I’ve read Alexene’s work as olivieblake in the Harry Potter fandom and her writing has never disappointed me.

But I enjoy her adult fiction more, as I’m not into young adult as much anymore. But her writing style is immersive and fun, and also full of heart.

Thank you to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows two high schoolers from totally different circles. Violet is a standoffish, clever, and nerdy girl who is going hrough some major struggles with her friends and Jack is a football star who injures himself at the highest point of his career so far. The one thing that will unite them is Twelfth Knight, an online video game they both become obsessed with. The talk about everything from love to friendships and when Jack starts falling for Violet in real life there's only one problem, he doesn't know it's her. Will Violet come clean?

I did not like the majority of the characters in this book. Especially Jack, he was insurfferable at the start and made me not want to read his POVs at all. Many of his chapters were just football lingo that, I myself just have no interest in. He eventually comes around but my god was it a hard slog to get to that point.
Violet was a more enjoyable and relatable character but her friends were diabollical and that made for a hard read. I liked her character develpment more than Jack's.

The plot was generally interesting but in the end I didn't enjoy this book the way I thought I would. I feel that maybe for a more American audience possibly late middle school, early highschool grade.

I was looking forward to this one since I love Shakespeare and the sounding of enemies-to-lovers. Even though there were great aspects to the story, loved the reimagining of the original and the gaming vibes, but I couldn't get behind the main characters. I thought that they were very immature at times and I understand they were learning who they are and setting boundaries, but they were just very unlikable. Unfortunately I had to dnf.

A Twelfth Night modern day retelling set in high school following a girl who is known for being the unlikable Vice President and the school's star running back/Student Body president who find themselves bonding over a online game... but under different identities. Viola Reyes is known as a "bitch", she isn't everyone's cup of tea and most people dislike her. She is the vice president for the student body and is tired of having to do all the work of the President who just doesnt seem to care at all. The only real comfort Viola has is the online game, Twelfth Knight, in which she can be herself albeit by taking up a guy character and being treated with respect and understanding... something she doesn't get in her regular life. Jack Orsino is the star running back for the football team and the Student Body President. He's charming, popular and likable... except he gets into an accident and gets a football injury which leads him to begin playing in the world of Twelfth Knight. Jack's life is turned upside down when he is injured as his girlfriend dumped him, his football team doesn't seem to need him, and now he's trying to figure out what he's going to do next if he doesn't have football. Jack begins to befriend another player in Twelfth Knight while also striking a deal with Vi, if she helps him get his ex-gf back by talking to her, he'll do his duties and take over the dance duties he was mean to but she was made to do. The more time they spend together the more they begin to fall for each other... yet Viola is hiding the fact that she has become Jack's friend on Twelfth Knight and she's afraid that if she reveals the truth he'll hate her. I was initially super excited for this, as a huge fan of the classic Shakespeare story and a lover of modern adaptations, this was giving me "She's the Man" vibes and I couldn't wait. I liked Viola and honestly her friendship with Olivia was the real shining aspect of the book for me. They were so sweet together and I really had hopes this could have been a sapphic romance but I also appreciate the female friendship. Jack on the other hand... he's alright. He just didn't feel like he had a lot of character and his relationship with Vi was meh at best for me. I wanted to like this book but it felt a bit too long and it felt I just didn't see the romance or chemistry between Vi and Jack. Overall, if you'd like to read a modern spin on Twelfth Night, I'd say give it a go anyways because it's a unique twist on the classic story.

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Tor publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book. I was drawn in by the cute cover art and I figured I was probably going to love this book when I read the description (I was right). I had alot of trouble putting the book down, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.

I fell in love with Viola pretty much immediatley. There's a part in the book where Jack calls her "a marshmallow with spikes," and I honestly can't think of a better description for her. She built all these walls to protect herself, but she just wants people to like her for her, and I find that really relatable. Every time she called herself a bitch and talked about how people don't like her, I wanted to hug her. I'm glad that the book had a happy ending, and I love Jack for reassuring her that even though he was mad at her he didn't hate her.

Some other things I loved: I love that Jack seemed to fall for Viola first. I love that Olivia and Viola became really good friends. I love that Viola got to be QuestMaster and use her story with a group of people that are actually interested. I also LOVE that the book was told from both Viola and Jack's perspectives.

I would definetly recommend this book, and I can see myself reading it again in the future.

Personally, I didn’t think Vi was the most likable character at first. But that’s kind of the point, you know? She’s aware she’s different than most people around her—and not in a “she’s not like other girls” way—and she loves her passions. She’s also deeply lonely and seeking escape in fandom (Alexa play I HATE IT HERE by Taylor Swift). Who can’t relate to that? Farol Follmuth once again was able to write a coming of age story that truly felt like the character themselves and the reader explored new thoughts and feelings and truths on every page. You could truly watch Vi develop, learn and explore and face realities she was afraid of before.
Jack is faced with losing everything he thought was his future-his sport career, his friend group, his girlfriend. And once again, this guy finds an escape in fandom and learning new things about fictional world and himself all at once. I loved looking deeper into his character and all the futures he could eventually picture for himself.
Vi and Jack were a great slow burn. Some very quotable moments once these two realizes they actually liked each other. (Alexa play So High School).
I also very much liked the side characters!
The conflict felt a little late, but considering how these characters developed not even rushed.
I can’t wait for the next novel by this author!

Twelfth Knight is an homage to the 2000s’ Shakespeare retelling movies, keeping the rom-com camp and familiarity of story but updating the world to be more reflective of real life. Vi Reyes, Jack Orsino, and the rest of the students in Messaline High were unapologetically queer, brown, and infused with modern sensibilities and concerns, which informed and added depth to their character arcs while still being rooted in the (cishet and white, yes, but no less profoundly/relatably human) Shakespeare source material. Not that adding representation of other sexualities/races/etc has to “have a reason behind it” (is it not reason enough that our world is diverse?) but Follmuth’s cast of characters all make more sense and are enriched by their backgrounds being taken into account when looking at them. Viola’s identity as a woman of color in nerd spaces informed so much of how prickly she is outwardly and how deeply aware she is of the myriad micro-aggressions coming her way, and Jack’s “don’t get mad where people can see” lifestyle is so much more meaningful when you consider that he is a Black boy. It’s a personal boon for me, but Vi’s femme-person-in-nerd-spaces (and I’m general) woes hit very close to home. Her anger and hurt read very realistically, and anger/who is allowed to feel it was a throughline I thoroughly enjoyed exploring in this story.
The characterization of all the primary and secondary characters was pretty top notch. God, its so refreshing that Olivia is nice and smart actually. It’s such a tired and (in my experience) untrue stereotype that The Cheerleader/Pretty Girl is a bitch and dumb and etc. She’s quite sweet and despite knowing Shakespeare’s version of this story I even believed that she and Vi could end up Having A Thing (they bantered just as naturally as V and J! Especially when she and V were making her ConQuest character sheet! Alas, I am no stranger to non-canon ships). And the complexity of Antonia and Viola’s relationship hit me in the heart as well. It’s very emblematic of how teenage girl friendships can go.
Overall this was a very teenage story: the texts actually read like teenager texts, the idea that communication would be harder than keeping up a catfishing ruse feels like very pre-frontal-lobe-development thinking, and the slow build of emotions that just overflow between Vi and Jack were such a delight. The book reads fast, and hits all the important beats of two separate coming of age stories that twine together into a really sweet, healthy romance.
I think Follmuth’s use of multiple POVs was a great way to transition from play to book, using the novel form to allow for a greater internality of characters and allowing her to make them her own/put her own twist on things. It also allowed for easier differentiation between characters. If I stopped reading in the middle of a section and forgot whose POV I was in, I could figure it out within a sentence or so very early on. Both Jack and Vi are powerhouses. The love and passion that each has for their respective hobby (and later, their shared ones) is great, and described in enough detail that a reader unfamiliar with them can still follow what’s going on. I am not a Football Person, but I cared about it when in Jack’s POV because his passion carried over. This capacity for deep feeling translates to their feelings about one another, too (because jocks and nerds really are two sides of the same coin); when they hate each other, it’s vitriolic, and when those feelings begin to shift… well. It’s very sweet. I rooted for them the whole way through (even if Vilivia still holds my heart).
In terms of some stylistic choices, I thought the climax-to-resolution pipeline was a little fast. It was in keeping with 2000s Shakespeare rom coms, and I’m satisfied with the overall ending, but for me personally, that sort of speedy resolution works better in film than in print. Similarly, I wasn’t big on the parenthetical asides to the reader, though they are in keeping with fourth-wall breaking in Shakespeare plays.
The nits I’m picking really are tiny, though, because there’s very little to critique in this book. Twelfth Knight does exactly what it sets out to do, and in a satisfying way. It’s lighthearted without sacrificing emotional depth, romantic while also satisfying individual character arcs, and an absolute love letter to people who love things passionately. I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s ever felt like a geek about something (but especially Shakespeare, sports, or nerd culture) and lovers of films a la She’s All That.

I loved this book so flipping much!

It was cute, it was fun, and it was extremely nostalgic, but at the same time it was profound and changed my life. On the outside this is a cute fluffy teen romance book, but it is so much more than that. The themes of feminism that I have loved from Alexene from the very first book I read of hers is very present and delves into girls in the world of video games and LARPGs while using a fun Shakesperean comedy (That I personally only know from adaptations, cough cough, She's the man, cough cough).

Viola is what many people would call a, rhymes with witch. She is closed off, doesn't make friends easily, and is a high school perfectionist that is annoyed by her peers. She enjoys escaping the realities of life by escaping into an online videogame where she can pretend to be someone else, in particular a beloved male character from her favorite fantasy tv show.

Jake is the star running back of his high school football team, the coaches son, is dating the perfect high school cheerleader, and already has a lock on a full ride to the school of his dreams. His life is perfect until a season ending injury on the field. His girlfriend starts pulling away and he life seems to be falling apart at the seams. He decides he needs help with his girlfriend, so he turns to his vice president of the student council, Viola (Obviously he is the president since that's a popularity position) to strike a deal. He is going to be a more hands on president, and she is going to get information on why his girlfriend is suddenly pulling away from him.

I loved everything about this book! I loved the characters (Yes, even the unlikable ones), the pacing, the fun take on a traditional ale, and the writing style. I only wish that teenage me would have had this book to read when I was younger because I would have learned a lot from it.

Give me a Shakespeare retelling and I will gladly read it. This book did not disappoint. I loved everything about this book, it referenced Twelfth Night without being too overbearing and incorporated the gaming aspects perfectly. I loved how we got to see inside the heads of both of our main characters instead of just following one point of view.

This is an adorable teen romcom that is a shakespeare retelling. The author has done a great job with character development. Viola and Jack are enemies at school but best friends online who have been gaming together. This is a cute concept that isn't overly original which is to be expected with a retelling but the characters were well developed and overall an enjoyable read.

Twelfth Knight is a YA retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It features Viola, a competent but kind of abrasive senior and Jack (sometimes Duke) Orisino, a star football player. When Jack is injured, he starts playing a MMORPG, one Viola absolutely adores and spends all her free time on. They begin to interact more in real life and online, where all the Twelfth Night triangles and schemes and pretending to be someone else roll out amazingly well.

I have to be completely honest: I read Twelfth Night once in uni and never revisited it. However, I do a yearly rewatch of She’s the Man and this retelling had big shoes to fill to meet She’s the Man level of acclaim. I’m happy to say that it came close.

I really loved the YA beats of high school drama interspersed with expecting 17 year olds to make life altering choices for their futures with the absolutely zero brain cells they have. I liked Viola’s confidence that others read as shrew-like or bitchy. At times, I did wish she showed others a tiny bit of grace - especially with her friend. However, she grew as a character and I really liked the resolution of that. I liked the Olivia “twist” and I really enjoyed Jack. Jack was delightful and kind and just the best YA boyfriend. Do these 17 year olds exist?

Overall, a really fabulous read that came close to Amanda Bynes perfection. If you are a fan of She’s the Man but with a 10 Things I Hate About You type of heroine, this is your book.

This story was superb and a love letter to young women everywhere who KNOW it is their right to take up space. I loved Vi. She is headstrong, opinionated, and incredibly independent. She is everything I love in a FMC. Her POV’s were a testament to the daily wrongdoings women face, and I found myself continuously rooting for her.

Jack is an absolute sweetheart. There is something to be said about a MMC who is the sunshine in the pairing. I loved the way he handled his conflict with Vi and his own personal conflicts regarding his injury. I loved his willingness to be open minded with everything regarding fandoms.

The writing in this story was beautiful. Each moment felt so real and genuine and forged a lovely connection between reader and author. I will be thinking about this story for a long time.

I think this book did a great job of making Shakespeare accessible to kids. I can see myself chatting with my students about this book. It was not my favorite book I have ever read. But it was a good time.

As a person who LOVES a good 90s/00s teen reimagining of Shakespeare, I was already on board with this book. Add in the fun RPG narratives, and a young angry feminist learning what it means to love and let people in without compromising your values, and I'm completely sold!

I really liked all the characters, they were treated with a kindness and given room to be imperfect and develop over the story, and the various relationships, romantic, family and friendship were lovely to be a part of.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

This was SO CUTE.

The first third of the book was a little shaky, like the story was trying to figure out what it was, but after that point, it was really really good.

If you want to read a book that is kind of like a cheesy (in a good way!) rom-com movie that has satisfying individual character arcs and believable relationships WITH NO THIRD ACT BREAK-UP(!!!!!) then pick up this one!

And the believable relationships aren’t JUST our main romantic one between Vi and Jack, but the friendship between Vi and Olivia (I LIVE for this friendship), the sibling relationship between Vi and Bash and the friendship dynamic and growth between Jack and Olivia.

That being said, Jack and Vi’s banter and flirting had me kicking my feet and giggling, I love how they went from ‘people who antagonized each other’ to ‘the ONE person who truly saw and understood other person’. Beautiful.

Their individual growths in this book were very satisfying as well. I loved Vi realizing that she does NOT have to change anything about her personality, she just has to trust her instincts on what people to allow in to truly see her. And Jack’s gradual understanding that football is not all he is and it is not the thing about him that people like him for was really nice, especially for a former athlete like myself.

In conclusion, go read this and just have a good time.

I will admit, I did not like this book for about the first quarter. I found both the leads to be obnoxious and unlikable, the plot to be goofy, the writing to be middling. And then something changed. What changed? you may ask.
I do not know.
But I can tell you that it really did grow on me. As Jack and Vi got to know each other and learn to bear one another, they became more likable and more fleshed out to the reader as well. Specifically, the texting conversations were very funny and also accurate to how kids text. Follmuth also really captures the pure chaos of Twelfth Night here, which is part of what makes it so much fun. As the title suggests, it's a modern YA retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where Vi and the Duke get to know each other while playing an online video game, in which Viola plays as a male character to avoid the nonsense of being a girl in such male-dominated online spaces. In their real lives, Jack is a football player who's expected to live up to his father and older brother's legacies, until he tears his ACL and has to reconsider his future. Vi, on the other hand, is an intensely Type A overachiever and massive nerd who would get along great with Kat from Taming of the Shrew. Slowly, the lies come to a head, and the pair get even closer, and the whole thing is actually quite good.
So I misjudged this. Don't make the same mistake.

As someone who loves She's the Man, I was really excited to read a different modern take on Twelfth Night, especially one written by Follmuth!

Overall, this was a really cute read and easy to breeze through. The gaming elements were fun, especially the world-building of the Twelfth Knight game, though I did wish we got to see more of Cesario's and Duke's interactions in the game. The development of their relationship as Vi and Jack was well-done, but their Cesario / Duke interactions seemed shallow enough that the inevitable "betrayal" of Jack finding out Cesario's true identity seemed a tad overblown in my opinion. But, despite this, their relationship was still fun to see developing.

But overall, I really enjoy this author's YA books, and I hope she continues writing more books like this and My Mechanical Romance with high school female protagonists with traditionally masculine interests.

Honestly this book was so hard to get into. As soon as they started talking about RPG I was lost. I just couldn’t get into it. I really appreciate the nerd references and being an outcast because I find it relatable but at the same time for me it’s a different type of nerd. I didn’t connect or particularly develop any type of feelings with the MCs so I had the hardest time getting through the book

If you are looking for a sympathetic lead, this isn't the book for you, unless you are the kind of person who pushes everyone away in the hopes you're getting there first.

This book isn't looking to do a 1:1 story of Twelfth Night, it's not looking to be a perfect rom-com, it's not looking to be a cookie-cutter (white) suburban YA. The one main character is insecure and self-destructive and the other is obsessive and, in many ways, coasting. Flawed teens getting to know each other better through vulnerability.

Sounds good to me.

Thank you to Tor Teen for this early review copy.

I am a huge fan of “She’s the Man,” and I was super excited to dive into this YA Twelfth Night retelling. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for a fun Shakespeare adaptation, this is not it. Stick with Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum.

I wanted to give this book a fair chance, but Viola was such an insanely awful and rude character I couldn’t give her any more chances. She’s extremely selfish, mean to her best friends, and acts as though she is a world class video game / storyteller. Sorry girl, you’re just a high school kid who needs to learn how to be humble.

I didn’t mind Duke’s character but I really just didn’t see Duke and Vi ever getting along. I found their relationship so unrealistic and couldn’t suspend my disbelief to believe that someone as awful as Vi would find anyone willing to talk to her.

I was shocked to see such an awful female character written under the guise of being a hardcore feminist. Feminism isn’t about judging women who have boyfriends or fall in love, and Vi really just doesn’t understand that. I think for a YA audience, this book should be more explicit about feminism because the intended audience of this novel may not understand that Vi is off the mark in the beginning of the book.

I wanted to like this book but it didn’t hit the mark for me.