This year is off to a fabulous start for the book team here at THP! We’re back with another January 2024 book release, and we think our gamers especially will love this one.
Introducing Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce, a lighthearted, fake-dating romance between Riley Morris, a theater kid set on bringing back her school musical, and Nathan Wheeler, her unexpected new coworker and gamer classmate.
We enjoyed diving into Kristy Boyce’s new YA novel, and we know you will, too. (Yes, even if you’re clueless about the Dungeons & Dragons game.) Here are three things we love about Dungeons and Drama!
Book Overview
Summary: 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…
The Fake Dating
One of our favorite romance tropes is fake dating, especially when it comes easily to both people, like in Dungeons and Drama. At the start of their fake relationship, Riley and Nathan discuss their expectations and boundaries so well. And Nathan catches on quickly! Whenever Riley’s ex, Paul, tries to talk to her, Nathan puts him in his place. Who wouldn’t fall for him? Their chemistry is so natural, and our hearts fluttered almost too much!
The Gameplay
We can’t talk about Dungeons and Drama without talking about the gameplay! When Riley joins Nathan’s D&D game, she takes on the role of the bard, who tells stories through song and can use magic related to their music. It’s the perfect role for a musical theater actress like Riley. We love how their fake relationship affects their in-game decisions. It was so fun reading along to their weekly campaigns at the game store. And we really love the side characters in their party, too!
The Drama
Finally, of course, we have the drama in Dungeons and Drama! (It’s literally right there in the title!) Getting Nathan’s crush, Sophia, to like him more is a gamble. And when Riley catches feelings for Nathan, she gets jealous of Sophia (when she’s the one in a fake relationship with Nathan). We can’t forget about Riley’s ex-boyfriend, Paul. He broke up with Riley, yet he tries to win her back after finding out about her and Nathan. You can call it petty high school drama, but we’ll eat it up every time.
Full of unpredictable game quests and real-life relationship drama, we’ve gotten addicted to Kristy Boyce’s exciting new YA romance, Dungeons and Drama!
Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce is out on January 9th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
What do you think of Kristy Boyce’s Dungeons and Drama? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KRISTY BOYCE:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
