Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

264 reviews

emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

yall... this mf book!!!

people talk about their book boyfriends but i don't think anyone understands that Rhys Larsen is literally the book boyfriend. Like he knows exactly when to be funny, he's protective, he's brooding, he hates everyone but her. like he is literally the only man.

on a different note, the amount of different turns this book took?? like not one chapter went by where i wasn't wondering what happened next. the plot of this book was so wild in genuinely the best way.

all in all, i loved this book. it is definitely one of my top reads this year for sure.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, and Death of parent

Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

m4rtt4's review

dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.75

This book was drastically better than Twisted Love for two reasons: a realistic plot and the absence of Alex Volkov. The first half of the book really exceeded my expectations, but then the story just kept dragging on and on despite the time skips. Had this book been like 200 pages shorter I would have rated it around 3.5 stars — if you like porn with absolutely no plot, then you should like the latter half of this book. It could have been closer to 4 stars if Rhys wasn't so possessive and aggressive. Hell, CAN'T I ENJOY CONSENSUAL DOMINANCE IN A SEXUAL CONTEXT WITHOUT THE MAN BEING VIOLENT IN NONSEXUAL SITUATIONS AS WELL?? That's extremely unsexy, anger issues do not turn me on. Also, I guessed the plot twist in the very beginning,

the one where Rhys is revealed to be of noble Eldorran descent and they get married. (but if Rhys is the brother of Bridget's cousin, doesn't it make Rhys and Bridget half-cousins??? ew.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Child abuse, and Death of parent

cries's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.25

Absolutely love this book. Compared to Twisted Love, safe to say I most definitely love Twisted Games more!!! 
The beginning of the book may have started off a little slow but the events and pov changes entices and attracts you into the story. The plot was decently planned and flows well. 
The writing is easy flowing and simple to understand. It hits you in the feels. However, I personally get my feelings turned off when I see a cuss word unnecessarily in a sentence. Despite that, I still think this book is well-written for young adults to easily comprehend. 
I teared up and almost cried reading for the first time during the last two chapters before the epilogue. This book made me believe in love again. 🥰

RHYS LARSEN. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. 😭 He’s not only a secret romantic but also a secret cinnamon roll!!! 🥺
BRIDGET VON ASCHEBERG. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!! 💳💥 So proud of our Princess 🫶 from being scared and insecure, going through so much all at once, she pulled through and became the best version of herself. Highly respected, OUR QUEEN 🩷

Overall, this book was nice to read. It may feel draggy in the beginning, but the suspense when you reach the second half of Part 2, bless me. 
THERE ARE SPECIFIC CHAPTERS I WOULD MOST DEFINITELY READ AGAIN JUST TO FEED INTO MY DELULU AND BELIEVE IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN. 🩷✨

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Abandonment, Classism, and Cursing

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

melist6's review against another edition

emotional funny tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Classism, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Car accident

leikyr's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death of parent

direguard's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Classism, Cursing, and Drug abuse

Minor: Stalking, Blood, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Toxic friendship, War, and Medical content

peachani's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Classism, Violence, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Vomit

sierrabowers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book was just as if not better than the first book in the series! I loved the plot and how much it intertwined with the characters of the first and also held its own story. It was a beautiful love story that made me feel as if I truly knew the characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual content, and Sexism

Minor: Car accident

cdoubet's review against another edition

emotional tense 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I didn’t think I’d find an Ana book that I disliked more than King of Wrath, but sadly, I did. And I really am sad about it, because through the entire first half, I was having such a blast with this book. I thought it would end up a favorite alongside King of Pride. But Rhys’ possessive temper tantrums got really old really fast, and then I was decidedly not having a blast.

It also doesn’t help that, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Bridget and Rhys have absolutely nothing to base a relationship on. All they ever do is screw around. Ana’s other couples have foundations upon which their relationships are built, but these two are just lust. Their story is just smut. Like if you took the vibes of Princess Diaries 2, combined with the vibes of Red White and Royal Blue, but replaced 90% of the plots with (rather repetitive) smut.

And damn, is it disappointing.

Extra half star for the first half, though, because it was fun while it lasted. And the teasing glimpses of future couples have made the rest (nearly) worth it.

Current series ranking:

1. Twisted Love (I’m shocked too)
2. Twisted Games (I’m sad)

Representation:

• Chinese-American side characters
• fat side character
• multiracial side character (Japanese, Black & Puerto Rican)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gun violence and Medical content

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, War, Death, and Drug abuse

Sexual content is frequent and explicit but always consensual. There’s one scene early on of a near mass shooting, but the shooter is stopped. There are a few scenes in a hospital due to one protagonist’s grandfather having a heart condition, but he does pull through each time. Everything tagged minor refers to past events, including one protagonist losing a parent to childbirth and a parent to a car accident, and the other protagonist losing a parent to drug overdose. There are also brief mentions of war scenes due to one protagonist being an ex-Navy SEAL.