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josba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
donasbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
"I'm sorry honey, but it's over," I told my poor heart. "You don't belong to me anymore." (5:16:01)
I know a lot of people read books like this for the sex, but this one doesnβt have that much sex in it. Plenty of smoldering! But only a few primary ignitions. I enjoyed the tension that built between the two lovers more than I did the releases. The sex was dirty, but not well expressed on the page. Honestly, during the sex scenes, I empathized more on a pain level than pleasure, because everything was written to sound like it hurt. Also, it's really not this easy to find someone who shares your kink, I mean, he basically fell in her lap. And she was just like, wanna choke me, heard thats your jam? And he was like, yeah. I'm paraphrasing, of course. But I do not like convenient plot points, they feel fictional. I want things to feel real when I read.
It may not sound like it, but I liked this book! I'm really happy with the plot and character development. This story and these characters are accessible to me. I honestly can take or leave this kind of sex-- what can I say? I like tenderness lol! But sex is not all this book has to offer either!
Stylistically, this is a very pleasant read, and the story and characters develop at a perfect pace. I enjoyed a the secondary characters as well, like Ava's brother. I'm so pleased that this was not a book built of tropes. Ava at 5'5" is sexier to me than all the 98-pounders I've ever read in one of these sex books, combined. Forced proximity is not so mundane as one bed in a shared hotel room; it is a strictly governed guardian/minor relationship, which is way more nuanced and believable. I could go on about how this book tramples weak and annoying tropes, but it's not necessary. I'll just say Huang's writing is skillful.
"[...Your] enemies are my enemies. Your friends are my friends. And if you wanted, I would burn down the world for you." (9:46:00)
Reading Notes
Three (or more) things I loved:
1. Honestly, I'm surprised at how good this writing is, and that makes me feel bad lol
2. I adore the protective older brother trope.
3. I'm 25% of the way through and I'm so relieved that no one has boned yet! I just cannot handle steamy scenes in every chapter. Plus, I love a slow burn plot!
4. Oh thank goodness she's not four foot seven. I get so sick of the teeny woman trope.
Three (or less) things I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. I love Cindy Kay, the narrator for Ava, but not Aiden Snow, the narrator for Alex.
2. I'm not a fan of this book's treatment of the mental health theme. There is so much toxic positivity. Ava actually tells herself that she should be grateful because only one of her parents died from suicide. But no worries, she still has her dad who doesn't express emotion or show affection! (You're going to
sh-t when you find out why he's so cold to her.)
3. I can do without "nub." At least she's not using "nubbin."
Rating: π©π»ββ€οΈβπβπ¨π½π©π»ββ€οΈβπβπ¨π½π©π»ββ€οΈβπβπ¨π½.5 burgeoning romances
Spice: π₯π₯.5
Recommend? Yes
Finished: Sep 26 '24
Format: Audiobook, Libby
Read this book if you like:
βοΈ sub / dom and bdsm
π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ family stories, family drama
πββοΈ women's coming of age
π©Ή pain and pleasure
β€οΈβπ₯ dark romance
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
tiltsu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
shadowsandspells's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse and Suicide
hilary89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide
Minor: Violence and Stalking
megs_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sometimes you just want to read a toxic red flagged romance.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
hannahcheney97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
istheloving's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder
jiobiee's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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?
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.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, and Gaslighting
triphena's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment