Twisted Love (Twisted, #1) by Ana Huang

Twisted Love (Twisted, #1) Reviews

• 
  mel ☽

  2.75 stars ✩⋆
  
  when i saw that this book has groveling, best friend's brother, grumpy/sunshine trope, touch her and i'll kill you, i hate everyone but you, a bed-sharing scene, great friend group, and revenge plan (???), i ran so fast and downloaded this real quick. plus, this was being hyped in booktok so might as well read it.
  
  i don't know why but this book just made me evaluate my life- myself. why do you ask? well, WARNING FOR NON ROMANCE READERS THIS ⤵ QUOTE IS SPICY OK BYE:
  
  

  "And your pussy is mine. Every inch of you belongs to me, and if you ever let another man touch you- he'll end up in pieces, and you'll end up tied to my bed and fucked in every hole until my name is the only one you remember. Do you understand?"

  
  
  and at first i was like
  
  
  
  because there's things you need to know about me when it comes to my taste for irl men:
  

  1. i hate bossy men (pls- i'm bossy enough as it is)
  2. toxic? i rebuke this negative energy.
  3. if you threaten to kill someone if they so much as touch me, therapy or 911?
  4. if you call me questionable nicknames while having sex, BYE ✋
  

  
  and normally, my attitude is why do men but when i read this? i don't know myself anymore.
  
  
  
  i don't know what came over me but suddenly i... i um.. that quote above... i LiKe it... so if you know me, no you don't.
  
  but anyways, going back to the book, i like both Ava (h) and Alex (H) as individual characters. Alex is literally THE definition of a "fictional character" because that man is too perfect. basically, he has an IQ of 160, created a software thingy that made him a multimillionaire in high school and became the COO of a real estate agent development or something and has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory aaand knows Krav Maga AAAND apparently fucks like a porn star? i-
  
  that's too much perfection ma'am.
  
  i thought Ava and her friend group were also fucking perfect because
  

  ✧ Bridget is a literal princess (i'm not joking)
  ✧ Jules is jessica rabbit (??) apparently (also, fingers cross for a Jules and Josh book)
  ✧ Stella is this influencer who has 400k followers (???)

  
  can i be a part of this fictional friend group pls and thx.
  
  i thought the romance was cute in the beginning. usually, in a brother's best friend book the girl is always pining for the guy while the guy plays a martyr act and becomes a ho to "push" the girl away even though he has feelings for her. i'm glad that's not the case here and love the fact that Ava was even a little indifferent towards him at first. and honestly? the smut scenes were kinda hot.
  
  overall, this is a very chill book. at least for me. though there are some tw (spoilers) // parental deaths, violence, and child abuse
  
  -`,✎ WHY NOT A HIGHER RATING?
  
  ➳ since uh, when?
  i really did think the romance and the whole Operation Emotion thing in the beginning was cute, though, their feelings for one another went from 0 to 100 very fast because Alex really went from not caring that Ava was having a nightmare and acting all cold and "heartless" to:
  
  

  "She was mine. She just didn't know it yet. I hadn't known it myself until I saw her in Colton's arms and every instinct raged at me to tear her away. To claim what belonged to me."

  
  
  i only sensed attraction but i didn't get the feeling they were already at the "she's mine, he's mine" stage. one chapter he's acting all nonchalant and cold and then in the next he “desires” her and tells us how badly he wants her and i was like bish when? most of the things he talked about in his pov was about his revenge and a little bit of attraction and with ava's pov it was all the operation emotion so them having intense feelings for one another felt kinda quick.
  
  their banter was cute the scenes were cute but personally it wasn’t enough for me to be convinced with his new macho man personality towards her. there wasn’t enough depth to be honest. like i didnt get the vibes he cared enough for her to call her “his” because even when he saw her having night terrors in the beginning, i got the vibes he didnt care for her that much and still acted like she was a nuisance.
  
  ➳ telling >>> showing
  when they got together after the first time they had sex there was a lot of telling >>> showing of how they are as a couple and that really bugs me because i'm the type of person who wants to know everything. apparently, they went on dates, alex was suddenly making jokes (?), and they talk through the night but because of the 0 to 100 energy and telling >>> showing, I. STILL. DONT. SEE. THEM. DOING. ALL. THAT. like- what do they even talk about?? and because of this, i wasn't really convinced with their “love”, i just didnt feel it because
  
  
  
  i wanted all the details of how they are as a couple and we didn't really get that. once they have sex, most of the romance were written in the inner monologue and it's mainly because the last half focused more on the revenge plot. also, even the the grovelling was telling >>> showing. noo, i need more.
  
  ➳
  Vicious reincarnated
  no, but everyone is right tho- i can definitely see the Vicious in Alex. he likes fucking classy women, has insomnia, and has a revenge plan that includes the heroine. i see no difference.
  
  ➳ OW drama
  don't worry, it's nothing bad but i just find it icky when Alex says that the OW fucks like a porn star or when he was about to go on a "date" with the OW (don't worry, Ava ruined his plans) or when the OW says this to Ava's face:
  
  

  "Alex doesn’t do either of those things. It’s well known amongst a certain segment of D.C.’s female population. No kissing, no face-to-face contact during sex. But he will take you from behind. Choke and fuck you till you see stars. Call you the filthiest names and treat you like a slut."

  
  
  and then Ava thinks this is hot. personally, if someone says this to my face about the guy i'm into, i will dip because that's an ick for me (please blame my virgo sun and my high standards). you're telling me you're gonna fuck your girl the same way you've fucked your past hookups? ew no thx.
  
  -`,✎ OVERALL THOUGHTS
  
  again, i thought the romance was cute but it was just ok. the first half was full of cute moments but the last half kinda went down with all the telling >>> showing and i was kinda disappointed with the groveling because of this. like- you're just gonna describe how Alex has grovelled for a YEAR in just a page? no ma'am i want to see everything. also, i wanted more scenes of them of how they are as a couple because i just don't see Alex being all soft towards Ava.
  
  i'm excited for the next book, aka Bridget's book tho! i love the whole princess/bodyguard, forbidden trope. plus, her future mans name is RHYS. that name will forever be sacred so this fictional man who has the privilege of being named after that sacred name better live up to my high af standards.
  
  »»━━ Twisted series ━━««
  #1: twisted love — ava x alex ➳ 2.75 stars
  #2:
  twisted games — bridget x rhys ➳ tbr
  #3:
  twisted hate — *fingers crossed* jules x josh (??) // tbd ➳ tbr
  #4:
  twisted lies — tbd ➳ tbr
• 
  Júlia

  OH BOYYYYYYY! LET'S GOOOOOOOO

  Let me hype myself up before I write this one.

  

  Another absurdly overhyped book. Everyone tells me this series is good and the later books are better. I don't doubt it. I don't think Ana is a bad writer, her writing is tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable. Can't say the same thing for her characters.

  NOTHING in this book or even it's cover are congruent. Ana thought it would be fun to attempt every single trope in the history of the universe with a single story, so you can't really tell if this is a romcom, a dark romance or just a joke.

  

  You get brother's best friend, neighbor, nightmare tropes, who did this to you, my parents died or tried to kill me, ex psycho boyfriend, billionaire CEO who doesn't date, grumpy-sunshine, family members who want to steal your money and not a single one of these were executed properly. I honestly felt like I was watching a Spanish telenovela.

  However, I HAVE TO MENTION the best trope of all. The one that brought tears to my eyes. The "I AM NOT LIKE OTHER GUYS!!!!!" but I will talk exactly like Christian Grey every time I get the chance. (so he kind is like one guy)

  Alex, our main character. CEO, billionaire, with an IQ of 190, hates beer, he is not scared of anything, not even bears. Won't kiss during sex, because he hates intimacy. He hates birthdays because everyone has one. He thinks everyone wants him for his magnificent shlong. He has been controlling his family's company since he was 14, because he was always knew he would be CEO one day and his uncle would listen to his 14 YEAR OLD DEMANDS. He also slut shames his own friends.

  IT IS LIKE I AM READING THE WORST TINDER BIO EVER WRITTEN. But yet quite possible to exist out there somewhere, the bio under some guy named Rey who lives in Florida and is a republican who hates women.

  He also says people feared him at 11, because his parents were killed and he swore revenge. It's like a wish version of Batman. Except Batman is actually cool.

  He apparently had a therapist after his parents died. Someone PLEASE GO TAKE THAT GUY'S license, because it obviously didn't work.

  Alex, and I quote: "Is not a TOY, so don't play with him unless you want to get hurt" WHAT KIND OF FUCKING TOYS WERE YOU PLAYING WITH WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD YOU PSYCOPATH.

  But yeah, Alex's broken record was to please: "stop trying to humanize me, I am your bad guy." He also guarantees people that "biological reactions can be mastered"

  Good fucking luck next time you have to sneeze BRO. Hope you don't fucking explode

  

  Our female main character was the SUNSHINE OF THE PARTY! The most giggly adorable girl who apparently "fucks like a porn star" (this author had a really really really weird obsession with porn stars since she mentioned them not once, but four times during her entire book)

  Our FMC had her own mother try to drown her, then proceeded to kill herself from guilt. Her ex cheated on her multiple times, abused her physically BUT SHE IS SUUUUUUUUUCH A SUNSHINE and all she needs is to get dicked down to still see the good in people. Fuck therapy.

  

  It's so hilarious that in the desperate need to make this book a tiktok sensation... she added so many things that absolutely don't go together for the sake of hype, but guess what? Tiktok is that predictable. She succeeded.

  Now, moving on to the sex scenes. Probably the most hilarious thing I have ever read in my life. Christian Grey comparison aside, we get the most AMAZING LINES I HAVE EVER READ in my book blogger career.

  "I am turning you into my fuck doll" (?????????????? I mean if you want her unresponsive... I have something to tell ya...We might need to call you a new therapist, or maybe get you into jail. I haven't decided yet.)

  He literally describes the view of her on his bed as a: "sacrificial virgin waiting defilement"

  

  Every time she puts her hand on his dick, she "can feel the power it emanates". I mean, by all means, put a cape on it and give it a marvel contract.

  Well, anyways... a bunch of stupid things happen, this book is MASSIVELY long for some UNKNOWN reason, just like Alex's penis. Near the end, our HEROOOOO threatens the mean girl to destroy HER company, because he has that sort of power, if she doesn't tell him where his girlfriend is. It has the same energy as: "my daddy is a lawyer" in third grade.

  It pains me to say this entire review constitutes of quotes from this book, because honestly? It's all I needed. It's embarrassing enough on it's own. I hardly did any work here.

  Maybe I will read the next one since you guys love it so much, let's see.

  Anyways, my stomach hurts from laughing.

  *wipes sweat off brows*

  
• 
  a

  people who said this book was good lied
• 
  Breanne

  I was going to give this two stars but then my dude started singing and I simply could not.
• 
  Ilhaam

  i literally did not sign up for a murder mystery. and why did he sing??? horrific
• 
  marwah

  I know Alex is supposed to a pOsSeSiVe aLpHa or whatever but that man just scared me lol
  
  Me to Alex: BACK🤺OFF🤺WHITE🤺MAN
• 
  Ali Hazelwood

  Spent several days in a Twisted Series induced trance, regret nothing, 8 million stars out of 5
• 
  jessica

  classic case of “i would never tolerate this mans behaviour in real life, but i cant get enough of it in books” kind of romance.
  
  i would say we should all form a support group, but im pretty sure thats what booktok has become by this point. lol.
  
  ↠ 3.5 stars
• 
  Melanie (MelReads)

  with peace and love: i want my $4.99 back and damages paid for the time spent abusing my brain cells and withstanding the cringey one liners💀
• 
  Ayman

  3.5 ⭐️ ok y’all this shit was actually good, like the plot and romance was actually so enticing.
  
  ok so basically the plot is girl MC, Ava falls in love with brothers best friend and brothers best friend is a textbook genius with an IQ of 160 named Alex
  Alex checks all the boxes tall, brooding, dark haired, god complex, rich af, ect.
  
  Tell me why i wanted to slap this mf so hard at some points? literally his brooding-ness was so frustrating at times i’m like BITCH SHUT UP. but don’t get me wrong i’d let this man have his way with me.
  
  Ava - (she’s Chinese-American ayyy let’s go east asian rep!) i really liked her characterization and character development in this story. she was kinda annoying in the beginning but baby girl pulled through and faced all her trauma by HERSELF and thanks to no man! queen shit!
  
  not gonna lie there were some hella cringe scenes that had me laughing out loud. i was giggling and laughing so mf hard. honestly that’s on me and my twisted sense of humor.
  
  i literally cannot wait for the next book because it’s a bodyguard/forbidden romance and i just KNOW it’s gonna top this one. I FUCKING KNOW IT. it comes out july 29th btw
• 
  TJ ☾

  this book didn't understand the assignment
• 
  Caitlin

  so stupid god bless
• 
  Riley

  this was so good! i devoured it in one sitting!
  
  🔥 brothers best friend
  🔥 hates everyone but her
  🔥 grumpy/sunshine
  
  the chemistry was off the charts between these characters and it had a much darker & action-packed plot then i was expecting but i loved that! i can't wait to read the next book in the series (which is going to be a princess/bodyguard romance!)
• 
  Zoe (Marauders version)

  {reread number one} I just realised that Alex Volkov is Sheldon Cooper if Sheldon Cooper was hot and sexually active
  
  big dick energy right here
• 
  ❀ Rose ❀

  2.5 - 3 stars.
  
  🔹 Overall feelings:
  〰 Mmm this is honestly such a hard review to write because this was such a confusing reading experience for me. On one hand, I really liked this book but on the other, I really didn’t. I will try to be as thorough as I possibly can in this review so let’s get on with it...
  
  🔹 What I liked:
  
  ✏ Characters:
  〰 Here’s the thing, I liked the characters, I really did. Both Ava and Alex were loveable and the side characters were also interesting and intriguing. I even liked Bridget and wasn’t bothered by the fact that she was a literal princess (which, granted, is utterly unbelievable but I still found that aspect to be amusing despite its utter incredulity).
  
  ✏ Tropes:
  〰 The writing style was good and the book literally had all the tropes that I usually adore (brother’s best friend, grumpy/sunshine pairing...) and they were actually well done.
  
  〰 I really liked the fact that Ava’s brother did not forgive Alex at the end. Honestly, I thought that was very realistic considering Alex’s betrayal of their friendship and the way he manipulated both Josh and Ava. I also found that aspect quite refresh since it leaves their friendship open for further development later on in the series (in Josh and Jules’ book).
  
  ✏ Representation:
  〰 We have a beautiful Asian heroine and a hero of Ukrainian descent, which we just love to see. I also really appreciated all the small details that the author included to help us learn more about the Chinese culture; that aspect was honestly well done and seamlessly integrated in the story.
  
  〰 The first half of the book was really entertaining and I was sure that this would become a very fun and quick read for me. The second half however is where things started to go south in my opinion and this is why...
  
  🔹 What I did not like:
  
  ✏ Plot:
  〰 During the second half of the book I started getting the feeling that I was watching a bad soap opera. Things started becoming incredibly unbelievable and cheesy. For instance, the whole thing with Ava’s father was such a cliché that I was honestly surprised that none of the author’s beta readers had told her to cut out this “plot twist”. The writing in these instances also needed rework since they reinforced the feeling that I was watching a Disney villain giving his speech and congratulating himself on his wickedness. This is an example of what I mean:
  
  

  “Michael’s face remained anguished for several more seconds before it twisted and morphed into a hideous mask. His eyes gleamed with delighted malice, and his mouth spread into a mocking smile. [...] ‘Bravo’. He slow-clapped. ‘I almost had you,’ he told me. ‘You should’ve seen yourself’ I swear, Mrs. James was real,’ he mimicked, laughing.”

  
  
  〰 And don’t even get me started on how Micheal was the man who supposedly killed his parents only to find out that Alex’s uncle was actually behind the whole thing. I would genuinely be shocked if anyone was shocked by this “turn of events”.
  
  ✏ Aspects of the writing style and characterization:
  
  〰 And this is what I personally think was my biggest issue with this book. The novel does an awful lot of ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’. Both characters go from not knowing each other to being madly in love in a short amount of time. And the thing is? They’ve supposedly been seeing each other and getting to know each other for months by that point. But we as readers are only told of this passage of time instead of shown the moments that they spent together. This is not something that can work in a romance novel. We need to see the main characters slowly opening up to each other and starting to like each other in order for us to believe in their romance. This is why some romances that are set within the span of a single week work. Because its not about how many months the main characters have known each other, it’s about how valuable and detailed each interaction between the two is.
  
  〰 This happened once again when it came to the groveling aspect. A literal year passes in which the hero is supposedly groveling and begging the heroine to take him back. However, readers are once again not shown any part of said groveling. This is what I mean:
  
  

  “Alex and I had developed a new... well, I wasn’t sure if I could call it a friendship, but it was a step up from whatever we had when he arrived in London a year ago.”

  
  
  〰 Ummm, I’m sorry what? You can’t go from having the heroine say that she will never forgive the hero to having her say something like ‘Alex and I developed a friendship over the past year’. If you do that then you can’t expect your readers to believe in the legitimacy of said friendship because guess what (and I cannot stress this enough):
  
  

  👏 Passage of time alone does not a convincing relationship make. 👏

  
  
  We need to see the development between the characters in order to root for them because frankly? By that point I neither believed in Ava and Alex’s love nor did I believe in Alex’s remorse because I hadn’t been able to see him truly grovel. That said, I honestly hope that this aspect of the novel gets better in the second installment.
  
  🔹 Final thoughts:
  〰 If you read any of my ‘pre-reading’ updates then you know that I had incredibly high expectations for this book. I had never read any of this author’s works before but this novel contained all of the tropes that I usually adore. The snippets that I saw on the author’s instagram page also reinforced my belief that this was definitely a book that I would enjoy. Hell, when I first added this on Goodreads it literally only had about 20 or 25 other people who had also added it (so I truly found it very early on). That said, while I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was disappointed or let down by the execution in this book (because, as I previously mentioned, I enjoyed many aspects of it), I will still say that I think many things needed rework and further editing.
  
  〰 Finally, I do think that I might read the sequel since I truly enjoyed the friendship group in here and I do think that this author has a lot of potential. So do I recommend this book? I think this could be the perfect example of a guilty pleasure read in my opinion. Many things needed to be done differently but this wasn’t a horrible read in any way.
  ———————
  Instagram:
  https://www.instagram.com/rose_books2/
  
  —————————————————————————-
  PRE-READING UPDATES:
  ———————-
  Ok but I just stalked the author’s instagram and now I’m pretty freaking excited about this😩
  ———————-
  Mmmm I think I’m intrigued
  Fr tho, gotta love the grumpy/sunshine trope loll.
• 
  chan ☆

  lots of thoughts to come in a vlog but i thoroughly enjoyed this one
• 
  Emma

  Anyone who told me this book was good literally lied to my face
• 
  Ali Goodwin

  3.75 stars rounded up! A bit unrealistic and Alex definitely wouldn't be my time in real life BUT I still really enjoyed this book and I WILL be reading the rest of the series. This book is brothers best friend which is a trope I always love. And the way Alex would literally burn down the world for Ava is intense but also 😮‍💨😍. Alex is very possessive alpha male vibes thoooo so if you like that you'll love this book and if that's not your thing then this one probably isn't for you.
• 
  elena ❀

  Once I got my hands on her, she’d be filthy. Broken. Just like everything I touched. But she’d be mine. And I was selfish and cruel enough that I’d take her with me while I burned down the world.

  
  
  Name the trope, you get it: Best friend's sister? "Touch her and I'll kill you"? "I hate everyone but you"? Morally gray possessive/jealous alphahole? Interracial relationship? Groveling? Sunshine heroine and grumpy hero? And even a hint of a "one-bed" trope? Take my money, Ana Huang, take it.
  
  Some also say this has an age gap, but there's only a four/five year age difference between the two characters (h is 22 and H is 26/27), and personally, I don't consider that age gap.
  
  Ava Chen's brother is leaving for Central America to study medicine. Being the overprotective older brother he is, he puts Ava under the care and protection of Alex Volkov, his best friend. While Alex and Ava may not have the best relationship, the two begin to see more about each other as they spend more time together. Ava is cheerful and optimistic, while Alex is cold and has a heart made out of stone, but the two find out there is more to each other. While their feelings for each other grows within each day they spend together, their secrets are always lurking behind them, especially Alex, and it's only a matter of time until Alex will have to tell Ava everything. That is if he does it on time.
  
  

  She was mine. She just didn’t know it yet.

  
  
  It's stated on the blurb, and it's been stated by the author, but PLEASE, if you are not into possessive and jealous alphaholes who claim their partner and call her a "slut" or "whore" in bed, this is definitely one you want to stay away from. No cheating or menage, but if you're looking for a traditionally sweet, lovable hero, this is not the book for you. (From the blurb).
  
  Admittedly, possessiveness and jealousy are not things I like in men, whether it’s fictional or real life. But although I knew it was a big part of Twisted Love, I couldn’t resist the rest of what it was offering. The author appeared on my TikTok FYP, which is how I heard about this book. Her video mentioned groveling, and I was sold. I then saw it featured a possessive and jealous hero, which honestly turned me off, but then she started naming the rest of the tropes, and I was sold once again.
  
  I, surprisingly, enjoyed this.
  
  Both Ava and Alex were two characters I enjoyed reading about, and I absolutely loved the dual pov. Ava's character definitely impacted me more compared to Alex's. She's actually a whole sunshine, a photographer who's always remaining optimistic and sure everything will turn out well. She puts others before her, and it took her a while to finally see for herself that she needed and deserved better. I found her character development to be a fresh breath of air, if I'm honest, because I could relate to how she puts others first, or how commonly she fakes her emotions to please others. Not only that, but I found her to be strong for putting herself in a position that would sooner or later trigger her phobia. Her fear of water was something she wanted to conquer, and while Alex was someone who helped her, I was so glad to see how it was something she took into her own hands as well.
  
  

  I’d thought myself free because I didn’t have a physical cage when in fact I’d been trapped by my own mind, by the fears that haunted my days and the nightmares that haunted my nights. I stuck with the safe choices because I thought I wasn’t strong enough for anything else.

  
  
  Alex, despite how his possessiveness was something that I did not like at first (because if I’m being honest, I don’t like possessive/jealous/controlling men), was another one of those types of hero's who are soft on the inside but cold on the inside. With his own demons chasing him, he was always stone-faced and cold, showing no emotion whatsoever to anyone, including Ava in the beginning. Even towards the end, he remained the same as he was, except he was the softie for Ava he always was, and honestly, I'm fucking cool with that. I love it when the men continue the "I hate everyone but you" trope instead of becoming softies and angels for everyone else as well.
  
  While I knew he was possessive and jealous, he was protective of Ava. Sure, he's not your traditional sweet and caring loveable hero, but I still found myself loving him.
  
  Exhibit A: When he tried Ava's asparagus, raisin, and garlic brittle cookies (they were part of a plan Ava and her friends made called Operation Emotion to show how Alex only shows emotions for Ava) and said they were fine, even though deep down he was probably gagging because he didn't want to her hurt her feelings.
  Exhibit B: When he canceled his date plans to watch movies with Ava.
  
  

  Alex widened the door and stepped aside. “Come in.”
  What? “But your date.”
  “Let me worry about her. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but since you broke your silent treatment to come over and ‘hang out,’ something must be wrong.”

  
  
  Exhibit C: When he taught her how to swim.
  
  

  “I’ll be right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He radiated calm confidence. “Do you trust me?”

  
  
  Exhibit D: The groveling.
  
  

  “I have enough in stocks, investments, and savings to last me the rest of my life. I worked because I wanted to. But now, I want to do something else.”
  I swallowed, my pulse thundering. “What’s that?”
  “Win you back. No matter how long it takes.”

  
  
  Not only that, but Alex also has big dick energy, as made from his possessive side, and it was sexy.
  
  Exhibit A: When he'd break any and every speeding law to get to Ava because he knew she was in trouble with Madeline.
  Exhibit B: How he threatened Madeline and her father's company after he found out she pushed Ava to the pool.
  
  

  “Pray she’s all right, or the downfall of Hauss Industries will be the least of your worries,” I said softly. “Do not contact or come near her or me again. Understand?”

  
  
  Exhibit C: When he punched Liam.
  
  

  “Mind if I join the fun?” I hauled Liam up by his collar, my lip curling at the sight of his watering eyes and bleeding nose, and socked him in the gut. “That’s for calling her a slut.” Another blow to the jaw. “That’s for holding her against her will.” A third hit to his already-suffering nose. “That’s for cheating on her.”

  
  
  Exhibit D: When he fucked Ava from behind while he was on a phone call.
  
  

  “I thought you were better at following directions, Sunshine,” he said silkily. “Didn’t I tell you not to make a sound?”

  
  
  That, my friends, was extremely hot.
  
  But, Alex also has his own traumatic past and wounds to heal. He carries his childhood trauma with him everywhere he goes and he relies on his uncle to help him find the people who killed his family. Like Ava, he has nightmares and flashbacks to that moment, the moment that changed everything he ever knew and changed the way he looked at life. There's no denying Alex can't be healed and fixed, but he tries his best to show his care and love to Ava in both the most romantic and sexual ways. Especially towards the end, when he has to earn Ava's forgiveness, which showed not only how in love he really was with her but how far he'd be willing to go. Some may say that everything he did is the bare minimum a man should do for the woman he loves, but I guess because many of us don't see it in real life, we find the bare minimum in fictional worlds amusing.
  
  

  “There’s something beautiful waiting for you, Alex. Whether you find it tomorrow or years from now, I hope it’ll restore your faith in life. You deserve all the beauty and light in the world.”

  
  
  However, regardless of everything I loved, there was nothing in this that felt. . . new. I've seen how this book is compared to
  Vicious by L.J. Shen, and I'd have to agree with them. Luckily for me, I didn't like Vicious, but I can guarantee you that you won't be able to stop comparing the two if you did.
  
  I hated Vicious. Not because of the bully aspect but because I felt zero chemistry between Emilia and Vicious and I found the sex to be poorly written. I also found Vicious's possessiveness and jealousy to be creepy. I don't know, personal preference I guess. Unlike Vicious, I couldn't help but love the tension between Alex and Ava. It was clearly there, and while it was angsty at times, it was also soft and beautiful. I never found Alex to be creepy like Vicious, which saved part of the story for me. But, after finishing Twisted Love, there were a lot of things that were similar to Vicious that ruined the story a little for me.
  
  For example, both Ava and Emilia have a past they carry that affects them. Ava had her aquaphobia and carries guilt with her because of her mother's suicide, while Emilia is looked down upon because of her mother's job of being a servant. Both Emilia and Ava fall under the artist component, and both Alex and Vicious end up buying from them. While Vicious bought the canvas Emilia made of him, Alex buys every collection in the gallery from Ava. Alex ends up being a mix of a stalker and bodyguard for Ava, while Vicious ends up waiting for Emilia at the subway every day. Also, both of them end up standing outside while it was raining and snowing. Vicious ended up appearing back in Emilia's life while there was a winter storm, while Alex ended up staying outside as it was raining when he walked with Ava to her place. These are similarities anyone who's read Vicious can note, and it can be either a good thing or an annoying thing.
  
  Along with that, I felt like the twists were predictable. I liked the mystery they added to the plot, but guessing the twists ruins the story for me. Adding on to that, it made the story drag a little. First, it felt like I was reading a romance story, then I was suddenly entering crime scenes with hints of suspense. The first half was better than the second half, in my opinion, although the groveling in the ending made up for it.
  
  Also, if I'm being honest, I expected much more for the sex. I knew it was steamy and spicy (although not enough), but there was actually fade to black here, and it was disappointing. What made it worse is how it would have been a sex scene Alex doesn't normally do. See, Alex doesn't make sweet love, he fucks doggy style. And hard. He has a no face-to-face contact policy with every woman he's been with. But with Ava, he ended up changing the rules and after having her from behind, he ended up being on top of her as she faced him, but THE SCENE FADED TO BLACK. Later on, they fuck again, but it's doggy style. AGAIN. I know Alex isn't that soft and lovable hero, but I actually wanted to read a scene where he didn't fuck from behind if I'm being honest. Also, I just expected more from the sex scenes. More detail? More angst?? More begging??? I just wanted more.
  
  

  He called me Sunshine one moment and his whore the next. And I loved it.

  
  
  Overall, this was still an enjoyable read, and I am really excited about the next book. Rhys sounds like a hottie just from what we know of him in this book, and it won't take long for me to fall in love completely. A forbidden romance between a Queen and her bodyguard? Yes, please!
• 
  Karla Martínez

  relectura 2023:
  pensé que no me gustaría tanto el libro esta segunda vez, pero me sigue encantando. VOY A DEFENDER A ALEX Y AVA HASTA QUE ME MUERA YA?
  
  2021:
  amé cada segundo de este libro.
  
  sí, el libro es mas tóxico que la mierda (y por eso, entre otras cosas, no se si darle 5 estrellas), pero AAAAAAA. tiene muchos cliches que amo:
  - mejor amigo de su hermano
  - son vecinos
  - mini age gap (como 5 años)
  - grumpy/sunshine
  y fue todo hermoso.
  quiero leer todos los otros libros de esta serie y todos los libros que saque ana huang en el futuro.
• 
  EmBibliophile

  The first half of the book was so fun and so enjoyable, specially all those “Operation Emotion” phases! Unfortunately, it was less fun and less enjoyable by the second half. And the change was so abrupt, it wasn’t smooth and I didn’t get a chance to adapt. Like in a chapter I’m enjoying their relationship and all of that and in the second chapter they’re together and I’m bored.
  
  I liked the characters tho and the broody hero/sunshine heroine trope. The female friendship is my favourite thing about the book. I love a good supportive girl gang and I’m already interested in reading all of their books, specially Jules! Also, I appreciate a good grovel and Alex’s was perfect! I appreciate all what he has done to get her back and that she didn’t make it easy for him. Overall this was a solid start of the series, I have high hopes for the rest.
• 
  Madita

  2 stars aka this book is not for me,
  
  I did like Ava as a character but she fell for Alex way too quickly even though he was still such a bad person. I do not like his personality at all. I do not think I like Alex at all.
  
  Here me out: Alex kept talking about how Ava won’t be able to handle his “dark side” also referring to sex so I kind of expected him to be into idk maybe BDSM but nooo. He just liked other stuff than the missionary position. I expected more for how dramatic he was about it so I kind of laughed out loud when I read that.
  I also didn’t really like the way he talked and he would say the most random sexual phrases that made zero sense at that time so I just kept cringing when he talked.
  Let’s not even talk about that one specific scene… (cough y/n singing this is my fight song).
  
  Plot wise I was invested because of Ava’s past and I wanted to know about this fictional world but I didn’t personally vibe with the plot twist. It made sense but also not at all?
  
  
• 
  *.゜｡: vy hates you !¡ .゜｡*

  “You are the light to my dark. Without you, I’m lost.”

