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a_libra_library's review against another edition
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It wasn't as horrible as everyone said. This is my first Anna Huang book that I didn't DNF.
I did enjoy the story, it has a slow beginning and slow end but it's was a nice, softer dark romance. (Does that make sense?)
Anyway, once Vivian and Dante were actually attempting to be a couple the banter! The jokes!! Omg loved it. Dante groveling and courting *chefs kiss*
Dark, quite brooding MMC with a quick witty fierce FMC who are both stubborn, hot, and funny when they want to be??? AAhh Sign me up 🫰🏾✨️
That being said... I do have one negative thing about the lovely Anna.
She's SUPER repetitive. There is so much telling of emotions and thoughts over and over rather than showing us or letting us infer. It could have been 50-100 pages shorter without the constant inner monologuing.
I feel like she killed her own banter with it.
The moments that didn't have monologuing I was kicking my little feet and in shocked with how these characters were just vibing
Lets see if KO Pride is better bc I will be continuing
I did enjoy the story, it has a slow beginning and slow end but it's was a nice, softer dark romance. (Does that make sense?)
Anyway, once Vivian and Dante were actually attempting to be a couple the banter! The jokes!! Omg loved it. Dante groveling and courting *chefs kiss*
Dark, quite brooding MMC with a quick witty fierce FMC who are both stubborn, hot, and funny when they want to be??? AAhh Sign me up 🫰🏾✨️
That being said... I do have one negative thing about the lovely Anna.
She's SUPER repetitive. There is so much telling of emotions and thoughts over and over rather than showing us or letting us infer. It could have been 50-100 pages shorter without the constant inner monologuing.
I feel like she killed her own banter with it.
The moments that didn't have monologuing I was kicking my little feet and in shocked with how these characters were just vibing
Lets see if KO Pride is better bc I will be continuing
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thisgirlreads_yay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood
animals4lyfe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Gun violence and Blood
hanschub's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming and Abandonment
thatgirlgeorgia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
frantically'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? Yes
4.5
I was super hesitant to start this because I didn't really vibe with the Twisted series (sorry!) but one of my friends *loves* Ana Huang so I decided to give her another chance.
This was slow at first and I wasn't really invested but once their relationship got more real, I was all in. Grumpy hero who's only soft for the heroine 🥹 it just never gets old.
The break-in aftermath 😭😭😭 that's when I was sold not only on this book but on Dante!!!! what a man. what a rude bitch but also what a man. truly. have i told you that anthony bridgerton is my favourite bridgerton.
I was soo scared of the third-act drama but Dante's groveling was *chef's kiss* They somehow just got cuter after their drama 🥰
Excited to read book 2 but especially excited for Dominic and his wife's story!
This was slow at first and I wasn't really invested but once their relationship got more real, I was all in. Grumpy hero who's only soft for the heroine 🥹 it just never gets old.
The break-in aftermath 😭😭😭 that's when I was sold not only on this book but on Dante!!!! what a man. what a rude bitch but also what a man. truly. have i told you that anthony bridgerton is my favourite bridgerton.
I was soo scared of the third-act drama but Dante's groveling was *chef's kiss* They somehow just got cuter after their drama 🥰
Excited to read book 2 but especially excited for Dominic and his wife's story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Racism
abicaro17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
AAAAA! Ana you nasty girl! Ok this was amaze balls. I adore Dante and Vivian and their chemistry is amazing. Dante is the CRO of one of the largest companies in the world and Vivian is the heiress to a jewelry conglomerate. When Vivians father blackmails Dante into an arranged marriage, he uses all his resources to destroy the evidence while maintaining public apparences with Vivian. The relationship felt very raw and real between the disastrous meeting and very cold discussions for months. They graduate into something more electric and it's so fun to read! My only complaint is that I feel like the characters are kinda stagnant? Like Vivian and Dante both grow and change but they don't feel much different? For some reason that bothers me. Otherwise is amazing!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ellornaslibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
3.75
Let me preface this by saying: Billionaire Romance is not my thing.
