Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

92 reviews

reminiscences's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Murder, Mental illness, Blood, and Toxic relationship

jonahgerst's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Ana Huang's "Twisted Love" is a contemporary romance that captures attention with its emotional intensity but falls short in key areas, particularly in character development and believability.

The story revolves around Alex Volkov, a tormented and controlling man, and Ava Chen, his warm-hearted neighbor. As they navigate a tumultuous relationship, the book delves into themes of love and redemption.

While the chemistry between Alex and Ava is palpable, Alex’s behavior is often manipulative and off-putting. Despite his tragic backstory, his actions make it hard to root for him, and his redemption feels unearned. Ava’s forgiving nature can come across as unrealistic and frustrating, leading to an imbalanced dynamic.

The book is engaging and well-paced, but the resolution feels rushed and unsatisfying.

Alex’s happy ending seems undeserved, undermining the story's impact

. "Twisted Love" may appeal to those who enjoy intense romances, but its flawed protagonist and unrealistic resolution make it a less compelling read overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Kidnapping

kxjschw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Cursing

Minor: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Suicide, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

jessicaschick's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I was liking this book until the last 1/3 or so? It was feeling predictable but not too bad.

the whole thing with her dad being his enemy was kind of obvious imo, and i lost interest in the whole book so fast because the uncle being the killer felt like poor writing. When Alex started singing in the end I got such second hand embarrassment because wtf was that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

bunnybees's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

jodellwri's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

jama_ann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Cursing, Murder, Grief, Blood, Gaslighting, Child death, and Body horror

meg_thee_aries's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Stalking, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Blood

rae_meadows's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Child abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

amandaevans's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

this book is genuinely concerning lol - for those of you out there that have read it and LOVED it like gave it 5 stars, are you ok? like actually, are you ok?

overall the plot was interesting and I liked the supporting characters (Ava’s friends Bridget and Stella seem interesting to me, Jules or otherwise oddly referred to as Jessica Rabbit in the book — eh, she kinda fell flat for me). HOWEVER, Ava (female main character) seems far to sunshiny and rainbows following her every move for the literal world shattering trauma she has experienced. Like girl… let’s maybe take a second to go to THERAPY and feel our feelings instead of never having a problem with anyone or anything that should be a problem. Otherwise she had the potential to be a great main character, troubled home life, artsy, confident, kind, etc. But it felt like the author was trying way to hard to make her this happy-go-lucky character for the experiences Ava has had. Like miss girl literally had no memories of her childhood before age nine and is just okay with that? Seems a little odd. 

Don’t even get me started on Alex. Our male main character is a walking red flag. He should legally be required to carry one because holy ****. And I’m CONCERNED because we are supposed to like this man? PASS. Everything about him gave me the ICK a hundred times over, and the spicy scenes that should’ve been interesting and well.. entertaining, made me giggle and made me actually uncomfortable. Like this man who Ava is supposed to be in love with should actually be committed. And I can get behind a dark romance with spicy scenes if they contribute to the story line but this guys only personality trait is that he is dark and brooding and incredibly violent? The sex scenes all felt very random and unnecessary and I still don’t really know how Ava and Alex ended up together in the first place. 

I think this book had the potential to be great but yikes… if you genuinely love this book and this male main character, do everyone a favor and 1) go to therapy, and 2) value and love yourself and do not let a man walk all over you like this. Thank you, I love u bye

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Violence, Death, and Gaslighting