"I just think maybe happiness isn't crossing a finish line, or finally meeting the right person, or getting the right job, or finding the right life. It's the little things."

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Teen for this eArc!! Alexene Farol Follmuth does it once again!!
This story follows Viola Reyes, a female gamer who is annoyed with the way she's been treated in the gaming community, as well as her daily life. From being told to be "more likeable" and being constantly looked down on, she's fed up. She escapes from these issues into an online MMORPG Twelfth Knight. But since the community isn't the friendliest to girls like her, she plays as a male character. When an injury leads the star football player, and student body president, to partake in the world of Twelfth Knight, him and Viola intersect in ways they never would have imagined. Their characters are well-matched, but off the screen, they have a kindling chemistry of their own.

"No matter what forms she and I take, I know her. I know her because of what she makes me know about myself."

Truly, once again such a great book by this author. I read My Mechanical Romance last year (and also gave it 5 stars) but this was so so good! I need to pick up some of her adult stuff, but these feminist YA stories really hit me hard. I hope she has a lot more to come!

“The game isn’t the dice. It’s who’s with you at the table.”⁣
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Twelfth Knight was absolute YA perfection. As someone who came of age in the early 2000s, this felt so incredibly reminiscent of that time. It brought me back twenty years to my own high school days of trying to navigate what felt like complex social structures while also figuring out who I was.⁣
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This is why Vi made such a beautiful and wonderful main character. She felt so familiar and relatable. From figuring out teenage interpersonal relationships to not wanting people to know everything she was into for fear of not being taken seriously — it felt so familiar. ⁣
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Jack Orsino, the popular football player, made such a great juxtaposition to Vi’s leading part. He showed the other side of the coin, while also learning that he was more than just a sport that he played. He had to learn that he had layers, and depth, and that plans can change.⁣
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Twelfth Knight was full of self-discovery, growth, and so much nerdiness in terms of an online game that brought two completely different people and their orbits together. The pages spent detailing the quests of the game were so fun and addictive that this one was hard to put down.⁣
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This book was an absolute delight. I know that if I loved it, someone far removed from their high school years, that this one should be loved by the target demographic. I hope that they can see themselves in these pages and know that they are wonderful just the way that they are.⁣
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Hands down one of my favorite reads of the year and a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

This is so fantastic and fun. It’s very youthful and full of heart, SO different from the author’s works under her other penname.

I think this is great for anyone who loves Shakespeare, DND, cosplay, LARPing, or anything nerdy.

This Shakespeare retelling follows Viola Reyes and Jack Orsino, they are in two different circles in their school; she is a gamer and a lover of fantasy in all mediums, and Jack is a running back prodigy and the popular captain of the football team. At the beginning of the book something happens to Jack and he has to take a step back from football and with his extra free time, finds himself in an RPG video game called Twelfth Knight. In this game he betriends another player named Cesario, who is a guy and is killing it, he's a really good player but little does Jack know that Cesario is also Viola.
Vi is a strong personality, and it's really a shell that she puts on to protect herself. Jack has a lot of pressure on him to get well, and expectations of success in football because he comes from a football family. I enjoyed seeing Vi be unapologetically herself, and see how that affects Jack, and how it opens his horizons. Seeing how both of they both broke out of their shells getting to know each other was so heartwarming. As well as seeing the inner workings of these two characters. Its easy to say "Oh Viola wanted to be Cesario because he's strong", but there so much more to her reasonings. As women and girls, there ARE so many additional hurdles to deal with when it comes to certain hobbies, and it was easier and safer to play as Cesario.
This is a coming of age story, for both characters which is the main focus of the story, but there are some beautiful romantic moments as well. I loved their banter, I wouldn't consider this enemies to lovers because they are in high school, and the stakes aren't the high, but this is definitely rivals/unlikeable classemates for sure. Even outside of the Vi and Jack, the cast of characters around them were so rich and offered very much needed outside perspectives that are important to not only young adults, but people of all ages. I feel that we need these reminders throughout our lives as well.
While this book is not fantasy, this is for fantasy lovers because Vi definitely is one. This story is about being true to yourself, and holding yourself accountable. Olivie Blake is one of my favorite authors for this reason; the way that she can bring characters to life, rip your heart out and make you care so much. It's a beautiful gift that she has, and it's never in the traditional way. It's always a very different take.
Clearly, I recommend Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth.

**Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)**
This was my first YA book by Olivie Blake as Alexene Farol Follmuth, and it was definitely a worthwhile read! A fun and modern retelling of *Twelfth Night* set in a high school—complete with football and gamer culture, plus some student government drama—*Twelfth Knight* provides an exciting enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance that both Young Adult and Adult audiences will enjoy.

>> **What I loved**: Two main characters you wanted to root for, realistic-feeling plot and character development for the YA genre, and the fun, clever writing style we know and love from Blake/Follmuth. There was also a great cast of side-characters, and it felt like a nice balance of romance with character growth. I tandem read the book and audiobook, and thought the narration in the audiobook was excellent as well!
>> **What I didn’t love:** Very little not to love here for me, but there’s some great commentary about societal expectations of women’s behavior that our FMC Violet ends up fighting with her good friend about, and I think there was an opportunity to do a little more with that conversation.

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth, and Tor Publishing, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.

✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

I LOVE a Shakespeare adaptation, so this book knocked it out of the park for me. It was the perfect balance of funny, snarky, and sweet, and I felt like the coming of age story mixed with the nerdy vibes was really tailored for the fangirls out there who grew up in fandom spaces.

Thank you Tor Teen and NetGalley for the eARC of Twelfth Knight! All opinions in this review are my own.

I love Twelfth Night so when I heard Twelfth Knight was a modern retelling of it, I knew I had to read it!

Unsurprisingly, I absolutely loved Twelfth Knight! Despite knowing the story already, I liked this modern retelling that included many references to a Dungeons & Dragons-like game and RPG video games. Follmuth includes new twists on the storyline too in order to make it fresh. Even if you don't know the original play, Twelfth Knight is a fantastic YA romance that I highly recommend!

Rating: 4.5

I flew through this book & absolutely loved it. It was such a fun way to reimagine Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in a modern setting and had me hooked to the very end.

The way all the characters were adapted into their new circumstances was really well done and they were all very fleshed out. The focus on "nerd culture" was really interesting and all the discussion around it made me want to join in (oh to one day go to a renaissance fair....). I will say the opening scene being an American Football game really threw me in a loop, since I know nothing about the sport and wasn't expecting it at all.

Would recommend 100% (and already have)!

Thank you Tor Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Just love that this was based around who gets to be angry. Who is allowed to feel those emotions and who gets called crazy or a b.
Bash and Vi are twins and this is based off of Twelfth Knight but in high school and that is the name of a popular quest video game. The relationship between the qb/student pres is perfect. She's the VP and is the only one who does her job. Love their slow appreciation of eachother because of how different they are. And each of the friends and ex's went through their own growth of self discovery as well. So much happening like it does in high school but the romance between Vi and Jack. Loved how diverse the cast is and how many topics of being that age it addressed.

I LOVED the gamer vibes in this book! It made 16 year old me want to scream and pump my first.
Late 90’s/early 00’s Shakespeare retellings are my jam (see: 10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless, She’s the Man) and this book embodies that vibe perfectly.
Jack and Vi were such dynamic characters. ack “Duke” Orsino is the star football player with his college plans set in stone until he gets injured and is out for the entire season, leading him to check out the MMORPG, Twelfth Knight. When Vi realizes she knows Jack she lies about who she is and gets to know Jack on a whole new level which leads to shenanigans, mistaken identity and the inevitable feels.

This was such a fun read and felt so nostalgic. The way the story was written was unique and playful and gave a voice to all those awkward kids who feel misunderstood and unheard.

I love a good Shakespeare retelling and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint…especially when I loved “She’s the Man” so much!

If you are a lover of YA + Shakespeare retellings, this is definitely the book for you! It’s cute. It’s funny. There are sports involved. What’s not to love?

This book definitely gave me enemies to lovers/fake identity feels and I loved it. A great, fun little beach read if you need one!

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

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Let me preface by saying Alexene Farol/ Olivie Blake is an automatic buy for me and thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

I’m sorry but I was not able to get into this book bcs it had two things I could care less about. Football and d&d/ roleplaying games . I really really tried to read it but I could not get past the first 5 chapters. I will def try this again when I have more time.

As a gamer I have to say I love this book! Romance is my to go to and if I saw this book on the shelf at a bookstore I would grab it just based off the cover and description. I don’t normally read YA because it feels so immature to me but this was perfection! The characters are so lovable and easy to relate too. I love how the author showed us what a REAL relationship could look like. Obviously not perfection, there’s ups and downs. 100% recommend. Even if it doesn’t seem like your type of book please give it a try!

This was cute. It was frustrating but cute. It took a loooong time for Vi's arc to happen and I was kind of super mad that Antonia never actually apologized for being a shitty friend. For basically badmouthing her supposed best friend behind her back, that was what I was the most not cool with and it's just a really pitiful friend makeup scene that only happened because she finally got to experience misogyny that Vi had been dealing with the whole time. I also should clarify, I really don't like football so the glorification of it in this made me annoyed. I was with Vi in her distaste for it and I kind of wanted Jack's career to fully fall through so he'd understand that it's not everything. He still does understand but I don't think he should go back to it after everything.

Wow I'm so hyper critical. What I DID enjoy is Bash being the best twin brother and putting Vi in her place when she is a shit. I enjoyed Olivia's story a great deal and loved the actual good friendship that bloomed. And I did like the romance between Jack and Vi. I liked that they did a minor third act breakup but with critical thinking and conversation, it didn't last and really showcased how mature the characters had become by the end.

Overall, I think I like this author's YA more than their Adult because I really had a hard time like Atlas Six.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc in return for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book because I love Shakespeare retellings! This book was a bit of a disappointment for me though. It took me a very long time to get into and I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters.

I found all the descriptions of football and computer games to be kind of boring and I ended up skimming through those parts.

The part about this book that I did like was Jack discovering that he could do more than just play football and I also thought the was he was with Viola was adorable.

The premise of this book really intrigued me, however it really just wasn’t for me. That is nothing against the book, I think many people will love it. I’m all for the feminist aspect of this book. But the characters were so mean to the fmc and I just couldn’t get over it. It was so unnecessary. I enjoy Olivie Blakes’s writing but the YA and storyline of this book was overall disappointing.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! as someone who is already a fan of olivie blake/alexene farol follmuth's writing, i knew i was going to enjoy this one! its a cute story and how exciting that it was picked for one of the biggest celebrity book clubs!

Viola Reyes is her class VP, she is known to be prickly, and puts passion into everything she loves. Her RPG group has just shot down her campaign idea, her best friend told her she should try being more likeable, and the President to her VP is a football star and so bad at his job leaving her to pick up his slack.

Jack Orsino is universally loved, and the star of the football team until he suffers an injury that is going to take him out for the season and maybe ruin his chances of playing in college. With all his new free time he start playing an online game called Twelfth Knight. He befriends a fellow player, but what he doesn't know is that player is Vi playing as a guy so she is only judged by her skills.

They both begin to talk both online and offline and really connect. While Jack gets to know the true Vi in real life, he doesn't know the character he is opening up to online is also her.

This was a very cute YA romance. I am not a gamer, nor am I into DnD style games but I am so glad to read about it and have a novel that encourages a younger generation that playing those games is okay and fun. I felt the chemistry from the characters, and their connection felt natural. It explored some more serious topics but balanced it well with humor and lightness.

What a fun, fresh, smart retelling of Twelfth Night! I loved the sports/gaming twist and the ways this story explored identity and anger, especially that of women and people of color in privileged institutions. There were tons of fun easter eggs for the Shakespeare fans, but this story stands beautifully on its own. A total treat to read!

She's The Gamer

Wow I liked this a LOT. A very fun Shakespeare retelling that had the vibe of those early 2000s movies. I REALLY loved Viola, a nerdy fangirl and gamer who can’t help being a bitch to men who treat her as less than in those spaces. Her dynamic with Jack (both IRL and as her male gaming persona) was really cute and I appreciated how open and honest they became even amongst the deceptions. I have some quibbles about the secondary characters, but overall this was a winner of a YA romcom.