Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

71 reviews

shadowsandspells's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

jax10124's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked the MMC more than the FMC but I see why she was written that way.

It gets dark in the middle and I wasn’t expecting that, but I love that she makes Alex work for it 😏

Content Warnings

jiobiee's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

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

1.5

OVERALL: 3/10, or 1.5/5

This was my first foray into full, novelized smut. Not just that fanfiction shit, real face-in-ass, nuts-to-butts kind of shit. And to be perfectly honest? I was enjoying it for what it was. Nothing fancy, just a slow burn romance fraught with sexual tension, that should have some satisfying release. Everything else is just a bonus. I was surprised when the drama and crime elements took as much of the focus as they did, but I didn't mind- I found it interesting enough. When I got to the last 10% of the book, though... it fell off and it fell off hard.

Twisted Love follows the relationship between our main characters Ava Chen and Alex Volkov. When he leaves for a year-long medical trip to Central America, Ava's overprotective brother Josh leaves her under the "watchful" eye of Alex, his grumpy CEO billionaire best friend. Despite rocky beginnings, Alex and Ava begin to pine for one another, as Ava tries to crack Alex's icy exterior while Alex tries to keep himself composed. And then there's friends and business and childhood trauma- you get the picture.

I was not expecting the prose in this book to be good. I still don't consider it good, but it isn't terrible, either. Ana Huang has a distinct writer's voice as both characters, and the flow from word to sentence to paragraph is (usually) very smooth, which makes for easy reading. It really does feel like I'm listening to these two recount their experiences, inner monologue and all. The dialogue between the main characters and their friends (Ava and her friend group and Alex with Josh) feels believable. Whether or not I like what they're saying, I've heard people talk like that before, and it feels very natural. I commend Huang for that, that is not an easy feat. And the events of the plot, ridiculous and melodramatic as they are, had me glued to my Kindle shoving fistfuls of popcorn down my throat.

These main characters suuuuuck. Ava is quiet (but not too quiet), beautiful (but not like a movie star, like the girl-next-door), bubbly yet shy, emotional, fun-loving, creative, caring- way too trusting and the most millennial [derogatory] woman I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Alex is a dick. Full stop. He is, to me, a little more tolerable than Ava, but then he digs his heels into his stupid Sasuke-esque revenge shit and I can't help but laugh. Did I mention he has an IQ above 160? And is a billionaire CEO? And has houses in every major business hub? And practices martial arts? And has an incredible autobiographical memory? And he's got a massive cock (FOR DAYS!)? These two have some really sweet moments that, in all fairness, I did enjoy- when the story was more romance than smut, crime, or drama, these two showed that they care about each other in ways that... I'll admit, I thought was sweet. And then one of them would ruin it. Alex's possessiveness goes from tolerable (never okay, but given his trauma... alright buddy, we can work through it) to absolutely fucking insane.

When a woman tells you to never talk to her, look at her, see her again, and you follow her to a new country to stalk her and send her gifts AND THEN SING AT THE MOST EMBARRASSING OF TIMES, STOP!!!!

Other characters aren't much better. While I praised how natural the dialogue between friends could be, I did not like any of them. They did not feel like real people. They felt bare-bones in comparison to the main two, but had too much focus to justify the level of detail we got about them. Jules in particular is terrible, she's a bitch 'cause... y'know. Just 'cause. The others were unremarkable but similarly meh.

I was not expecting Alex and Ava's trauma to play a major part of the story. Specifically, being the focus of the story. A lot. More than the romance, even. Which, I don't mind, except I don't really... care?

When they revealed Ava's dad as being the one who had tried to kill her (TWICE!)- well, I wish he succeeded-, I was not surprised in the slightest. That being said, how quickly the man switched from awkward father to mustache-twirling villain was not shocking, dramatic, or clever- it was hilarious. I couldn't stop reading him like he was Skeletor or some shit. I could not take it seriously. Even less so when Alex experiences the same kind of betrayal not too far later in the story.

Tell me how this series is called the "Twisted" series if the SEX IS MEDIOCRE? There is only ONE ACTUAL SEX SCENE in this ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK, and we're fed all this BULLSHIT that Alex fucks like a goddamn MANIAC, and we get to this ONE SCENE- AND THEY JUST FUCK LIKE NORMAL! Where is the BDSM shit? Where's the freaky fetish shit? Do you mean to seriously tell me that his sex is "crazy" because they do more than missionary? Are you kidding me? And I swear to god, if I have to hear more about how the "tang of her [Ava's] arousal" smells, I'm going to vomit. Do NOT talk to me about pussy stank, PLEASE.

So, yeah, that's the book. Cringe at times, but it's good for a laugh. Sometimes. Almost makes me want to sing straight from the heart, to prove I'm deserving of your attention. Almost.

Content Warnings

readswithtayee's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Twisted Love

🩵🌊📷☀️🧁🍪

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💭Personal thoughts: let’s just start with the fact that I hate how this is marketed as a “Brother’s best friends” trope, when it’s nothing like that. Her brother cares but he’s not even in the story until the end. He’s literally gone most of the book. It’s very grumpy x sunshine trope and has dark themes. Check trigger warnings if needed. I love the aspect that she’s into baking, I love when characters have cute hobbies. If you read the synopsis, I enjoyed both issues that Alex & Ava had. Between their childhood traumas and how they go about it. Plot twist so be weary of reading spoilers!

🤔Yes, no, maybe? maybe… I enjoyed the plot and storyline. A bit too spicy for me but I enjoyed the storyline and romance more than my dislike of the spice. Would recommend more for smut lovers.

❤️‍🔥Spicy level:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 | pretty spicy, kinda intense for me.

🧯Spicy chapters: 22,24,26,42

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Instagram: @readswithtayee

Content Warnings

gabbystokes's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No

0.25

I don’t think I am the target audience for this book. Hate Alex and the whole love story. He’s a possessive creep.

Content Warnings

weekdaygladers's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Content Warnings

yoghurtcrumbs's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

First of all, I was very entertained by this book and had a good time reading it. However, that doesn't mean that it's particularly good.

What makes me go 'meh' the most is the character Alex.

For a so called 'genius' he really makes some dumb ass decisions throughout the book. Like oh noo who could've expected that Ava would get drawn into this? Yea.

The spicy scenes are good in my opinion, as they are rough but 100% consensual. Some other things don't reflect that consent though,

as he straight up turns into a stalker to get her forgiveness in the end. He doesn't take a no for an answer and takes every chance of getting away from him away from her.

I usually like the grumpy x sunshine trope and yea, the posessiveness is kinda hot but

not taking a no for an answer and turning into a stalker...?

...Nah.
Also... Ana Huang said in an interview that she likes 'morally grey characters' like Alex. And I get it. But yoo that might be... a bit much...?

He seeks justice himself and violently kills two people in the process and then turns the damn house to ashes to hide it all (Men would do anything instead of going to therapy lmao). And Ava just kind of... ignores that and is only hurt because she thinks his feelings for her are a lie. Everything else is just kind of overlooked.

The girl friend group are likeble though, as is her brother Josh. The plot was thrilling, though a little bit predictable. I'd say it's an easy read, and, as I said, still entertaining. Maybe a good entry into darker romance.
I will keep reading the series and I'm looking forward to the other characters, couples and tropes.

Content Warnings

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

I loved this book! I liked that it had thriller elements while mainly focusing on the romance. It had really good plot twists and really great lead ups to the plot twists.

Content Warnings

emily98griffin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

witcheep's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

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

1.0

This book is so not a good fit for my reading tastes. I was constantly appalled by how Alex seems to get away with anything

and always get his way — by any means necessary, including but not limited to gaslighting, murder, and stalking

. The possessiveness Alex shows is on another level as well. All that is scary, not sexy. 🚩🚩🚩

Content Warnings

More...