Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

171 reviews

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.75

This book was drastically better than Twisted Love for two reasons: a realistic plot and the absence of Alex Volkov. The first half of the book really exceeded my expectations, but then the story just kept dragging on and on despite the time skips. Had this book been like 200 pages shorter I would have rated it around 3.5 stars — if you like porn with absolutely no plot, then you should like the latter half of this book. It could have been closer to 4 stars if Rhys wasn't so possessive and aggressive. Hell, CAN'T I ENJOY CONSENSUAL DOMINANCE IN A SEXUAL CONTEXT WITHOUT THE MAN BEING VIOLENT IN NONSEXUAL SITUATIONS AS WELL?? That's extremely unsexy, anger issues do not turn me on. Also, I guessed the plot twist in the very beginning,

the one where Rhys is revealed to be of noble Eldorran descent and they get married. (but if Rhys is the brother of Bridget's cousin, doesn't it make Rhys and Bridget half-cousins??? ew.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Child abuse, and Death of parent

melist6's review against another edition

emotional funny tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Classism, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Car accident

direguard's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Drug use

Minor: Stalking, Toxic friendship, War, Abandonment, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, and Gun violence

kuroshiro_35's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

sierrabedwell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• 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? No

4.75

This book was just as if not better than the first book in the series! I loved the plot and how much it intertwined with the characters of the first and also held its own story. It was a beautiful love story that made me feel as if I truly knew the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual content, and Sexism

Minor: Car accident

sophie14nm's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Gun violence and Drug use

cdoubet's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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? No

3.5

I didn’t think I’d find an Ana book that I disliked more than King of Wrath, but sadly, I did. And I really am sad about it, because through the entire first half, I was having such a blast with this book. I thought it would end up a favorite alongside King of Pride. But Rhys’ possessive temper tantrums got really old really fast, and then I was decidedly not having a blast.

It also doesn’t help that, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Bridget and Rhys have absolutely nothing to base a relationship on. All they ever do is screw around. Ana’s other couples have foundations upon which their relationships are built, but these two are just lust. Their story is just smut. Like if you took the vibes of Princess Diaries 2, combined with the vibes of Red White and Royal Blue, but replaced 90% of the plots with (rather repetitive) smut.

And damn, is it disappointing.

Extra half star for the first half, though, because it was fun while it lasted. And the teasing glimpses of future couples have made the rest (nearly) worth it.

Current series ranking:

1. Twisted Love (I’m shocked too)
2. Twisted Games (I’m sad)

Representation:

• Chinese-American side characters
• fat side character
• multiracial side character (Japanese, Black & Puerto Rican)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gun violence and Medical content

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, War, Death, and Drug abuse

Sexual content is frequent and explicit but always consensual. There’s one scene early on of a near mass shooting, but the shooter is stopped. There are a few scenes in a hospital due to one protagonist’s grandfather having a heart condition, but he does pull through each time. Everything tagged minor refers to past events, including one protagonist losing a parent to childbirth and a parent to a car accident, and the other protagonist losing a parent to drug overdose. There are also brief mentions of war scenes due to one protagonist being an ex-Navy SEAL.

rileymc_queen's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

chelle22's review against another edition

lighthearted tense

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Colonisation, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Classism, and Alcohol