Category: Five-Stars

Okay, this has been a long time coming (reference intended), but I really wanted to catch you guys up on my committed relationship with the Twisted Series by Ana Huang. I bet you can tell by checking my current reads page, but I’ve become so absorbed by this series, that I just didn’t find the time to update which book I was on. So, now I’m on the final book in the series—no surprise there—and I need to tell you guys all about this series!

My review of Twisted Love confirmed that I was totally whipped by the series and the characters, and I would absolutely continue with the series, but so much more has come to light as I tore through the next two books in the series, Twisted Games and Twisted Hate. I think reading romance books is actually educational in a way because it helps me discover the kind of relationship I deserve and will settle for. It makes me look at the world, specifically the relationships in the real world, around me differently; I realize how crappy most relationships are in the real world compared to those in books. This realization often makes me grateful that I read and am obsessed with romance books, but it also helps to remind me what I aim for in future relationships—if he doesn’t do all the things that book boys do, I don’t want him.

After that blurb on yet another reason I read romance books, I’ll get into the actual book I’m reviewing: Twisted Games by Ana Huang, the second book in the Twisted Series. I fricking loved this book. So good. I’ll obviously get into my rankings of all the books in the series once I’ve read all of them, but I think I’m biased towards Twisted Love and Twisted Games because they were the first ones. But, so far, I think I loved this book just as much as I loved Twisted Love, but for entirely different reasons.

First of all, the tropes in both books are entirely different. While Twisted Love was a sunshine-grumpy, brother’s best friend romance, Twisted Games is an enemies-to-friends-lovers, bodyguard romance. I don’t have much experience with bodyguard romances, but boy do I want to after this book. I freaking loved the balance and the comforting feeling of being in love with something, so attuned to them, and also being in charge of protecting them. That just—agh, it touches my soul in a way I didn’t even know! Yeah, I’m a novel bodyguard romance enthusiast, so comment (even though you guys never do) on this review of recommendations for that trope. Okay, back to the book.

So, Twisted Games follows one of the other friends in Ava’s friend group, and I fricking love those girls, but I am absolutely obsessed with Bridget. I was so excited for this book because it followed her POV, as well as that of her hot, older bodyguard, Rhys. Also, can we just take a moment to take note of how all the reader girls are already down for the count when a book guy is named Rhys—thanks, let’s continue. We follow Bridget, who is the Princess of Eldorra, through a more in-depth look at her life and past, and let me tell you, this girl is an absolute angel that we need to protect at all costs. Also, Rhys is a total cutie that we must also protect like our lives depend on it, okay? They just both need to be loved so much. Agh, I love them!

Anyway, Rhys becomes Bridget’s bodyguard when her previous one goes on paternity leave, and they’re enemies at first, but begin to warm up to each other over time. They’re very physically attracted to each other, and over the years there are a few close calls where the words “I want you” hang heavy in the air, but they stay away from crossing that line. Until, Bridget’s brother, who is the crown prince of Eldorra, steps down from his position so that he can marry a woman he’s in love with who isn’t of noble birth. Suddenly, Bridget’s next in line to the throne, and her grandfather, the king of Eldorra, isn’t in the best health. It becomes impossible, rather than improper, for Bridget and Rhys to be together, and yet they do hook up and begin to fall for each other. They eventually find a way to be together and get married, after Bridget becomes queen of Eldorra.

It’s a beautiful modern fairytale, but it also has really intense smut. I think I talked about this in my review of Twisted Love, but I’ll say it again: I’m not the biggest fan of smut, something Ms. Huang and I don’t agree upon. I swear, Twisted Games is the most tame one in the series, I think (haven’t read Twisted Lies yet!), and yet the smut is so *bad*, I have to put my Kindle down sometimes. I love Bridget and Rhys, but smut is not the end-all-be-all for me—I think I really like fluff a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, I love romance books, so I am obviously not aversive to smut, it’s just not the parts of books I look forward to—I love Confessions of Love more.

I fricking loved this book ’cause it just hit my soul at the right time. I was traveling for most of the time I was reading it, so I think I loved it more than I wouldn’t if we were because it gave me a private haven when I needed to escape. There are sometimes those books that we think of more fondly than we would have originally rated them because they connect in some way to a good part of our lives. For me, Twisted Games did that; I would just curl up with it in a crowded, noisy public place, and forget about the world—until I got to a steamy scene and became all too hyperaware of where I was. But, all in all, this book owns a certain small part of my heart and it will keep paying rent for as long as I love it like I do right now.

Genre: fiction, bodyguard romance, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, romance

Age: 15+

Rating: 10/10

Oh my golly, lord-and-savior, divine intervention, holy magistrate, goodness gracious! I feel like I say this every single time I read a book I’ve been dying to read for the first, but I have been WAITING for this one! I read ACOTAR for the first time months ago—I think I read the first book in December—but it has been living in my mind rent-not-needed-I-will-be-paying-you-sir ever since. I don’t even want it to leave at this point; the ships give me sustenance and the banter makes me die inside.

Anyway, it’s beside the point to say Ms. Maas holds the key to my soul, I definitely have a bit of a story to tell about reading this final book in the series (so far). I finished ACOFAS a while ago and have even gotten around to re-reading all of the books again. But, even though I bought all of them at the bookstore before we left civilization to cross the ocean, the bookstore didn’t have A Court of Silver Flames! Noooooo! On top of that, I was near certain I was going to finish all of them before we got someplace with a good enough bookstore to buy ACOSF. Never make the mistake of underestimating the power of addiction, my friends. I swear, it took me record time to burn through those books and then I was left with an itch I couldn’t scratch in the form of ACOSF.

The worst part was that I could’ve just ordered it on Kindle and read it just to get that desire satisfied, but I don’t love Kindle reading. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Kindles in general and have used them happily for the better part of my life. But, for me, once I bought real paperback books, there was no going back. There’s just something about the physical feeling of a book that I loooove.

So, yes, my stupid laziness convinced me to not bother looking for ACOSF while I had the chance in Cape Town and my stupid pride wouldn’t allow me to buy it on Kindle in an inferior form than I wanted it in. Also, for those who understand the meaning of bookshelf beauty, I wanted the physical copy of ACOSF to put on my bookshelf next to the rest of my ACOTAR series to give me an endorphin boost whenever I looked at it. If you get it, you get it.

Eventually, my sister (there seems to be a theme here) gave in to her temptations and ordered ACOSF on Kindle. I was annoyed when she did it, but also slightly glad because then I could finally read it while not compromising my standards—though that bookshelf remains sadly incomplete. Either way, I was just super excited that I could finally read ACOSF and dove right in.

First of all, I’d like to give a general review that comes to mind: shield your eyes, children. I will definitely be giving a higher than usual age rating for this book, certainly older than the rest of ACOTAR, because…wow. I don’t know how many times I had to just put the Kindle down and clean my eyes. Everyone was literally so h0rny all the freaking time! And, I mean that’s saying something because this is ACOTAR we’re talking about—come on.

Anyway, there was definitely a spice increase I should mention, and other than that, I absolutely loved the rest of the plot. I know that there are people who aren’t Nessian shippers—I personally think they should be removed from the planet—but I would like to say that I have been a Nessian shipper from Day 1. From the very first time Cassian and Nesta met in ACOMAF I was like, “Oh yeah, this is gonna be good!” Although Feysand remains 100% my OTP and LOML, Nessian has been in the back of my mind forever and has just gotten better in ACOSF.

I would also like to give a quick mention of a new ship that has surfaced that I will defend until my dying breath: Gwynriel. I absolutely love Gwyn, I didn’t know how much I needed a Gwyn in my actual life until she appeared in this book, and I would walk over hot coals to give this woman (excuse me, female) a hug. Combined with the love I feel for Azriel, I was gobbling up the Gwynriel crumbs that are sprinkled throughout the book. That has been the new occupier of my mind at the moment: how ready I am for Gwynriel to surface fully. Azrelain can go die in a pit, sorry not sorry.

The thing I love about the book is the insight into Nesta that we get. I loved Feyre and I love her story, but I’ve also been eyeing Nesta and wondering what her deal was since the beginning. It’s so easy to see her as the nasty, mean older sister, but I think any reader can recognize the inner turmoil going on within that head. I for one was super excited when I realized the whole book would be focusing on Cassian and Nesta with a particular inside look into Nesta’s character. I don’t know, I guess there’s something about the ferocious, backtalking female MC for—it’s just my fave.

This book checked so many boxes for me that have been churning away in the back of my mind since finishing ACOFAS and being left on a teetering cliffhanger for the future of Nessian. More Cassian and Nesta representation, hinting at more deep dives, hopefully, into more Inner Circle characters (pls, pls, pls, Azriel, SJM, pls)? Check. More focus on Nesta and seeing a representation of PTSD, self-destructive tendencies, and bottling up of pain? Check. So much smut from Nessian it was putting Feysand to shame? Check. Not my total top favorite of the series, especially because more books are coming, but it felt so great to dive back into the world of ACOTAR fresh.

Genre: adult fantasy, romance

Age: honestly? 100+ realistically? 16+

Rating: 10/10

So, I think it’s pretty obvi that I’m in love with this series by now, and I think it’s so cute to look back on my posts of ACOTAR and the first few books that are full of my skepticism of the series. Even though that was barely more than a month ago, my opinion on this series has changed so much, especially where my ranking of the books falls.

I know that the main reason for books in general is the plot, but I would like to contest this with my one piece of evidence: romantic fantasy. This is a genre I am entirely making up because it is the one I belong to. It’s essentially people who love both romance and fantasy books, especially if you combine the two. I don’t think people who read romantic fantasy read it because of the plot or factual accuracy. In fact, if you look at the majority of the (made-up) genre, there are a ton of plot holes (nice intended, huh?) and questionable choices. I can’t count how many times I’ve read something questionable in a romantic fantasy book and 100% agreed with it, but wouldn’t have stood for it IRL. And, by questionable, I mean lines said by a character or comments from the author that would not have flown very well in the actual world; slightly misogynistic or toxic things I would be quick to call out in the real world but find myself sighing and getting heart-eyes when I see them in romantic fantasy books.

The point I’m trying to make is that romantic fantasy books can get away with, or, more accurately, are praised for, a lot of things other genres aren’t. I think this is because romantic fantasy readers have a couple of screws loose, but I don’t want to get into that discussion. The thing I want to focus on is that one of those screws loose in my own brain was discovered while reading this book.

If you’ve read this book, you’ll know that it has virtually no plot. If ACOMAF wasn’t already, like, six years long, the 200 pages of A Court of Frost and Starlight would have probably been added on to the end of it. But, although that reason for the book’s existence is plausible, I think SJM made this book its own thing for a very specific reason…for all the screws-loose-romantic-fantasy-readers like me to die over, of course!

Question: Have you ever fangirled/boyed/othered so hard over something/one that anything it/they do(es) is cute to you? That would be a “yes” over here, and specifically over ACOTAR.

As I said, my opinion of the series has changed over time and pages, but the biggest thing that has developed is my undying and extremely unreasonable fandom love for the series and characters. I think romantic fantasy readers like myself have a few screws loose because we absolutely adore scenes in books that are devoted to our favorite ships or friend groups. For me, good ship material of Feysand trumps any plot or worldbuilding of Prythian any day. Period.

Romantic fantasy readers love to throw their books across the room when the guy everyone hates (echem, Tamlin) enters the room, giggle uncontrollably when characters start catching feelings or laugh their asses off over a dad joke from our comfort characters. All of these are things I do regularly when reading but were definitely in high amounts while reading ACOFAS. The book is just SJM making hella good fanfiction for all the Feysand, Azlain, and (debatably) Nessian shippers. I loved the book because I am a supporter of all of these ships, and I stand by it when I say that this is probably the best book in the series. I think that’s proof enough that a screw’s loose, right? Someone send help!

Genre: adult fantasy, romance

Age: 15+

Rating: 10/10

Ok, so after the emotional rollercoaster of As Good, As Dead, I wanted to head right back into ACOTAR, which I had been unceremoniously interrupted from by my sister. I had already read ACOTAR and ACOMAF, but I had only gotten about a hundred pages into A Court of Wings and Ruin before it was quite literally ripped out of my hands.

So, I headed back to finish GGGTM while my sister tore—ick—through ACOTAR. She’s since finished the series and has already gone through a few other books on my bookshelf. I’m going to have to be careful going forward to make sure she doesn’t damage them any further and doesn’t read any of my favorites.

