I read this series by Ana Huang last year and despite some of the stuff that happens in it being completely wild and requiring a fair bit of suspension of disbelief… I still have no regrets!
I get a fair few visits to those reviews, so I thought it might be helpful to compile them into one post. Read them all or skip to the book you want. I have not edited them after the fact, so each is my genuine reaction as I made my way through this series.
Twisted Love
Plot summary
Ava has always been intimidated by her brother Josh’s best-friend, Alex; a cold, calculated genius who Josh had been bringing to thanksgiving dinner for the last 8 years. When her brother goes overseas for Doctors Without Borders type program, he asks Alex to watch out for his baby sister, to which Alex reluctantly agrees. Ava isn’t happy about it but is determined to make the best of it and tries to get to know Alex better, which quickly becomes a challenge set by her friends: ‘make Alex show emotions’. Alex is totally focused on revenge against his parents murderer, accruing power, blackmail, connections, companies and wealth, all in pursuit of revenge. So when a girl who is sunshine personified begins to get under his skin, he finds himself reluctantly losing sight of the goal that has consumed him for more than ten years. Neither can resist the other, but will Ava drag him form the darkness, or will Alex bring her down with him?
What did I think?
You know what, I fully went into this book expecting it to be a bit crap. I wanted a romance book with a bit of a ‘morally grey’ love interest, and a few good tropes, for an easy read. But, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! It does play with some tropes quite well and walks the line of a ‘dark’ love interest, who is not borderline abusive like some can be, quite smoothly. Not only that, but the romance in it is believable. You can feel the passion and understand why the FMC is willing to overlook his… dodgier business practices. The spicy scenes are good and they also have a little bit of consent and contraception chat, as well as ‘tap out’ codes for any rough play (again, differing it from other ‘dark romances’ I’ve read where the MMC is basically abusive, a FMC is only consenting in her inner monologue, after the fact).
I would genuinely recommend this to a romance genre fan, I really enjoyed this book and have already downloaded the next book in the series.
Twisted Games
Plot summary
The book follows Bridget, the Princess of Eldora, picking up the narrative from book one just as the girls are finishing university. Bridget’s long standing Bodyguard is off on paternity leave and his taciturn (but admittedly hot) replacement gets off to a terrible start with Bridget. This is where the timelines of book 1 and 2 cross, as during the climatic events of book 1, Bridget and Ava are kidnapped after they sneak out. Even though this event wasn’t aimed at Bridget for her princess status, she is (understandably) rattled and so agrees an un-easy truce with Rhys. After University she finds a way to stay in the states as ambassador and her truce with Rhys start to become companionable hostility. Rhys is ex-military, escaping an abusive childhood, only to find himself thrust into the horrors of war. He’s been working the in the personal protection game for a while and Bridget is by far his least annoying client, despite their rocky personal start. When Bridget’s brother, the heir to the throne, abdicates his title, she is faced with something she never wanted: becoming queen. As she faces the trials of getting ready for the throne, her and Rhys’s relationship… transforms. Crossing professional boundaries that neither would have believed in the beginning. The only problem is, the monarch cannot marry a commoner.
My thoughts
You know what? The being about a princess and her bodyguard, I expected it to be a little tacky but it’s actually a very believable enemies to lovers tale, with excellent tension in the build up to when things finally become spicy. I liked the whole political sub plot in her career as a princess and this was a genuinely enjoyable romance.
Twisted Hate
An attempt at summarising
Josh is a charming doctor in training, Jules is a feisty would-be lawyer and they loathe each other. Tied together by their mutual love of Josh’s sister, Ava, whose Jules’s best friend; they reluctantly tolerate each other. When Jules accidentally starts working in the same clinic as where Josh volunteers, they agree a temporary truce, through which they discover the other is not so bad after all. After a forced weekend trip arranged by Ava, it seems like they might be able to even be civil to one another. Until, a massive blow out row ends up in mind-blowing hate sex. They agree to a not-friends with benefits arrangement, no feelings, no falling in love. Predictably… that does not go to plan.
My thoughts
I enjoyed Jules’s narration the most out of all four female MC’s across this series and Josh is the least alpha-douche protective out of all the male MC’s. The passion in their relationship is *chefs kiss* perfect, the way it develops is believable, as their bickering, competitive dynamic continues even as a romantic couple. This is one of the few enemies to lovers books in a classic romance format novel that I’ve found genuinely believable, especially as Josh does not do any psychotic, irredeemable things. I even liked their personal journey arcs over the book.
Spoiler alert for my review of book 4 but this one was my favourite out of the series.
Twisted Lies
The plot
This story roughly picks up after the events of book 3 and follows Stella, the fourth girl in their friendship group. Stella is left struggling to pay rent after Jules (book 3’s MC) has moved out, so she makes a deal with cold but strangely intense building owner, who happens to live on the floor above. She waters his plants, in exchange for cheaper rent. Stella is an influencer, on the cusp of making a biggest deal yet when her old stalker re-emerges. Christian is not only a real estate mogul but owns a successful security company, so he takes personal offence when he finds Stella having a panic attack after a new note from her stalker arrives and decides to help her. As they investigate the stalker they grow closer but Stella can’t help but feel the walls Christian has put around himself. When the stalker graduates to breaking in, Christian moves Stella into his own apartment. Everything is going great until Stella discovers that Christian’s interest in her predates when she and Jules moved in.
My thoughts
Umm this is the only out of the series that missed the mark for me. The power dynamic was just… dodgy. Christian is borderline controlling. His obsession with Stella from before is icky. I found Stella to be a bit too wishy washy. It was enjoyable enough but definitely paled compared to the rest of the series.
My thoughts on the series overall
Look, this is 100% a romance series that you need to go into it not reading too critically and just be along for the ride. Are 2 out of the 4 male MC’s basically criminal psychopaths? Definitely. Are these the type of men you should date in real life? Absolutely not. Thankfully these guys a fictional so if you’re after a fun little spicy romance series, this’ll be okay for you. Book 3 is still my favourite, even with a little distance from when I read them, I just don’t enjoy controlling aplhaholes in my reading.
Antonia Bernardin 
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