a very supportive female best friend, Hoshiko, and they do talk about things other than boys, thankfully. However, Sophia really doesn’t exist outside of her time in the store. She isn’t developed outside of being pretty and wanting to take advantage of Nathan’s crush on her. She comes across as merely a plot device to make the fake dating thing happen. 

 

There are very few women in geeky spaces, so it hurts my soul to see Riley and Sophia quasi-competing over a man. Even though Riley never loses sight of the fact that she’s helping Nathan get with Sophia, it still feels like they’re actively against one another. It also was a total bummer that Sophia never had any redeeming qualities or anything. There’s not a moment where she and Riley have a discussion about their feelings for Nathan and learn to put their misunderstandings behind one another and become friends or anything. I would have really liked to see that personally and think it would’ve taken the novel to another level.

Other than that disappointing portrayal, I really loved Dungeons and Drama and it was so nice to read a rom-com that centered on the geek world. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a short and fun read with a wholesome romance. I am already looking forward to reading the sequel, Dating and Dragons.

 

 

 
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