Twelfth Knight

Content warnings: sports injury

Gamer girl Viola Reyes is shocked when football star Jack Orsino starts playing her game.

Jack "Duke" Orsino's whole life is football, so when an injury takes him off the field during his senior year he struggles with who he is without the game. A friend tells him to play a game called Twelfth Knight to take his mind off of his injury. Jack's sucked into the game and stays up late at night playing.

Viola Reyes has a fight with her best friend and is feeling lonely. She turns to her favorite MMORPG Twelfth Knight for comfort and is shocked to see her school's injured star quarterback in-game. But she's playing as Cesario, her favorite male character from the TV show War of Thorns. She lets Jack Orsino believe that she's a guy, but when asked for her name she panics and says she's her twin brother Sebastian.

Viola and Jack are the warring heads of the school's activities board, but Viola's been doing most of the work since Jack was a popularity vote and doesn't actually help. But Viola begins to warm to him when he pours out his soul to her in their in-game chat. Only Duke doesn't know he's talking to Vi. Will he find out before she tells him?

Both Duke and Vi are well-developed characters, which was unexpected in a geeky teen romance. Recommended for YA readers who are into gaming or fantasy.

Author: Alexene Farol Follmuth (AKA Olivie Blake)

Publisher: Tor Teen

Length: 320 pages

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Representation: Latina main character, African-American main character

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.