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blackveilbeccy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This was actually so adorable that I can’t even! I loved basically everything about it - the geekiness, the fake dating trope, the chemistry between the main characters, the wonderful side cast. You definitely cannot go wrong with a glasses-wearing, DND playing nerdy MMC. Occasionally the FMC gave me “not like the other girls” vibes, but beyond that I can’t fault it. I do agree the FMC’s dad got a rough go in this book and that the mum wasn’t very nice to him. This has been one of my favourite reads recently and I hope the author writes more in this universe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, and Death of parent
tkatt20's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I don't know how to feel about this one. To say it started out rough would be a severe understatement. I was one instance of second hand embarrassment away from putting this book down and never picking it back up again, but I'm always a sucker for fake dating and this book was under 300 pages, so I pushed through. It did get a little better as it went on, but I'm still shocked that it's rated as highly as it is.
To start off, this is classified as YA, and it is entirely possible that I am too old to enjoy this book, but I'm honestly not sure if teen me would have even liked this either. The writing was not very imaginative, I think the worst part of this for me, was the character descriptions. When a character is described as a "pudgy white guy" it really breaks my immersion and honestly doesn't give a lot to go off of, plus, all the character descriptions are like that, and we absolutely see some stereotyping going on here. I can usually look past character descriptions once all the main characters are introduced, and we start getting into the meat of the story, but it doesn't help when a majority of the characters are pretty annoying and/or dull. Our FMC, Riley, makes so many questionable choices and spends the entire book lying and taking advantage of her family. I appreciate that she isn't like that with her friends most of the time, but I can't say I lied to my family this much as a teenager. I mean, the whole reason this book happened is because she stole her moms car and drove to see a musical WITHOUT A LICENSE. Like come on. And then halfway through the book she's like hmmm maybe I should have asked my dad to take me. Girl, you could have killed someone. And all her parents did was ground her for a few weeks and make her work at her dad's store. Her dad, by the way, was actually really cool and didn't deserve half the treatment her got from the Riley and her mom. Yes, he wasn't perfect, but her mom was far from perfect herself, and it seemed like she was trying to turn Riley against her dad the whole time. It doesn't help that Riley goes through some mild hypocrisy too when she gets mad at her dad for not showing an interest in her hobbies when she spends the first half of the book adamantly against his, but I digress. I will say her mom does come through when she's really needed, but I still think she should have taken a step back to look at herself before placing the blame on Riley's dad. This is more of a personal complaint, but do all musical theater kids sing this much? The middle of a DnD campaign to sing a full song from a musical is not the time or the place in my opinion. Maybe all my DnD groups have been on more of the tame side when it comes to the role play part, but I very viscerally cringed every single time that happened.
In all honesty, the FMC isn't all bad. I appreciated how driven she was and for the most part she didn't just bail on everyone when she started having relationship problems. There was definitely a good start to a strong female lead, she was just a bit too independent for her own good. I also did really like her relationship with the MMC, I could absolutely see those two working it out long term. I also really liked all of her friends. There wasn't a lot to separate them from each other, but I still really liked that she had a supportive friend group.
Other than that, the story had its cute moments and I obviously did like some aspects of it to make it go from an almost DNF to a 3-star book. I think with some polishing and a little work on the writing, I probably would have loved this one. YA romances were always good palette cleansers for me, but I think I need to accept that they may not be my cup of tea anymore. Either way, it was cute, and I'm happy I did read it.
To start off, this is classified as YA, and it is entirely possible that I am too old to enjoy this book, but I'm honestly not sure if teen me would have even liked this either. The writing was not very imaginative, I think the worst part of this for me, was the character descriptions. When a character is described as a "pudgy white guy" it really breaks my immersion and honestly doesn't give a lot to go off of, plus, all the character descriptions are like that, and we absolutely see some stereotyping going on here. I can usually look past character descriptions once all the main characters are introduced, and we start getting into the meat of the story, but it doesn't help when a majority of the characters are pretty annoying and/or dull. Our FMC, Riley, makes so many questionable choices and spends the entire book lying and taking advantage of her family. I appreciate that she isn't like that with her friends most of the time, but I can't say I lied to my family this much as a teenager. I mean, the whole reason this book happened is because she stole her moms car and drove to see a musical WITHOUT A LICENSE. Like come on. And then halfway through the book she's like hmmm maybe I should have asked my dad to take me. Girl, you could have killed someone. And all her parents did was ground her for a few weeks and make her work at her dad's store. Her dad, by the way, was actually really cool and didn't deserve half the treatment her got from the Riley and her mom. Yes, he wasn't perfect, but her mom was far from perfect herself, and it seemed like she was trying to turn Riley against her dad the whole time. It doesn't help that Riley goes through some mild hypocrisy too when she gets mad at her dad for not showing an interest in her hobbies when she spends the first half of the book adamantly against his, but I digress. I will say her mom does come through when she's really needed, but I still think she should have taken a step back to look at herself before placing the blame on Riley's dad. This is more of a personal complaint, but do all musical theater kids sing this much? The middle of a DnD campaign to sing a full song from a musical is not the time or the place in my opinion. Maybe all my DnD groups have been on more of the tame side when it comes to the role play part, but I very viscerally cringed every single time that happened.
In all honesty, the FMC isn't all bad. I appreciated how driven she was and for the most part she didn't just bail on everyone when she started having relationship problems. There was definitely a good start to a strong female lead, she was just a bit too independent for her own good. I also did really like her relationship with the MMC, I could absolutely see those two working it out long term. I also really liked all of her friends. There wasn't a lot to separate them from each other, but I still really liked that she had a supportive friend group.
Other than that, the story had its cute moments and I obviously did like some aspects of it to make it go from an almost DNF to a 3-star book. I think with some polishing and a little work on the writing, I probably would have loved this one. YA romances were always good palette cleansers for me, but I think I need to accept that they may not be my cup of tea anymore. Either way, it was cute, and I'm happy I did read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Medical content
melinda_sue124's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
bzliz's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s cute and cringe but I had a good time reading. I kept thinking it would make a good Disney Channel original movie, which is probably its biggest issue. It really gives “older person trying to be hip” vibes. The ideal audience is people who have merely heard of D&D and some musicals because you will be let down if you have deep knowledge of either category. (I mean… Riley somehow played several sessions without using dice? And everyone knows theater kids are always obsessed with an obscure musical that played for two weeks in the 80s, not just Hairspray and Hamilton, right? Right??)
The antagonists Paul and Sophia were pretty one dimensional also. They did a great job of being speed bumps in Riley and Nathan’s relationship development but they were one step away from twirling mustaches and monologuing about how much they suck and love to use other people. And I can’t get over how the punishment for Riley was to work at her dad’s store, nor can I get over crime itself. Like girl, at least let your friend drive since she has a license, unlike you!
The antagonists Paul and Sophia were pretty one dimensional also. They did a great job of being speed bumps in Riley and Nathan’s relationship development but they were one step away from twirling mustaches and monologuing about how much they suck and love to use other people. And I can’t get over how the punishment for Riley was to work at her dad’s store, nor can I get over crime itself. Like girl, at least let your friend drive since she has a license, unlike you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Gaslighting
hardbackhoarder's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
I want to note that some of the words used to describe fat people are not words I would consider flattering.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gaslighting
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
FINALLY A BOOK THAT COMBINES MY LOVE OF BROADWAY AND D&D! A fun and flirty contemporary romance with tropes like: fake dating, miscommunication, and opposites attract. I enjoyed the callbacks to all the hit Broadway musicals and songs. The D&D elements were a fun touch, plus MONTY PYTHON REFERENCES. Did I know exactly where the plot was going...DUH, did I love the ride regardless...YESSSSS!
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting
booksalacarte's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Dungeons and Drama 4.5⭐️ 1.5🌶️
Young Adult contemporary romance
16yo FMC
Theatre kid
Divorced parents
Fake dating
Opposites attract
Coworker romance
Clean romance
Clean romance
This was a very cute YA romance following two high schoolers, one a theatre geek and the other a gamer. This unlikely pair see sparks fly when the FMC had to work in her dad’s gaming score as punishment for taking her mom’s car for a joyride without being licensed!
The cover makes me think it was a YA contemporary fantasy book instead of just a YA Romance. But it’s a cute cover!
I loved that this was an Ohio setting, since I am from central Ohio. I’m also a theatre nerd! So really this book was right ip my alley.
The pop culture references of Broadway original casts, movie quotes and song lyrics can easily date a book, pigeon holing it into a very specific timeframe. I’m not quite a fan of that, but the references were so well done, I can’t be annoyed.
Some of the topics covered are the hard work and preparation that goes into performing. There was really good flushing out of a child of divorced parents and what that can be like. The book even touched on what toxic crushes can look like. This is an easy recommendation for any high schooler. Bonus if they are a theatre nerd or gamer/D&D geek!
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
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