  
  
  i started this book because i had fomo. who tf let me??? oh and i also finished this book because a hate review came with it so duh thats a bonus
  
  this book was…. lacking in all kinds of ways and i seriously was just not into it at all. people who like this book have weird brains. im saying that in the nicest way possible… maybe
  
  the plot? cliche.
  the romance? cringe.
  the characters? bland.
  the book? A TOTAL DISASTER.
  
  also please remember : CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING BUT DONT EVEN BOTHER BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE. RUN AWAY !!
  
  nothing in this book intrigued me and 99% of it either gave me the icks or made me want to jump into an endless void. yes i hated this book but also yes im finishing the bloody series sigh
  
  
  PLOT ˎˊ˗
  ava chen is just a normal college girl who has a protective brother, josh chen. low and behold, joshy has a ”mysterious, bad boy, rich, smart” best friend, alex volkov. ava has a broken past that, oh no she cant just figure out and would you believe it?? so does alex. trauma haunts both of us and so they both turn to each other to basically seek solitude but then realise that will most likely all. go. to. shit. how lovely right?
  
  the plot was just so boring to me. it was really cliche and it was so predictable i probably dozed off so many times i can’t remember the story
  
  like the plot twist?? not even that amazing and was just like squashed under their romance anyway so i see no point in it tbh
  
  in short, wasnt my vibe
  
  the beginning was a huge snooze with really nothing going on. plus we then have some crazy bullshit get pulled?? like alex is a full psycho killing stalker maniac and ava still wants him??? spare me the headache PLEASE
  
  
  ROMANCE ˎˊ˗
  the romance had me puking on the floor. it was so cringe. so incredibly cringy i was ready to sell my eyes on the black market wtf.
  
  maybe the smut wasnt my type of thing?? well thats what i thought BUT its honestly just because its alex volkov doing all those things. if it was anyone else i wouldnt mind i just have an issue with HIM
  
  

  “Get up,” he said, his voice soft but so commanding I obeyed without thinking. “You’re about to find out what happens when you invite yourself into the lion’s den.”

  
  
  just say youre a furry and move along jeez. how can he say this and ava not be shitting her pants laughing??
  
  again, THE ROMANCE WAS NOT IT. if someone would care to enlighten me on how their romance made any sense. usually i would say ”oh im all ears” no fuck that keep those reasons to yourself <3
  
  
  CHARACTERS ˎˊ˗
  
  ava chen :
  ⤷ she was definitely way too trusting which at first i honestly didnt mind and didnt see it was an issue but then when fucking alex volkov is a literal walking red flag and this woman is just like ”oh but i love him and miss him who cares if he killed 2 people and stalked me for a year”
  
  like what the fuck???
  
  and her whole ex situation was so random. it was like ”what is the easiest most boring way to add some spice into my story so the male mc can be jealous” type of vibes
  
  news flash : cheating psycho ex is no better than moving on to a psycho killing stalker
  
  by the end of the book, i was sick of her
  
  
  alex volkov :
  ⤷ i dont hate many male mcs but boy oh boy did this man literally make me want to just throw him a free funeral
  
  like wow he’s rich and smart. does that just automatically mean we just forget about all the shit he did?? ITS JUST SO FUCKING UNREALISTIC IDK WHAT ELSE TO SAY
  
  yes its a fiction book but like it just didn’t add up. ive read more unrealistic books than this yet they were done so much better??
  
  he gave me the actual icks SO BAD and i really couldnt stand him. the way ava told him that she hated him and didnt want to be involved with him but he would be like ”well too bad youre mine and im gonna wait” like what..?
  
  he followed her around FOR A FUCKING YEAR in another fucking country and idk waited for her to forgive him. its the way that he did it that made it 10x creepier and not romantic at all. someone get this man into like those love sessions with a love professional idfk
  
  in conclusion, i hate him. he can burn.
  
  
  im too lazy to do each side character because the book isnt good enough for me to put that much effort.
  
  
  CONCLUSION ˎˊ˗
  i hate this book. i wasted my life. i want to go home and sleep but i am home tf am i saying… this book is making me stupid. send help ok bye <3
• 
  Jessica

  I am so sad that I read this one and didn't love it. Unfortunately, so much didn't work for me. I feel like the pacing of this one was a bit odd and we missed out on a lot of development of the relationship between Alex and Ava. Alex is this brooding rich guy who is watching over his best friend's sister. They fall into a relationship pretty fast and I wanted to watch more of their little moments and development. We skipped over a lot of that I felt like it went from like to love a bit too fast. Then, there was a whole villain story that I felt was really cliche and in and out of the story way too quickly. It just felt like the author had so many components for an amazing romance and didn't really piece them together that well. Some parts were over the top, some parts were rushed, and then the ending was not satisfying for me. Alex also felt like not a fully fleshed out person but instead this perfect being with not a whole lot of substance other than this secret past he had and his brooding personality. I still don't know what he was involved in and he just threw around money and power without a second thought. He could threaten anyone with anything and get anything he wanted. It just felt a bit too over the top for me, but I know this one worked for so many people!
• 
  alluringB

  2.5 stars
  
  

  “Every inch of you belongs to me, and if you ever let another man touch you—” My other hand closed around her throat. “He’ll end up in pieces, and you’ll end up tied to my bed and fucked in every hole until my name is the only one you remember. Do you understand?”

  
  
  Believe me when I say a quote has never made me download a book and jump into it as quick like Twisted Lies did🤠 And the fact that the heroine’s asian?? oof i was soLD sold!
  
  As expected, Alex’s dirty talk game did not disappoint. I’m a sucker for brother’s bestfriend trope so that’s a bonus. I was hooked for the first half of the book for the sunshine/grumpy trope but that only lasted for awhile. I loooved the angst but by the time they got together it felt a bit anticlimactic(?¿) He was behaving all aloof w Ava and then suddenly he’s emotionally all about her so i wasn’t really convinced :/
  
  I also didn’t care enough to actually be invested in their romance. I didn’t care abt Alex’s plan for vengeance and didn’t care for any of the flashbacks—they just didn’t grip my attention 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyway, everyone seems to love this so take my review with a grain of salt and maybe give this a try! I might actually check out Ana’s future books in this series bc excuse meeee, i need Josh and Jules’ book like yesterday 👀
  •
  •
  “Alex and I spent the rest of the weekend locked in our suite, subsisting on room service and orgasms and christening every surface—though I’m not sure “christening” was the right word to use, considering how filthy our activities were.
  Sex with Alex was sex like I’d never known it. Raw. Animalistic. Soul-destroying in the best possible way. It shattered every preconceived notion of who I was and molded me into something darker, more depraved.”
  ⬇️
  Every time an author does this I can’t help but to think-
  
  
  judge me
  
• 
  Phuong ✯

  ↬ 2.75 stars
  

  "If you let lesser people determine your self-worth, you'll never reach higher than their limited imagination."

  
  tropes: brother's best friend, sunshine-grumpy, forced proximity, interracial romance, good grovel
  
  ࿐ PLOT
  
  Ava Chen's brother, Josh, is going abroad and asked Alex Volkov to look out for his sister while he's gone. What better way to achieve that goal then by moving next door. They couldn't be more different. Ava who has barely any memories from her childhood and Alex who remembers everything about his haunted childhood and seeking revenge, but together they work so well.
  

