Twelfth knight was a fun engaging Ya romance that delivers exactly what the description says it will. Both main leads Jack and Vi get equal time to grow and develop, neither over shadowing the other. If you are looking for a romance that accurately depicts what its like to find yourself when the way you view the world is actively changing I have no doubt you will love this book. Both Jack and Vi are pushed out of their comfort zones and end up finding companionship and comfort in eachother in a way that felt very organic. Over all a very solid contemporary read.

4.5 I absolutely loved this modern YA take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The story was fun and engaging while also touching on many relevant topics.

The dual POV between Viola and Jack provides perfect balance and insight to each characters internal struggles. Allowing us to experience the nuance of their interactions and relationship development. This was an enjoyable read with great character development, an engaging storyline, and some really well hitting themes.

It felt very much like a love letter to the Fandom community at times while also addressing some of the issues that can arise as well within those communities. As someone who has walked the line of embracing my own quirks, passions, and needs, while simultaneously being a people pleaser, this resonated in a special way.

I would absolutely recommend it if you enjoy
-Shakespeare retellings
-Grumpy x sunshine
-Coming of age
-Loveable/complex characters

Thank you to @netgalley and @torteen for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinons are my own.

𝟯.𝟮 ͙͘͡★
⤷𝙔𝘼 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙮
"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴
𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳”

˗ˏˋ𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀ˎˊ˗

➳ Grumpy x Sunshine
➳ enemies to lovers
➳ slow burn
➳ sports/ gaming romance
➳ he falls first


𝙄 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩? 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠.🥲✋🏼


˗ˏˋ𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆ˎˊ˗

➳ Viola Reyes (the FMC)

➳ That Jack went from chasing his ex, Olive, 24/7 to, "Oh, I have feelings for Vi!!" Way too fast…

➳ How the two MCs' relationship lacked both spark and tension. I think I would have given this book 5 stars if they stayed just friends at the end.🤗

➳ How he compared Viola to his ex-girlfriend, and not just once!!😬😬

➳ There’s been soooo little romance :(( Don’t call a book a romance book if there is barely any romance in it. <33

➳ no love confession🥹✋🏼

➳ All those lies and miscommunications ughhh!!


˗ˏˋ𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱ˎˊ˗

➳ The side characters (especially Bash🥹🫶🏼)

➳ Plot was really unique and kept me interested!!

➳ Shakespeare retelling

➳ not TikTok, Kpop, or any celebrity being mentioned in this book.🤗

➳ the cover💞

➳ This book really had me laughing out loud sometimes😭



💌: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚈 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝!!

!!𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 & 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!!

I loved trying to follow the parallels between Twelfth Night and Twelfth Knight - and I loved the little bits of Arthurian lore thrown in there. But I particularly enjoyed the conversation about shipping the villain as the love interest and what it really means to be a strong woman - it isn't just about being independent, but about knowing when to lean on someone and how those relationships enrich your life. I felt like I really related to Viola and her anger, and thoroughly enjoyed her banter with Jack on and off-line. While I am not a gamer or into rpg, I still enjoyed the allusions to them in this book and appreciated the dedication Viola had to both (especially in contrast to her anger).

If you dislike happy endings this book is not for you. Alls well that ends well, and Viola and Jack are adorable.

It is also worth mentioning that all the side characters were well developed and interesting. Viola and Bash's mom was a driving force behind all of Viola's beliefs and her transformation in the story heavily affected Viola. I would've liked to see even more from Bash, Olivia and Antonia because their stories were beautiful/important on their own.

I will read anything Alexene/Olivie writes and she is GOOD in the YA scene.

Thanks to Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the ARC!

What a great romcom!
I’m not usually the kinda girl to sit with romance, I much prefer it as a side plot and rarely deviate from that, but I’m so glad I did.
Twelfth Knight was nothing like I thought it would be, and at first I wasn’t too sure on it but then it took me completely by surprise, and it turned out I loved it! The characters were beautifully written with nothing overly complex (something I’m very used to- same with world building, which was nice to just have a break from!) making this the perfect standalone book.
If you’re looking for teen romance, angst, and a strong female protagonist you’ve come to the right place. I loved the game (twelfth knight) which kinda reminded me of RuneScape but with Arthurian background (yes please!)

I would definitely recommend this book!

