Review ✎ Twisted Love

Twisted Love is an adult dark romance novel written by Ana Huang and published in 2022.

Obligatory content warning: the novel contains violence and stalking. The page at the front of the book that lists the novel’s warnings gives a very brief overview, but it does not explicitly mention stalking. There is a QR code for “more information,” but I feel there is a distinct difference to be made between a “possessive/morally grey” character (as quoted directly from the warning page) and a stalker.

This caught me off guard and made me very uncomfortable to find out later in the book. I can do possessive, but I cannot do stalking.

From a technical standpoint, the plot of the novel is well-crafted. The overarching conflict made me think I could predict the twists, but I was surprised every time. It kept me hooked.

Huang has an excellent writing style. Characters, tone, and voice are all conveyed with respectable confidence.

My primary hang-up, as I’m sure you can guess by the rating, is the ending. All romance novels should make me root for the characters getting together. I should be excited for that final part of their journey. I want to kick my feet and squeal when the main couple gets their happy ending.

I can respect and appreciate the way the main conflict of Twisted Love resolved. That is the only reason I have not rated the ending lower than 2.5 stars.

Most romance novels have the standard (and expected) point where the characters split up. Usually it’s temporary and they make up in the end, living happily ever after with each other.

I really liked Ava and Alex together in the novel’s early stages. I rooted for them. However, they do not have a healthy relationship by the end of the novel. They should not have gotten back together, and that is a hill I will proudly die on.

I will not personally recommend Twisted Love. I will also not stop anyone else from being curious and reading it for themselves. Each reader has different tastes, different life experiences, and different opinions that come together and influence what we choose to and enjoy reading.