At the back end of last year, I stumbled upon this book called Twisted Love (TL) by Ana Huang. I'd never read anything of Ana's before and after reading TL I thought to myself 'Why?'
So I went on to read the sequel to TL, which was called Twisted Games (TG). And again, I was immediately hooked by the book. There is a part of TG that hints at a potential relationship between two of the Twisted characters and I instantly knew that I needed - and I mean NEEDED - their book.
And that's what I got in Twisted Hate.
I signed up for an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) of Twisted Hate (TH) and was very lucky to be chosen by Ana's PR company - Wildfire Marketing Solutions - to receive one. I remember when the book came through on my kindle and I screamed (quietly because it was the middle of the night and my family was asleep!).
Below is my honest review of Twisted Hate by Ana Huang - spoiler-free of course.
Twisted Hate by Ana Huang (Twisted #3)
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Enemies with Benefits
Best Friend's Brother/Sister's Best Friend
Workplace Romance
Forced Proximity
Interracial Relationship
My Star Rating:
I want to start this review by saying that if y'all are not reading this book as soon as you can, you need to. Twisted Hate is and always will be one of the best books I've ever read. It is perfection times ten.
I knew I would love this book as soon as I found out it would be enemies-to-lovers. It is one of my favourite tropes and whilst it isn't always written in the best way (some authors skim over the enemies and go straight to the lovers), Ana exceeded every expectation.
Jules Ambrose and Josh Chen are two people who would always be in each other's lives, even if they didn't like each other. They constantly argue, firing insults back and forth, giving as good as they get. Their bickering was continuous throughout this book, which was one aspect I particularly liked because it kept true to the enemies-to-lovers trope. The banter that they share can only be described as explosive. And I mean EXPLOSIVE! Sometimes their words to each other cut deep - they do drag up negative emotions - but most of the time I was smiling and laughing. The banter between them was so genuine, it never felt forced or fake.
Both characters had their individual storylines, their own backstories and challenges to overcome. But they also had obstacles to hurdle together.
Jules Ambrose is officially one of my favourite heroines - if not the best. She is feisty. She is sassy. And she does not let any man tear her down or question her worth. The red-headed beauty is a spitfire of sarcasm, smarts and seduction. Jules is gorgeous and has this tenacity to never give up - including on challenges set by Josh. She has a past she isn't too proud of and has tried to escape from it, but in TH it catches up with her. In the previous books, Jules is this outlandish, party girl who is more often than not a little bit rebellious and troublesome. But in TH, you get to see the vulnerable woman inside; the woman with emotions and a guarded heart.
I never really focused too much on Josh Chen in the previous books (Alex and Rhys had my attention) and after reading TH I know why. It's because I knew that he would ruin romance in real life for me. It's official, I have no hope of ever finding love because Josh has proved that fictional men - literal ink on paper - are just so much better. As an emergency medicine resident Josh looks like he has his whole life together from the outside: good job, good looks, good life. He's smart, he's cocky, great in the bedroom and he's definitely a hit with the ladies, but deep down, underneath all that charm he is tormented by past experiences. His best friend betrayed him and his father is not the man he thought he was. Josh likes to act like he's living his best life, but in reality, he needs someone to understand him and never judge him.
Jules is that person. And Josh is that person for Jules. The two of them understand each other like no other and they know that if they laid themselves bare and shared all their vulnerabilities, they would be there for each other.
Even when they're falling in love, crossing the fine line between love and hate - it is a very fine line in their case - they still spar verbally with each other whilst taking care of each other. One particular scene with some lavender oil made me die of sweetness :)
It was great to see the other Twisted characters in TH as well and one particular friendship made me smile. Josh and Alex. The best friends whose friendship crumbled in Twisted Love. I loved seeing them slowly rebuild what they once had and the dynamic between them - the introverted grumpy Alex mixed with the extroverted confident Josh. And if everything else wasn't enough to make you love Ana's writing, confirmation of Stella's man at the end of TH will certainly do the job! When I saw his name, I screamed in excitement!
I'm currently on my 9th book of 2022 and Twisted Hate will remain in my top three books of 2022 - I know it.
Ana has blown me away, she made me smile, she made me laugh, she made me have tears, she made me want to punch certain characters (mainly the antagonists) and she made me fall in love with Josh and Jules. They are one of my favourite book couples!
I will never stop recommending this book, even to people who aren't interested or don't want to listen...tough! You should read this!
Thank you Ana and Wildfire Marketing Solutions for giving me this ARC!
And a special thank you to @the_literary_indulgence for helping me with my edits and fangirling over Josh and Jules with me!
Click my edit below to buy Twisted Hate by Ana Huang on Amazon or get it for free on KU
***Disclaimer: I own the edits, not the images