A fun YA retelling of a Shakespeare classic is exactly what I needed to start the summer.
This book was fun and sweet. It was funny and had tender moments. It’s one of those books you wanna hug.
I love mistaken identity tropes and I love that two people can connect in a personal level through games or online conversation.
This is a modern take on a retelling and it was relaxing and entertaining in all the right ways.

Viola and “Duke” bond over something that brings them peace and a safe haven. With their walls down, they bond. What happens when Duke finds out who Viola is? Well, this is why you gotta read.

This reminded me of a movie that I would watch for comfort. Love it!

Happy release day to this gorgeous gorgeous book!!
Screaming to the world how much I adore this book and how fantastic a writer Alexene is (always)!! This really may be one of my favorite books of the year.

Twelfth Knight is one for those of us who grew up in the fandom world. It felt like a love letter to my younger self, who found a special community in the Harry Potter fandom and fanfiction world and who spent years of my life getting lost in fictional magical worlds. Alexene managed to write a beautiful book that made me feel so nostalgic, while also writing a wonderful coming of age story for young adults.

Twelfth Knight is a YA romantic comedy, coming of age novel about Jack and Viola (written by Alexene, who writes her adult SFF books under the pen name Olivie Blake). Vi is a strong, badass female main character who struggles with finding people who love her for all the barbs and snares of her vibrant personality and spends most of her time lost in the online world, cosplaying as a male knight to deal with sexist stereotypes. Jack is the sweetest little jock, who tears his ACL when he is supposed to be at the top of his game with football, and is struggling to come to terms with his new identity after his injury. When Jack starts playing Twelfth Knight, Vi and Jack connect online and share many conversations, learning more about each other and themselves.

Alexene did a wonderful job of writing the perils and tension of navigating young love and the relationships of a teen all while trying to find your place in the world. The characters were so unique, so sweet, yet filled with their own flaws. Alexene created such a safe space for these characters to grow in the online world and in fandoms. It was so inspiring to see characters like Vi and Jack discover and express themselves in the fandom world.

Thank you so so much to Tor Teen for providing me with this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you know me, you know I will absolutely DEVOUR any sort of Shakespeare retelling, especially if it's in the style of an early 2000's rom-com (She's the Man and Clueless for example).

When Jack "Duke" Orsino is injured, he immediately sees all of his college and future plans disappear. Without having a direction, he decides to jump headfirst into the game 'Twelfth Knight' to give himself a new community and something to do. On the flip side, Viola Reyes seemingly has everything all figured out in her perfect life, but it's all on the surface. Below that, she's struggling and needing an escape which she also finds in the online world of Twelfth Knight - where she pretends to be a male player to avoid the rampant online sexism.

This book has it all - romance, intrigue, and of course a fun spin on a classic favorite of Twelfth Night by good ol' Will Shakespeare. If you're a fan of She's the Man in particular, you will love the heck out of this!

Somewhere in the 4.5-4.75 range but I’m going to obviously going to round up!

WHAT A BOOK!!! I feel like I don’t have the words to express how great this book was, but I’m going to try. This will probably be long.

I loved how it explored fandoms, especially how so often woman in fandom get belittled. Although, I never really been in the gaming fandom world, I have had the same experiences as being a woman in STEM-so I think even if you’ve never been to the gaming side of the world the messages and the feelings are universal to any woman whose has ever been in any male-dominated space. I loved getting to know more about MMORPG and DnD. It was also so fun to see all the internet slang and stan twitter’s representation (which I do know wayyy better god I both love and hate that place). Most importantly, I just loved that I could feel Vi’s love for her hobbies and what she does from the page. I’m somehow who just loves learning about people and love hearing about what people love so her excitement was contagious and it made me so so so happy. (Plus we all get a little geeky and over-excited about things we love-like hello have you seen my Olivie Blake collection? Or how I’ve made-with Alicia of course)- t-shirts to celebrate one of her book releases, or my fan art collection? I’m like insane-so I could relate to Vi in that way a lot). It was just super nerdy and fun and I’m so happy I know a little bit more about that world.

I guess let's move to the characters:

Jack: My precious Jack 🥺 the moment I read the summary of this book I just knew he would be a character that would stay with me. I also had to face the hard reality and fear that his story would remind me so much of my younger self that it would be hard to read/to remember. For context, Jack is an all-star football player who is all set and committed to a college to play and desperately wants to play in the NFL one day, but at the start of the season he suffers an ACL injury which threatens all his plans and leaves him depressed and lost on what his purpose is. Although I was never as good at my sport as he is and college gymnastics would never ever have been in the cards for me-this is facts not self-deprecating I promise-when I had to quit due to ankle injuries it also sent me into a very bad depression and a constant feeling of being lost without a purpose in the world anymore. So, I knew reading his story would be like looking into a mirror of my own past in a lot of ways-and it was. His growth is absolutely beautiful and it made me tear up. I’m just so so so proud of him. I think it will be hard for me to read other reviews of this book because I feel very protective over Jack because I just saw so much of myself in him and don’t want to be perceived by others in that way. Alexene really wrote this storyline perfectly, she touched on so many things that make this type of life journey so challenging and I can’t thank her enough for it.

Vi: My angry, emotionally closed off, hating emotions, but extremely brave girl <3. I adore her, and in a lot of ways I wish I was Vi (as a teenager and even as an adult). I wish I had her confidence in being whole-heartedly herself no matter what. I think people might struggle to like Vi in the beginning of this, but as you go and get to understand her even more you see who she truly is-which I think is the point in some ways-because she has such a hard shell, but when she loves you she truly loves you and I relate to that a lot. Her growth is also so beautiful and I’m equally proud of her.

Bash (who has chemistry with like everyone-my god), Olivia, Curio, and Nick all have my heart too. I wish I could have more of them. I’m really proud of all of them

The love story between Vi and Jack is so adorable. I loved their banter so much-and it never stops even when they are together. It’s my favorite type of dynamic to be honest. It’s slow burn, tension filled, and angsty. They both push each other to be the best versions of themselves and to go out of their own comfort zones and I just ADORE them okay. They really love each other for who the other person is and it’s so special because neither of them really had that before. Don’t even get me started on this quote: “Someone who keeps colliding with you, over and over. In everything you love, he’s there too, and real or not, you can exist in every universe with ease because of him. Because for every version of him, there is a corresponding one of you.” because that is like my favorite thing to ever exist

(A random side note but if you loved nicolibby from the atlas series by the same author I really think you’ll love ViJack-there are so many similarities between the two. The vibes are strong I promise)

But also-this wasn’t just a love story between Vi and Jack-but also a love story of loving yourself, platonic love, and familial love as well. They both got to love parts of themselves they didn’t know they needed to, find great friends, and the sibling love between Bash and Vi was one of my favorite parts-and them and their mother. I just love love in all its forms so it was incredible to see.

There are only 2 reasons this isn’t a full 5 star read for me: 1) I did think the beginning was super slow, it took me a really long time to get to the point where I became truly invested in the story (I would say it took up to somewhere in the 35-40% range) before that it felt chore like to pick it up 2) I don’t love how one of the friendship arcs was concluded. I won’t spoil it-but I just don’t really get why it ended this way-that person was terrible to Vi and Vi gave her way to much credit. I just found it too annoying and is a tiny bad blip in how I’ll remember this book.

The ending of this is PERFECTION. Like it couldn’t have ended better.

Overall though, this book was INCREDIBLE and also so funny! So many quotes will live in my brain, heart, and soul forever. I’m so thankful to have read this and I wish so badly it existed when I was a teenager. I think it really could have helped me work out some of my angst (again mostly Jack’s storyline). Thank you Alexene for writing this book, I’ll forever cherish it.

Also had to include a line from her acknowledgements because she always writes ones that pierce through my heart so enjoy:

“And finally, to you, Reader, for being here. If you're the kind of person who feels angry all the time but you don't feel like you're allowed to be, I see you. If all the wrongs committed against you are too small and too infinite to be properly put into words, I hear you. Be kind to yourself, be good to your mind, be gentle with your heart.”

^what she said.

Oh! wanted to add: there is a scene in this book that reminds me so heavily of the iconic scene from A Cinderella Story (yes that scene) so if the rest of this review did not inspire you to read this then this has to...

Anyway, please go read this masterpiece!!!

