Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

381 reviews

booksalacarte's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

2.0

2⭐️4🌶️

Contemporary Romance
22 FMC/26 MMC
Forbidden Romance
Brothers best friend
Grumpy/sunshine
Touch her and die
Millionaire tech guy
Trauma


Twisted Love tries to tackle popular tropes but ultimately falls short. They are rushed and underdeveloped. Instead of showing the progression of the relationship, we’re told about key moments off-page, which makes it hard to feel invested in the characters or their growth.

The characters are unrealistic, especially for college students. Alex is a 23-year-old tech billionaire, and Ava is a seemingly accomplished photographer—both feel more like caricatures than believable people. The friend group also feels overly perfect, with everyone being absurdly successful despite their age.

The pacing is uneven, with important emotional moments skipped over, leaving the story feeling shallow. While it has potential, the lack of depth and the reliance on telling rather than showing made the romance and character development fall flat.

I won’t be continuing with this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

aliviaa06's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense slow-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: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

kennink's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

501_loulouise_212's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• 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

For everyone who likes strong, possessive love interests: this book might just be for you. However, be aware that the plot isn’t so big and the focus is also mainly on the interactions between the ‘couple’. 
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. 

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was SO unexpected and not at all what I thought it would be. 

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! 🥰

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Content Warnings

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

rachaelheath09's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

1.5

I really wanted to like this book because of all the recommendations I got, but I was just not into it. I wasn’t a fan of either the male or female lead characters. I thought there was definitely potential in the plot, but it felt like the plot was in 3rd place of importance. 2nd was the romantic relationship. Then in first place was be the smut. I think my biggest qualm was that I’m just not into “alpha-hole” male characters. The relationship felt too unhealthy for me to get invested in. The stalker vibes were not for me. That being said, it was a quick read and if you are into dominant and possessive male leads- then jump right in haha.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

leigh_bee's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The love interest Alex has a lot of toxic/red flag traits that make him difficult to root for. If I had a friend or family member dating someone with these traits I would recommend a restraining order. Plot was intriguing, but somewhat overly connected.

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Content Warnings

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

amandatory13's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I liked some components of the story line but this read like a 16 year old’s first Wattpad fanfiction. Some of it didn’t even make sense. My uncle has too of the line cameras but luckily I have my top of the line jammer…..huh??? Lame. It felt like she was trying to fit every trope into one book. And I hated the ending. That’s stalking babe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Stalking and Gaslighting

kkells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

losthoney's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting