AFF/OB once again proves that she's the master of characters, whether in fantasy or a contemporary setting. I love how this book blended two hobbies usually stereotyped as opposites as each other and showed how in real life, people are much more complex. Viola was perfectly snarky yet sympathetic, and Jack was a great love interest.

This book was such a delightful and entertaining read! I loved Viola and Jack. I loved Olivia even more! I loved the personal struggles of each character and how they overcame them. I could really feel Olivia’s loneliness and Jack’s existential crisis. Antonia’s story line was the most frustrating part of the book but even with it I still enjoyed this book a lot. Definitely recommend!

I truly think I'm genetically predisposed to take whatever AFF/OB writes to heart Every Single Time and Without Fail. It's not for nothing though! It's so easy to see myself in her MCs to the point where an explanation of motivations and rationalizations of their actions sometimes feels irrelevant because, yeah, I would do the same thing, like, 90% of the time and usually for the same reason. In any case, Twelfth Knight was no different. I see so much of myself in Vi, from her (occasional) incapabilities in seeing people around her offering her friendship and help without it being outright spoken into existence, to the whole...u know...main conflict thing. In her (our) defense, the prospect of not being able to protect hurts, sometimes even more, as much as the actual hurting that happens after, so I totally get her!

As for the plot, characters, and pacing: Any AFF/OB work you pick up, I promise you will have fun, giggle, squeal into your pillow, cry, furiously notate (this is not a joke), and kick your feet up in the air, but the way and amount of reality she manages to spin into her worlds is also something that needs to be studied because there were instances that got so real, which was surprising for some reason, to see in a YA novel. I have no critiques on the characters themselves, though I rarely ever do. I don't think I've ever come across a character of AFF/OB's that I've ever felt was lacking or not fully formed, both in and out of fandom, and it doesn't change here. I'm also a bonafide Third Act Conflict Hater, but this (along with the characters' actions) was well thought out, progressed very logically, and actually made sense in my opinion.

And the cherry on top can actually be split into two parts:
1. I've had (if not the exact same) very similar discussions/banter with my own lola because what's a better way to learn how to overcome religious trauma than getting to trash talk it while my grandma reprimands me, you know?
2. The callbacks to AWYITE (the actual holy grail) are sickening/heartwarming/vindicating, and who am I to refuse a chance to think of my favorite book again? There were definitely a few that made me turn into that Leo pointing meme.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Tor Teen for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! And thank you to AFF for birthing this and continuing to exceed my expectations. Can't wait for you to go viral again!

This romance was so amazing. The story kept me attention the whole time. The writing was beautifully done. I would highly recommend this book!

4.5 ✰ “You can’t convince me that you’re heartless, Viola.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishing team for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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“𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.“

𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛: Twelfth Knight, a YA romantic comedy and coming of age story about taking space in the world and learning what it means to let others in.

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲-𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Viola Reyes is annoyed.Her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, her best friend is suggesting she try being more “likable,” and her school's star running back Jack Orsino is the most lackadaisical Student Body President she’s ever seen, which makes her job as VP that much harder. Vi’s favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren’t exactly kind to girls like her—girls who are extremely competent and have the swagger to prove it. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego, choosing to play as a knight named Cesario to create a safe haven for herself.But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos—Cesario and Duke Orsino—are surprisingly well-matched.As the long nights of game-play turn into discussions about life and love, Vi and Jack soon realise they’ve become more than just weapon-wielding characters in an online game. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline.

I asked for an ARC of this book expecting a cute, heartwarming story, and while I definitely received what I wanted, this book felt like so much more.

If you love video games, you should definitely read this. And if you love video games with a fan base of mostly men, you should most definitely read this. If only I had this book as a teenager.

“𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐠?“

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎: It’s my first time reading something by Olivie Blake / Alexene Farol Follmuth, and I’m completely in love now. The way she can write fantasy, dark academia, and even romcoms in such a short period of time blows me away; I’ll definitely be checking out all of her other books after this one.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎: Every single character in this story is a 10 out of 10, their stories, personalities and interactions with each other are what make this book so amazing. Viola, my dear Viola, this girl gets me; I’ve never felt more seen while reading.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟗/𝟏𝟎: If you love a good banter, THIS is the right book for you, I screamed, I cried, I kicked my feet, I literally felt like a teenager every time Vi and Jack interacted. Their love feels so earned and real. I was a bit worried because it started with a cliche that I normally don’t like at all, but oh, I was so wrong, Olivie Blake didn’t disappoint in the slightest.

The only reason this book doesn’t get 5 stars from me, it’s because I wanted a bit more of romance; but other than that, this is the perfect coming of age story.

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

Can’t wait for this book to own both booktok and bookstagram in 2024.

I went into this book with no expectations other than "I like YA books about video games." I was blown away by how funny and smart this novel was! I loved slowly warming up to Vi, I was totally charmed by Jack, and the side characters all had depth and complexity. I will definitely be recommending this to any of my teens looking for a rom com, a diverse cast of characters, and stories about embracing who you are and letting people in.

I also read this over about 48 hours on my tiny phone screen. I loved it!

A pitch-perfect Twelfth Night for teens. Very reminiscent of Amanda Bynes' take on the material, in the best way!

Twelfth Knight is a coming of age story about two high school students and the struggles they face. Friend groups aren’t what you thought they were, ones who were, a falling out of best friends, and the making of several new ones make up their high school experience. Well all that and an MMO, Twelfth Knight.
Viola Reyes is class vice president and a gaming enthusiast. She is also very annoyed, at just about everyone. Her table top campaign was shot down, her larping group less than nice, and her best friend is not being supportive. To top things off she has to work with Jack, the class president, and the oil to her water.
Jack Orsino is a high school football star in a family of them. When an injury derails his season, he is left not knowing who he is outside of football. He is introduced to Twelfth Knight and dives right in unknowingly befriending Viola.
There were a lot of big feelings in Twelfth Knight. It was true to so many aspects of gaming, both online and at the table. While I have found the misogamy in gaming has lessened as an adult, I still hear a lot of it from teens. It deals deftly and truly with the biases against women in gaming and larping communities. However, it also shows how warming and amazing the communities can be. Twelfth Knight doesn’t deal in absolutes and the growth and recognition in the characters is heartwarming. Any fan of MMOs or Dungeons and Dragons would love this book.
I received an ARC and am leaving a review of my own volition.

Oh man. I am a huge fan of this YA book. Like shouting on top of the roof love. There are so many great representations of poc and a great representation of different types of girls. There are prickly girls and popular girls and soft girls. Plus the young men representation was really refreshing too. All the characters were so well fleshed out and everyone had flaws and felt like real teenagers with real relatable problems. And the whole inclusion of Feminism in a variety of girls and how they view it in there lives was so touching. There were tims where Viv did feel a little preachy but her friends changed her outlook without her having to give up her backbone. That and her realizing her mom didn't change who she was so she knew she could be herself with Jack was really touching. And Jack's character development really blew me away, just shows you that Alexene really knos how to make her story character driven. I loved literally all the characters and where there stories went. Seriously will be buying a physical copy when it comes out and be shoving it in everyone's faces.

alexene farol follmuth (olivie blake) u did not disappoint!

i absolutely adored my mechanical romance, her ya novel, and i've read it for four times now, which says a lot on how much i adore that book to pieces. so hearing her next ya novel releasing on the year 2024, Twelfth Knight was one of my most anticipated reads. it includes themes of games and fandoms, which brings me back to fond memories of when i was in fandoms myself haha.

the banter in here was on top, got me smiling so much. i'll definitely revisit, reread, and re-highlight fave moments on my own copy of the book.

and despite games being a huge part of the story, at the end of the day, this book is also about love - family love, romance love, friendship love - it was everything to me. i love it. I LOVE IT! words can't express how much i adore our cast of characters, and thank u thank u thank u!! to the team for providing the arc, i am grateful to have the opportunity to meet them earlier.

kudos to you, alexene farol follmuth, you just wrote another comfort read of mine.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC opportunity!
I actually fairly enjoyed this book. I haven’t read a book by her yet and I have to say that the themes of romance definitely filigreed along with the themes of self discovery. Though I felt as if the writing felt a bit immature I’m sure that readers younger than me will enjoy this one a lot. Even though it was a three star for me, it has the potential to be so much more.

i loved this book so much! viola reyes is such a relatable character, she doesn't take disrespect from anybody and stands up for herself (which gives her a reputation of being kind of a b****), she's strong and knows what she wants. Jack is my precious sunshine boy I just adore him. Also, I can't help but adore Bash he's also my pookie.

If you're looking for a opposites attract, slow burn, rom-com then look no further!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Oh thank you so much for an early copy of this book. I absolutely adored My mechanical romance and I could not wait to read this book and Alexene Farol Follmuth did not disappoint.Signature wit, humour and clever writing! I devoured it in one sitting.Absolutely in love !

10/10 - would recommend!

I absolutely loved this book. I loved how real it felt. The characters were really raw. I truly enjoyed this 100%.