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! (I also very cooly won a physical arc of this book in an Instagram giveaway)

I thought this was a really good unique way of doing Twelfth Night. I think my biggest problem is I could not stop picturing the cast of She's the Man while reading this. It made it hard for me to keep up but that is a me problem not an everyone problem. Despite my own issues, I really liked it and would definitely recommend to my students for an alternative to the Shakespeare title.

Every time I think I'm over Shakespeare's retellings, something pulls me back in. This was such a delightful use of Twelfth Night to tell a great story about fandom and opening yourself up to other people and experiences. Using gaming and fandom as a way to utilize the disguise of identity aspects of Twelfth Night was nothing short of genius. Although, at this point, genius is something I expect out of Follmuth's writing both as Alexene and Olivie. I'm a fan of both Blake's adult books and YA and this was another great example of that biting wit and characterization.

Viola comes off initially as slightly brash and it was a really great journey for her and the reader so she opens herself up to realizing she does need other people while not losing that angry and stubborn part of her that gets things done. I really liked her and Duke getting to know each other in "real life" and through the RPG. There is SO much attention to detail here both in the world of fandom and in the game and as a huge con/fandom nerd that was especially fun to see in this book. I also love how equal grace was given to "Duke" as he realizes football isn't everything.

This was a really sweet, smart YA book and I am so thankful for NetGalley and Tor Teen for granting me an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this clever contemporary YA take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night! This was my first time reading a novel by Alexene Farol Follmuth (who also writes as Olivie Blake) and I am very much looking forward to reading more.

Viola Reyes is the brilliant student vice president of Messaline High, and since she has a lot of traditionally male-dominated hobbies and passions (RPGs, cosplay, fantasy TV show fandoms), she has also learned how to take no bullshit. Her student council counterpart, handsome football player president Jack Orsino, is a thorn in Vi’s side until he sustains a major injury on the field and has to figure out who he really is when he can’t be a sports star. While recovering from surgery, Jack gets into the MMORPG video game Twelfth Knight, and runs into Viola online (though he doesn’t know who she is, as she plays as a male knight named Cesario). Through a comedy of errors of mistaken identity, witty banter, and heartfelt conversations between in-game swordfights, these two find that their initial dislike morphs into a real connection.

I really enjoyed this reimagining of the classic story, which seamlessly incorporated contemporary themes and a cast of almost entirely BPOC characters, all fully formed and all chaotically dealing with their own emotional baggage (as is the high school condition). Vi in particular is an incredibly nuanced character, and one I don’t see represented enough in fiction, especially in YA; she’s confident and honest and sure of her skills and her interests, but she’s also full of big feelings like loneliness and uncertainty and desire. I had many similar “nerdy” interests growing up, and I found a lot I could relate to while reading about her struggles with her friendships and within those niche communities.

Everything about this book was thoughtful and impactful and well-done, from the references to the many different relationships, and the central romance felt very realistic, all fragile and bumbling and sweet. This was exactly the kind of book I would have loved as a teen, and I’m so glad I got to read and love it in my thirties.

4.5 stars

Thanks to Tor Teen and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book felt like a warm bath after a long day, and the comforting feeling you get from a sip of hot chicken tinola* soup on a rainy day. I love this teen romcom, Shakespeare retelling; it was so much fun and light-hearted. The dual POV was perfectly executed, and I can’t recall how many times I laughed between Vi and Orsino’s thoughts, banter, and conversations.

I LOVE all the characters, and also the side characters. Despite Vi’s flaws, her character remained strong and confident; she didn’t let others change her perspectives. Jack’s development was impressive—I was rooting for him until the end. The challenges they faced were incredibly relatable, both in real life and online. I’m in awe of the research that must have gone into this book, particularly the accurate portrayal of online gaming and its ability to foster connections. (#MMORPGs)

The overall message of this book is absolutely incredible. While some might have preferred more romance, I believe the book didn’t need it (no spice). It’s about growing up, not giving up, cultivating friendship, experiencing love, and appreciating family. The book emphasizes that there’s always a choice—you’re not born to do just one thing, and there are always other outcomes, not all of which have to be sad.

