A review by leareadssometimes
Twisted Love by Ana Huang

dark emotional tense 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

3.25

Okay so it's a fun quick read, so I see where all the love is coming from. I, too, love an enemies to lovers trope. However, maybe it was the dual perspective for me, but it kinda seemed to come out of nowhere. It was very much "definitely not, but they're hot" to "omg we should be together". It just didn't feel developed enough. The slow burn could've burned a little slower. The immediate vulgarity the first sexual encounter was a bit much for me too, and in general I cringed a bit at the sex scenes and a lot of the dialogue. Especially
after they made up in London, the fact that he immediately starts degrading her in the bedroom (although I understand it's a kink) after so long of being apart was very jarring to me. Would you not want to ease into it? She just forgave you a second ago, maybe don't call her a slut right away.
In general, the possessiveness of Alex over Ava made him a bit unlikeable to me. I do enjoy the "I'm yours and you're mine" in general, but when someone lays a claim immediately when dating and even after having fucked up severly it pisses me off a bit. I did like the characterisation though, but found myself being more drawn to the Rhys-Bridget storyline at the end of the book. It seemed more respectful. Maybe this genre of romance (possessive and degrading in the bedroom) is just not really for me anymore. I more enjoyed the healthy aspects of their relationship
learning to swim, watching a movie
so if those could've been explored more and with some occasional spice I would've enjoyed it more. 

After all that criticism I will probably still read the Rhys&Bridget book because I am intrigued and because I did infact enjoy reading this book, it just cringed me out too much at times.
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