Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

56 reviews

ozlitlist's review

medium-paced

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

0.25

Look.

I love romance, I love “dark” romance. I love a problematic protag or love interest. This book does not understand the draw of the genre and only the problems. 

Dark romance hinges on the idea that loving a villain can be attractive: since they are so disgusted by society, if they find beauty in something it must truly be unique and beautiful. The concept that kindness can thaw even the iciest heart. That it can inspire change or growth. - and hey, it’s fantasy, the idea of being obsessed over or intrinsically tied to someone can be attractive to a certain audience. A villain can forgive all flaws, certainly, since they are so flawed themselves.

To those who do not write the genre well, it comes dangerously close to romanticizing abusive behavior. The concept that the villain does not need to change or drags the other person under their control.

This book takes that second option to the extreme. None of these characters are remotely lovable or even realistic. They are caricature-ish, flimsy, and uninteresting at best. And frankly the idea of “romance” it explores is genuinely terrifying. This tell-don’t-show style of writing is some of the most appalling I have ever wasted my time reading. And it perpetuates the problematic concept that violence and the disregard of others is the epitome of an expression of love. 

I actively discourage others from reading this book, even if you’re in search of a “fun/bad” read, and the fact that I could guess this author got her start on Wattpad is telling to say the least

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cursing and Child death

phledercat's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

It was better than I thought, it feels like one of those horrible Netflix shows that are just bad but this one for some reason leaves you thinking "wow. That was good."

kyra_reads_romance01's review

dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

alexismil's review against another edition

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

4.0

So I started this book during school and I have such a hard time reading during school time. So that’s why it took me so long to finish the book. But the book took me a while to get into. But I ended up really liking the book at the end. The last part of book is the best. Like when he grovels..ugh I loved that. The fact that he dropped everything a flew across the country to grovel over Ava. And I loved Ava for that she made him work for it. Good for her. I loved that Ava is very soft spoken and gentle. The way she is with Alex is so cute. They bring out the best in each other. Alex makes Ava more confident. And Ava makes Ava soft and tender. (except when you know😉) I mean Alex likes it when it’s risky. Not gonna lie it was hot. Anyways I had a hard time getting into, but that might be just because of school. So maybe I will reread it, but overall I would recommend this book. I would recommend the series first and I’m a big believer in reading series in order. Anyways, it was good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Violence

Child abuse:

autumnsymonds's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Suicide, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Stalking

cdoubet's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Vomit

Minor: Infidelity

neesa_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

Cute lil book. I love me some grumpy sunshine reads, it’s def one of my favorite tropes. I thought this was a good start of the series and it only gets better from here. It does have some dark moments but it’s not really spread throughout the book, but I liked how much it made you understand the characters more. It’s a good start for someone that wants to get into dark romance (even though some wouldn’t call it that) as is is pretty tame compared to other things that are categorized as being dark romance. Would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Suicide and Abandonment

kambell00's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

This book was just a little too twisty and unnecessary in the last 100 pages for me personally. So much so I stopped reading it for 2 weeks. It was definitely a wild ride though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

joey_paige's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

csmall73's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed some of the plots. Lots of drama. Ava is ignoring some major red flags from Alex. There’s a time and a place for possessiveness but he definitely takes it to far. Erratic and impulsive for someone supposed to be so calculated. Borderline sociopathic behavior. Also did not enjoy the bragging inner monologue. Odd mix of intelligent then very base animal and territorial. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Suicide, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Violence