Dating and Dragons coming December 31, 2024 from Penguin Random House; 336 pages
Content Warning: Victim blaming, minor car accident
About the Author: “Kristy Boyce is the nationally bestselling author of Dungeons and Drama, Hot British Boyfriend, and Hot Dutch Daydream. She played her first role-playing game in high school and has been friends with that group ever since. In fact, she even married the DM. Nowadays, she teaches psychology as a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. When she’s not spending time with her husband and son, she’s usually writing, reading, or watching happy reality TV. Kristy lives in Pickerington, Ohio” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Kristy Boyce on the following platforms:
“Different doesn’t mean bad … sometimes different is better.”
A new town, a new school, and a new friend group are some of the first things that greet Quinn, a junior in high school, when her family moves closer to her grandma. Quinn is delighted to find that Kashvi, the one friend she has made since starting her new school, is interested in D&D like her and that her group is looking for another player. When she accepts the invitation to join their campaign, she is both shocked and thrilled that Logan—a cute boy with whom her meddling grandma orchestrated an awkward encounter—is also a part of the D&D group. However, Quinn soon finds out that this group has many rules, the most important being this: don’t date anyone in the group. As the distance between Logan and Quinn begins to diminish, Quinn fights her feelings for Logan to keep her new friends that she’s grown to love.
As someone who is unfamiliar with D&D, Dating and Dragons was such a fun read that I didn’t mind my gap in knowledge. That being said, while the target audience for Dating and Dragons is D&D fans, I would have appreciated more explanations or even a small D&D guide in the back of the book. I really enjoyed all of the characters, but some of them did not feel as flushed out as they could have been. Quinn and her brother, Andrew, were especially interesting to me, but I would have enjoyed a more thorough exploration of their relationship. Throughout the book, Quinn feels like her parents favor her brother, and the conflict is resolved as she grows closer to Andrew and finds out her parents are trying to be supportive in their own way. Despite this, she never fully addresses her concern with them. I think including a conversation between them would show younger readers that they can safely voice their feelings to their support systems. My absolute favorite part of the book was Quinn’s grandmother, who was effortlessly funny and the perfect wingwoman! Dating and Dragons is the perfect read to show that embracing change can often lead to the best outcomes.
Dating and Dragons releases on December 31st, 2024
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Children’s for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer