Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

37 reviews

catnip159's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.5

The book wasn't bad by any means, I think it was just...a lot. The first half of the book was pretty slow to allow the couple to get together (which was fine) but that only left the other half to tie up the loose ends of Alex's family/Ava's dad which seemed a bit rushed to me. There were three separate plot lines I could see with Ava's trama, the relationship, and Alex's family. On paper, that makes sense, but the book spent way too long on two plot lines without fully developing the last one making the third act seem a bit quick. I wanted more tension with the uncle and more interactions with him in general for him to become such a prominent character in the third act. I didn't buy Alex and the uncle's relationship because we didn't spend time with them until the book needed to tie up the loose ends of Alex's story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Despite everything I've said about the third act I could not put this book down! The twists and turns kept me hooked the whole time despite it seeming fast. If you enjoy twists (even with their flaws) then you'll love this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

quietmarki's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing 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

3.0

So after seing this book on my foryoupage for more then a year. I decided to buy and read it. I thought the book was okay, nothing really special about. It gave me wattpad vibes, and no hate for that. It's her first book ever written so that fine. 

I do think there were a plot hole in this story. When she and her friend got kidnapped we didn't get a pov of that so I was confused about it. The singing part wasn't that gringy... . The story plot was very predictable. I would probably read the next book of this series :) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Stalking

anna_r8's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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? Yes

3.75

Definitely a little trope-y, but there are lots of plot twists!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Sexual assault

roxy_reads_romance's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder

siennakt30's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, Child death, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

kitsunbae's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

1.5

Twisted Love disappointed me. I expected more from the plot, but instead I was shown a toxic, unhealthy relationship between two people struggling with personal issues. 

The writing itself wasn't the greatest, but the characters are really the downfall of the story. They all are Mary Sue-esque, having physical features that are too perfect or skills/qualities too necessary to the plot, .i.e.

Alex having connections with the FBI which aids in arresting Ava's father.

Overall, it was a struggle to get through this book. I didn't care for the characters or the plot, it was predictable at best. It was concerning with how Alex treated Ava and I feel like it promotes unhealthy relationships. Hurting others isn't attractive, stalking isn't attractive, possessiveness isn't attractive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

viselik's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I won't lie I read this in like 4ish hours, I was somehow hooked and could not put it down. I would pay attention to the content warnings though.
The book majorly sped up on the last 50%, the first 50% was still good though!

This book does have its issues which I'll try to sum up:

• Alex is kinda stalkerish and gives off creepy vibes. Even more so in the last 50%
• The singing scene was... uncomfortable to read.
• This book is leaning quite heavily on the fact you would read the next one, this can't be read as a stand-alone.
• At times to me it felt like I was reading a Twilight fanfiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Drug use, and Drug abuse

lottakoivunen's review against another edition

fast-paced

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

charley14's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Death, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

effy's review against another edition

3.5

I picked this book up because I seemed to be in a bit of a romance kick and I knew that this whole series is available on Kindle Unlimited at the moment so easy to binge. I had heard that this book is the weakest in the series and many people seem to suggest just skipping this book altogether so I went in with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by this book for the most part as it is a relatively standard romance with the melodrama just a step above normal. For the vast majority of the book, I was really vibing with it and I didn't even mind the third act breakup as it didn't feel overly manufactured and wasn't grounded in miscommunication. 

Alex and Ava definitely could have hammered things out with a conversation but that also didn't match their characters, especially as they were both carrying a lot of childhood trauma.

 

What I didn't enjoy about this book was the third act when the characters were in London. This portion was just the wrong length; it either needed to be shorter and just be an extended epilogue or it needed to be more fleshed-out and show us 

the steps that Alex took to win Ava back. Their return to being a couple did not feel earned as we didn't see their journey.

It is wholly possible that we see portions of this period of time in other characters' books but as a self-contained story, the resolution felt rushed and somewhat meh.

Despite the weak ending, I mostly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to continuing the series.

Favourite quote:

 

She felt like heaven to my hell, the closest I'd ever get to salvation, and yet I still wanted to drag her into the depths of Hades with me.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Infidelity