Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

 

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Atlas Six (under the penname Olivie Blake) comes Twelfth Knight, a grumpy/sunshine YA romantic comedy and coming of age story about taking up space in the world and learning what it means to let others in.

Viola Reyes is annoyed.

Her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, her best friend is suggesting she try being more “likable,” and school 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…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198536668-twelfth-knight

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Viola knows what everyone thinks of her. But backing down on her beliefs and shoving down who she is just to be more “likable” is something she can’t do. She loves being her nerdy self. She loves her d&d games, cosplay, her online games, and so much more. And the truth of the matter is, she cares so much and when those around her let her down and don’t accept her, she’ll hide behind her mask and armor all in the hope of protecting herself. But things are about to change with Viola and that starts with Jack Orsino. Jack who always gotten on her nerves with his good looks, friendly personality, and being the football king at their school. That is util he get hurt on the football field that takes him out of the game for a long time. What Viola never expects is for Jack in his new free time to pick up Twelfth Knight. An online game where not only does he come across Viola, well he doesn’t know it’s her. Especially when she plays as a male character and ends up telling him she is her brother Bash so she doesn’t have to tell him. Online, they become friends who play the game together. Offline, well their social lives are starting to mix when Jack asks Viola for help with his on-a-break-girlfriend. But the more time they spend together and actually get to know another, and leave that enemy territory to actual possible friends? Well things get complicated for sure for Viola. And it is only a matter of time until the truth comes out. I really loved this story! I couldn’t put it down. It took me by surprise in a lot of places which I loved. And I loved the character development with Viola and Jack. Not only as they evolved from enemies to friends to more than, but just them individually. They were both going through a lot of difficult things but together they were teaching one another to open up and view everything differently. They were changing for the better. A really fun and quirky story! I definitely recommend.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.