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challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
I've been not so patiently waiting for Jules and Josh's story and OH did it deliver! This was the picture perfect enemies to lovers storyline and the dual POV made it even better. The animosity between them was just the right amount and both had pretty solid stances on why they hate each other. The sexual tension between them was fierce and had me on the edge of my seat. Jules is a badass character and has such a quick wit, I was laughing out loud several times at her comments. Josh's ego was hefty but his development was great to read. While there was plenty of high level steamy moments, there were also some really gut wrenching emotional ones that gave more depth to the story.
Some of my favorite moments: the ski trip with the sparks flying sexual tension and ONE BED trope which is always fun; when Jules disarms the mugger and isn't the damsel in distress I expected to happen; trying to hide from their friends at the hotel and Alex 100% picking up on what was happening; Josh and Alex reconciling and talking through some of their issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Death of parent
dark
emotional
funny
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:
No
๐ฅต๐ฅต๐ฅต
Esse livro me surpreendeu muito! Gostei de ter bastante capรญtulos do ponto de vista do Josh.
Jules se mostrou uma personagem com vรกrias camadas! Gostei de ver o arco de Josh e Alex. Achei que veria mais cenas de Ava e Alex interagindo com o casal pela proximidade. Stela tambรฉm nรฃo apareceu muito no livro mesmo morando com Jules. Mas jรก estou ansiosa pelo livro dela
Esse livro me surpreendeu muito! Gostei de ter bastante capรญtulos do ponto de vista do Josh.
Jules se mostrou uma personagem com vรกrias camadas! Gostei de ver o arco de Josh e Alex. Achei que veria mais cenas de Ava e Alex interagindo com o casal pela proximidade. Stela tambรฉm nรฃo apareceu muito no livro mesmo morando com Jules. Mas jรก estou ansiosa pelo livro dela
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
thank you so much ana for an e-arc of your latest book in the twisted series in exchange for an honest review & for letting me be apart of your arc team ๐ค
this book was so high up on my tbr and i had to start it straight away when it dropped on my kindle! and omfg this book did not disappoint, josh and jules now have a special place in my heart.
enemies with benefits!!! what a set up & between a doctor during his residency and a law who is about to take her bar ๐ฉ name a more badass power duo, i dare you!!!
josh was just incriminating and that dirty talk !!! holy sh*t ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ฅต๐ฎโ๐จ ana that spice was something else! i want a josh chen now, especially after that date - an absolute dream omfg ๐ also lets talk about a bloody praise kink!! my new favourite thing โค๏ธโ๐ฅ
and as for book 4 โฆ i am v v excited to see stella and ******** in twisted lies !!! โค๏ธโ๐ฅ
โ ๐ญ๐ฐ: ๐ฌ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ (๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐), ๐ฌ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐จ๐ซ (๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐), ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ โ
โ ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ.5/5
this book was so high up on my tbr and i had to start it straight away when it dropped on my kindle! and omfg this book did not disappoint, josh and jules now have a special place in my heart.
enemies with benefits!!! what a set up & between a doctor during his residency and a law who is about to take her bar ๐ฉ name a more badass power duo, i dare you!!!
josh was just incriminating and that dirty talk !!! holy sh*t ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ฅต๐ฎโ๐จ ana that spice was something else! i want a josh chen now, especially after that date - an absolute dream omfg ๐ also lets talk about a bloody praise kink!! my new favourite thing โค๏ธโ๐ฅ
and as for book 4 โฆ i am v v excited to see stella and ******** in twisted lies !!! โค๏ธโ๐ฅ
โ ๐ญ๐ฐ: ๐ฌ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ (๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐), ๐ฌ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐จ๐ซ (๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐), ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ โ
โ ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ.5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
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
Well shit... ๐ This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 and totally superceded my expectations.
I'm not gonna lie, I was a smidge worried going into it, from seeing the venomous interactions between Josh and Jules in the previous books that it might be too much enemies and not enough lovers, but my fears were assuaged by the romance that unfolded throughout the course of this book.
Both of our MCs have both very deeply rooted trust issues and issues with self worth (which leads to quite a big of negative self thought) due to past life experiences and the way in which they've historically been treated by those around them. Over the course of the book, we see these issues begin to come to the forefront and both characters grappling with this newfound sense of love and trust on such a subconscious level.
What I love about the subtlety in this (for example, Josh gradually refraining from referring to Jules as JR without any explicit effort) is that we have the privilege of witnessing the falling in love while they still have zero clue. I like seeing someone falling in love, rather than being told someone is falling in love and Ana Huang does this so well ๐ญ
Moving on to the erm... Spicier aspects of the book. Does she know how to write a sex scene or what?? The hate sex in this... *chefs kiss* Often I find that using HS in a romance novel can really make me uncomfortable and authors can often blur that line to the point where it's just horrible to witness, but the vitriol they're throwing at each other through the scenes in here just added fuel to the fire ๐ฅ Let's just say, some scenes will be living in my head rent free ๐
However, we do have a pretty much unforgivable act from our hero. There's enough context around it to understand his motives. She's basically confirmed every fear and he takes a cheap shot at her biggest insecurity. That doesn't make it okay, not at all, but instead of sweeping it under the carpet, he actually reflects on his actions and sees what he's done wrong and makes amends.
Also, special mention for the glimpses into the characters from the previous book's relationships without seeming forced in. Totally complimented the rest of the book. Alex and Josh's friendship coming into play. And can we talk about the ending with Alex and Ava. I sobbed!
Oh and the romantic first date with J and J? My heart squeezed so hard. Such a seemingly hard hearted bastard, and he managed to win me over. And I'm a firm stan of the cinnamon roll. Consider me floored.
I'm not gonna lie, I was a smidge worried going into it, from seeing the venomous interactions between Josh and Jules in the previous books that it might be too much enemies and not enough lovers, but my fears were assuaged by the romance that unfolded throughout the course of this book.
Both of our MCs have both very deeply rooted trust issues and issues with self worth (which leads to quite a big of negative self thought) due to past life experiences and the way in which they've historically been treated by those around them. Over the course of the book, we see these issues begin to come to the forefront and both characters grappling with this newfound sense of love and trust on such a subconscious level.
What I love about the subtlety in this (for example, Josh gradually refraining from referring to Jules as JR without any explicit effort) is that we have the privilege of witnessing the falling in love while they still have zero clue. I like seeing someone falling in love, rather than being told someone is falling in love and Ana Huang does this so well ๐ญ
Moving on to the erm... Spicier aspects of the book. Does she know how to write a sex scene or what?? The hate sex in this... *chefs kiss* Often I find that using HS in a romance novel can really make me uncomfortable and authors can often blur that line to the point where it's just horrible to witness, but the vitriol they're throwing at each other through the scenes in here just added fuel to the fire ๐ฅ Let's just say, some scenes will be living in my head rent free ๐
However, we do have a pretty much unforgivable act from our hero. There's enough context around it to understand his motives. She's basically confirmed every fear and he takes a cheap shot at her biggest insecurity. That doesn't make it okay, not at all, but instead of sweeping it under the carpet, he actually reflects on his actions and sees what he's done wrong and makes amends.
Also, special mention for the glimpses into the characters from the previous book's relationships without seeming forced in. Totally complimented the rest of the book. Alex and Josh's friendship coming into play. And can we talk about the ending with Alex and Ava. I sobbed!
Oh and the romantic first date with J and J? My heart squeezed so hard. Such a seemingly hard hearted bastard, and he managed to win me over. And I'm a firm stan of the cinnamon roll. Consider me floored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
CW Slut shaming, revenge porn
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Holy shit. This was so good. Definitely the best book in the series so far. Ana Huang really has a knack to write about complicated characters and make us fall in love with them. Because I once again fell in love with BOTH Jules and Josh. It's only been a few minutes since I finished Twisted Hate and I miss them so much already.
And I also. Cannot. Wait. For. Twisted Lies. I need this book now!!!
And I also. Cannot. Wait. For. Twisted Lies. I need this book now!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Stalking
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicide, Stalking
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
The MMC sexually assaults the FMC and they still end up together fyi ๐ซถ๐ป
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd been wanted to read about Josh and Jules since I read about them bickering and hating each other in the very first book in the series, and this book exceeded all my expectations for what I wanted for them. I loved how they went from enemies to enemies-with-benefits to lovers but throughout all of those stages you could see that they cared about one another and their opinions of each other. Their dialogue was so much fun to read at all times and the way they are together is honestly too cute.
I loved reading about Alex and Josh and their reconciliation, it was long overdue that they kiss and make up. I was also thrilled to read about Christian and his tiny tiny interaction with Stella, it made me so happy and I already know I am going to adore them.
Jules and Josh had their own respective insecurities but the way they helped each other get over them and grew as individuals and as a couple was perfect.
I loved reading about Alex and Josh and their reconciliation, it was long overdue that they kiss and make up. I was also thrilled to read about Christian and his tiny tiny interaction with Stella, it made me so happy and I already know I am going to adore them.
Jules and Josh had their own respective insecurities but the way they helped each other get over them and grew as individuals and as a couple was perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
Moderate: Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail