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501_loulouise_212's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s kind of cute and all, but that’s about it.
I don’t know if this might be helpful: I kind of had to motivate myself going through the last third of the book. (It’s kind of longer than necessary.)
Personally I’m more into romance books with a bigger plot.
So maybe read this when you want something less challenging for in between other books.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Kidnapping
Minor: Gore
ashleys_endless_tbrlist's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Was it a billionaire romance? Yes
Was it little sister and older brothers best friend trope? Yes
Was it enemies to lovers? Yes
Was it grumpy sunshine? Yes
Was there spice? Yes
Did it discuss trauma? Yes
Did it discuss panic attacks? Yes
Did it involve a family member unaliving? Yes
Did it involve people unaliving others? Yes
And the list goes on… this book was more than just a romance with all of the tropes. This book was SO heavy and I urge you to check your trigger warnings.
I really am so glad I finally started this series. It was such a pleasant surprise. Is it true it is being made into a Netflix series? I certainly hope so! 🥰
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
kgatz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
leigh_bee's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
ruska_777's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse and Suicide
bethlouiseex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Stalking
katie0528's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide
Aquaphobiashadowsandspells's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse and Suicide
jax10124's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
It gets dark in the middle and I wasn’t expecting that, but I love that she makes Alex work for it 😏
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity
jiobiee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This was my first foray into full, novelized smut. Not just that fanfiction shit, real face-in-ass, nuts-to-butts kind of shit. And to be perfectly honest? I was enjoying it for what it was. Nothing fancy, just a slow burn romance fraught with sexual tension, that should have some satisfying release. Everything else is just a bonus. I was surprised when the drama and crime elements took as much of the focus as they did, but I didn't mind- I found it interesting enough. When I got to the last 10% of the book, though... it fell off and it fell off hard.
Twisted Love follows the relationship between our main characters Ava Chen and Alex Volkov. When he leaves for a year-long medical trip to Central America, Ava's overprotective brother Josh leaves her under the "watchful" eye of Alex, his grumpy CEO billionaire best friend. Despite rocky beginnings, Alex and Ava begin to pine for one another, as Ava tries to crack Alex's icy exterior while Alex tries to keep himself composed. And then there's friends and business and childhood trauma- you get the picture.
I was not expecting the prose in this book to be good. I still don't consider it good, but it isn't terrible, either. Ana Huang has a distinct writer's voice as both characters, and the flow from word to sentence to paragraph is (usually) very smooth, which makes for easy reading. It really does feel like I'm listening to these two recount their experiences, inner monologue and all. The dialogue between the main characters and their friends (Ava and her friend group and Alex with Josh) feels believable. Whether or not I like what they're saying, I've heard people talk like that before, and it feels very natural. I commend Huang for that, that is not an easy feat. And the events of the plot, ridiculous and melodramatic as they are, had me glued to my Kindle shoving fistfuls of popcorn down my throat.
These main characters suuuuuck. Ava is quiet (but not too quiet), beautiful (but not like a movie star, like the girl-next-door), bubbly yet shy, emotional, fun-loving, creative, caring- way too trusting and the most millennial [derogatory] woman I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Alex is a dick. Full stop. He is, to me, a little more tolerable than Ava, but then he digs his heels into his stupid Sasuke-esque revenge shit and I can't help but laugh. Did I mention he has an IQ above 160? And is a billionaire CEO? And has houses in every major business hub? And practices martial arts? And has an incredible autobiographical memory? And he's got a massive cock (FOR DAYS!)? These two have some really sweet moments that, in all fairness, I did enjoy- when the story was more romance than smut, crime, or drama, these two showed that they care about each other in ways that... I'll admit, I thought was sweet. And then one of them would ruin it. Alex's possessiveness goes from tolerable (never okay, but given his trauma... alright buddy, we can work through it) to absolutely fucking insane.
Other characters aren't much better. While I praised how natural the dialogue between friends could be, I did not like any of them. They did not feel like real people. They felt bare-bones in comparison to the main two, but had too much focus to justify the level of detail we got about them. Jules in particular is terrible, she's a bitch 'cause... y'know. Just 'cause. The others were unremarkable but similarly meh.
I was not expecting Alex and Ava's trauma to play a major part of the story. Specifically, being the focus of the story. A lot. More than the romance, even. Which, I don't mind, except I don't really... care?
Tell me how this series is called the "Twisted" series if the SEX IS MEDIOCRE? There is only ONE ACTUAL SEX SCENE in this ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK, and we're fed all this BULLSHIT that Alex fucks like a goddamn MANIAC, and we get to this ONE SCENE- AND THEY JUST FUCK LIKE NORMAL! Where is the BDSM shit? Where's the freaky fetish shit? Do you mean to seriously tell me that his sex is "crazy" because they do more than missionary? Are you kidding me? And I swear to god, if I have to hear more about how the "tang of her [Ava's] arousal" smells, I'm going to vomit. Do NOT talk to me about pussy stank, PLEASE.
So, yeah, that's the book. Cringe at times, but it's good for a laugh. Sometimes. Almost makes me want to sing straight from the heart, to prove I'm deserving of your attention. Almost.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, and Gaslighting