TL;DR: It has been a hot minute since I’ve read a YA contemporary that I genuinely enjoyed as much as I did Dungeons and Drama. It was such a feel good, wholesome and perfectly adorkable YA contemporary! Was it perfect? No. But is it fun, entertaining, and probably perfect for theatre geeks and gamer nerds both young and old? If you’re looking for a good time then absolutely, yes! This is a book my younger self would’ve obsessed over and I wish that I had a cousin/niece/nephew/friend’s kid who was a young reader that I could recommend this to. I understand why so many readers have loved this book (and the others in this series)!

Dungeons and Drama is an adorable YA contemporary about family, friendship, community, and chasing your passions while also keeping grounded and understanding priorities.

Riley is obsessed with musicals and theatre and would do literally anything to pursue all things related to her passion, even if it means breaking the law or putting herself in a dangerous/precarious situation. She has such a vibrant and vivacious personality, and I enjoyed her endless enthusiasm and passion for musicals and stage production. She has a self-awareness about how people perceive her, but ironically, she ironically lacks awareness about how judgmental she is towards things that fall outside her wheelhouse—such as gaming and her dad’s love for it. I admit she was a little frustrating at the start, but I reminded myself she’s a teenager, so of course she would have a ‘teen attitude’. She does grow a lot throughout the story though, and I’m glad that she came to love the store and DnD by the end because I adored watching her make new friends, discover new interests, and find that balance with her manic passion for theatre vs everything else in life. There’s a lot to appreciate and admire about Riley. Her dogged determination and work ethic, as well as how she figures out her priorities and learns to balance herself in the process. It’s a lot for a teen to work through, but I think she does it well. And while I’m not a fan of lying—white lies, by omission, or deliberate secrets—I was also glad that things didn’t get too angsty and frustrating in that department before she came clean. I feel like we’ve probably all been there at some point in our youth! 😅

I absolutely loved her friendship with Hoshiko! It reminded me so much of my friendships in high school and how strong those bonds can be. Riley and Hoshiko were so supportive of each other and you can tell how they genuinely loved to see the other thrive and find happiness. Theirs was such an uplifting feel good friendship. Plus, it was so refreshing not to have any girl-girl drama in this and I want to see more of that in all books, especially in romances and stories set in schools! I also loved the friendship that developed between Riley and the D&D boys because they made for such an unlikely bunch of friends, but I think that’s what made them great. I adored Lucas’s golden retriever energy, John’s grumpiness and passion for LARPing, and Anthony’s flirtatiousness and good humour. Then of course there’s Nathan, who was a total sweetheart. It was sad to har about his family life and how little his parents pay attention to him, but that’s what made his friendship with the guys (+ Riley and Hoshiko) even more heartwarming. I do wish we got to know a little more about him beyond that though!

I really enjoyed the fake dating agreement Nathan and Riley strike up. It was so cute watching them fumble through many awkward encounters to make this fake dating thing work. I loved how they slowly developed a real friendship that turned into something more. I will say that the jump to love was a bit much (it would’ve still been great had they just stayed massively in-like with each other), but I know how the feelings can take over you when you’re young and so emotionally caught up in someone else. Nathan was Riley’s opposite in many ways, but they balanced each other out well. Their flirty banter was really cute and there were many swoony and sweet moments between them! I really liked how dedicated Nathan was to ensuring Riley’s happiness and making sure everything she worked so hard for didn’t go to waste in the end. I really wished that this book had existed when I was in high school because those butterflies and swoon were what my hopeless romantic heart lived for—I would’ve been so obsessed! 😂

I do wish that maybe we got a bit more depth when it came to her relationship with her dad. It gets explored a little bit, but I wanted there to be a bigger conversation about their dynamic—why were things the way they were, how they can improve together, including her mother. I would’ve loved an even more genuine and heartfelt emotional moment between Riley and her dad at the end, but it’s okay, I’m still glad they got a moment to talk about things, however briefly!

Overall, this was a really fun and satisfying read, not to mention that it’s super bingeable, too. I managed to finish it in one sitting! If you’re looking for a light, fluffy, feel-good read, I would highly recommend picking this up 🙂

Have you read Dungeons and Drama or is it on your TBR?

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