Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

284 reviews

chels984's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

4.25

omg i love rhys he’s so cutsie and protective they were made for each other🥰🥰🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

fanboyriot's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read For:

✓ Royalty

✓ Plot Twists

✓ Bucket List 

✓ Forbidden Romance

✓ Princess x Bodyguard

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

There were so many iconic lines from this book.  It was an entertaining read, it was funny, angsty, and spicy.  The characters had depth to their personalities and while the plot wasn’t what I was expecting it kept my interest.

There were a few parts that made me question how this book was going to end before grabbing the good old plot twists.  The reveal to Rhys dad was not expected but was a nice plot twist.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 

Angst Level: 💧💧💧

POV: Duel, First Person

Release Date: 29, July 2021

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

teddy_books's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

 

Y'all - I knew what I was getting into, picked this up for that reason, and got what I wanted. These are definitely cringe, as all the novels in this erotic unhealthy possessive contemporary darkish mainstream romance genre that’s blooming right now are. But I cannot help it, they're escapist. And I'm in my smut era. But I do have to say, props to Huang because the writing is solid (as opposed to many in this genre). Like the words and sentences and dialogue are written intelligently...and have been edited. I deeply appreciate that. Some of the character points/experiences are a bit over the top for dramatic effect - of course - butttt overall I was entertained. And this outward-badass but softie-for-his-lady situation is a bit more my speed than the last one (Alex was actually actively a bit scary, and didn't grovel quite enough IMO...though nothing can really touch the last one for drama). It's unhealthy, and I do kinda think the spicy scenes here were more for effect than they actually should have been, based on how the relationship developed, but again, Huang is giving the people what they came for - while giving it a plot framework - and I can't fault that. Long story short, I sped through this, enjoyed the cameos and setups for the rest of the series (as I'm used to, and look forward to, with these kinds of interconnected-series-but-still-standalone romances), and will definitely be reading the rest.    

“But people were people, no matter their title, and some desires were universal. Unfortunately, the ability to fulfill them was not.”

“There’s no such thing as *just* a story. Every story is important.”

“Even when you’re not there, you’re everywhere. In my head, in my lungs, in my fucking soul.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping and Car accident

natashaball's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Pregnancy

tyras_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Very nice! A little too cheesy in the end but everyone learned a lesson of some kind and came out better than they started. 

The author spent a while in other areas, maybe too long,  because while the end of the book spanned several months, it all happened in like 16 pages. Felt kinda rushed with all the time slippage - the entire book spans 3 years for the characters. 

I liked this one waaay more than Twisted Love. 

Rhys is so hot and dark and damaged but is the biggest teddy bear for Bridget. 

I really love “that’s my wife, be careful” energy and he’s got it in spades. It also makes the possessive crazyness a little more hot bc while it’s toxic (“touch her and you die” is not how you handle problems), Bridget is so into it too. 

Bridget was pretty meek for most of the book but she really just wants to be a normal girl so I can’t fault her too much. She comes into her own though as a monarch rather than just being a passive bystander in her own life. 

The part of the twist was predictable but the rest was pleasantly shocking. It was also nicely reminiscent of the second Princess Diaries, of which I’m a big fan, so that helped. But not so much so that it felt like straight plagiarism. 

I’d keep reading Ana Huang. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence

smartcookiesca's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

agw622's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a solid read. It's a blend of the cliché bodyguard trope and the enemies trope. The charecters grow some, but this is definitely more of a plot exist for the relationship book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

I enjoyed Twisted Games SO much more than Twisted Love, and I think that had a lot to do with Rhys Larsen.

Bridget von Ascheberg is a princess who needs a new bodyguard, but when she meets him, Bridget doesn't think there's any way she could ever get along with this brooding, overprotective man named Rhys Larsen. As the years go on, Bridget and Rhys grow closer. But when Bridget suddenly has to go back to her country to fulfill her new role as the queen, Rhys isn't sure if their newfound love will survive the taboo it would be in court.

Bridget and Rhys are such a sweet couple. I love chemistry and the forbidden love they have (I Can See You by Taylor Swift was playing on repeat in my head as I read this book). Both characters have a lot of baggage, but they truly had so much emotional maturity and were able to work through their trauma together.

There were a few times I felt the plot was rushed and others where I felt it dragged on. But overall, I really enjoyed the character arcs and the way Bridget and Rhys worked together to bring their country into the 21st century.

I highly recommend Twisted Games to lovers of spicy contemporary romance novels with forbidden love, bodyguard x princess romance, forced proximity, and rivals to lovers.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Car accident

irisvdn's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, and Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping