My nerd/MMORPG heart is very full after reading this ⚔

I was beyond excited for this after adoring My Mechanical Romance. Thank you BookBreak / NetGalley / Macmillan for the e-arc ✨

Twelfth Knight is a YA rom-com, coming of age story (and a Twelfth Night retelling) about Viola and Jack. Viola is eternally annoyed - her DnD campaign was shot down, her best friend told her to 'be more likeable', and the student body president, Jack Orsino, couldn't be more laid back if he tried (which makes Viola's life as VP frustrating to say the least).

Escaping her frustration, Viola plays the online game Twelfth Knight. Online spaces aren't much friendlier than the IRL ones to girls like Viola, so she chose a masculine Knight 'Cesario' as her character to save her from some hassle.

Jack is on track for a successful football career, but an injury could change all of that. Needing something to pass the time while he recovers (and escape his girlfriend troubles), a friend recommends he try Twelfth Knight.

Viola stumbles across 'Duke Orsino' in-game, and is alarmed to discover they are surprisingly well-matched. As the late night game sessions continue, the two begin to open up about life and love. But Viola has been hiding her true identity from Jack, and their relationship developing offline might be about to complicate things.

Quick-fire things I loved
- Grumpy x sunshine, slow burn
- 'Unlikeable' fmc (but I love her)
- Friendships are hard and teens can be awful
- DnD!!! Conventions!!
- Joys of hobbies
- Representation of toxic masculinity and misogyny in the gaming space
- Wonderful character work (great supporting characters and character arcs)

I really enjoyed Viola and Jack's character arcs. The plot bringing the two together was fun and the other relationships woven into the mix made for a really interesting read. It was nice to see some high school stereotypes being challenged and characters growing and learning to understand each other.

I could wax poetic about how this book shows the power of video games, the escapism it can provide, and the freedom is allows players, but I'm not sure anyone wants to read all that and I'm definitely biased 😂 But in short, it's wonderful to see a story showing how gaming provides so much joy for people and allows them to be someone else for a while!

Overall, a genuinely great YA romcom with one of the most fun plots I've read in a while. Would definitely recommend!

Twelfth Knight is a love letter to fandom and nerd culture filled with female rage and a heartwarming slow burn romance. A quirky relationship pairing that is found in the most unexpected place.

After the star quarterback has a nasty injury forcing him to sit out the rest of the season he finds solace in the online MMO Twelfth Knight.

Vi is a nerd through and through after her RPG gaming group has wronged her one too many times she pushes everyone away and is looking for a different outlet when she ends up paired online with non other than the star quarterback.
The pair hit it off as fast friends but Vis secret identity can't stay hidden forever what happens when online and reality collide?

I really liked this one it was fun, charming and sweet It reminded me of all the online communities I grew up and found home in while tackling the issue of being a female in those spaces.

I'm not usually much of a romance reader but I thought this was a super cute easy read and I absolutely flew through it

Another amazing book by Alexene Farol Follmuth.

I was up until 2am finishing this book and it was worth the tired tiredness! As someone who grew up with a similar attitude to Viola, It can be very useful isolating. I wish this book for there when I was younger!
I also understood very little about the American football scenes but I enjoyed them!

This is a fantastic Shakespeare retelling which really reminds me of the movies of my teenage years... I can't wait to see this when it inevitably gets made into a Movie.

I really enjoyed this ya book about finding yourself and learning to lean on people when you need them the most.

It was such a cute Shakespeare comedy re-telling brought into modern times but still holding the Twelth Knight feeling. I loved that while it touched on some relatable issues we have today it was still a lighthearted and fun read and I completely devoured it.

I didn't think I would like this book. I've never watched football, I'm not a big gamer and my DnD experience is limited to watching Stranger Things, but here I am falling head over heels for this book.
Alexene Farol Follmuth's strong suit has always been her character work. She's not afraid to write 'unlikable' characters who are so real and honest, you can't help but liking them anyway. Viola is such an incredible character - she's prickly and abrasive, with so many layers protecting her. Watching them peel away over the course of the book was a joy to read.
The novel is also a testament to joy. It made me look at my passions and hobbies, and urged me to never shy away from enjoying them. The book asks, why do you tamper your excitement to fit somebody else's mould? And after reading this, I didn't have an answer.

It’s safe to say I can’t resist a retelling and Twelfth Night is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays so I had to read this and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I love how opinionated and confident Viola is, sticking to her guns and being completely herself. Her personality isn’t for everyone, but she’s such a strong character and a pleasure to read. The sunshine to her grumpy is Jack, though following an ACL injury, he’s bringing a lot less sunshine as his future is up in the air and he’s feeling a little lost. These two lonely islands gravitate towards each other, despite a long-standing rivalry of sorts, and I enjoyed the development of their relationship throughout the book. It felt very genuine, and had a solid foundation built throughout the narrative. Plus, nerdy books are totally my jam. This book brings some great side characters. I love Bash especially, and his and Viola’s dynamic. It’s incredibly sweet and full of banter, and a deep love between them. Olivia also gets a shoutout because her new friendship with Vi is delightful, and I adore them. Such a great book full of difficult feelings, general strife, and teens figuring out their lives. She's the Man fans in particular are going to love this.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

dnf.

as someone who used to be a gamer and actually met their partner on an online game, i had such high hopes for this book. unfortunately, i just couldn’t get into it. neither character was relatable and i found it slightly cringeworthy.

the premise of the story sounds so good but in my opinion it just hasn’t been executed well.

thank you netgalley for the arc

It’s like She’s the Man but more nerdy, with comic con and video games and arthurian knights and football instead of soccer. The level of banter is Exquisite, and I absolutely adored this book.

I really enjoyed this story!

Jack, who's a school football player, gets injured quite badly during a game, putting him out of the game for a season. During that time, he gets introduced to a computer game: 'Twelfth Knight'.
Vi doesn't have much time for Jack. He doesn't help much with his role as student body president and leaves a lot of the tasks to Vi, his deputy. But when Jack starts playing Vi's favourite game,'Twelfth Knight', they begin to talk more.

This was actually such an enjoyable read. My favourite trope is Grumpy X sunshine, and this very much gave that vibe! I felt myself warming towards Vi's character more as the story went on and loved that she didn't change her opinions or actions because of other people.

I loved Jack! I loved his character transformation from the highly popular football star to someone who was more happy in the background, celebrating other people becoming the star. His nerdy personality definitely came out across the story, and I loved that.

A lot of things annoy Viola, one of which is the school QB who isn’t pulling their weight in the school committee. However, said QB, Jack, isn’t doing so great, with a particularly nasty ACL tear to recover from. What neither of them expects is to find common ground in the online game ‘Twelth Knight.’

This book is filled with the stress of being a teenager and figuring out who you are and what you want to me - all executed perfectly to make for a great read.

Not only is there some great romance, there’s a number of wonderful side characters and lots of food for thought.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Children’s Books for the ARC.

A very beautifully written grumpy x sunshine coming of age book.

The plot heavily reminded me of a cult 90s romcom film (mainly She’s all that) and I loved it! The book is a really easy read and felt very mature given that it is targeted at YA. The problems that occurred in the storyline felt very true to the age and I really like the nerd/jock dynamic.

Viola is the strong, sassy FMC that we all need in our lives. She is so blunt and forthright with everyone (but herself) and sees most things in black and white. But I loved her for that! She shows how much of a struggle it is to try and be yourself and maintain friendships at that age.

Jack shows that there is just more to a person than the sport that they play. He has a lot of pressure that has been built up on top of him. Family, college, friends, football. But he also learns that not everything is straight sailing.

I was 100% rooting for them as a couple the whole way through, and the banter was great! As a someone who goes to comicons, I really liked that part of the book as it was so descriptive and felt like a real convention.

I hadn’t read anything by from this author before this, (although The Atlas Six is on my TBR pile) but this book has really prompted me to start it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and bookbreakuk for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Absolutely adored this book. The main character is complex but ultimately loveable and we have no problem siding with her. Female Rage needs to be in more novels, especially coming of age! Alexene can do no wrong

Ahh this book is so cute, I just loved it. I'm not usually a huge fan of YA romance atm but this was so much more than regular romance. Plus it's a Shakespeare retelling and we all love that. It also brought back so much nostalgia, as it reminded me of the film She's the Man, but with a nerdy twist.

What to expect:
Shakespeare retelling
Gaming chat
Fierce feminist FMC
Sport romance

Did you know this was Olivie Blake writing under a different name? And this feels like more her roots, it reads very fan fic for me. Which was actually surprisingly perfect. I've not rated a YA so high in a very long time.

There's so much banter in this book, between the love interests, siblings and friends. But there is also a deep message of feminist values and how people view women in the gaming world. How they aren't treated as equals, and regularly have their ideas shattered by men who think women shouldn't be gaming.
Vi doesn't conform for anybody, so she is considered a bitch, but I admire her so much. I wish I could have read this book as a teen or young adult, because I could have learnt a thing or 2 from Vi.

Highly recommend this one book lovers, I've not read anything quite like it ever!

Twelfth Knight is a fun reimagining of the Shakespeare classic. I really love how Follmuth took the different elements from the play and incorporated them in to the novel.

I really love how this story showed the difficulties and the online abuse that girls in the gaming community (or online in general) are on the receiving end of. I think it really highlighted the disparity and the inequalities that they face and how isolating and dehumanising this can feel.

Follmuth did not stop there though! I really liked how she linked this to the way girls and women are treated outside of the online community, in in person gaming groups or conventions, or just in general places like school. Follmuth took the word "bitch" and deconstructed it, challenging why do we see girls and women who stick up for themselves, who are assertive, this way.

I do think some more work could have been done in terms of Vi and her friend, I think the way their relationship came to a resolution at the end was too quick. There could have been a discussion about rape culture/victim blaming, particularly in how some girls and women can adopt these mindsets and how this works against the women they claim solidarity with. It really frustrated me everytime Viola's friend apologised for her behaviour or agreed how she was a "bitch" when all Viola was doing was objecting to being sexualised or made to feel guilty about not going out with a guy who felt she owed him something. So, for that reason I think it was a shame that while there was resolution between them both it skipped over a lot of reckoning - it was sort of a "I get you now sorry" kind of thing and that was that.

I really liked Jack and I thought his character journey was excellent, and I just loved how he was so sweet and caring. I think him and Vi worked well together and balanced each other out, while actually being super compatible despite both of them thinking they were complete opposites. I liked how they both learned things from each other and never wanted each other to change - they both saw the best (and worst) of each other and loved it all.

I will say for a moment I thought this book was building up to a sapphic romance (and it kind of did?) and I was conflicted because I thought she had chemistry with both, and I can't lie for a moment I was disappointed when I realised this book was committed to Jack as the endgame. BUT, I do love him and I am glad they're endgame but I wouldn't have been mad - and would have loved - if this book went with the sapphic romance instead.

Bash was a great addition to our cast of characters, however I wish we got to see more of him!

All in all, I did really enjoy this book and I really must go and read Alexene's work as Olivie Blake that I've had sitting on my shelf forever.

Alexene Farol Follmuth aka mother Olivie Blake never fails to deliver on all front no matter the genre and Twelfth Knight was no less than pure and utter perfection.

Twelfth Knight is the story of our prickly hedgehog heroine, Viola, who enjoys role playing games, alongside an online battle game called Twelfth Knight. Our hero, Jack “Duke” Orsino, is the popular jock, well loved and adored, with a cheerleader girlfriend he adores and obsessed with football, until he injures his knee and has to sit out for the season. Bored with nothing to do, his friend introduces him to Twelfth Knight, which slowly takes over his time. Vi and Duke are also on the student council, and are one sided rivals I suppose since Vi doesn’t like him, and they usually clash and go back and forth with one another. Until Jack and his girlfriend have problems, and he requires Vi’s help as she becomes close to Olivia.

