The book Twisted Love by Ana Huang has been on my to-read list for as long as I can imagine. I’m currently on chapter 15, out of the 43 chapters within this book. To convey my initial thoughts about the book so far, I’ll be reviewing the very first three chapters.
Chapter 1
We begin with the POV of the main character, whose name is Ava Chen. She was stranded in the middle of nowhere after one of her photo shoots, and to top it off, it was storming. With no way of getting home, she had to call her brother, Josh. At the time, he was pretty busy, so he had told her that “he’ll be there soon,” but before she could even ask who “he” is, he hung up. Afterwards, a black Aston Martin had pulled up in front of her, with one of Josh’s friends, Alex Volkov, there to pick her up instead. Even though they were the total opposite of one another.
Ava didn’t know much about Alex, other than the fact that he was a mysterious, ridiculously wealthy, smart, handsome man. Who, at the age of 26, became the COO of one of the most successful real estate development companies in the country, “He was a legend, and he knew it,” Ava states. Josh was having a party that both Alex and Ava were planning to attend later that day. During the car ride, they had taken a detour to the bakery so that they could get Josh’s cake. Alex wasn’t a fan of having to go to the bakery, but he eventually complied.
Ava was joking around with him and had seen a somewhat of a smile on his face that supposedly was very shocking to see from him. They then get to Ava’s house, which conveniently was right next to Josh’s house that had lights blazing and people dancing through the windows. Ava said thanks for the ride and went inside her house to get ready and hopefully attend the last bit of her brother’s party. “If I had to see Alex more than a few times a year, I’d go crazy,” Ava expressed to herself.
Chapter 2
We first see that the point of view changes from Ava to Alex in this chapter. Alex is now inside the party with girls trying to hit on him. He wasn’t very amused by them or the party and was in his own thoughts instead. The only reason for his presence was because it was his best friend’s farewell party. Soon, Josh approaches Alex, and they start conversing about the topic of Ava. Josh is going away for some time, and being the overprotective brother he is, he’s worried for her. He reveals that she’s too trusting and would like someone to keep an eye on her. It was clear he was referring to Alex, and he wasn’t fully on board with the idea at first.
Although, after some persuading by Josh, he agreed to the plan. Then all of a sudden were given a flashback of a memory from Alex. It was slightly gruesome, but we weren’t given much more context besides that. He then goes to answer a phone call from his uncle, the only relative he has left. The tone of their conversation represents that they have a plan for “justice, vengeance, and salvation” for his family. Assuming that the memory and their plan have a connection with one another. We end off the chapter with Alex voicing to Josh that he has an idea.
Chapter 3
For this next chapter, we’re back to Ava’s point of view. It’s the morning of the next day, and Ava and her friend Jules are walking across the yard to Josh’s house to help clean up. We were then given background information that Jules and Josh weren’t the biggest fans of each other and practically despised one another. When they entered the house, it was left basically untouched, so they made sure to complete any other pending tasks, since Josh would be leaving later on. There was a painting that Ava asked if he was donating it, but he then said, “Nah, I’ll leave it there. He likes it.”
The confusion about who “he” is is spoken upon again, and of course, a black Aston Martin is pulling into the driveway. It’s then clear that Alex will now be moving into Josh’s house, aka the house next door to Ava. She wasn’t at all in favor of the idea, saying as though she didn’t need a babysitter and was fully capable of taking care of herself. But regardless, the plan was set; Alex and Ava are now neighbors, and he’ll be having to keep an eye on her.
Thoughts and Feelings
I personally really enjoy and find the opening of the book to be interesting. We were given the context of all the main characters, their personalities, careers, attitudes, etc. There was much tension between Ava and Alex, which makes the story way more fun to read. I had a strong urge to keep reading after each chapter, wanting to know what would happen next. Additionally, the relationship between Ava and her brother Josh is also really enjoyable and humorous. Lastly, the fact that we are aware that both Ava and Alex have trauma about their childhoods feeds into the reader’s curiosity.
Conclusion
Overall, in terms of the book so far, I’m incredibly happy with it. I definitely recommend reading the book to those who are interested in finding out what happens next. You can find the book in many bookstores such as: Barnes & Noble, Writers Block, XOXO Book Boutique, etc. As an alternative, you can purchase this book from any online retailer, like Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.