We follow Viola & Jack. Who are both different but find each other in the same interest and one doesn’t know the other is doing so.. I love how it played out. I’m normally not a huge romance person but this was perfect for me.

Sweet, funny, and leaves you itching for a good fantasy read all a good recipe for a great time.

An absolute stellar read. This was equal parts coming of age and romance story mixed in perfectly with teen angst and the impending doom of a future you can't quite picture but know is coming, all bookended with the joys (and perils) of fandom life.

Sometimes when I read YA books in my 20's I can't help but be sad for the teen version of me who never got to hold this book in her hands. I'm so glad it's here for the current teens.

Vi Reyes is a ray of sunshine (not). She doesn’t back down to get what she wants and does NOT take any disrespect from ANYONE. Which is why people typically think she is unlikeable and kinda a b****. She is student body vice president, and loathes Jack Orsino, who somehow became actual president out of pure popularity. He is the typical football jock and is her nemesis.

As a girl who loves fantasy and combat video games, Vi is used to guys assuming she doesn’t know what she is doing, giving her unsolicited advice, and most of the time targeting her to kill first once they realize that a girl is playing a “boyish” game. To prevent this problem, Vi decides to play Twelfth Knight, her new favorite MMORPG as a boy (named Cesario) so that nobody knows who she truly is. She becomes one of the best players in the game.

One day, Vi is playing Twelfth Knight when she notices a pretty familiar username: dukeorsino12. Duke Orsino is one of Jack’s nicknames, and he recently began playing the game to distract him from the pain and loneliness that came with his major knee injury. The two of them quickly become best friends through this game, EXCEPT there is one big problem….. Jack doesn’t know he is actually playing with Vi; he thinks he is playing with a guy. What will he do when he finds out he’s been becoming close and sharing secrets with THE Vi Reyes this whole time??

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was so much fun to read this YA enemies-to-lovers story. I’ve never read a book about video games before so this was exciting!
4 stars from me!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with my first ever ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts on the book! ♥

Absolutely amazing! Such a wonderful, witty, entertaining read. I'm a huge fan of Olivie Blake, and her first venture into YA was really well done. The characters are very distinct and well-rounded, and I adored them both so much! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a super solid YA contemporary romance!

Viola Reyes, a strong willed, intelligent, and quick witted 17 year old finds herself displeased with the sexism she faces in her everyday life and in her gaming community. To combat this, she plays video-games online under a male persona where she interacts with Jack, a football player and fellow high school student dealing with an injury. From here, a fun Shakespeare retelling filled with teenage angst, personal growth, and fun banter commences.

I love Olivie Blake’s (this authors pseudonym for her adult releases) fantasy novels and was super excited to read her YA contemporary work! She did an amazing job making gaming approachable (coming from someone with little to no experience) and created real, complex characters that developed throughout the story. My one complaint is that the first few chapters are somewhat hard to get through. Too many characters that were ultimately not important to the story were introduced - which felt somewhat useless. Besides that, this story was quite enjoyable and something I would absolutely recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review :)

I admit, I read this out of curiosity to see how the author of the very high-concept The Atlas Six would do at writing for a YA audience. And the answer is... surprisingly well. It's a very different style, but some of her trademark philosophy and complex psychology come through--it's just sneakier than in her adult books.

I actually found this hard to put down. The Shakespeare parallel works very well without being too heavy-handed, the characters are well-rounded and the themes relevant. It's not particularly funny, as rom-coms go, but I didn't find that a lack.

This was the exact book I expected as advertised and more. This was the perfect YA romcom and it had everything I ever want in a romcom. While this was YA, it did deal with topics that so many readers no matter the age will resonate with. It deals with the uncertainty in the future, especially for teens who are expected to make the decision on what they want to do with the rest of their lives. It also went into pushing people away to protect themselves, not allowing anyone to see your true self for fear of being rejected. But it also talks about being unapologetically yourself and that whoever you are and whatever you like should be embraced. The discussion of feminism and how looked down upon women are certain spaces really rang so true as a women in engineering.

There was not a single character I disliked in this. I adored Vi and Jack and all of the side characters added so much to the plot instead of just a tool to further the plot. Vi was definitely a character who comes off strong and a bit annoying in the beginning, but I think that was the point since her issue deals with not letting people see the real her. I loved her relationship with her family and her brother Bash and the friendship she developed with Olivia. Jack had so much growth going from the perfect star athlete to realizing there’s so much more to life besides football.

The relationship between Jack and Vi was so pure and their banter was TOP NOTCH. I loved seeing their relationship going from nemeses to lovers and how they only made each other better. I cannot truly put into words how much I loved this book.