What I loved about Twelfth Knight is the subtle nods and ode to the play, whilst Alexene created a new game inspired by the play and has its own life and story. The details and concept really brought the whole story to life and I was invested in all of the quests Vi and Jack went on, and the ending scene of their final quest was like a movie. I was totally on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. Alongside our loveable grumpy on the outside and cinnamon roll on the inside heroine and our sunshine hero, I adored all of the side characters too, especially vi’s brother and Olivia. Each side character had so much depth and their own backstory which complimented both vi and jacks journeys 🩷

I loved how jack and even vi’s culture/heritage was portrayed in this book, it added some maturity to the characters and really cemented how important it is for YA romance books to tackle real issues whilst writing a fictional world. This is such a huge elevation from My Mechanical Romance and just proves that Alexene is getting better and better at this genre, and has me excited to read more in the future.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy to read YA romcom, which has the reverse grumpy sunshine trope, a gamer/nerdy heroine, and BIPOC representation, then look no further than Twelfth Knight!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publishers and Alexene Farol Follmuth for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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

I knew from this line that I was going to like Viola and her straightforward, no nonsense attitude. This is the feminist retelling of Shakespeare I'm here for, and the added joy of nerd culture, societal commentary, and YA romance makes it all the better.

Vi is responsible, super into RPGs and the show WoG, and unfortunately very used to being put down by others (especially men). She has developed a tough exterior to protect herself from disappointment, but this means she never lets anyone in. Jack is a football star with a legacy to live up to and a university offer that rides on his success - but an accident leaves him unsure about his future or his worth. Both are on the student council, and both are about to be thrown into one another's orbit whether they like it or not...

Twelfth Knight is funny and imaginative in its retelling, and I loved the representation as well as its honesty. It tackles important topics like love versus independence, inequalities within fandoms and gaming culture, the "fluid" nature of racism, nice guy syndrome, sexuality, and the pressures placed on young people by their families. Definitely worth a read, especially if you want romcom vibes or enjoy enemies to lovers tropes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Books for allowing me to read an ARC of Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth.

This is a really fun YA. Jack 'Duke' Orsino is a classically popular high school quarterback, who finds himself in a new world of online gaming, after he suffers an ACL injury on the field. Viola Reyes, his nemesis, is well-versed in online gaming, and the two of them bond, to unexpected levels, as a result.

I love that this book combined sweet YA romance, with important discussions surrounding gender inequality, as well as other sociological issues.

Viola and Jack brought out hidden depths in each other. The use of the game 'Twelfth Knight' as a constant point for honest and sincere communication between them both was clever, and effective.

The classic 2000s Shakespeare retelling film in novel format. Jack Orsino is not having a good semester - a debilitating injury, a suddenly distant girlfriend and forced interaction with Viola Reyes. Things aren't looking rosy for Vi either - dude bros and "nice guys", a best friend that takes people pleasing to Olympic gold standard and having to do the work of most of the student body committee - in particular, its democratically elected (even after a recount) but largely useless president, Jack "Duke" Orsino.

Through an online game, the two connect and get to know each other better. The catch? Jack believes he's talking to Vi's brother, Bash. This book is a fantastic exploration of relationships - romantic, platonic and fandom. I was expecting a light, fluffy, funny YA read and I absolutely got that, but also much more. It's also an insightful look at how gender affects how people treat you, how race affects how people see you and how it's OK to be angry about that.

Special mention also has to go to the quoting of lyrics from the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack! Loved it.

This was perfection!

“Twelfth Knight” is encompassed the pure joy and essence of what a YA romcom book should be! The premise was really unique— even if it went over my head a little— which made for a really exciting story. I felt as though I’d never read anything like this before. I adored our heroine Violet, she was my favourite part of the whole thing! I saw a lot of myself in her and I just adored how tenacious, intelligent and confident in herself she was. She didn’t let people walk all over her and that makes her “unlikeable” but that was truly my favourite thing about her. I cheered every time she dished out a snarky quip but we still got an insight into the vulnerable shell she has beneath.

My second favourite thing was actually her budding friendship with Olivia :) I love a healthy beautiful female friendship in my books and Vi and Olivia delivered so hard. I was smiling so big in every scene just because a genuine, heartfelt female friendship is what Vi truly deserves. Both girls had a lot on their shoulders but they shared those burdens together and it was amazing to read.

And of course, Vi’s romance with Jack was super fun! Their dynamic reminded me of the romances in “I Hope This Doesn’t Find You” by Ann Liang and “Woke Up Like This” by Amy Lea, so fans of both will absolutely adore “Twelfth Knight”!