Bones at the Crossroads

By: LaDarrion Williams
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Labrynth Road
Pages: 529

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's his freshman year at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik wants to do is be a normal college student. Go to parties, choose a major, talk to girls, and learn some new magic. 

But instead, he's reeling from a summer of discovery, loss and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy as the descendant of a powerful magical lineage. The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and the mother he thought he knew—and risked everything to find—might be the biggest danger to the new life he's building. Malik is trying to find his footing in a world threatened by intertribal tension and the rising power of the Bokors. But how he can he use his power to protect a world he's not sure he'll ever fully belong to...

In a wholly unique and electric saga of magic, heritage, and community, Malik confronts the dark cracks of the magical world, and the darkness in himself.  Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

First Impressions

I was offered the chance to review this book before I read the first in this series. I had had the first book on my TBR list for a while and was very excited. I don’t personally love the cover art and wouldn’t be drawn to it just on sight alone. After reading the first book, I was slightly less excited to read the second but I was curious where it was going to end up.

What I thought

Sigh. I want to like this series so much.

This book picks up right about where the last one left off. Malik is starting his fall semester at Caiman University. Kumale, Alexis, and Malik’s mom are all missing and Mama Aya is dead. While Malik is dealing with the death of his grandma and the evil of his mom, he also has to battle with being a normal college student.

My biggest issue with this book is how similar it feels to other magical books I’ve read, specifically Harry Potter. There is an entire (unnecessary) storyline about the Homecoming at Caiman and it feels like it’s pulled straight from the Triwizard tournament and ball from the 4th Harry Potter. Chancellor Taron’s mom feels like a knockoff of Umbridge while Taron feels like a weaker version of Dumbledore. I got to a point where I just started skipping pages about the Homecoming because of how pointless it was. I get that Williams is using it as a storyline to address homophobia and mental health in the Black community, but when your book is 500 pages long do you really need 200 pages to be focused on that?

Malik’s love life also drove me nuts. I did like Dominique, though I don’t fully trust her, but him still being hung up on Alexis was so odd to me. I didn’t understand him falling so completely in love with her in the first book, so him still being hung up on her rather than feeling betrayed made no sense. I also do like D-Low, Malik’s roommate, but Savon is supposed to be Malik’s friend and he turns on him pretty quickly when he gets elected to the Homecoming Court.

Now when we look to theactual magical part of the story, I’m still confused as to how this world functions. Malik seems to be this all powerful magic wielder who develops powers at convenient times. His grandma somehow gifts him her magic when he dies too which makes him even more magical? I sort of started to understand his mother’s evilness, but then the way to handle it confused me again. There is also a scene where Malik gets blamed for murdering other students that felt so similar to the scenes in Harry Potter where Harry is put on trial and then has to flee with his friends.

Like I said, I WANT to like this series. I just find it to be unnecessarily long, overly complicated, and unoriginal. The first quarter of the book did interest me because it felt like we were getting more history but then it dove headfirst into the unnecessary Homecoming storyline and didn’t get back to the magical part until the final quarter and by that point I was over it. I won’t be picking up the remaining books in the series.

Book Club July 2025- Homegoing

By: Yaa Gyasi
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 305

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.

What I thought

I can’t even really remember how this book crossed my radar. I just remember reading the summary and hearing rave reviews so I added it to my list. I had previously read Transcendent Kingdom b Gyasi and was underwhelmed but this one spoke to me. Especially as a Book Club choice.

This story starts in the 18th century in Ghana following two (unbeknownst to them) half sisters. One is married to an English general while the other is sold into slavery. The novel follows each of these familial lines through their offspring until the early 2000s. The story starts with a chapter from Effia’s perspective, then movies to Esi’s. From there, each chapter alternates between Effia’s descendants and Esi’s.

I didn’t pick up on the format of the story before I started reading it, so I was a little confused when the third chapter started with a completely different character in a new timeline, but I got used to it pretty quickly. It’s almost like a novel of short stories but there is a thread that connects every other chapter. I am a little surprised by how much I enjoyed th format since I don’t usually enjoy short stories, but I think Gyasi does an amazing job of still making it feel like one cohesive novel.

I almost feel like I’m not going to do justice talking about the importance of this book. It was fascinating reading about Ghana and their struggles against British Colonialism balanced against the slavery and Civil Rights movement in the US. I initially expected this story to tell more about how staying in Ghana was all roses and sunshine while the family line that was sold into slavery was all hardships and struggles. However, I was very surprised. The story showed struggles and successes on both sides.

While I don’t know if I would’ve appreciated reading this book in high school, it very much feels like a story that should be read and deeply discussed in high school. There are so many threads and lessons I want to analyze. I’m glad that I picked it as a book club book so that I have people to discuss it with!

What Book Club Thought

Book club all really seemed to enjoy this one! It was so nice to be able to discuss the history and growth of each of the familial lines. The interesting thing was that we did have a discussion about the audiobook versus reading the physical book and decided this was one of those rare occasions where reading the physical book made a difference/was a little easier. The physical book has a family tree at the beginning, and while I didn’t reference back to it, other book club members found it helpful to keeping everyone straight. I think this is one of those few books that lives up to its hype! I would highly recommend reading this one. It might seem a bit dark or heavy based off of the description but it definitely is not.

A Novel Love Story

By: Ashley Poston
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.

First Impressions

I read Seven Year Slip by Poston earlier this year and immediately went to read everything she had written. I love the colors on this book too. Of all of her books, I think this one would catch my eye first, followed by Seven Year Slip. I also love the summary.

What I thought

Eileen/Elsy is taking a trip to a cabin for her yearly book club vacation. However, she is the only one to make it this year. On her way to the cabin, she gets lost and winds up in the town of Eloraton. This town is familiar to Elsy because it’s the fictional ton of her favorite romance series. When she arrives, she meets a man named Anderson who she doesn’t recognize from the story. She’s forced to stay and meet all of the characters from the story and help them move forward while her car is fixed and she ends up falling for Anders as well

Recently, I read a book called Prime Time Romance where the girl and her roommate fall into the world of her favorite television series. This book feels very similar to that one. I really enjoyed that one and I did enjoy this one too. The only thing I didn’t love about this book was it almost made me want to read the fictional romance series the main character is obsessed with more than the book I was actually reading.

Even though I did enjoy this book, I think that it’s my least favorite of the three of hers. I found the writing to be repetitive. If I had to read one more time about the mint color of Anders’ eyes or how burnt the burgers were in Eloraton I was going to rip a page out of this book. In fact, I was able to predict the twist before I hit that halfway part. I think because of this Elsy got on my nerves because she wasn’t acting how I wanted her to given the knowledge that I had.

Elsy and Anderson were cute though. And I loved getting to know all of the book characters through Elsy’s eyes. I found her growth to be well written and I also really liked the ending of the book. I am trying to figure out what it was that was missing for me from this book, but I truly think it just spent so much time talking about the love and perfection of a fake book I felt like I was missing out. Whereas with Prime Time Romance, there were some flaws in the show and the show world and I never felt like I would rather be watching the show than reading the book.

If you like magical realism and books about books I still recommend checking this one out. If you haven’t read any of Polston’s books before, I would recommend picking up Seven Year Slip first. I do enjoy how unique Polston’s stories are and I think she is one of my new favorite authors. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Blood at the Root

By: Ladarrion Williams
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical . Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut with the emotional power of Legendborn and the redefined ancestral magic of Lovecraft Country .

Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.

At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.

In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

First Impressions

I can’t remember exactly how I heard about this book, but I remember hearing the description of it before the cover was even revealed and adding it to my to-read list. When the cover came out I was slightly underwhelmed. It kind of felt like a knock off of Legendborn to me, but I could see it being more appealing to male readers since it has the male lead rather than the female on the cover.

What I thought

Maybe I had too high of expectations of this story?

Malik is an orphan with magical powers. Once he turns 17, he decides to emancipate himself from the state so he can take his foster brother and they can run away to California. Along the way, they run into a man who delivers Malik a letter from the grandmother he didn’t know he had. When Malik shows up at his grandma’s house, he learns about a whole magical world and magical Historical Black University that he gets enrolled in. In addition to learning how to use his magic, Malik wants to find out who murdered his mom 10 years ago and whether or not it’s tied to the recent disappearance of young black boys and girls.

There was a heck of a lot going on in this book. I felt very thrown into a world that I didn’t understand but that I felt expected to understand? Malik enters the university not knowing anything about magic and he’s also slightly confused, but he seems to pick up on a lot of the terminology, magic, and history a lot quicker than the reader is allowed to. I wish that it had been explained better.  

This story also felt too similar to Harry Potter and Legendborn for me to fully enjoy it. I felt a lot of the Potter inspiration from the magical university, the main character being an orphan, and the flashbacks to when his mom died with a flashing green light. With Legendborn, it felt like a lot of the root magic explanations were similar, but Legendborn’s were more fleshed out and I understood where it came from a lot more. This story would use words like Kava magic and I still don’t know what that is.

Malik also had an insta-love story with a character named Alexis that I didn’t enjoy. They had met at a foster home or an orphanage when they were 7 and then she got adopted and they never saw each other again. Until he shows up at Caiman University. This story takes place over a summer semester and before the end of the summer she and Malik are saying “I Love You?” He claims he’s been in love with her for 10 years, which just felt odd to me.

The final issue I had I know is more of a me issue. This book uses a lot of black slang/African American Vernacular that I struggled with when reading. I think if I had listened to it, it would’ve felt a lot more natural. However, I know that the author wrote this book because he never saw himself in fantasy novels, so that is why he wrote it that way. Therefore, I know that issue is not one I truly have with the book, just something I struggled with from time to time.

While I still enjoy the concept of the book, I’m on the fence as to whether or not I will continue reading this series. I am curious to see how the main villain stories play out, but I don’t know how long I can read a series where I’m confused. I liked Malik and felt he was a strong main character, even with his flaws.

This might be a book that I hold onto in my mind to recommend to young boys and young black boys who are looking to get into fantasy novels. It is a YA, so probably high school age so they can understand what’s going on. I know I’m not the target audience, but I do feel like it needed to be fleshed out a little bit. I think if this was turned into a movie or TV series with some rewrites, it could go from good to fantastic.

Atmosphere

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 352

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

First Impressions

Taylor Jenkins Reid has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. I have read her entire backlist and will always add her newest book to my TBR. I was very intrigued by a book centering around space and female astronauts so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I have seen some different covers to the American version that I prefer a little bit, but this one isn’t bad.

What I thought

Jenkins Reid did not disappoint. This book was so good and different from anything I’ve read.

Joan has always been obsessed with space and the stars. While working as a professor of astrophysics, she learns that NASA is accepting applications and they are accepting them from women. When she gets accepted, she starts her journey towards becoming one of the first female astronauts and sets her sights on a space mission. While learning about NASA, she also is dealing with helping her sister raise her niece and navigating the politics of being a woman at NASA.

The book alternates between 1984 and when Joan starts her journey at NASA in about 1979/1980. 1984 is a space mission where Vanessa, Lydia, Griff, and Hank are all in space while Joan is working at Mission Control. It’s, of course, a little bit stressful since all of her friends are now in space, but it was really interesting.

I loved being in the past and seeing Joan learn about herself and grow into the person she is meant to be. He sister did drive me insane, but I think that is sort of the point. I do wish that we had gotten a little more time with some of her fellow astronauts. There were one or two that we saw Joan interact with a lot, but there were a handful of others I enjoyed and would’ve liked more of.

This book isn’t a mystery, but there are definitely plot points I don’t want to spoil. It is written as a love story, and it definitely is. It is both a love story in the traditional sense, but also is a love story about Joan and space and Joan and her family. This book sucked me in right from the beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. While it might not have taken the top spot as my favorite TJR book, it is definitely up there.

I think this book is slightly more of a 4.5 than a true 5 stars for me, but I think that’s on me not on the book. I got busy and had to take a couple day break from reading. I think if I had been able to read it all the way through like I had when I started, I would’ve continued being sucked in and enjoying it. If you have enjoyed her other books, you will enjoy this one. It has her signature strong characters and plot as well as a unique setting.  

Oathbound

By: Tracy Deonn
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 656

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them...or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

First Impressions

I have been waiting 2 years for this book to come out! I loved the first two books and was so excited for this one to come out. I love the cover within the collection of the series, even if they aren’t fully my style.

What I thought

This book was so good but so long. If you haven’t read the other two books and want to (which I highly recommend) this is your warning that there will be spoilers in my review.

Bree has gone off with the Shadow King to grow her powers. Selwyn has descended into Demonia and was sent to his mom. Nick has come just come back and lost both of his closest friends. This part of the story follows Bree as she works with the Shadow King and follows Nick as he goes on a quest to destroy the Morgaines while also hunting for Bree and Sel.

There was so much that happened in this book. It kind of felt like three stories put into one book so that this series didn’t become a 10 book series. The first part follows Bree as she starts her training with the Shadow King to harness her powers. The second part then jumps to Nick asking for a quest and starting this quest but also follows Sel’s mom Natasia while she tries to help Sel gain control of his demonia. Then part 3 switches back to Bree and part 4 is kind of all of the stories come together.

Without giving much away, I think part 3 was my favorite part. I do think part two and even a little part of part 3  could’ve been cut down. There was a lot that happened but also sometimes nothing? I read a review saying that this book kind of had middle child syndrome and I’d agree with that. I think it tried too hard at times but I still love this world and the characters.

If you enjoy fantasy I still recommend checking out this series. This book wasn’t a disappointment, but it’s a long one. There is a lot to digest and follow and I think it’s setting up a LOT for the final story. I can’t wait for the 4th book to see how this story ends.

Sing Me Home to Carolina

By: Joy Callaway
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Alcove
Pages: 336

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A small town girl turned big city businesswoman returns home to help her parents, only to find her heart being tugged between her old flame and the town’s mysterious new guy.

This witty and effervescent novel is perfect for readers of Viola Shipman and fans of Sweet Magnolias and Hart of Dixie.

Event planner Hattie Norwood only came back home to Mountain View, South Carolina to support her parents as they receive word that the family peanut farm is infertile. This news doesn’t come as a surprise to Hattie, and she plans to return to Charlotte at the weekend’s end. 

But then the town councilwoman begs Hattie to use her event planning prowess to help Mountain View put on a musical benefit to stop the construction of the new Carolina Panthers stadium—a project Hattie is actually in favor of, much to the dismay of the locals—and she finds herself agreeing to stay until the town’s Founder’s Day celebration a week later, just as her old flame, former MLB standout Lee Lockhardt, materializes in town after a career-ending injury.

When the hunky and mysterious new owner of Fox’s Hardware, Fox Ryan, suggests the Founder’s Day celebration be moved to the Norwoods’ barn in an attempt to reinvent the failing farm as a music and event venue, Hattie agrees, unaware this move will thrust the town, her love life, and the brewing tension over the stadium into a very public spotlight. 

Fans of small-town romance and quirky casts of characters will be rooting for Team Lee or Team Fox as Hattie decides if love, like most music, is meant to fade or last forever.

First Impressions

This book sucked me in with the cover. I saw the cover on Netgalley and then read the summary and immediately requested it. I loved the show Hart of Dixie and was excited to read a story that gave those same vibes

What I thought

Uh…

Hattie returns to her small home town in South Carolina to help her parents after they found out their peanut farm is no longer productive. While there, her town is dealing with the possibility of the Carolina Panthers choosing them as the location for their new stadium. On top of that, she runs into her old high school love and also a new handsome man in town. She has to juggle romance, family duties, and her job back in Charlotte.

Everybody in this town sucks. Hattie, Lee, the Mayor. All of them. The only one who doesn’t is Fox, and he isn’t even from the town. When she comes back for a weekend visit, Hattie refuses to sign the town petition protesting the new stadium because she feels like the town will fail without it. The town immediately turns on her and of course, if her single signuature isn’t on the petition, then the state will look at that as weakness and say that the town isn’t 100% against the stadium so they’re going to build there anyway. Cue the biggest eye roll ever. The reaction these people had to her not wanting to sign was extreme. They legit went to her house and protested her! In front of her parents!

On top of that, Lee, he ex-boyfriend from high school turned pro MLB player, is back in town. He is such a douche. I’ve seen people online say that when you’re online dating, instead of asking a man if he’s dating anyone, you should ask them if there is anyone out there who thinks that they are in a relationship with you. That’s how I feel about Lee. He is seeing Willow, claims that she knos it’s casual and that they’re not exclusive and is therefore trying to makeout with Hattie, yet every time Willow comes around she is all over Lee and glaring at Hattie. I also didn’t understand how two people could claim to be so madly in love with each other for years and yet neither of them tried to get in touch with the other. I never wanted them to end up together and they were together and “in love” for 80% of the book.

Fox, the other love interest was interesting. He seemed to immediately fall in love with Hattie and she sort of did too? Yet she was also in love with Lee? It was so weird. Because she didn’t even know Fox, yet she was crushing on him. He also had a mysterious past as he had shown up in the town and bought the hardware story and didn’t even have people calling him by his real name.

Then there’s this entire storyline about Lee getting discovered by a record label, immediately moving to Nashville and getting signed and then immediately going on tour in Europe as an opener. Hattie makes zero effot to continue this relationship while Lee is out of town, even though she claims to have been in love with him for 10 years.

Have I vented about this book enough? I found the writing to be terrible and the characters insufferable. I wanted so much more from a small town romance but this was not it. I don’t see how people can find any of these characters likable or find a single person to route for. I couldn’t even cheer for the romance!

Don’t pick this one up. If you’ve been missing Hart of Dixie or another small town romance, just give those a rewatch. I never want to visit this town or these people and feel they deserve everything bad tha comes to them about refusing progression.

Twelfth Knight

By: Alexene Farol Follmuth
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 320

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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…

What I thought

I first heard about this book when it was announced with Reese’s book club picks. Ever since the movie She’s the Man I am a sucker for Twelfth Night and any re-tellings so I was immediately intrigued. However, something about this book being about video games and role playing did not appeal to me so I never added it to my list. I was still intrigued and excited when Denise picked it for book club!

Viola is a bit of her loaner. While she has her twin brother Sebastian (Bash), she prefers to view herself as hyper-independent. Jack (Duke) Orsino is the star running back of the football team and the student body president to Viola’s vice president. Viola and Duke don’t really get along, but when he is hit with a season ending injury and his girlfriend Olivia breaks up with him, he is desperate to figure out what is going on. He teams up with Viola to help him get back together with Olivia. On top of that, Viola is an aid gamer of the role playing game Twelfth Knight. With his injury, Duke’s friend introduces him to the game and he runs into Viola’s character. However, when he realizes they go to the same school, she tells him that she is her twin brother Bash rather than her true self.

This book was so much fun. Viola was a bit rough around the edges at first. Like, I understood her defensiveness in being a girl in a male dominated hobby, but sometimes she was a bit brusque. I did love Duke right from the beginning. I understand he was supposed to come off as cocky but I feel like the author did a nice job of explaining that it was an act since he knew that as a larger black man he needed to come off as non-threatening.

The author also did a nice job of describing the game without making it seem too complicated. It sounded like the kind of game I would enjoy playing, even though I’m by no means a gamer.

This story was also an interesting take on Twelfth Night as the deception was behind a screen and not Viola dressing up as her brother to deceive people. I think if you enjoy Twelfth Night or other storylines where people act as someone else to get what they need, I would recommend this book. It was a quick easy read and I found it to be fun.

What Book Club Thought

Everyone really enjoyed this book. We had some good discussion about the melodrama of being in high school and how we had to remind ourselves from time to time that it was age appropriate. We also had some good discussion about the relationship between Viola and her mom and Viola and her friend. We all really appreciate the nuances of the story, especially considering that it’s a Shakespeare retelling. We also talked about how we liked the take on how Viola posed as her brother virtually in this modern world, as opposed to her having to dress up in person. If you are a fan of Twelfth Night or She’s the Man, I would highly recommend this book and so would the rest of my book club. If you’re looking for a lighter book club choice, this is a fun pick.