It was like a year or so ago that I heard about the “Twisted” series by Ana Huang for the first time. I was a little hesitant as I like New Adult romances, but I’m not someone who enjoys hardcore smud. From the blurb of Twisted Love I got the impression that this book was exactly that, but it kept staring at me. When I was searching to pick up a new book recently, I decided to finally give it a go and I have NO regrets.
About the book
- Title: Twisted Love
- Author: Ana Huang
- Series: Twisted #1
- Publication date: May 5, 2022
- Publisher: Piatkus Books
- ISBN: 9780349434278
- Number of pages: 363
- Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world.
Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.
Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.
But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:
A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.
Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.
But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want.
Her brother’s best friend.
Her neighbor.
Her savior and her downfall.
Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.
Twisted Love is a brother’s best friend/opposites attract romance with a hint of suspense. It’s book one in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.
WARNING: This book contains a possessive, morally gray alphahole; explicit sexual content, and profanity. No cheating or menage, but if you’re looking for a traditionally sweet, loveable hero, this is not the book for you. Recommended for 18+.
My review
Before diving into Ava and Alex’ story, I honestly expected to not like this book at all and to DNF it quite quickly. Well, that turnt out different. It was just so hyped on Booktok and often these hypes do not align with me. I was invested from the start and listened to a good chunk of this audiobook in a day. I’ve listened to the Dutch version by the way.
At first sight, both Ava and Alex seem to be a little shallow. At least, that’s what you make up from the synopsis of this book. However, when they are kind of forced to spend time together, you realise that there’s more to both characters. Okay it’s obvious straight away that there’s more to Alex, but Ava has some serious bagage too. You will find out about that later on in the book. Both characters grow in their own way and they compliment eachother well. One of them at least explains the term “Twisted” here. For me, I had to grow into Ava’s character more and was immediately intrigued by the mystery that is Alex Volkov.
Is this book perfect in terms of plot and writing? No. Is it still intriguing? Defionitely. This is all thanks to the character growth and the writing that is easy to follow. Before you know it, you’ve read more in this book than initially planned. The story gets quite tense, but that is something it needs. However, the smud was less heavy than expected, so are the triggers. Well, I’m not that triggered by much in books anyway, so it could be different for other readers.
To say that Twisted Love by Ana Huang has surprised me is an understatement. I never expected to enjoy it this much. I initially thought I would DNF it quite soon, but the exact opposite happened. This is a character driven story which works out fine. I will definitely read the rest of this series soon.
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