*Filipino chicken soup typically served with rice

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and Tor publishing group for gifting me an e-ARC copy of this book

In "Twelfth Knight" by Viola Reyes finds refuge from high school drama in the MMORPG world. When her virtual alter ego, Cesario, clashes with school quarterback Jack Orsino's Duke Orsino, sparks fly. As their online connection deepens, Vi must grapple with revealing her true identity to Jack. [Author] skillfully crafts a tale of romance and self-discovery that transcends the digital divide, making "Twelfth Knight" a captivating read for fans of contemporary YA fiction.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night gets the reimagined in a high school setting treatment a la ‘90s and early 2000s rom coms in Twelfth Knight. Alexene Farol Follmuth pays homage to The Bard while making this story fully her own and the result is a delight.

It’s grumpy meets sunshine with Vi and Jack. Vi is a gamer who – thanks to rampant sexism in the gaming world – plays as a male knight named Cesario in her favorite MMORPG. Jack “Duke” Orsino is a football star whose world turns upside down when his knee is busted. Jack’s at a crossroads in his life and it doesn’t help that his girlfriend, Olivia, is avoiding him. When his friend recommends he pass the time with Twelfth Knight, Jack ends up teaming up with Cesario and the friendship he develops with his online friend is a stark difference to the bickering he and Vi do in real life.

What will happen when Jack learns that his sword-wielding friend is the same sharp-tongued grump he’s falling for? I’ll leave readers to find out. But I will say that this was an absolutely charming story with well-drawn characters and an entertaining plot. I liked seeing Cesario and Duke Orsino open up to each other online while Jack gets over, under, and through Vi’s barriers in the real world. There are just enough references to Shakespeare’s play to keep an enthusiast entertained but not so many that this book can’t stand on its own.

Twelfth Knight is about letting down your walls, letting people see the real you, and trusting that they will be there and love you as you are. I loved the gaming aspects, both seeing it through the experienced Vi’s eyes and the new-to-gaming Jack’s viewpoint. Jack and Viola are joined by a wonderful cast of characters who are as endearing, flawed, and unique as they are. All in all, this was a fun read that also took its characters on engaging journeys of personal growth.

When Jack "Duke" Orsino tears his ACL, he's forced to sit out his senior year football season and instead starts playing the game Twelfth Knight. Viola also plays Twelfth Knight, but when she ends up playing with her school rival Duke, she pretends to be her brother Bast, so that Duke doesn't realize who he's really playing with.

I loved this twelfth night retelling. I thought the characters worked so well. I loved Viola's journey to learning to be her true self and Duke's journey to learn that there's more to him than being good at football.

Twelfth Knight definitely manages to capture the feeling of being a misunderstood, gloomy tween in the early 2000s, wistfully watching rom-coms on the living room TV. Not only that, but it also covers serious social issues, without glancing them over or making everything resolve itself in an unrealistically positive manner. I especially loved how Olivia's storyline was covered.

The Twelfth Knight is a compelling book with relatable characters dealing with real-life problems. It was a fun and easy read with amazing descriptions that were enjoyable with nearly every line! It also has a grumpy-sunshine trope. As someone who isn’t very familiar with MMORPGs, the author wrote it in a way that everyone can understand and enjoy. The story is told through a dual perspective between Jack (the popular football player) and Vi (the gamer girl who a lot of people hate). I do wish the chapters would’ve been separate for each character, though, rather than being longer chapters split in the middle with each of their pov’s.
After Jack injures his knee, he discovers he has a lot of free time on his hands, where his friend sucks him into the ‘geeky world of gaming and the weird TV show War of Thorns’. Vi is obsessed with the game Twelfth Knight—the same game that Jack is then getting into. Vi plays a guy character, having faced the challenges far too many times of being a female in a'male dominant game’ as well as the daily issues of being expected to behave a certain way because of a sexist society.
The challenges the characters face are all problems that people truly struggle with and can relate to, such as unfair stereotypes, identity, and struggling to fit in. The characters all have their own unique voices and grow throughout the novel. They all felt real. I liked how the characters branched out of what they were boxed-in to, with being able to ‘become more than one thing’—such as with Jack being a football player but also learning to be a fan of RPG too.
The plot was well-structured, but felt a little overdrawn towards the middle or end, but worked well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA!
Thanks to NetGalley, the author Alexene Farol Follmuth, and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book for an honest review.

This was a fun modern Twelfth Night retelling involving opposites attract and video games with dual pov. I really liked this retelling and the portrayal of these characters. Viola is such a great fmc and while she comes off as mean and abrasive, once you get to know her she’s incredibly caring and funny and only a little mean. She is full of anger at the world and the way they treat women, especially in the activities she likes, and I loved seeing this in ya and seeing her be able to articulate this anger into words. All this anger leads to her portraying as a man in the virtual world of Twelfth Knight where she runs into star quarterback Jack, who assumes she’s a guy and not Viola. Both on screen and off they start to form a friendship and eventually more. As much as I loved seeing them together and all the miscommunication of a mistaken identity, I wish there was more of them together in person. They had great banter together and I just wanted more. There is also a great set of secondary characters and I loved seeing them and their personalities and their changing relationships with Viola and Jack.

Overall, this is a good romcom that I recommend!

The Shakespearean Adaption of Twelfth Night that High School Me needed.

I was obsessed with the Bard in High School, and it had a big part to do with my Theatre Teacher.

This is a love note to only to Shakespeare, but also to fandoms in general.

Alexene Farol Follmuth (also known as Olivia Blake) writes BiPoc and Queer characters who are the center of their stories and recognize who they are and the world around them without making the trauma of being a marginalized character the center.

I won’t pretend that at the beginning I was a little bit annoyed with Viola and Jack (Duke) but then I remember that she was doing Shakespeare justice showing us the full expressiveness of the human condition while also making hilarious commentary on our social condition.

5 Star Highly recommend not just for yourself but for libraries in the community and in schools so girls can see the broad ranges of characters they can be and not just slices.

I don't usually read YA, so I didn't go into this with high expectations. Thankfully, I LOVED this book. Maybe I should read more YA? This high school romcom reminded me a bit of early 2000s teen movies like "10 Things I Hate About You". The FMC, Viola Reyes, very enthusiastically clings to her nerd girl persona, and she is also a difficult and possibly unlikeable character, which is like catnip to me. Give me all of the bitchy girls, they are the most interesting and amazing characters to read. The MMC, Jack Orsino, is very much a foil to Viola. He is friendly, outgoing, and easygoing, just trying to maintain his place atop the high school food chain. Watching the two of them develop a friendship and then fall in love was a joy. The secondary characters in this book were also charming and complicated. Overall, I would highly recommend this book!

While I did not like this title as much as My Mechanical Romance, this is a book I could see myself purchasing for a high school library. I love a good modern Shakespeare adaptation and this book works on several different levels. Overall, I think this will be a hit with teens and would be a great addition to any library.

📚 Read if you like: YA romance, Shakespeare retellings, fantasy RPG, rivals to lovers (no spice)

I really enjoy a Shakespeare retelling and this take on Twelfth Night did not disappoint! If you enjoyed the 2006 classic She’s The Man, this book is for you! It was a surprisingly emotional, funny, nerdy, adorable read. In the acknowledgement, she says “this story is really about anger and who is allowed to feel it” and it honestly helps to sum it up so well.

Viola and Duke were so deeply flawed and honestly annoying at the beginning (but most teenagers are, I know I absolutely was lmao). But there’s a LOT of character growth and you find yourself rooting for these teenagers. I was also a huge nerd in high school and played MMORPG games so I loved all the nerdy references to fantasy worlds, Game of Thrones, Dungeons and Dragons, and World of Warcraft.

I recommend this to everyone! I think it has universal themes that everyone can enjoy and I think it has a really nice spin on the original Shakespeare work.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

A really fun (if a touch long), dual POV, YA enemies to lovers, opposites attract, mistaken identity romance between two BIPOC teens who become friends while playing an online RPG game and find themselves getting close in real life as they spend more and more time together in person and virtually. Great female gaming and queer identity rep and perfect for fans of books like The no girlfriend rule by Christen Randall. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was everything I wanted in a YA romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth (aka Olivie Blake): deep and also cute. Because it’s a YA romance, it’s pretty different from the books she publishes under Olivie Blake, but it still included a lot of female rage and political and philisophical themes. Overall, I don't typically have a strong desire to read books about high schoolers, but I will read teenagers written by Olivie Blake any day. Highly recommend!