By: Cait Marie
Blurb
He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world
A diverse new adult steamy romance from Tiktok sensation and USA Today bestselling author Ana Huang.
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.
Review
I finally did it! I read Twisted Love! This book has been on my TBR for years, and on my bookshelf. So, when I went on vacation last month while in a super reading mood, I took it, along with the second one.
Brother’s best friend and grumpy x sunshine are two of my all-time favorite tropes, and this book brought them together so well. I’ve seen people label it as dark, spicy romance, but it’s fairly tame if that’s the genre you’re into and if you’re used to a certain level of… intenseness. There are some darker themes, but nothing extreme, in my opinion. This was actually kind of a light and fun read for me, which I think is more telling about me than the book (haha).
Regardless, it was really good. I loved the back and forth between Ava and Alex, and I truly enjoyed seeing his walls come down around her. It wasn’t simply that he felt protective or even possessive; he seemed to secretly enjoy her friendship, and it was pretty adorable.
All that aside, the book’s pacing and timeline felt off to me. There were a lot of time jumps, which resulted in a lack of development. It kind of glosses over the early stages of their friendship and the buildup to more. And then, the end has a similar situation, where it just skips a chunk of time to show the results of things, instead of taking us through it with the characters.
If you are a vibe reader who enjoys these types of books, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s very enjoyable. I personally just prefer a little more development. I love seeing the characters get to know each other and work through their troubles. I wished some of the parts had been fleshed out a bit more so we got more of the whole story. Granted, it’s a pretty long book, so I understand why the author skipped to get to the romance quicker. Like I said, it’s a personal preference. I still loved the book and plan on reading the rest of the series.
Functionally Fictional 
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