However, my sister got this book and I had it available through KU so I was like heck let's try one of the spicy books she reads. And tbh, I was pretty sure that I'd not get far in this book and end up swiftly DNFing it. So imagine my surprise when I basically read this almost 400 page book in 3 days and had s good time with it. In the beginning, I was positive that Dante was going to be the reason I stopped reading this book. I am not into Romances where one love interest is a jerk to the other even if there's some hidden reason you can't tell them. Yet, Dante definitely left me surprised in the best way. I also found that I really likes Vivian as a character and enjoyed the story elements in regards to her family too. Dante and Vivian were a delight together. I do wish we'd have gotten more siblin g moments with Luca and Dante or Vivian and Agnes, and really wished we'd gotten more of the adorable Dante we started seeing around 80% into the book, but I did enjoy this far more than I thought I would. It was a good time.
However, my sister got this book and I had it available through KU so I was like heck let's try one of the spicy books she reads. And tbh, I was pretty sure that I'd not get far in this book and end up swiftly DNFing it. So imagine my surprise when I basically read this almost 400 page book in 3 days and had s good time with it. In the beginning, I was positive that Dante was going to be the reason I stopped reading this book. I am not into Romances where one love interest is a jerk to the other even if there's some hidden reason you can't tell them. Yet, Dante definitely left me surprised in the best way. I also found that I really likes Vivian as a character and enjoyed the story elements in regards to her family too. Dante and Vivian were a delight together. I do wish we'd have gotten more siblin g moments with Luca and Dante or Vivian and Agnes, and really wished we'd gotten more of the adorable Dante we started seeing around 80% into the book, but I did enjoy this far more than I thought I would. It was a good time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence and Blood
cielosiluminado's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
tense
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
5.0
i just love this story so much. i'm a sucker for grumpy man falling in love with a sunshine girl.
dante being italian was... like vivian, it also does unspeakable things to my insides.
dante being italian was... like vivian, it also does unspeakable things to my insides.
“Per te aspetterei per sempre, amore mio.”
also can we talk about dante's groveling? *chefs kiss*
i also loved vivian and seeing her grow to where she finally knows her worth and finally stood up for herself, even against family, was so inspiring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
whynotreadwithalex'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This very well might be my favorite of Ana Huang's books...and let me tell you, that's really saying something.
Here's a short list of some of the crazy, ridiculous, silly, and emotional things that this book made me say out loud to myself while reading it:
- "Ana, my girl, you're gonna get Heath killed!"
- "Dark romance is basically just fantasy set in a contemporary setting...this is the proof."
- "I really care more about her yelling at her dad than I do about whether or not his brother dies."
- "Ha ha, hit him again!"
- "Oh okay, good, we've got like 70 pages of groveling, just the way I like it!"
- "Honestly, the takeaway from this book is that forgiveness requires time, effort, words, and actions. Reconciliation doesn't happen overnight. But it is incredibly beautiful." (sappy, I know, but I couldn't help it!)
Seriously though, I love Ana's books. And this one especially made me so happy -- watching Dante and Vivian grow together, put in the hard work to be honest and vulnerable with each other, and learn how to build a foundation of trust and love together was terribly sweet and raw.
Precious. Ridiculously cute. Romantic. With a bit of dark humor. Loved it.
Here's a short list of some of the crazy, ridiculous, silly, and emotional things that this book made me say out loud to myself while reading it:
- "Ana, my girl, you're gonna get Heath killed!"
- "Dark romance is basically just fantasy set in a contemporary setting...this is the proof."
- "I really care more about her yelling at her dad than I do about whether or not his brother dies."
- "Ha ha, hit him again!"
- "Oh okay, good, we've got like 70 pages of groveling, just the way I like it!"
- "Honestly, the takeaway from this book is that forgiveness requires time, effort, words, and actions. Reconciliation doesn't happen overnight. But it is incredibly beautiful." (sappy, I know, but I couldn't help it!)
Seriously though, I love Ana's books. And this one especially made me so happy -- watching Dante and Vivian grow together, put in the hard work to be honest and vulnerable with each other, and learn how to build a foundation of trust and love together was terribly sweet and raw.
Precious. Ridiculously cute. Romantic. With a bit of dark humor. Loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism