Twisted Love by Ana Huang REVIEW

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

4.24 out of 5 Stars

*May contain spoilers*

I by no means am the first to review this book, but here's another take on it in case anyone is curious. :) 

I thoroughly enjoyed Twisted Love, to the point where I did a reread on it recently. It is entertaining, a bit dramatic, and there is a good hint of angst in it as well. Overall, it's a delightful little combo of those things that make it captivating and, for me, easily re-readable.

Plot

Set in D.C., Twisted Love is a steamy contemporary romance featuring a kind and young photographer and her brother's uber-rich best friend who is an ice-cold, ruthless, and grumpy real estate businessman. Alex has been asked to watch over Ava while her brother is off on an international medical trip. However, they quickly enter into a relationship that is intense and layered. For Ava, she is simultaneously dealing with childhood trauma of being shoved into a lake and almost drowning, now as an adult dealing with a crippling fear of water. For Alex, he is navigating a revenge plot against Ava's father, who is partially responsible for his family's deaths. A combination of Alex helping Ava heal with Alex's deceit against his initial involvement in the Chen's lives leads to an explosive development in their relationship. 

The pacing of the plot details is great. It's a little on the quick side, but it is easily grasped so the somewhat quicker development is okay. The relationship between Ava and Alex jumps into place. Definitely a rougher development there in regard to how their characters grow as the relationship begins. However, once the intimacy begins, the rest of their individual and relationship developments is wonderful. It is smooth and the evolution from no emotional attachment to intense romance to heartbreak to redemption is fantastic and I was here for it. What's really good is that there was no instalove, in case anyone is worried about that. There's lust, for sure, but that's very normal and a regular everyday thing in real life, so it works.

Characters

Ava Chen -- I haven't read a character like this in awhile... Ava is artistic and a delicate balance of strong and vulnerable. She doesn't really lean one way or the other in that regard, and I really really really appreciated that. It makes her a complex character that seems much more real than other single-dimension characters found in other books. I also just really liked her! I loved how she stood up to Alex and I love her humor and her goals in life.

Alex Volkov -- Too hot for words. Does he fit a fictional stereotype? Yes. Do I care? No. Am I still obsessed with that stereotype? Hell yes, I am. I probably will be for the rest of my life. Alex is the absolute best kind of tortured broody grumpy-pants that falls in love with a girl that is one of the nicest people on the planet.

Jules, Stella, Bridget -- I love these girls. This friend group is GOALS. I don't even mean professionally or status or whatever (because they are all kick-ass in their respective fields). I mean they are there for each other. They show up and check in and share their lives with each other even though they are full adults. As any adult can tell you, adult friendships take a surprising amount of effort to be effortless. Those people are with you forever, but life gets busier as you get older and it sadly means you don't have as much automatic time with your friends. You have to seek it out, and these girls do. I love to see it and I love that they all blend together so well despite being so different from each other. 

Writing

Ana Huang has got the it factor when it comes to writing. There's no doubt about it. I can't say there's any profound literary quality to it, so if you're a snob, please be quiet. But she is a damn good storyteller. Like, really damn good to the point where it's suddenly 2 a.m. and you're cursing yourself because you have to be awake in four hours. 

I have DEVOURED these books, both from this series and the Kings of Sin series. I love Ana Huang's writing. Plain and simple. They are perfect escapes and made for enjoyment. 

Thanks for reading!

Xo

Highest Bidder Collection by Lauren Landish and Willow Winters REVIEW

Highest Bidder Collection by Lauren Landish and Willow Winders

3.59 out of 5 Stars

Okay, so it's been a minute since I wrote a review, so... give me a minute, lol. :) Plus, on top of that, this is a review of a collection. Chaos may ensue. The whole thing will be Spoiler Free however, so if you're curious about them, you're safe from anything being ruined. 

This four book collection contains stories that could be standalones, but they have common characters which, for me, means I tend to enjoy reading all of them in publication order as they reference prior things later on. 

They are ALL dark romances with BDSM and some other pretty heavy themes. They also all have typos (only one or two and nothing major), so if you're absolutely unable to get over those, don't engage and bring the vibes down because of that tiny detail. 

TW: SA

** Continue below if you are okay with that TW **

Bought (Dahlia x Lucian)

3.72 out of 5 Stars (Second favorite for me)

Dahlia is a young professional looking for some extra money to get her through a tight period and Lucian is struggling to get over his hang-ups with having a new sub after his relationship with his wife ended disastrously. She is introduced to Club X, where rich dudes and women members can safely indulge in their fantasies, and early in the book gets into a relationship with Lucian. I really liked them together! Dahlia's character development was shaky, which bothered me a bit, and overall I wish the story was longer, but on the whole it was very enjoyable. (Side note: All the books were short and could have used more plot development.) 

I need to strongly preference something at this point -- and this applies to all of the mini-reviews: I am not a psychologist or mental health professional or any other kind of medical professional, so I may be completely off the mark here. But, what I really appreciated in this book especially is how Dahlia's past of SA is not brushed off. Furthermore, it's something that becomes part of the relationship she has with Lucian and he wants to help her heal from her experience and achieve the goals that she has set for herself in the healing process. I just really appreciate that because it isn't treated like a drama-enhancer or is reductive. Their story explores some of the nuance of how a past experience affects a present experience and how the present can help heal the past, which not every story does. 

Sold (Katia x Isaac)

3.5 out of 5 Stars (Third favorite for me)

Katia is simply trying to build a normal life for herself after surviving a worst-nightmare history and she captures Isaac's attention when she goes to Club X. They really fit each other's needs and Isaac's goal also becomes to give Katia what she needs to process and heal. The best part about Isaac is that he's suuuuuper protective of Katia. But, I actually think I liked Isaac the least of all the MMCs though. I just didn't entirely like his attitude or his approach to the FMC. It's not like he's an asshole per say, but it just wasn't for me. Katia was a pretty good character, but also a bit plain? I'm not quite sure how else to describe it, other than it seemed like she was kind of just filling in the role of FMC.

Owned (Lilly x Joseph) 

3.26 out of 5 Stars (Least favorite for me) 

Lilly is completely new to the BDSM lifestyle, but from watching and taking her time to learn everything, she is ready to explore that side of herself and has a good idea of what she wants. Joseph on the other hand, knows exactly what he needs and, like a good one, gives Lilly room she needs to explore what she wants and is ready for her when she decides to make that leap. However, his past comes knocking and throws a deep wrench in their happiness that he needs to sort out. 

Lilly is the only FMC of these four books that doesn't have a history of some sort of SA. I'm not mentioning that because I think it adds or takes away from the story, but because in case someone is looking for one of these without the trigger warning, it's this one. 

The reason why this one is my least favorite is simply because I felt like it was the one with the most potential for development, and it actually had I think the least amount. When you're loving something so much, you want it to be done well! And then when it falls short, it is the most frustrating thing in the world. Compared to Katia and Isaac, I liked Lilly and Joseph's relationship way more, but I feel like they weren't done justice, so I can't rank this book above the others. Like, Lilly's subplot alone could have been woven in so much better and used to heighten their dynamic, but... *sigh*.

Given (Arianna x Zander) 

3.88 out of 5 Stars (Favorite for me)

Arianna has a shitty POS abusive partner at the beginning of the book. He's manipulative, and gaslights, and is a definition of bad BDSM etiquette. I can go on a full rant, but I won't because this review is small. Zander (not the POS) is one of those MMCs where he portrays himself to the world one way, but then really he's super intense and people who know him know not to mess with him. I LOVE characters like that. Zander actually from the get-go has issues with Arianna's POS partner due to business beef, and it becomes part of the reason why the two get together. From there, there is a sort of dance between these three characters as business gets dealt with, the relationship between Zander and Arianna grows, and tensions with the POS relationship explode. 

One of the things that I really loved about this book wasn't just the dynamic between Arianna and Zander, but was how there is a clear moment where Zander realizes what has been happening between Arianna and Danny and is like, "Hell no, this is not okay and will never happen again." Which, I would like to think that a man stepping up to protect someone is a low bar, but maybe it isn't anymore because I'm totally obsessed with this moment that Zander has. We love to see it. :) 

*** *** ***

I forgot how much I love doing these reviews! They're a bit of brain-work as well when I'm not absolutely fangirling over a title, but still worth it. 

Thanks for reading!

(And I guess welcome back??)