Fun read that my sons loved. Funny and kept them reading so that gets my vote. Would look out for more of these books.

This is a clever premise! It's a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel that plays a little like an RPG (Role Playing Game). Choose from three characters (all male - a disappointment) with different abilities and liabilities and complete a five day quest. Tracking pages at the back of the book help readers track their game items and progress toward their goal. Readers could probably compete with one another.

I was frustrated by a LOT of flipping to get the layout of the quest. My first page choice was a dud and sent me back to where I needed to go to even get the rules for the quest - I'm not sure why there was a choice there at all. Then it sent me to 25, 88 and back to 7 before I could make another choice. That's a lot of flipping just to get the set up of the story. Several pages in my read through served no purpose but to send me 100 pages in the other direction to another page with just a picture and a page number. I feel like this jumped around a lot, needlessly. The Choose books I remember still worked progressively from front to back with an occasional "go back to [beginning] and try again" rather than a lot of back and forth like in this one.

In a physical book, this flipping might not be so bad, but the electronic review copy had no links, so it was just a lot of scrolling up and down to find the right page. I don't know if the final version will contain links (handy!) or scrolling (miserable).

My recommendation - try this in physical form. The idea is brilliant, which is why I rated this 4 stars. Kids will decide if the flipping is fun or if they are also frustrated by a lot of no-action pages. I've seen mixed reviews from kids. Some loved it, and some were frustrated. I would hold off on trying an e-book version unless you can try it from the library to see how the page flips are handled.

It's choose your own adventure for the modern generation of kids! As engaging and fun as a video game. And better for development.

See if you can make it through the training program, collect enough bravery bracelets, and survive to be a knight in this graphic novel role playing choose your own adventure book.

You definitely should read this in physical form if you can. It would be much easier to flip back and forth as you choose your path than it was in the digital ARC I got (the challenge would be the same in ebooks, so go find a physical copy). I took a couple different routes and though I did manage to find enough bracelets (which can be hidden in any picture, not just when you think there may be one) I never managed to make it to the end of training. I may try again a few more times. The art is done in a cartoon-like style that should appeal to the middle grade target age group. Definitely a great book to keep readers interested for hours on end and will stand up to multiple readings. Hand this to choose your own adventure fans who are ready for an added challenge (there are occasionally riddles and puzzles you’ve got to answer correctly to continue on). I may have to buy multiple copies of this for my school library. A graphic novel choose your own adventure style book is sure to be super popular.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. Some paths do end in death, but the illustrations aren’t ever gory.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Knights Club: The Bands of Bravery by Shuky is a remarkably fun book. I’ve always been rather fond of choose your own adventure books which is why it’s rather unfortunate that I haven’t read a great many. I really enjoyed Knights Club, the various paths I could take and experience. Each choice brought a different encounter exciting enough to prompt me to read it multiple times in order to try and experience them all. There’s a lot of uniqueness to this novel, but the most enticing for me was the fact that I got to pick which character I was. You’re limited to three options, the choice between a group of brothers who all desire desperately to become knights and it was really quite exciting.

The adventure is largely image based and you navigate the world by flipping the pages to different numbered comics as you embark on your journey. A surprising number of the images did not include text, which I’ll admit disappointed me slightly.. It did feel as though I was just being forced to flip pages with no action whatsoever when I got to these sections, an image of scenery with the choice of different page numbers to visit. While I certainly appreciate the effort and the idea, I would have enjoyed it more if there was a bit more to get from these portions of our journey. Even so, it does add a level of realism to the book, the truth that all quests have their tedious moments one that readers might benefit from experiencing. I do think this message might get lost on some within the age group this book is written for, though.

