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A review by literamy
Twisted Love by Ana Huang
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
I really wanted to love this book — and there were moments where my hopeless romantic heart took over and I did — but there were too many shaky or inconsistent threads that pulled apart. Overall, the trajectory of the story, and Ava's character, did let me get swept away, but most of it broke through my suspended disbelief and just pulled it down.
What I liked:
- Ava's character (I'm a sucker for a sunshine girl, and Ava Chen did not disappoint. Her positivity, optimism, and belief in the triumph of kindness was one of the strongest parts of this book)
- Ava, Jules, Bridget, and Stella
- The diversity of the characters — while some of it was surface-level, the exploration of the differences between Chinese and American cultures was fascinating and felt authentic
- The smut (especially the hotel room scene, WHOOOOOOOF)
What I didn't like:
- Alex's trajectory as going from the damaged, standoffish millionaire to the perfect, doting boyfriend, and the way he stalked Ava and basically refused to take no for answer even after she expressed discomfort
- The pacing and timeline of the story — it felt like Josh left for his trip and then immediately returned for Christmas, and the pacing of Alex and Ava's relationship also felt very swimmy and not grounded
- Alex's inner monologue felt very static and misogynistic for a good half of the book, if not more
- The undercurrent of murder and betrayal of family members. It felt like a lot of the darker elements of the story weren't there at all towards the beginning. I had no idea how dark and graphic parts of the story would get, especially the extent of the abuse at the hands of Michael and Ivan, respectively. It felt like the first few chapters were surface level and then it immediately plunged into the darkness, and the lack of foreshadowing and real buildup jarred me
- The amount of times the word "freakin'" was used, and all of the hyper-contemporary references, I felt like it could get dated very quick
Overall, there were moments I fell into and the rest of my hesitations faded away, but there was definitely a disconnect between me and this book. A fun read if you're in it for the smut/romance and don't have high expectations, but nothing that kept me up at night dreaming. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series, though, and hoping to see a better, more developed relationship between Alex and Ava!
What I liked:
- Ava's character (I'm a sucker for a sunshine girl, and Ava Chen did not disappoint. Her positivity, optimism, and belief in the triumph of kindness was one of the strongest parts of this book)
- Ava, Jules, Bridget, and Stella
- The diversity of the characters — while some of it was surface-level, the exploration of the differences between Chinese and American cultures was fascinating and felt authentic
- The smut (especially the hotel room scene, WHOOOOOOOF)
What I didn't like:
- Alex's trajectory as going from the damaged, standoffish millionaire to the perfect, doting boyfriend, and the way he stalked Ava and basically refused to take no for answer even after she expressed discomfort
- The pacing and timeline of the story — it felt like Josh left for his trip and then immediately returned for Christmas, and the pacing of Alex and Ava's relationship also felt very swimmy and not grounded
- Alex's inner monologue felt very static and misogynistic for a good half of the book, if not more
- The undercurrent of murder and betrayal of family members. It felt like a lot of the darker elements of the story weren't there at all towards the beginning. I had no idea how dark and graphic parts of the story would get, especially the extent of the abuse at the hands of Michael and Ivan, respectively. It felt like the first few chapters were surface level and then it immediately plunged into the darkness, and the lack of foreshadowing and real buildup jarred me
- The amount of times the word "freakin'" was used, and all of the hyper-contemporary references, I felt like it could get dated very quick
Overall, there were moments I fell into and the rest of my hesitations faded away, but there was definitely a disconnect between me and this book. A fun read if you're in it for the smut/romance and don't have high expectations, but nothing that kept me up at night dreaming. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series, though, and hoping to see a better, more developed relationship between Alex and Ava!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail