Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Mentiras do amor by Ana Huang, Ana Huang

129 reviews

starredbyalice's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Ana Huang loooves a 2010s CW plot twist reveal and villain monologue. She also looooves trying to make the novel a dark romance by adding elements that were not necessary at all to the plot… like just embrace your love for a romcom!

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isajidy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

3.75


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itss_kayy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-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

4.5


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zoe_senaye's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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


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mgaligher23's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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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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erwikka's review against another edition

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dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I enjoyed the Twisted series overall. The wasn’t my favorite but I really enjoyed Stella and Christian and sometimes you need a quick, addicting, toxic romance to get you through the day. This did just that. I still think the authors books are a bit long but the slow burn, and tension that builds up in the first like 50% usually makes it worth it.

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rekii_55's review against another edition

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

3.25


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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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phoenixsparks's review against another edition

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

2.75


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