Review by riddikulyssreads - Twisted Love

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riddikulyssreads 's review for:

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

3.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ava Chen is a sunny and optimistic 22-year-old college senior who suffers from a childhood she can’t remember. By day, she’s a photography major with a gallery job and a supportive friend group. At night, she’s haunted by nightmares of moments she can’t recall. When her brother, Josh, leaves for a gap year in South America he asks his best friend to look after her. Alex Volkov. Her brother’s gorgeous best friend. Her new neighbor. The icy and successful man she’s convinced there’s more to. After reluctantly agreeing to keep an eye on her, their chemistry heats and Alex’s icy heart starts to melt for her. But he’s haunted by his own past and can’t forget his plan for vengeance. Will Alex’s and Ava’s secrets cause destruction when they come to light? Can they survive this twisted love?

⚠️MILD SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

I will say I didn’t love this book and I didn’t hate it. To me, it felt like there were just too many tropes trying to be portrayed all at once. It felt a little over-clichéd and emotionally dry to me. The escalation of the relationship between the MC’s went from 0-100 so fast. I felt the attraction but didn’t get the feeling of any true emotional depth. I got whiplash from the back and forth between them - especially at the end.

There were a lot of things that just felt so unrealistic to me in this book. Some of the events/locations (the fire scene specifically) just seemed unfitting for the modern day setting. There’s nobody that wouldn’t notice that fire for days on end near a city area as big as Philly with all the surrounding suburbs. 😅 Everything about Alex was also just too unrealistic. There were so many book boyfriend tropes wrapped into one man here. While we saw a variety of emotions from him, the depth just wasn’t there. His attitude felt forced - as if he spent every fiber of his being trying so hard not to care when in reality he’s incredibly emotional. His personality just felt like a facade to me rather than the cold and fearsome person he’s described to be. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I can’t say I honestly believe this is an enemies to lovers story because Ava has no clue what’s going on for most of the book so she never viewed Alex as an enemy. Even afterwards, I wouldn’t say that she considered him an enemy as much as someone she loved who hurt her very deeply. She still cared for him at that point. I also don’t think he ever truly viewed Ava as an enemy - especially after they started spending time together.

I did enjoy the banter between the characters and the little moments that built their relationship. I enjoyed Ava and her friend group. After the events in this book, I just wish there was a follow up to Alex & Ava to explore their relationship when they’re not surrounded by turmoil. In my honest opinion, this one was overhyped. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series though. Especially Bridget and Rhys! 🫶🏼

⚠️ Please research all trigger warnings before reading this book! ⚠️

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Content Warnings