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tinewen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
abception's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Twisted Love follows Ava - a photography student - and Alex - the COO of a massive corporation, and best friend of Ava's brother - as they live next door to one another following Ava's brother departure to Central America for a year of volunteering. Given it's marketing as a dark romance, and a billionaire x still rich but not a millionaire pairing, this book was outside of my comfort zone (but since last year I would have said that of romance entirely, I thought I would take a chance) but I was a lot more uncomfortable than I expected.
My biggest issue with this book, which took any and all potential enjoyment out of it for me, is that Alex is a terrible person, in a very abusive, disrespectful, aggressive way, and that over the course of the book he did nothing to redeem himself - instead, he got worse, and the book actually culminatesin a pretty disturbing case of stalking that the reader is supposed to find romantic.
First of all, very early on in the book, Alex tells Ava (on the authority of being asked by her brother to 'look out for her'): 1. what she can and cannot wear (cannot: anything he deems too revealing (except for the scenes requiring her to be wearing something sexy for him)), 2. who she can and cannot be around (can: women, can't: men), and 3. what she can and cannot do (can: self-defence classes chosen by him, can't: boudoir photography, going anywhere alone). As well as constantly belittling her feelings or outlook on things as childish or optimistic and therefore silly.
Secondly, he is extremely aggressive in a multitude of ways, e.g.:
• Early on in the novel, he decides he no longer wants to maintain a sexual relationship with a 'friends with benefits' type of situationship (minus the friendship) - but doesn't inform the woman of this - and when the woman approaches him for the first time after he's decided this without communicating it, he speaks to her very aggressively, culminating in him telling her "I'm not above ruining women". It's worth noting, towards the end of the novel he follows through on the threat and tanks her family's business, leading to her father ending up in prison (something he does multiple times throughout the book).
• Towards the end of the novel, after some turmoil that disrupts the protagonists' relationship, one of Ava's friends approaches him and tries to get him to admit his real feelings about Ava, and tell him that Ava is not doing well since their separation. During this conversation, Alex is extremely argumentative and fantasises about physically harming Ava's friends for having the audacity to take an argumentative tone back at him.
• Generally, he approaches every single problem with threats of financial ruin or violence, if not outright reacting with violence.
Thirdly, he is an out-and-out stalker. From the very beginning of the book, he wants to know where Ava is at all times, and will go out of his way to track down her location and show up if she goes an hour without responding to his messages/calls. That's pretty common fare for a 'dark romance' so I was expecting slightly toxic behaviour like this. However, while separated from Ava, he hires a private investigator/bodyguard to stalk Ava with the excuse that he's protecting her, despite making the PI report all of her actions back to him. Furthermore, Ava later moves to another country and he again hires someone to stalk her, before then dismissing them so he can do it personally. He follows Ava to and from work, he follows her while she's out with friends, he bombards her with unwanted gifts and stays in the vicinity of her home - all after informing Ava that she would not be able to get a restraining order against him because of his contacts in the government. This is highly romanticised (it does in fact eventually win the MC over) which was really disturbing to me, since most women would find this incredibly scary, and rightfully so.
A few other problems with Alex, specifically, are:
• He's a CEO (derogatory) - he literally treats people like dirt, he financially ruins people with no empathy at all, he looks down on all of his employees and is overall an entitled prick.
• When Ava's ex stalks her (for whatever reason, when he did it it was bad, but when Alex did the same thing it was romantic) and then attacks her, Alex's first response (after beating him) is to blame Ava for it, because she didn't follow his orders to take Krav Maga classes.
• When Ava decides to get a swimming instructor after Alex romantically rejects her, Alex tells her "If you think I'm going to let some fucker swoop in and take what's mine, you don't know me at all" - a very normal response to someone you just told you don't want to date saying they would do a non-sexual/romantic activity with someone else.
On the other hand, I had no problems with Ava whatsoever - with the exception of wishing her experiences of mental illness (i.e., insomnia, panic attacks, flashbacks, repressed memories) was more fleshed out and less 1-dimensional. She was a really sweet and loveable character, and I would have definitely enjoyed a novel with her characterisation in a less disturbing romantic situation.
Outside of Alex's problematic characterisation, I also disliked Huang's:
1. Unrealistic depiction of flashbacks
2. Constant references to sex (this is just a personal preference)
3. The same 'plot twist' twice in short succession
4. 1-dimensional/cartoonishly evil villains
5. How overpowered Alex is
The writing of the main characters' trauma (both Alex and Ava) really did not read as realistic/well-fleshed-out to me - primarily, due to the depictions of flashbacks for both characters. Very early on in the book, both Ava and Alex experience flashbacks in the middle of completely mundane/untriggering conversations. For example, Alex has a flashbackto his family's death in the middle of a normal conversation with his best friend, and it was really jarring to be reading small talk/banter one sentence, and the details of a traumatic event the next. Admittedly, this could have been Huang's attempt to write PTSD representation - though there is no reference to either MC having PTSD, despite both experiencing extremely traumatic events - but it was poor writing regardless to include flashbacks without triggers (something I feel fairly confident saying as someone who has had experiences with PTSD flashbacks).
As for the same 'plot twist' (a familial betrayal) occuring twice in close succession to one another - I found this really lacklustre (it felt like Huang couldn't think of another way to write a conflict), especially because the first time this happened it wasn't really necessary for the plot to move forward so it felt like a throwaway event that was there so Alex could come to Ava's rescue. Also, it was compounded by both betrayers being cartoonishly evil antagonists with no real depth in character, as well as Alex being annoyingly overpowered since he could solve every problem in the plot with a snap of his billionaire fingers and either a cheque or a well-placed email to one of his many, many unnamed business/government/criminal connections.
Overall, I would not recommend this novel to anyone due to the disturbing romanticisation of criminal harassment and abusive/controlling behaviour - and, I'm not happy that I bought the rest of the series before reading (though I'm crossing my fingers that Huang writes at least one romantic male lead that isn't just plain abusive).
My biggest issue with this book, which took any and all potential enjoyment out of it for me, is that Alex is a terrible person, in a very abusive, disrespectful, aggressive way, and that over the course of the book he did nothing to redeem himself - instead, he got worse, and the book actually culminates
First of all, very early on in the book, Alex tells Ava (on the authority of being asked by her brother to 'look out for her'): 1. what she can and cannot wear (cannot: anything he deems too revealing (except for the scenes requiring her to be wearing something sexy for him)), 2. who she can and cannot be around (can: women, can't: men), and 3. what she can and cannot do (can: self-defence classes chosen by him, can't: boudoir photography, going anywhere alone). As well as constantly belittling her feelings or outlook on things as childish or optimistic and therefore silly.
Secondly, he is extremely aggressive in a multitude of ways, e.g.:
• Generally, he approaches every single problem with threats of financial ruin or violence, if not outright reacting with violence.
A few other problems with Alex, specifically, are:
• He's a CEO (derogatory) - he literally treats people like dirt, he financially ruins people with no empathy at all, he looks down on all of his employees and is overall an entitled prick.
On the other hand, I had no problems with Ava whatsoever - with the exception of wishing her experiences of mental illness (i.e., insomnia, panic attacks, flashbacks, repressed memories) was more fleshed out and less 1-dimensional. She was a really sweet and loveable character, and I would have definitely enjoyed a novel with her characterisation in a less disturbing romantic situation.
Outside of Alex's problematic characterisation, I also disliked Huang's:
1. Unrealistic depiction of flashbacks
2. Constant references to sex (this is just a personal preference)
4. 1-dimensional/cartoonishly evil villains
5. How overpowered Alex is
The writing of the main characters' trauma (both Alex and Ava) really did not read as realistic/well-fleshed-out to me - primarily, due to the depictions of flashbacks for both characters. Very early on in the book, both Ava and Alex experience flashbacks in the middle of completely mundane/untriggering conversations. For example, Alex has a flashback
Overall, I would not recommend this novel to anyone due to the disturbing romanticisation of criminal harassment and abusive/controlling behaviour - and, I'm not happy that I bought the rest of the series before reading (though I'm crossing my fingers that Huang writes at least one romantic male lead that isn't just plain abusive).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Blood
saturnpersonified's review against another edition
dark
funny
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Torture and Kidnapping
chloelj27's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
bookswithjess's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
⚠️ warning: spoilers ⚠️
📋 So I liked Alex in the middle of the book; the beginning and the end? Not so much. Ava and Alex should NOT have gotten back together - some things are unforgivable and he became a stalker under the face of "omg! possessiveness!" it's not cute (again, I don't mind this trait but I guess it depends).
📋 Would it have killed Alex to have flaws and not be great at absolutely everything though? Characters being bad at things is fun! I mean he was super flawed, so at least he wasn't Absolutely Perfect.
📋 I really liked that this book had a plot and it wasn't just sex in every chapter! Like was the plot over the top? Yes, but it was fun.
📋 I also like that we got to know more about Ava outside of her feelings for Alex. I wasn't expecting the plot twist regarding her storyline although in hindsight I probably should have.
📋 I have heard the rest of the series is better, so I'm looking forward to it!
📋 So I liked Alex in the middle of the book; the beginning and the end? Not so much. Ava and Alex should NOT have gotten back together - some things are unforgivable and he became a stalker under the face of "omg! possessiveness!" it's not cute (again, I don't mind this trait but I guess it depends).
📋 Would it have killed Alex to have flaws and not be great at absolutely everything though? Characters being bad at things is fun! I mean he was super flawed, so at least he wasn't Absolutely Perfect.
📋 I really liked that this book had a plot and it wasn't just sex in every chapter! Like was the plot over the top? Yes, but it was fun.
📋 I also like that we got to know more about Ava outside of her feelings for Alex. I wasn't expecting the plot twist regarding her storyline although in hindsight I probably should have.
📋 I have heard the rest of the series is better, so I'm looking forward to it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
edmarodz's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Focuses on the romance and relationship with sexual scenes here and there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
abbycassidy17's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was an amazing book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, and Violence
ilka00's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
ohlovehandles's review against another edition
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
4.75
I would recommend this book and series to ANYONE who's into dark romance. The pacing was perfection, the complexity of the characters was just *chef's kiss*, and honestly the overall execution was amazing. I don't think there was anything I found wrong with the books itself, but you'd have to experience it for yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Stalking
zc2's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed the plot and the spice. It started out as a slow burn but after that whooosh holy cow. I didn’t expect the plot twist with Alex’s family and that rattled my boots. I’m a little upset that Josh never really forgave Alex but you know that’s kinda understandable as to why but it was good. I enjoyed how after he broke her heart they spent time recollecting the trust they use to have instead of making up and getting back together in 2 days it was reasonable and I liked that about it you know. I recommend it considering I wanna read the other three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Alcohol