Review by laerkefugl - Twisted Lies

laerkefugl 's review for:

Twisted Lies by Ana Huang

3.5

I feel like my expectations ruined Twisted Lies by Ana Huang more than they should’ve. I’m underwhelmed. It had so much potential, but it just disappointed me on a lot of different levels. Almost every part of the story felt half-baked. At some points, I had to force myself to care enough to continue.

The first thing I want to mention is Stella's family situation. I don't want to sound insensitive—this is just fiction for entertainment’s sake—but why THE FUCK do all the main characters in this series have Mommy/Daddy issues? Not to mention, most of them have at least one dead parent, despite being in their 20s or 30s. Sure, all of Stella's family members are alive, but seeing yet another dysfunctional family just annoyed me. I’m tired of it at this point. I haven’t read anything else by Ana Huang outside of this series, but just from these books alone, it feels like she doesn’t know how to write compelling characters without some form of childhood trauma.

I know Stella reconciles with her family at the end—

which, by the way, was also unsatisfying. They don’t speak for months, and then years of strained relationships are magically resolved over one phone call and a cup of coffee?

Come on. I would've loved to see at least one main character with a healthy relationship with their parents. Like, let their mom be their best friend or something wholesome. And no, Maura doesn’t count. I barely cared about her either. Stella visits her a few times in scenes I didn’t care for. We’re told Maura was important to Stella growing up—and I don’t doubt that—but she doesn’t feel important to the plot whatsoever.

As for Christian’s backstory… it didn’t really interest me either. Sure, it’s wild and dramatic, but it didn’t grab me on a personal level the way I’d hoped. I was already mad about the dead parents trend, and I think that affected how I engaged with his story. Side note: the Magda painting did capture my attention because it had been teased throughout the series—but the explanation behind it ended up feeling kind of basic.

Quick spoiler section here:

The final act of the book involves Christian finding out “whatshisface” betrayed him to a rival company. My brain went into overdrive trying to figure out who these side characters were. For a moment, I forgot they were even in the book. I don’t remember his name, and I don’t care enough to look it up. All I recall is a slightly passive-aggressive comment he made after Christian killed the guy who groped Stella. That moment was admittedly a good, subtle setup—but everything afterward felt cartoonish.
Same thing with Stella’s stalker. I don’t remember his name either. I guess it’s realistic that it was just some random guy with an obsession, but the whole plotline was wrapped up so quickly, it left no real impact.
Also, do not set up a deal with Jules in the previous book if absolutely NOTHING is going to be done with it here. She still owes Christian a favor, and now the series is over. What was the point?

Now, based on everything I’ve listed, it might sound like I hated this book. But I didn’t. I actually liked the romance. Christian’s reason for becoming obsessed with Stella was ridiculous, sure—but their actual relationship was sweet enough. The spice scenes were good too. Not excessive like in the two previous books, but not totally bland either.

Honestly, the audiobook narration really elevated my experience with Twisted Lies. I’m glad I chose the audio version over the physical book. It made a noticeable difference.

All in all, I’m giving it 3.5 stars. This is probably one of the few star ratings I’m still unsure about. My words might contradict that rating a bit, but my calculations below feel right. I don’t want to change the number just to match the tone. Multiple things can be true at once—I just have to go with my gut.

|—TL;DR—|

Focus Genre: Romance

Nostalgia: Disqualified

Personal Enjoyment: 2.5⭐

Plot: 3⭐

Characters: 4⭐

Relationships: 4⭐ (includes friendships, rivalries, etc.)

Writing: 3⭐

Audiobook Narration: 4.75⭐ | Laura Ulddahl and Mikkel Hansen | Danish |

Romance: 4⭐

Chemistry: 3,75⭐
Fluff: 3⭐
Steam: 4.5⭐

Pacing: 4⭐
Ending: 3⭐

=Overall=
3,625-stars⭐ ≈ 3,5-stars⭐ (I know I should technically round up here, but this just felt more right)

~29/04/25~

Content Warnings