The book didn't quite hit the five-star mark for me, just because it didn't have much of a love story. For me, the romantic subplot or undertone often lends a nuanced touch to the narrative, providing an additional layer of emotion and complexity which I felt was somewhat lacking in this particular novel.

However, putting that minor detail aside, I must acknowledge that the book was an exceptional depiction of a coming-of-age story. The journey of self-discovery, the grappling with rapid changes, and the navigation through the trials and tribulations of growing up were all portrayed with such profound depth. It was as if the characters leapt off the pages and their experiences resonated on a deeply personal level. In spite of my longing for a richer romantic aspect, this book was still highly enjoyable and I would recommend it!

Am I too old to read YA? Yes, but I’m not going to stop, and books like this are why.

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a Shakespeare retelling, and when you add something nerdy like D&D, it’s definitely got my vote.

Though I may not be the target audience for this, it was charming, and really fun to read.
——
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was very cute! A little meandering BUT the author notes this in the acknowledgements because of the story she was telling. It’s a YA romance with D&D and gamer and football elements. I loved the main characters, and it’s a fun update to Twelfth Night. Also gave me fun flashbacks to She’s the Man. Very cute!!

Disappointed I didn’t get into the characters or the plot, but I’m not the target audience. This is an easy three stars for them, with four to five for the right readers. Follmuth/Blake is a fabulous writer, and I look forward to her next work. I stopped after chapter 1 (4%).

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

Twelfth Knight was charming and witty and contained a delightful level of angst. There is something this author does so well when writing characters; they are individual, and well-rounded, and have room to grow.
I could not put this book down.

listen i loved my mechanical romance so i was so looking foward to this and it was absolutely amazing! great

4.5 Stars!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Are Shakespearian retellings the most unpredictable plots? No. But gd darn it, they're classics for a reason! Alexene Farol Follmuth did an excellent job taking the classic tale of hidden identity and mistaken love and translating it to high school in the modern day. All of our main characters were well developed, the perspectives of Vi and Jack were distinct yet equally entertaining, the depiction of the femme fandom experience was so accurate I felt flashbacks to my own early tumblr days, and the drama was delicious. Please, imagine I was lying on my bed kicking my feet in the air like I was at a sleepover whenever the drama got good.

Overall, I will be recommending this to my teens if they ask me for a cute rom-com!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book! This book is an adorable YA spin on Twelfth Night, which just happens to be my favorite Shakespeare play. The “opposites attract” romance is done well, and we’ve got a well developed cast of characters. More than anything, this book really touches on and captures the feelings of loneliness and aimlessness we all felt as teenagers (and to be honest, as adults), and shows how it’s okay to go outside your comfort zone and rely on others. There were a lot of familiar tropes and situations that are common with romantic novels, but it didn’t feel tired. This was a cute coming of age story that I really enjoyed, and I will definitely read anything similar that Follmouth puts out.

thanks to netgalley and tor for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

okay fine, i was charmed! deeply charmed! it was fun and silly and the exact kind of cotton candy read i wanted. olivia was especially dear to me. i think it worked well as an adaptation, and the premise was very cute. that being said.... wish the side cast got more interiority, especially antonia and bash, since they're so vital to the plot, but the things going on with them seem slightly handwaved over. also, the fandom in it felt very much like... 2011-ish nerd culture with a fresh coat of 2023 trappings thrown over it! it was jarring, ngl! like i was charmed by the weirdness of it, but i don't think it was intentional. maybe i'm just too online.

anyway, i generally really enjoyed this! some emotional beats and pacing in it needed more room to breathe, but hey! a good fluff read all the same.

sad to say this one was not for me. big fan of the author’s adult works but may have to skip on her young adult books. i may pick it up again closer to the pub date but for now dnf at 20%

This book was everything!! The romance was just perfect! I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers and this was just it! Violas character development was also SO GOOD! Tbh, in the beginning I found her to be a bit annoying, but once she and Jack started to get along SHE JUST GOT SO MUCH BETTER! Alexene did it again! Definitely will recommend!

Thank you Tor Publishing Group, Tor Teen and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I could not put this book down! It is everything I want in a teen romcom/coming of age story! The contrast of fandom vs football, the banter, the depth of the characters! Amazing. While there was lots of more light-hearted moments and banter, the book does address the sexism that women face in many fandoms, particularly in video games and role playing games. I thought this was addressed in a way that was very well done, showing what Vi has gone through and what she deals with to enjoy the things she loves. She is angry and honest and has a lot of opinions and she is not ashamed of it. I also loved that Vi stayed herself and didn't change just because she started dating the "popular guy." She grows and learns that love doesn't have to take away from who you are or make you small, but she still stays her honest and angry self. Jack's growth as he finds himself outside of football was fantastic as well.

I loved reading Twelfth Knight and would recommend to anyone who loves teen romcoms, coming of age stories, fandom deep dives, and opposites attract stories.

LOVED this book! I was curious to read Olivie Blake's YA work but this blew my expectations. Such a fun, unique, YA romance. The enemies to lovers was chefs kiss<3

From any other other author I would have thought this undertaking too big, but I love the way Alexene (Olivie) writes complex, layered stories with equal thoughtfulness to the heart and the action. And she did not disappoint - I could not put this book down. It is embaressing how lard it had me smiling and laughing in public - it was so good. The characters, the story beats, the overture to a modernized Shakepere without letting the concept weigh the story down... everything as was perfect. I loved that Vi was not softened. She was angry and honest and herself - even when people were trying to get her to change; I love a messy heroine. And I love a golden retriever boy, which Jack totally qualifies as. Olivia, Bash, her mother and Pastor Ike were all fantastic, too. The cast was reallly flawless. (Antionia was fine, too, I am just still mad at her.) I also really appreciated the glimpse into what the world of fandom and gaming can be like for girls. Over the years, I've had a lot of similar experiences and conversations that Vi has in the novel and it was refreshing to not have it glossed over or immediately fixed by the hero/heroine's moxie. Truly one of my favorite books of the year.

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!