  Most people thought the biggest sacrifice they could make was to die for something. They were wrong. The biggest sacrifice someone could make was to live for something–to allow it to consume you and turn you into a version of yourself you didn't recognize. Death was oblivion; life was reality, the harshest truth that had ever existed.

  
  WHAT I LIKED
  
  → Alex. Love me some cold & calculating Hero. Alex invented a financial modeling software in high school that mde him a millionair before he was even 18. Hello (sugar) daddy. 😌 He has an IQ of 160, so how about sharing some brain cells with me?
  Alex has also this whole controlling alphahole vibe going for him.
  

  "Say it. Who do you belong to?"
  "You," Ava whispered. "I belong to you."
  "That's right." I slipped my fingers out of her pussy and thrust them into her mouth. I hummed in approval when she sucked and licked her own juices off without my asking. "Do you taste that, Sunshine? That's the taste of you signing your life away. Because from now on, I own you. Body, mind, and soul."

  
  → Ava. Miss little sunshine. I love that she Asian (three guesses why lol). When Ava said that her father is disappointed when she's not bringing home staight A's, boy that hit too close to home. 🤣 It's such cliché, but often than not that one is true.
  
  What else I liked about Ava is that she's sweet, but she can hold her own against Ava. She's protected by her brother and now by Alex, but it's not like she's taking everything without a fight.
  
  → the girl gang. I love great female friendships. Jules, Stella and Bridget were great side characters and friends to Ava. Can't wait to see more in Bridget and Rhys book, even though I'm not really sold on royalty romances. But I look forward to Jules' book the most, cause she's my kind of gal! I can already feel the Jules/Josh hate sex pouring through the pages. Enemies-to-lovers here we go <3
  
  → the romance. It wasn't anything I can shout from the rooftop or you won't see me waxing any poetry about Ava and Alex anytime soon, but it was cute enough that I continued reading. It doesn't sound promising, I know, I'm just having a hard time writing a lot about something that I enjoyed, but wasn't IN LOVE with yk, but I promise they are cute and the two sex scenes were hot too.
  

  "Do you ever smile?" I asked, peeking inside the box to make sure they hadn't messed up the order. "It might help with your condition."
  "What condition?" Alex sounded bored.
  "Stickuptheassitis." I'd already called the man an asshole, so what was one more insult?
  I might've imagined it, but I thought I saw his mouth twitch before he responded with a bland, "No. The condition is chronic."

  
  
  → Alex's grovel game is strong!!! Everything he does to get Ava back is swoon worthy.
  
  → Ava and Josh's sibling relationship. He is so protective of her and it's so endearing how they can talk for hours about the most mundane things.
  
  WHY NOT MORE STARS?
  
  — predictability. Ava and Alex's background story and all the twist that came with the second half was revealed in such a predictable way, which was very anti-climactic to read. Personally, these twist were ridicioulous. I thought I was reading some weird soap opera–entertaining but also cringy. Alex's revenge was a bit laughable for me, because he has planning it for years and when it happened .. I was like "that's it?" Lana Myers still has the best revenge arc ever. 💅
  
  There was also a bit of a disconnect between first half of the book and second half. The first half was all focused on Ava and Alex's relationship, where the second half is focused on the plot and how the characters background story merged together. That could have been a little smoother.
  
  — I have this annoying habit of comparing everything I read. And I don't know how to stop. There is only so much you can change up in contemporary romances, before things/scenes get recycled. What I want to say with that is, that's my problem and not on the book itself, and a reason why it held me off from truly loving this book, because Twisted Love reminded me of a weird mix of The Maddest Obsession and Vicious.
  
  The Maddest Obsession comparison:
  
  ✧ I saw the name Alex Volkov and knew I had to read this, because I thought Alex is Russian and I have a thing for Russian Heroes lol. Alex is acutally Ukrainian, so no comparison here. But both Alex and Christian are cold, unfeeling and ruthless, a genius + have this whole alpha jealous possessive thing going for them. Tbh I didn't mind that at all, because A LOT of Heroes are like that.
  
  ✧ Alex has rules when it comes to woman he's with: No kissing & No face-to-face contact. You know what I noted for that highlight? → "Hello sir, is your name Christian Allister?"
  
  ✧ Ava and Alex are neighbors and Ava bakes cookies for Alex as an welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift. She brings them over, Alex doesn't know what to do, Ava saying "we are neighbors, we should call a truce." and then furthermore Ava telling him to just take the cookies and do whatever he wants. It reminded me so much of Gianna ending up being Christian's neighbor, bringing him Tiramisu etc.
  
  Vicious comparison:
  
  ✧ Ava is an artist (photographer) & Emilia is an artist (draws). Again that profession is in thousands of books and nothing special. Before I get attacked by someone, I'm only mentioned these facts, because it's something that I noticed.
  
  ✧ By the end of the book Ava has a grand exhibition & Alex attending and doing some grand gesture reminded me of when Emilia had her art gallery opening and Vicious acting like a doting boyfriend and buying one of her portraits.
  
  ✧ but especially the GROVEL. Both Alex and Vicious have to do a lot of grovelling after screwing up. Alex acting like Ava's own bodyguard and appearing every day to walk her home. Vicious basically did the same, but Alex's grovel is better tbh, because he didn't do it only for months, but for a whole year. Alex gets bonus points for patiences and endurance for sure!
  
  Both of the above mentioned books are some of my all time favorite books and why I have all these scenes memorized. I just saw too many similarities, that made me feel disconnected to Ava and Alex. Ava and Alex, individually as well as together, are good characters and cute together, but I keep comparing them to other characters (again that's on me and not the book).
  
  CONCLUSION
  
  Pretty solid book for the first book in a series with likable characters. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
  
  ┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
  TWISTED SERIES
  
  #1 Twisted Love – 2.75 stars
  #2
  Twisted Games – 3 stars
  #3
  Twisted Hate – 3 stars
  #4
  Twisted Lies – tbr
  ┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙
• 
  Kezia Duah

  "It's unfair for me to rate these kinds of romances this low when I damn well know that I just don't like them.......but maybe this might be the ONE."
• 
  Emmy

  brothers best friend & grumpy x sunshine ?! say less.. I’m obsessed with Alex Volkov. The hype is R E A L to start twisted games
• 
  Shay

  This book needed to calm the f* down. It had way too many things going on at the same damn time and was all over the place. Was it necessary for this to have about 4 different endings??
  
  I should've known from the start that this wasn't for me because bad boy Alex Volkov was faking being a bad boy. Home guy is sooooooo weak, so soft-hearted he can't send his best friend's little sister home even when he has plans lined up for that night. She just shows up, unannounced, at his doortstep and he's just like "uhhh, ok. come in, let me cancel my date. i'll watch these movies with you instead Sunnyshiney." Ok, ok...like, but then he lets her sleep over at his house because it's raining outside. He doesn't want her to get soaking wet in the rain. SIR???? She lives next door! He had an umbrella in his car, like from the very first scene we get. We know he owns an umbrella already! Then the guy reasons with himself that she must sleep in his bed with him because he's concerned for her comfort on his rich ass sofa???????????? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
  
  I hate little things like this. It's petty BUT he is not a "bad boy". He's just messed up in the head and possessive and controlling and DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON HIS RANDOM SINGING PERFORMANCE AT THE END! WHAT EVEN.
  
  

  "I'm trying to save you, Ava."
  "From what?"
  "From me."
  I didn't respond, because how was I supposed to tell the man determined to save me that I didn't want to be saved?

  
  
  Just terrible. I have been wanting to read the next two in the series but I don't know if the writing and characters get better. I refuse to hate read anything so I'm thinking I may need to remove the next two from my TBR which bums me out because I was kinda looking forward to Josh and Jessica Rabbit's story.
• 
  ♡tanaz♡

  edit 28/01 - after the release of twisted hate sorry avaalex y'all are getting downgraded to 3 stars <3
  
  (this review was written when i rated the book 4 stars originally jsdhjkss)
  
  🌈 TROPES
  
  ✨ sunshine x grumpy (opposites attract)
  ✨ brothers best friend
  ✨ age gap (H- 27, h- 22)
  ✨ forced proximity/neighbours
  ✨ interracial romance (ava is chinese or half chinese & alex is ukrainian)
  ✨ slight suspense/mystery/revenge plot
  
  🌈 PLOT
  
  ava chen is a photography student living with her brother josh, a medical student until he has to spend a year abroad for his studies. as an over-protective sibling, he doesn't want to leave her home alone and thus recruits his best friend of 8 years alex volkov to temporarily live with her.
  
  ava thinks alex is hot and intelligent, but an unfeeling, emotionless robot. their interactions over the years have been stoic and mostly small talk, so when he moves in, ava and her girl gang (jules her roommate who is an aspiring lawyer, bridget who is a literal royal princess and stella an instagram influencer) all get together to create operation make alex feel emotions from happiness, fear to jealousy. as ava and alex spend more time together, they not only become close but alex realizes that he has the ability to actually care for and love someone else.
  
  🌈 CHARACTERS
  
  ava - she *IS* the sunshine girl trope. as a photographer she looks for the beauty in everyday things, with her big heart all she ever wants is to love and to be loved. she lost her mother at a young age and does not have a strong relationship with her father, but her brother josh tries to make up for that absence. she was always drawn to the cold alex throughout the years but she never got close enough until now. she really bought out his playful, sarcastic, alpha, and possessive side.
  
  due to traumatic events that occurred in her past (something she and alex had in common), she developed aquaphobia but with the help of alex and eventually her own strength she conquered her fears, deceit, and lies from certain people and eventually heartbreak. i liked how strong ava was especially in the end when alex ultimately fucked up. she didn't take him back easily she made him work for her trust whilst she worked on her own self.
  
  alex - he is the embodiment of I HATE EVERYONE EXCEPT FOR MY GIRL, get that man a shirt that says 'i simp for ava and ava only' because he went from a cruel asshole who only fucks girls doggy style with no kissing into making love to ava. as a genius, who also went through a big trauma in his life causing him to lose his parents and sister, alex knows pain and has decided that love just isn't in the cards for him, but ava opened his eyes and heart.
  
  he fell for her knowing he had to put his friendship with josh and his revenge/vengence plot aside. having said that alex still managed to fuck up, but you can't help root for the guy because his POV really showed his reasoning behind every decision. his groveling was cheesy and cliche, but it worked. because underneath all that ice was just a big fat scoop of vanilla ice cream waiting to be devoured by ava.
  
  🌈 GIRL GANG
  
  jules - sassy redhead who i'm almost positive will have an enemies-lovers book with josh (avas brother) and i'm lowkey here for that. although josh is a complete manwhore so my mans will need to step tf up.
  
  bridget - our princess turned *queen*, i cannot wait for her book next with mr bodyguard rhys. i love the forbidden bodyguard trope, exhibit a) my love for
  Heartless Hero,
  Rules of Protection,
  Tangled Like Us,
  Bound by Temptation and
  Something About You.
  
  stella - we didn't get much of her here, but it'll be interesting to read a book about an instagram influencer, something i haven't read about before, and hope we get a glimpse of her potential hero in the next book.
  
  🌈 MY THOUGHTS
  
  as a debut, this was really good but the writing needs some polishing. i feel like the book and series to come will follow the same formula as
  L.J. Shen books, which includes your cute/sunshine heroines and grumpy alphahole heroes. it's not a 4 stars due to alex being portrayed as this ruthless CEO to a complete sap for ava was a little too quick for me personally, i wanted the depth of a slow burn and more angst.
  
  also, the whole vengeance plot for alex i felt was quite rushed and having both alex and ava's mysteries be revealed simultaneously made it seem so unrealistic and far-fetched but it is fiction and the main plot point. i just wish it was explained a bit better and wasn't so predictable with the plot twist.
  
  arc provided kindly by author