I absolutely think this book is worth the read if you are into YA rom-coms with a splash of Shakespeare crossover. I loved the Dungeons and Dragons vibe meets super popular football player. The yin and the yang of this story worked really well, and the added Twelth Night crossover was a bonus. That being said, I do not think I was the right reviewer for this book as it was very YA to me. I realized reading I was likely not the best reviewer for this book and did not finish it, wanting to be unbiased in my review. I am very grateful for the copy and I have recommended it to a few of my friends to add to their TBR list as I know it will be a hit with them. There was not anything wrong with the book besides it lost my interest and I didn't feel the need to continue.

The writing style was witty and easy to follow along. I really appreciated the multiple perspectives and the character development. I DNF around 35%.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This book was amazing! Thank you for an early copy! The characters are amazing! I wish I was as strong as the main character. This book makes you question a lot of things, in the best way possible! It is not just a YA romance but so much more.

I don’t know how Follmuth can write so skillfully across so many genres! This was a YA novel I would have loved to read as a teenager, and loved just as much as an adult. It was full of quick wit, wisdom, characters who weren’t always ‘likeable’ but were always honest and true. I loved the intersection of theater, gaming and football. I loved the diverse characters and the nuance of all of their individual personalities, experiences and struggles. The writing is so good and I am just so impressed by everything this author writes!

Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.

I found this book to be really enjoyable, blending Shakespeare's Twelfth Night into a modern, captivating story. I gave played table top games and video games, I was drawn in by the Shakespearean connection, I'm pleasantly surprised by the interesting characters and plot. The central relationship between Viola and Jack was beautifully written, with Viola's complexity and Jack's empathy making them both endearing. The exploration of anger and identity added depth to the story, and the supporting characters were fully fleshed out and engaging. The humor and geeky references made the read fun, and the character growth was heartwarming. While there were some complexities, overall, this book is a must-read. It's cute, quirky, and really enjoyable. Many thanks to the Alexene Farol Follmuth and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I pre-ordered the physical copy because I enjoyed it so much.

I LOVED THIS! Viola was such an interesting character, and I felt a lot of what she was going through deeply. I loved the communication of the characters, and I really enjoyed the lore of the game and the con, and everything!! I just really enjoyed it, and I read through it in one sitting. Highly recommended!

First of all, I would LOVE to see this book be a movie! Second of all, Alexene has done it again! I requested this ARC because I loved My Mechanical Romance , and I have found a new favorite in Twelfth Knight.

This was a fun retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Knight. I was getting so many flashbacks to She’s the Man ( my only reference to this story 😆). I loved the care she put into each character and I fell in love with a few of them for their honesty and beautiful, thoughtful words. I loved the family aspect and the friendships. I loved the banter and the sarcasm. Viola Reyes is such a Wednsday , she is now one of my top favorite characters.

This was a perfect coming of age story, and a grumpy/ sunshine romance. I was constantly thinking of how well and carful the author let the romance slowly bloom. I almost thought it would never happen!

I would recommend if you love She’s the Man, coming of age stories, rants and discussions about feminism and ethics, Shakespeare retellings, nerdy things like D&D, video games, and being in the world of cons and fandoms. And maybe football.

Can’t wait to hold this book in my hands come May 28.

If Alexene Farol Follmuth/Olivie Blake writes it, I'm going to read it. Twelfth Knight was so clever and so much fun, and the highlight of the book was Vi's character. She is so brutally honest, and wonderful, and deserves all the love in the world. Alexene just knows how to write a book that is perfect for YA readers, tackling their issues in such a strong and powerful way. That being said, I do wish we got more from Jack's character arc. That was truly what was missing from this book. Overall, it was an AMAZING read!

This was super cute! Vi was a bit unlikeable at first but that was the point. Things really turned around half way through the book. Loved all the RPG references! Definitely a fun book for girls and boys alike. Middle School & High Schoolers will enjoy!

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰."
"𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦."

𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 is an ode to friendship, gaming and feminism.

𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 lives a double life, by day she's the grumpy student body VP but by night she moonlights in the online gaming world as the highly competent knight - 𝘊𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰. She's smart and strong; she makes her share of mistakes but is exactly the person you want in your corner which is why 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰 can't help falling for her. And Jack was SUCH a sweet guy. He knew exactly who Viola was and never tried to 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦 her but loved her all the same - swoon.

I love books about gaming, geeky people being geeky and romance of course. So to have it all condensed into one was a dream. The reverse grumpy/sunshine trope was so well done and all the side characters added all the extra fun. Bottom line is that it's a sweet story and inspiring which gave a lot of insight into the world of gaming and the sexism that follows. It made me recall the author's previous book which spoke of the same but in the world of engineering, can't help but wonder what's next!?

- ~ -

3.91 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

so, so, happy that i got this ARC, especially after loving the first ya romance from this author!!

twelfth knight is a gamer romance, definitely a genre i have not read from and most likely won't read from again. however this was so adorable. honestly i just love the writing style of this author, this is the same author as the atlas six books, just a different name, and even though the books are so different i love all the writing. my mechanical romance, which was the first ya book i read by her, definitely has my heart a bit more but this one was still incredibly cute!

jack and viola were so adorable and sweet. the romance was kinda odd considering i wasn't sure they were even gonna get together for a couple chapters but once everything was explained it was easier to see their connection. every thought that ran through vi's head about her being a "bitch" and how she wasn't a "nice" person, was so personal to me and it almost made me cry on multiple occasions. her characterization was 5/5 for me when reading this. it's been awhile since i've related so heavily to a main character. the gaming was kind of off-putting for me just because i was immensely confused. personally i don't play any games other than the sims 4... if you are a gamer, specifically a girl gamer, i think this book is perfect for you if you're looking for a sweet romance!! can't wait to see what the next cutesy book from alexene will be!!!

*thank you NetGalley for the ARC*

This was really cute and quirky and very charming. I gave it three stars because I couldn’t find my own investment into it like I would like for a book. I couldn’t find a big interest in it and that may have been because I felt it was too young for me or too video gamish but I still enjoyed it. I loved how Jack was who loved Vi for her true self, even though others didn’t like her for the very same part.
Also, huge thanks to Olivie for making a book about fandoms - love to read her stuff.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read the arc copy of this book. I normally am not into YA, but I absolutely fell in love with the book cover and the description of the book itself. The book itself is focused more on the characters and the character development and I really enjoyed that. The romance is definitely cute and I feel like viewers who want romance without the spice they would appreciate this book

I knew this one would be a bit out of my wheelhouse when I requested it, but as I’ve seemed to move into also covering the romance genre to some extent on this blog, and the fact that I’ve loved this author’s fantasy work (she also writes under the name Olivie Blake), I thought it was worth a shot! Plus, this is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, so I was excited to see it re-imagined into a contemporary setting. Plus, plus, I really loved playing “Baldur’s Gate” which is essentially video-game DnD, so I was definitely interested in a story that focused on this type of gaming.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite land the way I wanted it to. But let’s start with some of the positives. And for me, that largely comes down to the male lead character, Jack. I thought it story was really well done, following the tragic but hopeful arc of a young man who was a rising football star before he suffered a debilitating injury. I thought the exploration of this topic was so well done: the upheavals of identity, the loss of purpose and floundering to find direction, the very real mourning for a life that will now not happen. It was all very touching and well done.

There were also elements of the romance I liked, especially the fact that it came across as believable and relatable. All too often, romcoms seem to get caught up in overly complicated “meet cutes” and then a “paint by numbers” style conflict/resolution in the third act. This one hits many of the expected notes, but I think one of this author’s strong suits has been her dialogue, and with this book, the very natural, realistic dialogue helped ground the love story in a way that I appreciated. That said, I was surprised to see the romance essentially take a back seat to some of the gaming stuff for the first half of the story. And, even for me, someone who enjoys gaming quite a bit, this was frustrating. Not only did I pick this one up first and foremost for the romance, not the gaming, but it also forced the actual love story to have to go through all of the stages in a rather short period of time in the second half of the book.

I also struggled to enjoy Viola. And this made for a complicated reading experience, because on one hand, her anger is justified and much of her arc is her learning how to lower her shields, even when she’s been hurt in the past. But on the other hand, even if some of her anger is earned, she was also incredibly unlikable for much of the first half of the story. And as much as my brain could understand this, especially the fact that she is a teenage character which makes all of these big emotions even harder to wrangle, the rest of me was so often annoyed at her that I struggled to enjoy her. I had to keep stopping and essentially explaining to myself why she behaved the way she did, but…having to give yourself a pep talk about enjoying a book doesn’t make for, well, enjoyment.

Overall, this was kind of a “meh” read for me. There were elements that I liked, but there were enough issues with the pacing of the love story and the likability of one of the lead characters that left me feeling rather cold on the story by the end. Fans of YA contemporary romance might still want to give this one a shot, however, as the author’s quippy dialogue is still as fun as ever! Plus, there’s a nice little barb launched at the “Game of Thrones” finale towards the end of the book. Always love to see it.

Rating 7: Just ok. I thought the book touched on some important themes, but the love story felt oddly paced and I struggled to like Viola as a character.

(Link will go live May 3 on The Library Ladies)

I though this book was sheer loveliness. I'm not a gamer, but I AM a Shakespeare nerd. I was initially attracted to this book out of curiosity for how they were going to riff on the play, but was delighted to find myself genuinely smitten by the story and characters.

It's always a pleasure to read a modern retelling of an old story in which the references to the original work are artfully woven into the story. You need no understanding of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in order to get this book. That's a sign of some good writing.

I LOVED the central relationship in the story. Jack is much easier to relate to as he's less prickly of a character. Viola may be harder to warm up to. However, I am also someone who preemptively pushes people away before they can hurt me, so Viola had a special place in my heart. It's hard not to love her when she says stuff like this: "Secretly, I would like someone to see me for what I am and choose me anyway."

The author says in the acknowledgements that "this story is really about anger and who is allowed to feel it," and I LOVED that. Yes, it is a romance, but it's also a coming of age story, and a story about how to find community and connection when you'd rather cut people out of your life and "stop feeling squishy and small," when you're not sure yet who you really are.

I must say that I really dug all of the supporting characters in this story too. (Again, they're not just there as an awkward, "Remember? this is Shakespeare!" callback. Instead, they too are fully realized with their own stories (I would have liked a bit more Bash though.)

Anyway, i loved this book. Not what I was expecting (in the best possible way.) Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for this eARC!

This book was a lot of fun. It's a retelling of Twelfth Night (which I actually forgot about until I started skimming other people's reviews. Whoops. I've never read Twelfth Night). It has a lot of fun elements that I love. Starting with the obvious, the art and sprayed edges are amazing. This is a book I'll be strongly tempted to purchase once it comes out. It also is what I would classify as a "nerd book," aka, a book that unapologetically delves into fandom and is incredibly nerdy. It goes in the same category as Final Draft, Fangirl, Eliza and Her Monsters, and Geekerella (all favorites of mine). It has the trope of where the characters secretly interact in two different forms (like at school vs the videogame). I don't exactly know what that trope is called exactly, but it is my all-time favorite trope.

But, though this book was a lot of fun, there were some factors that annoyed me. Obviously, though I have a few complaints, I still think this book is worth the read since I'm rating it four stars. It's a fun little contemporary book for nerds. What more do you really want when you need a break from class and want to binge a book?

The first of my complaints is Vi. She is a bit of a brat, and I kind of get it, but I also don't. She needs to figure herself out. She also is a feminist in a way that rubs me wrong. I am a feminist also, but the fact that she doesn't support her mom getting a boyfriend because her mom is usually single is weird. Feminism exists so you can live the life you want. You're not more or less whether you want to settle down and marry. It's about the decision to do that (and do many other things, but you get my point).

Speaking of her mom's boyfriend, he is a pastor. I don't know Follmuth's background with religion, and while I agreed with some of his points about the contemporary church not being the best, it feels obvious to me that she has not been around many youth pastors. When the main character asks the youth pastor whether or not she should lie, and he doesn't tell her to tell the truth, that is something that is genuinely so unrealistic. I've grown up in the church. Even my chillest youth pastor would never tell me to lie. Also, theologically, some of the mentions of biblical stuff were wrong. I usually don't care about that stuff, but since it's coming from the perspective of a pastor, I feel like it should have been looked over by the religion he was a youth pastor for. That being said, I did like the youth pastor representation! It's rare for me to read books that have mentions of casual religion like this unless they're actual religious books.

My final critique is that this book, at times, could be a bit on the nose. It would mention things like booktube and special edition books that cost a lot of money. I know that's something that likely anyone reading this review knows about. To me, mentions of those things aren't something I always enjoy in books. Just feels a bit too meta for my taste.

One final note of praise is something I found in the acknowledgments. Follmuth mentions that this wasn't intended to be just a romance book and was more about the characters. I agree with this after reading. Yes, there's romance, but not in the typical romance book way. It felt healthy and good for YA readers to see. I feel like there's a standard of dating in the YA world, which isn't something that happens for every teen who reads these books. It was good to see the rest of the characters' worlds without romance for about 50% or more of the book.

» 4 stars ᯓ★

➞ the way i didn't know olivie blake wrote ya romance is a CRIME. the olivie blake? writing shakespeare as a ya romcom? immediately yes. i fucking love it.

🧸┊the plot: viola and jack, to put it simply, don't like each other. he's this jock who doesn't seem to care about anything, she's dedicated to school and loves roleplay games, but struggles to fit in and find her people. but when jack breaks his leg and gets into an online roleplay game, the whole dynamic changes. and they start to .. what? what was that? like each other?

💐┊my thoughts: i. fucking. loved. this. so much. i don't know anything about gaming really but incorporating it into a high school romance story was so fun. it was fun to enter this world that i know nothing about and fun to read about a comic con experience that was a million times better and more interesting than the single time i've been to one. viola's passion for it was so fun to read about too. (take a shot everytime i use "fun" as an adjective!!!)

the characters were so well developed and easy to love. viola and jack yes, but the side characters too. bash, olivia, the parents, everyone. there was also such great growth throughout the story and we always love good character growth!

now the romance? it's lowkey kind of a slow burn. like a slow burn slow burn. partly because viola and jack both has so much going on individually, partly because they're both so stubborn, but either way it was so worth it. the little love confession had me GIGGLING. so many of their moments had me kicking my feet but the confession specifically was so 💘💖💗💞💝 they're so perfect together and u can never convince me otherwise.

➞ i read this in a matter of hours and if that plus this review doesn't convince u to read this when it comes out, idk what will. as an olivie blake lover and (forever?) former shakespeare nerd and romance girlie, this was everything and more. i need all of u to run to amazon and pre order this rn!!

Ooof okay so where do I start.

Why the 4 stars?

I went into this book with no expectations at all. I was just along for the ride I was very presently surprised from it. The writing, the characters, the pacing, the plot were all very interesting and well executed points of the book.

I relate to Viola more than I’ll ever admit out loud or to anyone else. She puts up a front of the exterior but inside is a big old softy. Like Jack said she’s a marshmallow with thorns. I loved that she was unapologetically herself despite what everyone had to say about it. Even if she hated herself for it, she didn’t give up on herself just to please others. And I love that she grew as a character when she recognized her faults, but didn’t completely do a pivot on her personality which I liked to see. Her weaknesses were also her strengths and I think that’s more relatable to real life people than completely negative and completely positive traits. It was an obvious arc, but it was shoved down our throats.

I have less opinions of Jack. He was such a sweetheart and also someone who was fighting his “demons.” Again, there was growth to his character but he didn’t completely turn into a different person in the short span of time that this book took place. It was a gradual change he had to work through. You could see the changes in the way he approached situations and responded to others. There were little details here and there of how he learned to see other things differently.

Let me say, I looooooove the writing mostly because it’s straightforward. I’m tired of the overwritten romances that go on for 400 pages of wannabe angst and nothing. This book was clean and simple without relying on too much repetition to push the word count up. It was a little lackluster in the description department, but I personally didn’t mind it that much. I just got to be in the moment and enjoy what was happening without a page long paragraph on how they felt bad about themselves every chapter.

Another star for the point of view. I didn’t feel for a single moment that I wanted a specific part or point of view to be over with. That’s probably also related to the pacing. The story was moving. I enjoyed every second of it and I’m pretty sure there were no filler scenes. You can tell it was thought of and well crafted. The dialogue felt natural for the most part and it flowed like a real conversation. It was a good representation of how teenagers act and talk (for the most part. There were. A couple eye roll moments).

I also really liked the twelfth night parallels. I read the play, barely enjoyed it, but the way it was adapted to this genre of book specifically was so refreshing and I think the author did a great job of retelling the story.

So if you love it so much why not give it 5 stars you might ask? Well, it lost a start because as I kept on reading, it felt like something was missing. I think I was able to narrow it down specifically.

I went into this book expecting nemesis to lovers, but I don’t think that aspect was very present. Sure, they had a mutual disliked but it wasn’t very explored and died quickly. Maybe I’m just nitpicking, but I tend to be more fond of the nemesis who actively try to take each other down (kinda).

However, I was still a fan of Vi’s and Orsino’s dynamic. Despite the mutual dislike being somewhat resolved, the two still had banter (have I mentioned I liked the dialogue?) mainly because of Vi’s “prickly” personality so it was refreshing to see them maintain the way they address each other without suddenly going sappy and all lovey dovey and losing their personalities.

It also lost points because I think it was too short. I wanted more of Vi and Orsino’s relationship growth on page. Again, nitpicky, but the book felt empty because it moved so fast. I wanted to see more happen between them. Especially before their opinions of each other changed and way later when I expected more romance. The middle portion was perfect for me. The scenes we got were cute, I just think they weren’t enough.

All to say that, while their dynamic was still interesting and entertaining, they still lose points for not fulfilling that little flame I needed to see in their enemy stage.

What really ticked me off was the social commentary. It felt so random and out of place. There wasn’t that much of it, but when it did show up, I rolled my eyes so hard. Especially because they were so stereotypical and generalized. They popped up out of nowhere I personally am not a fan of random social commentary just because a character falls within a certain minority group.

All in all, I enjoyed this book I think it was a fun read and I enjoyed being and learning more about these characters. It was a great palette cleanser and actually got me out of my reading slump. I would definitely recommend this book, but I can also see where it could not be for certain people.

This is all of the best parts of teen romance starring an angry female protagonist who, yes, learns how to move forward with her anger to compromise with those around her, but is also proud to be an angry woman. I related so much to this, thank you so much for the review copy.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Back in 2022, I had the chance to get an e-arc of My Mechanical Romance, which was Alexene Farol Follmuth’s YA debut. I loved it, so as soon as Twelfth Knight was available, I immediately requested it. I was very excited to be able to have the chance to read this book!

So, a quick disclaimer: I’ve never actually read Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. But this book follows the plotline of Viola passing as a guy and becoming close with Jack, also known as Duke due to his family’s football legacy. I really thought it was interesting that this was done through a video game, and it makes complete sense to me as to why Viola would pretend to be a guy given how women and girls are treated in the world of gaming, as well as in male-dominated fandoms. But of course, things start to get more complicated once Viola and Jack start getting closer inside and outside the game, and Viola is the only one aware of what’s going on.

After reading the acknowledgements and seeing how this was really more of a contemporary novel about each character’s growth with an added romance, it makes more sense to me why the story unfolded the way it did. A part of me wished for more scenes between Vi and Jack (not to say there aren’t any but the romance was just so cute that I wanted more). But I also really love how these two grew as characters! You could see that even by the end, they’re still growing, and it was really sweet to see them mature as people and as a couple.

Olivia is one of my favorite characters! I had my predictions about where her storyline was headed, and I really loved how she grew as well. She wasn’t just Jack’s maybe girlfriend or Vi’s new friend. She had her own journey going on, and I loved that. I also loved her friendship with Vi! It was so frustrating to see what Vi went through with Antonia. It made me happy that she had both Olivia and Jack. Bash was also a favorite of mine! I love the scenes of him and Vi. He was hilarious, and I loved that he really just wanted to be there for Vi. But I’m not sure about how to feel about the subplot with Antonia. I’m glad there was an apology, but I think there could’ve been more.

Now, Vi and Jack evidently can’t stand each other at the start. Vi has a reputation of being “a bitch”, which isn’t really fair considering how much people don’t respect her ideas or her time. She doesn’t get mad for no reason, but people hate that she doesn’t try to hide that anger. She also has walls up because she knows how tough this world is. She’s protecting herself, which doesn’t make it easy for her to let people in. Jack, on the other hand, is nice to everyone, wanting to keep everybody happy. He’s popular, he’s class president, and he just wants to play football. An injury leads to a lot more free time, so his best friend introduces him to the world of online gaming and a high-fantasy TV show. It’s a great form of escapism so he can let go of the anger he’s feeling about how this injury is impacting his life. He starts chatting with Cesario online and Vi offline, not realizing that he shouldn’t have his nickname and last name for his username.

I loved getting to see them learn that there was more to each other than they originally thought. It was sweet to see Vi and Jack bond over Twelfth Knight and their favorite fantasy show, War of Thorns. Seeing “Cesario” (Vi’s online persona) explain fandom terms to Jack was funny. Using these fictional worlds as a form of escapism and getting so invested is so realistic, reminding me of how I was in high school when it came to my favorite books and TV shows. Also, you don’t need to be a gamer or into roleplaying or football to get into this book. I’m not involved in any of those things, but what makes it relatable is the way they care so much about them. I would love to see them get more involved with fandom, like both of them showing up in full cosplay to MagiCon. But honestly, this is also just me wanting a novella or sequel with the whole gang.

Overall, this was a wonderful coming of age story with a sweet romance with characters I’d love to keep reading about. I give it 4.25/5 stars!

I couldn't put this down! I have a soft spot for characters who are bitchy, are called bitches, can be standoffish and difficult to get along with and smarty pants but are actually super sensitive and loving and scared oh am I describing myself? Maybe. But I'm also describing Viola Reyes, my sweet sweet girl. This is a dual POV between Viola Reyes, who is a geeky nerd who loves scifi fantasy shows and is a gamer. She has an alter ego: Cesario, a male video game character she created in Twelfth Knight. She's also class Vice President to her nemesis and popular jock President, Jack "Duke" Orsino. He's a star football player whose entire future is up in the air after a season-ending injury. To cope with his anger and frustration, he starts playing Twelfth Knight but doesn't realize that his partner, Cesario, is actually Viola. Viola knows that it's him but decides to keep the secret, until they of course get closer and Viola wonders if she can continue keeping her secret.

This is based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The narrative voices here are so funny and well-developed and real. This was a lot of fun to read, and I loved reading about all of the geeky things I love.