4/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC :)

I absolutely think this book is worth the read if you are into YA rom-coms with a splash of Shakespeare crossover. I loved the Dungeons and Dragons vibe meets super popular football player. The yin and the yang of this story worked really well, and the added Twelth Night crossover was a bonus. That being said, I do not think I was the right reviewer for this book as it was very YA to me. I realized reading I was likely not the best reviewer for this book and did not finish it, wanting to be unbiased in my review. I am very grateful for the copy and I have recommended it to a few of my friends to add to their TBR list as I know it will be a hit with them. There was not anything wrong with the book besides it lost my interest and I didn't feel the need to continue.

The writing style was witty and easy to follow along. I really appreciated the multiple perspectives and the character development. I DNF around 35%.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This book was amazing! Thank you for an early copy! The characters are amazing! I wish I was as strong as the main character. This book makes you question a lot of things, in the best way possible! It is not just a YA romance but so much more.

I don’t know how Follmuth can write so skillfully across so many genres! This was a YA novel I would have loved to read as a teenager, and loved just as much as an adult. It was full of quick wit, wisdom, characters who weren’t always ‘likeable’ but were always honest and true. I loved the intersection of theater, gaming and football. I loved the diverse characters and the nuance of all of their individual personalities, experiences and struggles. The writing is so good and I am just so impressed by everything this author writes!

Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.

I found this book to be really enjoyable, blending Shakespeare's Twelfth Night into a modern, captivating story. I gave played table top games and video games, I was drawn in by the Shakespearean connection, I'm pleasantly surprised by the interesting characters and plot. The central relationship between Viola and Jack was beautifully written, with Viola's complexity and Jack's empathy making them both endearing. The exploration of anger and identity added depth to the story, and the supporting characters were fully fleshed out and engaging. The humor and geeky references made the read fun, and the character growth was heartwarming. While there were some complexities, overall, this book is a must-read. It's cute, quirky, and really enjoyable. Many thanks to the Alexene Farol Follmuth and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I pre-ordered the physical copy because I enjoyed it so much.

I LOVED THIS! Viola was such an interesting character, and I felt a lot of what she was going through deeply. I loved the communication of the characters, and I really enjoyed the lore of the game and the con, and everything!! I just really enjoyed it, and I read through it in one sitting. Highly recommended!

First of all, I would LOVE to see this book be a movie! Second of all, Alexene has done it again! I requested this ARC because I loved My Mechanical Romance , and I have found a new favorite in Twelfth Knight.

This was a fun retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Knight. I was getting so many flashbacks to She’s the Man ( my only reference to this story 😆). I loved the care she put into each character and I fell in love with a few of them for their honesty and beautiful, thoughtful words. I loved the family aspect and the friendships. I loved the banter and the sarcasm. Viola Reyes is such a Wednsday , she is now one of my top favorite characters.

This was a perfect coming of age story, and a grumpy/ sunshine romance. I was constantly thinking of how well and carful the author let the romance slowly bloom. I almost thought it would never happen!

I would recommend if you love She’s the Man, coming of age stories, rants and discussions about feminism and ethics, Shakespeare retellings, nerdy things like D&D, video games, and being in the world of cons and fandoms. And maybe football.

Can’t wait to hold this book in my hands come May 28.

If Alexene Farol Follmuth/Olivie Blake writes it, I'm going to read it. Twelfth Knight was so clever and so much fun, and the highlight of the book was Vi's character. She is so brutally honest, and wonderful, and deserves all the love in the world. Alexene just knows how to write a book that is perfect for YA readers, tackling their issues in such a strong and powerful way. That being said, I do wish we got more from Jack's character arc. That was truly what was missing from this book. Overall, it was an AMAZING read!

This was super cute! Vi was a bit unlikeable at first but that was the point. Things really turned around half way through the book. Loved all the RPG references! Definitely a fun book for girls and boys alike. Middle School & High Schoolers will enjoy!

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

𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 is an ode to friendship, gaming and feminism.

𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 lives a double life, by day she's the grumpy student body VP but by night she moonlights in the online gaming world as the highly competent knight - 𝘊𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰. She's smart and strong; she makes her share of mistakes but is exactly the person you want in your corner which is why 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰 can't help falling for her. And Jack was SUCH a sweet guy. He knew exactly who Viola was and never tried to 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦 her but loved her all the same - swoon.

I love books about gaming, geeky people being geeky and romance of course. So to have it all condensed into one was a dream. The reverse grumpy/sunshine trope was so well done and all the side characters added all the extra fun. Bottom line is that it's a sweet story and inspiring which gave a lot of insight into the world of gaming and the sexism that follows. It made me recall the author's previous book which spoke of the same but in the world of engineering, can't help but wonder what's next!?

- ~ -

3.91 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

so, so, happy that i got this ARC, especially after loving the first ya romance from this author!!

twelfth knight is a gamer romance, definitely a genre i have not read from and most likely won't read from again. however this was so adorable. honestly i just love the writing style of this author, this is the same author as the atlas six books, just a different name, and even though the books are so different i love all the writing. my mechanical romance, which was the first ya book i read by her, definitely has my heart a bit more but this one was still incredibly cute!

jack and viola were so adorable and sweet. the romance was kinda odd considering i wasn't sure they were even gonna get together for a couple chapters but once everything was explained it was easier to see their connection. every thought that ran through vi's head about her being a "bitch" and how she wasn't a "nice" person, was so personal to me and it almost made me cry on multiple occasions. her characterization was 5/5 for me when reading this. it's been awhile since i've related so heavily to a main character. the gaming was kind of off-putting for me just because i was immensely confused. personally i don't play any games other than the sims 4... if you are a gamer, specifically a girl gamer, i think this book is perfect for you if you're looking for a sweet romance!! can't wait to see what the next cutesy book from alexene will be!!!

*thank you NetGalley for the ARC*

This was really cute and quirky and very charming. I gave it three stars because I couldn’t find my own investment into it like I would like for a book. I couldn’t find a big interest in it and that may have been because I felt it was too young for me or too video gamish but I still enjoyed it. I loved how Jack was who loved Vi for her true self, even though others didn’t like her for the very same part.
Also, huge thanks to Olivie for making a book about fandoms - love to read her stuff.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read the arc copy of this book. I normally am not into YA, but I absolutely fell in love with the book cover and the description of the book itself. The book itself is focused more on the characters and the character development and I really enjoyed that. The romance is definitely cute and I feel like viewers who want romance without the spice they would appreciate this book

I knew this one would be a bit out of my wheelhouse when I requested it, but as I’ve seemed to move into also covering the romance genre to some extent on this blog, and the fact that I’ve loved this author’s fantasy work (she also writes under the name Olivie Blake), I thought it was worth a shot! Plus, this is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, so I was excited to see it re-imagined into a contemporary setting. Plus, plus, I really loved playing “Baldur’s Gate” which is essentially video-game DnD, so I was definitely interested in a story that focused on this type of gaming.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite land the way I wanted it to. But let’s start with some of the positives. And for me, that largely comes down to the male lead character, Jack. I thought it story was really well done, following the tragic but hopeful arc of a young man who was a rising football star before he suffered a debilitating injury. I thought the exploration of this topic was so well done: the upheavals of identity, the loss of purpose and floundering to find direction, the very real mourning for a life that will now not happen. It was all very touching and well done.

There were also elements of the romance I liked, especially the fact that it came across as believable and relatable. All too often, romcoms seem to get caught up in overly complicated “meet cutes” and then a “paint by numbers” style conflict/resolution in the third act. This one hits many of the expected notes, but I think one of this author’s strong suits has been her dialogue, and with this book, the very natural, realistic dialogue helped ground the love story in a way that I appreciated. That said, I was surprised to see the romance essentially take a back seat to some of the gaming stuff for the first half of the story. And, even for me, someone who enjoys gaming quite a bit, this was frustrating. Not only did I pick this one up first and foremost for the romance, not the gaming, but it also forced the actual love story to have to go through all of the stages in a rather short period of time in the second half of the book.

I also struggled to enjoy Viola. And this made for a complicated reading experience, because on one hand, her anger is justified and much of her arc is her learning how to lower her shields, even when she’s been hurt in the past. But on the other hand, even if some of her anger is earned, she was also incredibly unlikable for much of the first half of the story. And as much as my brain could understand this, especially the fact that she is a teenage character which makes all of these big emotions even harder to wrangle, the rest of me was so often annoyed at her that I struggled to enjoy her. I had to keep stopping and essentially explaining to myself why she behaved the way she did, but…having to give yourself a pep talk about enjoying a book doesn’t make for, well, enjoyment.

Overall, this was kind of a “meh” read for me. There were elements that I liked, but there were enough issues with the pacing of the love story and the likability of one of the lead characters that left me feeling rather cold on the story by the end. Fans of YA contemporary romance might still want to give this one a shot, however, as the author’s quippy dialogue is still as fun as ever! Plus, there’s a nice little barb launched at the “Game of Thrones” finale towards the end of the book. Always love to see it.

Rating 7: Just ok. I thought the book touched on some important themes, but the love story felt oddly paced and I struggled to like Viola as a character.

(Link will go live May 3 on The Library Ladies)

I though this book was sheer loveliness. I'm not a gamer, but I AM a Shakespeare nerd. I was initially attracted to this book out of curiosity for how they were going to riff on the play, but was delighted to find myself genuinely smitten by the story and characters.

It's always a pleasure to read a modern retelling of an old story in which the references to the original work are artfully woven into the story. You need no understanding of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in order to get this book. That's a sign of some good writing.

I LOVED the central relationship in the story. Jack is much easier to relate to as he's less prickly of a character. Viola may be harder to warm up to. However, I am also someone who preemptively pushes people away before they can hurt me, so Viola had a special place in my heart. It's hard not to love her when she says stuff like this: "Secretly, I would like someone to see me for what I am and choose me anyway."

The author says in the acknowledgements that "this story is really about anger and who is allowed to feel it," and I LOVED that. Yes, it is a romance, but it's also a coming of age story, and a story about how to find community and connection when you'd rather cut people out of your life and "stop feeling squishy and small," when you're not sure yet who you really are.

I must say that I really dug all of the supporting characters in this story too. (Again, they're not just there as an awkward, "Remember? this is Shakespeare!" callback. Instead, they too are fully realized with their own stories (I would have liked a bit more Bash though.)

Anyway, i loved this book. Not what I was expecting (in the best possible way.) Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for this eARC!

This book was a lot of fun. It's a retelling of Twelfth Night (which I actually forgot about until I started skimming other people's reviews. Whoops. I've never read Twelfth Night). It has a lot of fun elements that I love. Starting with the obvious, the art and sprayed edges are amazing. This is a book I'll be strongly tempted to purchase once it comes out. It also is what I would classify as a "nerd book," aka, a book that unapologetically delves into fandom and is incredibly nerdy. It goes in the same category as Final Draft, Fangirl, Eliza and Her Monsters, and Geekerella (all favorites of mine). It has the trope of where the characters secretly interact in two different forms (like at school vs the videogame). I don't exactly know what that trope is called exactly, but it is my all-time favorite trope.

But, though this book was a lot of fun, there were some factors that annoyed me. Obviously, though I have a few complaints, I still think this book is worth the read since I'm rating it four stars. It's a fun little contemporary book for nerds. What more do you really want when you need a break from class and want to binge a book?

The first of my complaints is Vi. She is a bit of a brat, and I kind of get it, but I also don't. She needs to figure herself out. She also is a feminist in a way that rubs me wrong. I am a feminist also, but the fact that she doesn't support her mom getting a boyfriend because her mom is usually single is weird. Feminism exists so you can live the life you want. You're not more or less whether you want to settle down and marry. It's about the decision to do that (and do many other things, but you get my point).

Speaking of her mom's boyfriend, he is a pastor. I don't know Follmuth's background with religion, and while I agreed with some of his points about the contemporary church not being the best, it feels obvious to me that she has not been around many youth pastors. When the main character asks the youth pastor whether or not she should lie, and he doesn't tell her to tell the truth, that is something that is genuinely so unrealistic. I've grown up in the church. Even my chillest youth pastor would never tell me to lie. Also, theologically, some of the mentions of biblical stuff were wrong. I usually don't care about that stuff, but since it's coming from the perspective of a pastor, I feel like it should have been looked over by the religion he was a youth pastor for. That being said, I did like the youth pastor representation! It's rare for me to read books that have mentions of casual religion like this unless they're actual religious books.

My final critique is that this book, at times, could be a bit on the nose. It would mention things like booktube and special edition books that cost a lot of money. I know that's something that likely anyone reading this review knows about. To me, mentions of those things aren't something I always enjoy in books. Just feels a bit too meta for my taste.

One final note of praise is something I found in the acknowledgments. Follmuth mentions that this wasn't intended to be just a romance book and was more about the characters. I agree with this after reading. Yes, there's romance, but not in the typical romance book way. It felt healthy and good for YA readers to see. I feel like there's a standard of dating in the YA world, which isn't something that happens for every teen who reads these books. It was good to see the rest of the characters' worlds without romance for about 50% or more of the book.