I did deeply enjoy my experience with this book and would certainly read it again. In fact, I’d definitely consider buying it for my niece one day when she’s old enough to read. I don’t think there are enough books like this out in the world and am eager to see more of them succeed. One thing I will note, however, is that I don’t think this book does well in e-book format, largely because it can be difficult to find the numbered scenes you’re directed to as the story continues to progress. It was quite a task and certainly added to the tediousness of it all. This is something I think could possibly be fixed as I’ve seen it work before where the ebook is formatted so that a link is provided for the page the choose your own adventure book is directing you to in that moment. Knights Club would definitely benefit greatly from this if it is to be offered in ebook format. Believe me, your readers will thank you for it.

Knights Club is a fun, engaging, graphic novel that keeps you interested the whole way through. Plus, the artwork is pretty fantastic which is a great plus.

Coming out the first week in September are two new titles that will give kids something new to do while reading. These “comic books you can play” add game mechanics and pick-your-own-path structures to illustrated stories.

Knights Club: The Bands of Bravery, written by Shulky and illustrated by Waltch, requires the reader to pick one of three brothers with different combinations of strength, ability, and intelligence. The art style is closer to caricature in this book.

Since this one is set in a kingdom where the character is trying to become a knight, it feels much more like a role-playing game. The riddles and the need to collect weapons contribute to that aspect.

I've always liked comic books and games so the idea of a comic book that's also a game and a sort of choose-your-own adventure appeals to me quite a bit. I appreciate that you can pick your characters and play through the book. This is something I'd recommend to those who like comics and RPGs and possibly as a fun book for parents to read and play through with their kids.

A book where you control the story. Decisions have to be made by the reader and this will dictate how the tale unfolds. Multiple possibilities so numerous potential story paths and this means the reader can play their way through Knights Club many, many times.

Yes I did say “play their way” as this book is more about playing the adventure than seeing how the author wants the tale to unfold. Knights Club is aimed at Middle Grade readers so I would suggest readers from age 8 to 12 will probably get the most fun here.

The story features a challenge…you are one of three brothers who want to become a knight. Take your chosen hero through a series of challenges and puzzles to make his dream come true.

I had a digital copy so I sat my eldest bookworm (11 years old) down. Handed him my laptop at the first page of the book and let him work out the story for himself. A great way to ensure a few hours of peace and quiet folks!

I got updates as he played. There were lots of giggles and snickering laughs. A few perplexed sighs as he tried to predict the decision he thought he SHOULD take to get the right solution (rather than the obvious path he WANTED to take). That’s not how these books work though!

The first read took about 30 mins and then he seemed to have messed up as the story ended (unsuccessfully). Straight back in for another go and son lasted longer and seemed to have a very different tale the second time around. NB he did later confirm he deliberately took different choices as he had failed the first read…

Knights Club kept him entertained for several evenings before I prompted him for some feedback to help with this review. “Great pictures” was noted and I agreed, the artwork is perfect for the target age and have lots of visual humour to support the story. “Fun to flick back and forward to keep the story going” was another observation. Clearly the unusual approach to reading was a hit. To clarify: The story begins at part 1 but may then direct you to page 74, choose between 142 or 44 and then from there you go to page 91. Some of the choices the reader faces are drawn into the artwork so a crossroads sign may give two visual clues where the story leads next.

All good fun and it kept my son highly entertained.

Not due to be released until September but this places it nicely into the “out in time for Christmas” category. Knights Club would make an excellent and unexpected pick-up idea for a reader who may want a bit more input into their latest read.

I'm absolutely in love with this choose-your-own adventure graphic novel! Mixing them with graphic novels is just a fantastic concept! I especially love that the publisher provides downloaded copies of the character sheets, so that it is super re-readable. I also really like the inclusion of puzzles for the reader to solve!

I loved the style of this book. It was a very entertaining choose your own adventure. Excited for more

A 'fate' type book like this is impossible to follow as intended due to the pre-published format. But I love the artwork and the idea. I'd love to see more too!

This is the first graphic novel I have seen of this format! Guaranteed to be a hit in my school library. I may have to make copies of the back page to the students can keep track of their progress. Love the graphics themselves and the storyline. I can see this being more popular than the typical choose your own ending books. Really enjoyed this! I don't know why someone hadn't come up with this idea before!