Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Mentiras do amor

I enjoyed the first three books in the series and had been so excited to finally learn more about Stella. She had always blended into the background of the other books, and I loved everything about her in this.

Christian I didn’t care for as much, but did love his relationship with her.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I loved the epilogue.

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mika_rom's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

worst book in the series, christian is basically an alex dupe and their romance had no build-up

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ac_52's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was the longest one in the series, which obviously leaves so much to talk about in this review. I'll start off by saying this: I absolutely adored this book. I walked into it with absolutely no spoilers about the content which made it all the more impactful.

Not many books have made me cry, but this one got me - not as hard as Twisted Games, but it still brought some tears to my eyes.

Stella and Christain are both... Interesting, to put it simply.

The whole ending sequence with Stella finding out about Christian's obsession and lowkey finding out that he murders people in his free time was... Something. I didn't mind it much, but it bothered me a bit that Stella just... Accepted it because she loved Christian. Considering that the book spent a lot of time establishing the depth of Stella's morals, it was kind of sad to see her just accept something like that (though I can't argue for the sake of the happy ending and the warning that this was the darker of books Huang has written).

Onto my opinions about Christian. I liked Christian for what he was. I'm not super into dark romance (maybe I just haven't found the right book), but I think for him being darker than the other male leads, it made sense. He was really only 'dark' in the sense of murdering people and torturing them, but other than that it wasn't super dark. Yes, he did illegal things. But don't most rich men in romance books? It was really cool to see Christian inside of his own book rather than within the context of the others as it really lets you see his character shine through. He's a huge softie at heart, as much as he tries to deny it. Christian and Josh are very similar in the kink department, except Christian is Josh on steroids. Nothing was sensual about the sex scenes in this book, and I was very much digging that. I liked how it was able to represent another side of intimacy while making it a space where it wasn't weird or out-of-the-ordinary. If super BDSM stuff isn't for you, then I'd say skip over the intimacy.

The pacing of this one was a lot faster than the other books. The added pages helps to tie everything together while also giving readers new content about the rest of the Twisted couples. It's very BDSM, so be warned. I think it was a satisfying conclusion to the series and left no questions to be answered with everybody getting their happy ending.

TLDR; This is my second favorite book out of the series. The relationship dynamic between Stella and Christian was refreshing and was enjoyable to follow. It plucked my heartstrings a few times- through tears and laugher.

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

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library0fjen's review against another edition

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4.5

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throneofsnark's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"I guess that was what happened when girls with a need for academic validation grew up. They developed a praise kink."

I really loved this story. It was such a great slowburn romance and I was here for it! Barely a touch until 50% in and then it gets HOT!!!

I really appreciated the banter and chemistry between Christian and Stella <3 For a man who didn't believe in love, this man fell HARD! He was obsessed, thinking it was just because she was some kind of puzzle, but really it was because he was so infatuated with her as a person. Mans was in LOVE and would literally KILL for her. The morally greyist of any of the Twisted men in my opinion and quite possibly my favorite. Give me a toxic man in a book but please don't come near me iRL <3

I love that Christian really wanted and supported Stella in becoming her own person and she truly grew and got over her own traumas because of it.

I really enjoyed almost everything about this book, just wished they left out a certain something in the epilogue that I hate!

Aaaah! This couple is definitely tied with Rhys and Bridget <3

Quotes:

"Careful, Stella. I'm not the gentleman you think I am." - Christian
"I don't think you're a gentleman at all." - Stella
"Smart girl." - Christian

"If you saw yourself the way other people see you, you'd never doubt again." - Christian
"How do other people see me?"- Stella
"Like you're the most beautiful, most remarkable thing they've ever seen."- Christian

"I'm an optimist, not an idiot."- Stella

"Too much planning is a form of procrastination." - Stella

"I guess that was what happened when girls with a need for academic validation grew up. They developed a praise kink." - Stella (That's so true :x)

"Christian. Don't give him any pieces of your soul."- Stella
"One of my favorite things about you is that you think I have any pieces left." - Christian

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is the one I’ve been waiting for since the beginning (ok well, since getting to the end of the second book and realizing that's what it was setting up for, but still) and it deliveredddddd. Definitely my favorite of the series; last one best one! Like, there was something about this one that hit all the right notes for my preferred dark romance: the truly reprehensible (and normally male) MC who develops an unbending soft spot for their romantic interest. I honestly can't get enough of reading to what lengths they would go to defend and support their person. And in this case, it was extra wonderful because of how much Christian's (frightening levels of) did for Stella's own confidence and self-perception. Maybe it wasn't always the best way to go about it, sure, but the result made my heart happy. Similarly in reverse, while it was just in relation to her, Christian's realization of his own remaining humanity, seeing himself through Stella's (optimistic, but not stupid - in her own words) eyes, is the kind of character "growth" I love in a situation like this. And of course, the levels of drama not seen in typical human life (high stakes security stuff, obscene amounts of money, stalkers and kidnappings, etc.) were as unbelievable and entertaining as always. Side shout out to Stella's lower libido and ace spectrum vibes (demi-ish) that were really mentioned openly and often on page - I don't see that a lot (ever?) in these kinds of mainstream spicy romance series, and I really appreciated it. It made me like what was already my fav of the four even more...though when the spicy scenes came, they also matched up with what Huang has provided this whole series (thumbs way way up for that). I knew I wanted this one and it hit the spot. I don’t even care how long (and perhaps sometimes repetitive) it was because I really did want to spend that much time with Stella and Christian.

“We always expected our external world to reflect our internal one, but it was situations like these that reminded me the world would go on no matter what happened to us individually. It was equal parts reassuring and depressing.”

“That was the thing about humans. We were hard-wired for survival, and we took every opportunity to convince ourselves that our problems weren't as bad as we thought they were. Hope and denial. Two sides of the same coin. They kept us from falling into a well of despair even in the darkest of times.”

“But he makes me feel like I can be anyone I want to be. Better yet, he makes me feel like I can be who I am.”

“But our lives were our own. There would always be people who were better and worse off than us. That didn't make our feelings any less valid. We could acknowledge how good we had it in some respects while criticizing other parts.”

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jessicanicoleyee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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