Anyway, I picked ACOWAR up again and I loved getting lost in its seven hundred and some pages. I love a good, long book that has a plot line I can just lose myself. It’s always so unsatisfying when you invested in a book and then it just ends. So, I loved the length of the book and I got to feel super immersed in the story. I think ACOMAF is my favorite, but I do love the other books so far (I’m currently on A Court of Frost and Starlight).

ACOWAR picks up exactly where the others leave, with Feyre in Tamlin’s talons (quite literally) and Rhys and the inner circle back in the Night Court. They eventually are reunited and I get a lot of material of my favorite couple and friend groups all in Velaris. I loved all the growth that happens, as well as the rise of one of my all-time, hands-down, glasses-raised favorite ships: Nessian. I. Love. NESSIAN. And I love the material we get of them in ACOWAR. Although they’re still at the enemies stage of the enemies-to-lovers, I think the majority of them together will be enemies. I’m honestly not complaining, as I love their banter and rivalry. But I fell off my chair hard when that scene with the king happened. I was basically speechless and I had to silently and internally scream when that happened.

Anyway, I loved the book and the extra material on all the ships and friend circles. I swear, these books make me smile, laugh, cry, and question my existence all at the same time. And, I’ve almost thrown one of them across the room, though I make a rule not to do that unless it’s a soft surface.

Genre: adult fantasy, romance

Age: 16+

Rating: 10/10

I am officially in love with this series. I have a lot of new things to tell you guys, both in the book, my relationship with this series, my opinions, and what has actually been going on in my life. The latter of these I plan to cover in the Holiday review post I plan to make in the next few days—don’t freak out if it’s later than that; I think we’ve established “the next few days” is code for “whenever I freaking feel like it.”

Either way, back to the book review. Guys. Guys. That is the only word I have left in my vocabulary apparently. I know that I shouldn’t write reviews right after I’ve finished a book because my emotions are too raw and there’s a possibility they’ll cloud my actual rating of a book. Like, I could have really loved a book initially and given it a relatively high rating, but then I realized that I didn’t actually like it as much as I remembered.

That danger is always present, but I feel the threat of not having a raw enough memory of the book just as acutely, if not more. I would rather give a generous rating to a book that may not be my ultimate favorite than forget how much I fell in love with a book and give a horrendously lousy review because of my crap memory. Besides, I trust my memory enough that I don’t think I would forget if I didn’t like a book and give it a high rating.

That’s my reasoning in case you were wondering how I go about reviewing. Anyway, back to this wonderful book. This book was absolutely amazing, but I feel like reading it was a rollercoaster. The book itself is really long (620-something pages), but the way I went about reading it was a little hair-brained.

I started A Court of Mist and Fury a few days after Christmas, but it was extremely slow going in the beginning. This was because I was getting back into the rhythm of school, i.e. falling back underwater in paperwork. So, I started the book but only made it about 50 pages in before we went on vacation for New Year’s. I knew then that I would have plenty of time to get into ACOMAF, and, sure enough, I immediately began tearing through the book.

However, I had lent my sister ACOTAR a few days before, and, boy, she literally inhales books. I have never met someone who reads faster than her or my other sister, and I began to feel very stressed as the pages between us got smaller and smaller, even as I tried frantically to read more. It was a losing battle, and she managed to finish ACOTAR before I finished ACOMAF. Therefore, on New Year’s Day, I found myself staying up late to finish the book.

Even as I write this, my sister’s sitting next to me already halfway through ACOMAF. I have no idea how we’re going to manage the next three books in the series. Just what I needed: added stress in my book as well as reality. Thanks a bunch, Cleo, love you.

Either way, I absolutely loved this book, despite trying to speed ahead. I am officially Rhysand’s property, and I ship Feysand until my dying days. I’ve also already started A Court of Wings and Ruin, so I’m totally ripping on Tamlin and the rest of those @-holes. I’m also so into the Inner Circle vibes (Cassian, my baby) and I love the whole friend group. I totally also ship Cassian and Nesta (what’s their couple’s name?).

But, the whole vibe of the book is so awesome, and I get warm fuzzy feelings just thinking about Feyre getting her bad beotch energy back on. She absolutely deserves how she’s come so entirely into herself and I love Rhys for helping her do that.

Genre: adult fantasy, romance

Age: 16+

Rating: 10/10