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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Wow, I’m so excited to announce that I’ve finally filmed a reading vlog!!! This is super exciting because I filmed it for reading Fourth Wing, so I got to read such an awesome book while also recording my priceless reactions. I’m editing the video together now and will be posting it soon as my first-ever post on my tgg channel. I’m so incredibly excited for you guys to see it!!

But, I also wanted to write a review for Fourth Wing ’cause it just wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t and, boy—do I have a lot to say! I loved the book and if you go watch the video on my channel you can how much I was invested in the story. I’m planning to create a book review video for it, but nothing’s been planned currently, so that may not happen. Don’t be mad at me if you don’t see a video for that on the channel. So, if that doesn’t happen, I want to share my cohesive review in some way and this is the best!

I loved the book for a lot of different reasons, all of which I’ll cover, but mostly because it gave the best vibes of all my favorite books and movies. I got super strong Divergent vibes, and I’m a hard-core Divergent girlie. I loved the books and movies and the vibes of Fourth Wing brought back those good ole days. Ugh, so good! I also saw SO many references to ACOTAR or Feysand, which made me think Rebecca Yarros had read ACOTAR. Love that for her and loved seeing something inspired by such an awesome couple. Xaden and Violent gave off Feysand vibes, especially Xaden as Rhysand <3

Also, just the dragon part of the story gave me the best possible flashbacks to How To Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) and Eragon; I was picturing HTTYD during Violet’s flying scenes, ngl. I’m not the biggest fan of Eragon (the books or the movie), but I was just reminded of the similarities between Eragon and Fourth Wing because of both the books’ fantasy, mythical creatures, and dragon-training aspects. Yeah, I’d have to say I absolutely love it when my favorite parts of other books are combined all together, which is exactly what I got with Fourth Wing.

Like I said, loved those vibes that I got from my favorite other fantasy worlds, as well as just the general “girl-having-to-prove-herself” trope. Also, the grumpy, closed-off superior ranking guy who offers to train her, is one of my favorite all-time tropes, so I was swooning hard when that happened. Definitely love Violet and Xaden, so good. Plus, super great side-characters, writing style, and I felt sucked into the world right away—all good things in a book!

As for one thing I wish wasn’t in the book, it’d have to be that the visuals around the book weren’t as on-point as they could have been. Rebecca Yarros did a great job describing stuff, but I love to have a killer map in the book that I can keep referring to, and the one she indlcluded of Basgiath War College was unnecessary and unhelpful. I wish she had put a map of the entire continent and the borders of Navarre because that’s what I was struggling to picture. Also, love extra little details like an index of words or even exerpts like those at the beginning of each chapter but compiled and expanded on at the back. Yeah, those kinds fo little details make the world so much more real and draw me in super quick, so I miss that. But, all-in-all had such an awesome time with this book and can definitely see the hype; it was all the best parts of other contemporary fantasy put together!

Genre: fantasy, Y/A, fiction, romance

Age: 14+

Rating: 10/10

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Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter

Welcome back, guys, to another book review! Wow, if there’s one thing I love about school breaks (and there’s more than one thing), having tons of time to get through my TBR list is it. I’ve read four books over break and I’m on my fifth, which will probably continue into beginning school again. But, I love having time to get absorbed by my books and spend the whole day finishing one of my five-star reads. Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter was kind of the last hurrah for this winter break’s reads, because I finished it yesterday (still on the brain!) and I start school again in two days. But, it was an awesome last hurrah, I loved it so much, and I think it’s in my favorite romance books and Beach Read. Those two are just—agh!! So good!

So, because I’ve been reading books voraciously over the past two weeks on break, I read BTTM in about two days. Let me tell you: loved those two days so much. I always forget how much I love soft romances full of idyllic fluff. I’m always reading my trifecta: Feminine Classics TM (aka elitism), hardcore romantasy, or world-based, often heartbreaking novels. That’s the span of main genres I love to read and read consistently, but there are outliers. Like, right now, I’m reading 1984 which is written by a *man* I know, guys, that’s so weird of me to be reading a book by a *man* but it’s actually pretty good right now, so let me see if it ends up pulling through. Anyway, back to my main point before I got distracted, I don’t normally or consistently read fluffy romances, though I guess you could categorize the Off-Campus series and Icebreaker as fluff. However, I would argue that they’re not quintessentially fluffy and neither is the Twisted series. So, no, I don’t normally read fluff romance.

However, I always forget just how much fluff wrecks me, ’cause when I read Beach Read, boy, was I a puddle of absolute tears. I don’t cry that often when I read (many, MANY other emotions, but not usually crying) so I know I’m in for it when the only books I think I’ve ever cried while reading are both fluffy books. Like, I can read depressing, heart-wrenching novels and even fantasy, which have a lot of super sad moments, and never cry. But give me a little bit of fluff and heart-string pulls? Puddle of complete tears, am I. It’s pathetic, seriously.

Better Than The Movies was no exception because even though I forgot just how much light romances wreck me, I was still a puddle of tears by the end of this adorable book. I loved the idyllic storyline and adored the rom-com, romantic appreciation, and Taylor Swift references that Lynn Painter put in—a recipe for success. Such an adorably sunny and sweet read after the rollercoaster of my previous reads over break (The Cruel Prince, Icebreaker, and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous). I was immediately a simp for Wes Bennett, even though I was a bit uncomfy drooling over a guy who shared my last name. It’s fine, he’s so awesome, it made up for that!

By the end, all the sappy amazingness of this book had me bawling my eyes out at 8 am (don’t even ask, I like to finish a good book first thing when I wake up) and haven’t stopped thinking about it. I’m in love with Wes—it has been confirmed, everyone’s invited to the wedding—and I loved the entire vibe of this book. I’m always reminded of how much I love this genre of light, fluffy romances and I need to read more. Though I have said I also want to read more dark romances, so I’m not sure how those two things are going to coincide….recs, anybody?

Genre: light romance, Y/A, fluff, rom-com, fiction

Age: 12+

Rating: 10/10

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Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

So, I’m writing this review and my review of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black at the same time because I read them right after each other, so if you haven’t read that review, it should be posted by now. Go check it out, as well as the holiday recap I wrote and posted as well (hopefully). Anyway, back to this review after that little reminder. I’m here today to talk about my experience reading the BookTok acclaimed, internet sensation Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. Y’all. I have been waiting, hoping, praying for this moment, so let’s get down to business.

We all know that Icebreaker had its IT girl moment on BookTok last year, and its sequel, Wildfire, also did well this year. The third book in the series, Daydream, is coming next year in June, and I bet y’all can tell by how I did my research that I’m currently obsessed with this series and plan to read both Wildire and Daydream, when it drops. That’s how down-bad Ms. Grace has me. I read Icebreaker in 1.5 days (I freaking devoured that book) and had so much fun reliving the good ole days when I could spend a whole day in bed, kicking my feet over fictional men.

A quick recap for my besties who forget or haven’t read Icebreaker yet, the book takes place on another college campus in the US, giving me very much Off-Campus vibes, because I loved that main series. Icebreaker gave a lot of Hannah and Garrett vibes, mainly because Garrett and Nathan, who’s the MMC in Icebreaker, are both captains on their hockey teams. Nathan and Anastasia, who’s a figure skater, are the main duo in Icebreaker, and it follows them as an incident with the hockey team’s ice rink means the team and the figure skaters are going to have to share a rink for the fall semester. This means Anastasia and Nathan will be seeing more of each other, especially as Anastasia warms to Nathan’s charm, the other wonderful guys on the team, and her best friend starts dating Nate’s best friend. All in all, this book’s plot was super fun and fluffy, which is why I loved it just like I loved The Deal with Hannah and Garrett. The vibes and plotline were super similar, but the slight changes made me love Icebreak slightly more.

Anastasia was a tough character, but I did like her and when it got to about page 400 and something and something awful happened to her, I was super angry, just like I was with Hannah and her assault. I never expected it because I always fall in love with the guys (I heart Nathan Hawkins), but the girls in these hockey romances are also super lovable and pull my heartstrings with how devasting their stories are. I loved Anastasia because of that and how tough her goals were, but I also loved Nathan so so much because he was super supportive and always looking out for Anastasia, even when that manifested in a way he needed to change. The way they both make each other better is the kind of relationship we should all be aspiring to from these books—it’s just, chef’s kiss. (Sidenote: The only part of the book that gave me an ick was that Anastasia’s name was shortened to Stassie or Stas, and I think it’s supposed to be pronounced like Stacy, but why? Like, why would you take this ethereal, gorgeous name and shorten it to STACY? For what, Hannah Grace?) (Sidenote Pt. 2: I had a theory spring upon me about midway through when I connected two dots that did not connect in the end at all and thought that Anastasia’s coach, Aubrey, was actually her birth mother, as she had stopped skating because she was pregnant and Anastasia’s adopted. I thought I was on to something, but it never surfaced as true, so…Hannah Grace, please take my theory!)

Like I said before, I read this book super quickly and right after The Cruel Prince, so I could help compare them a little bit when writing their reviews because they’re so different. They kind of encompass the range I love to read; one of them is a hockey romance full of hardcore smut and fluff and all my favorite little things, and the other is a hardcore fantasy full of great worldbuilding, little smut, and lots of attention to detail in regards to plot and story. These two books I loved, probably Icebreaker more, but I think it’s a great mark of a reader that has a wide range of books that they enjoy. Now I just need to get into dark romances! I’m so ready, please recommend!

Genre: fiction, romance (hockey)

Age: 15/16+

Rating: 10/10

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Holiday Season Recap 2023

Hi all! If you’re reading this, I want to send a little reminder that I also posted two book reviews today as well, so check those out if you feel so inclined. If not, just stick to this post and I’ll catch you up on the happening for me and myself this holiday season 2023. Alright, well, now that we’re all here, I want to say I’m going to be talking about my winter break up until today, December 28th, 2023, because I wanted to get this post out even if it isn’t the New Year yet. Therefore, I’ll be catching y’all up primarily on what my December has looked like, not what my New Year’s has been like cause that hasn’t happened yet. I feel like I’m repeating myself and I’m braindead from writing three posts in one day, but let’s keep moving along!

From the beginning of December, I was still in school until about the 15th or so. But, lots were still happening around that was in preparation for the holidays, so I feel like we should start there. This time of year is when applications for summer camps have usually happened for everyone, but this year was a bit different for me. Instead of summer camp this summer, I’ve been trying to figure out internships and job opportunities that I could do. I want to get that kind of experience, both in a regular summer job and in a psychology-related internship because I’m so interested in psychology. The process has been tough and is still ongoing because I haven’t applied for anything fully yet, but wish me luck for this summer!

In addition to summer applications, I’ve been applying to various semester schools for next year’s fall semester. For those that don’t know, semester programs are similar to a study abroad for high school students, but mainly centered in the US. I applied to three, getting all of them out of the way before the 15th, which was a stress overload. I’ll be hearing back at the end of January about the ones I got into and then I’m hopefully off next year’s fall semester for a high school experience in the US with lots of outdoor activities. Wish me luck with that too!

So, yeah, I’ve been overloaded with intense applications for the months leading up to the New Year and I’ll be continuing my hunt for summer applications even now. Aside from that, I continued with school during the worst three weeks in the school year and finally got off on break on the 18th. We had been making our way up the island chain over the past month, going from Martinique to Dominica to Guadeloupe to St. Croix. We finally got there in time for everyone to arrive for the holidays! My middle sister arrived on the 17th, and then my other sister arrived on the 20th. Then my grandparents and uncle arrived on the 22nd and we packed our few days all together with lots of activities and Christmas fun.

It was awesome to get to see all my family and have this time with them, but these past few months have been super tough and trying for me. I’ve been pushing myself more than usual academically, molding my future super rapidly, and was just exhausted at the end of it all on the 18th. Adding to that, I was immediately expected to partake in a million social and familial activities, which are usually fine, but were excruciating when I was so tired and worn out from the past few months. So, I did end up having lots of fun, but I think it’s super important for us to notice our teenagers and student family members have been through a rough semester and need space and time to rest and recuperate before doing it all again.

Well, after that spiel, I think I’m all finished with my December happenings and can talk about the future. As y’all can tell by how I’m posting a lot right now, this break is the time I get to finally catch up with you guys and I’ll be underwater in a few weeks again. So, please be patient with me when I get back to school on the 7th; I’ll try to keep posting as much as I can, but my rest is priority numero uno. We just sailed to Culebrita, which is a tiny island off of Culebra, which is next to Puerto Rico, and I think we’re staying here until the New Year. My eldest sister leaves for school again, but my middle sister is staying for a while and has a friend coming for a bit into January.

Oh, a quick update on movies/TV shows since I last talked about those: I’ve been watching the new Percy Jackson series with my family, and, guys, 10/10, they hit the bulls-eye. So good! I also watched My Life With The Walter Boys, which, if you’ve seen my bookography, you know I read that book. I have some mixed feelings about the series (way too long, too many added plotlines and characters, hit the spot with the actor who plays Cole, liked the Erin expansion on her character) but overall it had good vibes. My family and I also watched The Eras Tour cause it started streaming on Tay’s birthday; I was mad at first because I wanted to watch it as soon as possible but my parents made me wait until my sister got there. Also, I wanted the vibes to be right and no one to complain about anything, so I almost watched it by myself without my family, but they convinced me not to. It’s okay, I watched it by myself the next day. Loved it, 10/10, that girl never misses but I want all the songs she left out, and I want to be featured in it because I know it was partly filmed at my night. Come on, Tay, give me some recognition!

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The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Alright, besties, we’re back with another book review! It’s currently The Holiday Season, and my rules regarding reading around the holidays can be summed up in one distinct sentence: read to escape, beotches. That’s it. That’s my whole motto around what I read during the holidays. This holiday season was chaotic and stressful, to say the least, and I’ll be posting a recap right after this review. All you need to know right now is that to counteract the effects of all that stress from the holidays, I wanted to read some interesting or exciting books I had been putting off. The Cruel Prince was one of those because I had seen it recommended many times as an awesome read and super fun, so I wanted to escape to that type of fantasy world between the dates of Dec. 16th and the 23rd.

So yeah, my goal was to read a super fun and distracting fantasy novel so that I could have fun while reading instead of forcing myself to read something educational. God forbid! In regards to that goal, I 100% succeeded! I had so much fun reading The Cruel Prince, which I was not exactly expecting because I’ve been reading a lot less fantasy lately, especially good fantasy, and I was originally scared to start the book because of the tail business, iykyk. Anyway, I had a few friends personally recommend and it’s all over BookTok, so I decided to give it a try. What was the worst that could happen?

Well, let me tell you what happened. I was pleasantly surprised. I had a great time, lots of fun with the characters, worldbuilding was on point, and I really, really liked Jude. That’s a bit uncommon for me because I don’t always love or relate to the main character in books, but Jude was just awesome; super spunky, smart, and great at outthinking everyone, and underestimated again and again. I just love when a character has an awesome comeback no one saw coming and I was shook by the plot twists and turns.

The book was super great and I’d read it again, but I want to know everyone’s thoughts on the rest of the series/Holly Black’s other books before I continue. After finishing The Cruel Prince around Christmas time, I got two new books for Christmas. One of them was Icebreaker, which I was dying to read, so I already finished it. That means I’ve kind of moved on sticking with the rest of the Folk of the Air Series, but I’m not opposed to picking it back up. What are y’all’s thoughts and suggestions? Should I read the other books in the series, or are they not as good as The Cruel Prince?

Also, sidenote, maybe it’s just because I just finished Icebreaker so I’m obsessing over those men, but I had lots of fun with Cardan. First off, I didn’t understand his hype until the last 10-15% of the book, because he and Jude are “enemies” until then. But, from that last 10%, I’m honestly down bad for that man/faerie. Who doesn’t love a guy that’s obsessed with his dagger-wielding wife? Certainly not me. Also, in case you guys were wondering about my thoughts about the lack of smut in the book, I wasn’t super disappointed in that. Y’all know smut doesn’t entirely make or break a book for me because I don’t love it that much. However, if there is going to be smut (which, in The Cruel Prince, there’s very little of) you have to do it right. In that regard, Holly Black hit the bulls-eye; I loved her smut writing, even if there was very little of it.

Genre: fantasy, Y/A, fiction, romance

Age: 12+

Rating: 8.75/10

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The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

What is up, everyone? Have you missed me? Aww, it’s okay, I know you did. Anyway, I finally finished The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake after starting it at the beginning of November and wanted to write a review immediately. I think it has something to do with the cliffhanger ending (spoiler alert!), but I have NOT been able to stop thinking about it. Let’s dive into my thoughts on this book!

So, like I said, I started this book in November, but this was the second time I’ve started this book. I picked it up for the first time about a year ago, I think, and just couldn’t get into it; after about two pages, I was just super confused by the writing style and was not enjoying myself in the slightest. I just DNFed it right then and there and decided I didn’t like it, but it’s been sitting on my bookshelf for about a year now and it looked so lonely—I had to give it another shot!

If I’m being honest…it was still a bit boring in the beginning. I was just not super into the world-building and all that, but I’ve read dark academia before and liked it in the end, so I convenience myself to push through. After about 150 pages, I was getting super into the book, a feeling I’ve missed after being in a bit of a reading slump for the past few months. The plot of The Atlas Six was super intriguing, delving into complex topics of academia and existentialism, all in a magical, secret society with top-notch magicians.

Although at times pretentious and way more intelligent than I could comprehend, I got super invested in the heightened stakes and the romance and friendship dynamics of the group (except for you, Parisa, eff off). When I started getting close to the end, I was having all those moments that signify a good book, having to stand/sit up because something major just happened, smiling and making faces at the characters, etcetera. I even, when I got to the last 50 or so pages, woke up early to finish the book in bed in the morning—I’ve never had such an awesome day as that one, let me just say!

The book ended on an ominous note and I know there is a sequel that I need to read, and I definitely will, but Christmas is coming up and I’ve asked for lots of books so, as crazy as it sounds, I don’t want to start something so soon that I have to put it down for the books that were on my wishlist. Ah, the life of a slow reader! Anyway, loved this book and would highly recommend it if you liked The Secret History of If We Were Villains (or read my reviews and added them to your TBR, also add this book).

Genre: dark academia, fantasy, historical(-ish) fiction

Age: 14+

Rating: 7.5/10

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Autumn (aka Gilmore Girls season) 2023 Summary

Hi, y’all! Wow, it’s been literally for-ev-er! I think the last post I wrote was at the end of the summer in September, and I feel like a lot has happened and nothing much has happened at the same time. I’m back on the boat and have just about finished my first semester of 10th grade. And, I’m currently prepping for the holiday season and for lots of family time—yay :I

I mean, I love the holidays, especially the weeks leading up to Christmas when I get to start decorating, planning presents, giving my wishlist to people, and most of all, listening to Christmas music!!! Love that whole aesthetic. But, it’s also a super stressful time. I’ve taken on some tough classes this year and they’re quite demanding of me, so while I would love to be preparing for the holidays and having fun, I’m stuck doing school for 9 hours a day—so. much. fun. No, I do love my classes, but it’s not a lot of fun to watch the holidays creeping up and be stuck still in school; I’m sure many of you can relate.

Also, I said I liked the weeks leading up to Christmas, not Christmas. Yeah, the one downside of the December holidays in my opinion is that it’s mega-family time, and I avoid all social interactions in my life as I can. It’s always super stressful and emotional to be with my family, out doing holiday gatherings and activities all the time, even though I love the holidays and getting a break from school.

Well, after that rant on my feelings toward the holidays, here’s a quick rundown of what the past few months have been for me~

September 6th: Back to the boat! We’re in Grenada and my school has started. Lots of stress and social activities going on that I do not want to go to, but what’s new?

September 7th-October 12th: my life is meaningless.\

October 13th: OMG The Eras Tour Movie omg Tay’s dress omg BEYONCE omg I’m deceased omg 1989 TV is coming I’m so ready omgomgomg

Oct. 14th-26th: School school school Mom goes back to the US for a hot minute school school school wtf is my life

Oct. 27th: Ladies and Gentlemen & Others. The moment you have all been waiting for. It’s time to PARTAY!!!

Oct. 31st: Nothing super happened for Halloween. Dad and I had pulled the boat out of the water for repairs a few weeks ago and decided to stay in tonight and watch a scary movie. It was awesome (& super scary).

Nov. 1st-17th: Still on the hard, but hauled Dafne back in the water on Mom’s B-day. We’re planning to say “bye loser” to Grenada!

Nov. 18th-23rd: Sailed to Martinique and got lots of food for the holidays. Thanksgiving was da bomb dot com—love Thanksgiving food and I finally get a break from school! *happy tears*

Nov. 24th-Dec. 14th: (the longest three weeks of my entire life) (aka near my death bed, Siri, remind me to order a coffin) (oh, look, it’s Blondie’s b-day; Happy Birthday, sweetie!) (also, sailed to Dominica, which was heaven on earth, and then to St. Croix, which freaking gorgeous)

Alright, now, thanks to that enlightening diary of the past two and a half months, y’all are caught up on what’s been happening. Yeah, there was a lot of stress and anxiety over my classes, lots of happenings with the boat in October, and then making our way up to St. Croix for Christmas & New Year’s over the past two weeks.

My sisters are arriving over the next few days and then my maternal grandparents and my uncle are arriving a bit later than that. We still haven’t decorated our tree (I know, sacrilege), but we’ve been waiting for my sisters to get here. I’ve been cleaning, finishing school work, and submitting applications for semester schools (surprises!) and summer internships. I finally go on full break on the 17th, but my classes have been petering out over the past few days, so that’s why I’ve found time to write this post.

I hope y’all have the most amazing holidays, try not to let the stress of family members get to you, and I hope you get all that’s on your wishlist. Don’t forget to stream TET and the reputation Stadium Tour to celebrate Tay as always!! Love ya!

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Twisted Lies (Twisted Series Book 4) by Ana Huang

*Screaming-crying-throwing up!!!!!* I finished this book last night and can’t stop thinking about it and this review. I was so excited to start this book, and we’ll get into whether or not it lived up to my expectations, but reading it was also such an experience. I had so many “screaming into my pillow” moments, and then for the last 15% or so of the book, I filmed my reactions to the end of the book and the whole series. This wasn’t just the final story of the final friend in the girlfriend group; it was the end of the whole series and a “goodbye” to all these characters—fresh tears, agh!!!

Yeah, it was tough and sad to say goodbye to Ava, Alex, Bridget, Rhys, Jules, Josh, Stella, and Christian, but I had such a great experience and they will live on in my memories as an awesome series. Also, this book was a great closer, as I was still wrapped up in the personal stories of Christian and Stella, but I felt like I wasn’t going to miss what their lives were after the series ended. I knew already the dynamic they had, and their characters weren’t as unpredictable as, say Alex or Jules and Josh.

Also, I nearly cried at the end when we got soft scenes of them all grown up and married (not Josh and Jules though—they literally take forever!) and with their kids. I want Ana Huang to write another series with the Twisted second generation because I need to know the hawties those kids will be. That sounds so twisted (pun INTENDED), but I just mean I want more books with these characters and their dynamics.

Anyway, I completely did not give a book review, so let’s do that quickly. As I mentioned earlier, Twisted Lies follows the last friend in the friend group, Stella, and a guy we met a few books earlier as he has a connection to Rhys, Christian. Reading about Stella was an interesting experience because I’ve kind of been wondering the whole series what her POV would be like. She seems very innocent and calm, but she struggles a lot with anxiety. Similar to Ava, it seems the most sunshine-y of the friends deal with the most pain. Similarly, I have been fricking waiting for his book, because I loved the tidbits of him we got in Twisted Games and Twisted Hate, so I was soooo excited for his POV. Let me tell ya, he did not disappoint.

I love the full character arc of Christian we get, as well as the opening up on Stella throughout the story. You’d think that Christian would be the one who needed to let down his barriers, but it was actually Stella who had bottled all her problems and worries where no one could see them. She just needed to rely on someone a little bit more, and our man Christian had some heart wrenchingly soft moments of comforting and protecting her. He himself had a wonderful full-180º change, as he was a cold and calculating person before becoming obsessed with Stella.

I’m so obsessed and in love with this book, I can’t even give it a full review, but I don’t think that’s necessary, because it is the last book in a series, so if you’re as invested in the Twisted series as I was, you’ll already be getting the book without my synopsis of the story. Yeah, in general, I absolutely loved it, but now I’m a bit brain-dead because I don’t know what to read next! Stay tuned while I figure it out!

Genre: romance, fiction, dark romance, Y/A

Age: 15+

Rating: 10/10

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Twisted Hate (Twisted Series Book 3) by Ana Huang

Continuing with my love for the Twisted Series, I’d like to disclose something very controversial before I begin this book review of Twisted Hate, the third book in the series. As we’ve already established, I love this series so much. But, I think this book was my least favorite; I’m just calling it now, even though I haven’t read the last book yet (so excited about it!!). However, I may say it’s my least favorite of the series right now, but while I was reading it, I was down for the count for Jules and Josh—I just didn’t love the book for other reasons.

First of all, let me explain the premise of Twisted Hate. So, the book follows Jules, another of Ava and Bridget’s friends, and someone renowned for her firey spirit and fierce protectiveness. Interestingly, we’ve gotten a lot of information about Jule from Twisted Love and Twisted Lies, and it pisses me off that the guys in the series don’t like her at all when we know from the girls’ perspectives what an angel she is. Yeah, that just pushes the wrong button on me—I hate it when a hot and fiery girl is deemed a be0tch when she’s actually the best and most loving toward her friends.

This is exactly what Josh, Ava’s brother and Alex’s best friend, thinks about Jules. The two have hated each other for as long as they’ve known each other—Josh thinks Jules is trouble, and Jules hates that he thinks that (and hates him). However, when the two begin to see more of each other after Alex and Ava get together and they end up working at the same law/medical clinic, they have more opportunities to but heads—and notice how attractive the other is. One fateful night, they hook up (mad, crazy, hot hookup) and can’t get each other out of their heads. I love how Josh becomes so obsessed with Jules after that hook-up because he’s the one who proposed that they create a hook-up pact, with just physical trades and no other emotional or romantic involvement, as they still both hate each other (obvi). Hooking up a lot leads to them breaking the rules of their pact more than once by spending time together and realizing they actually don’t hate each other like they thought.

Now, it’s a good time to explain to you all that Jules has a pretty mysterious and dark past, as she grew up in Ohio with a mother who hated her and a stepfather who tried to take advantage of her. Jules got out but got in with the wrong people and stole stuff from her stepfather. When Jules and her ex were sprung upon in the heist, Jules managed to get out, but her ex wound up in jail. By the time he got out seven years later, Jules had moved to DC and changed her name, managing to put her past behind her. But, her past had left her entirely. Her ex tracks her down to DC and begins to blackmail her with…some very inappropriate content she recorded until she agrees to steal something from him. Jules’ history plagues her, but she reveals some of her demons to Josh, which brings them closer together until that dang ex of hers tells her what she needs to steal—and it’s something Josh owns.

The whole story is way more complex than that, so you guys will just have to read it, but that’s my brief synopsis of it. I loved their relationship and how they fell in complete love with each other, letting down all the barriers that are built into their personalities to love the other—*chef’s kiss*. But, there were a few things I wasn’t in love with.

I don’t love the smut in Twisted Hate. There, I’ve said it. I just don’t love the hate hook-ups; they’re not it for me. Like I said, I’m a fluff girlie, so give me sweet lovey hook-ups, or even majority-hate-with-a-bit-of-sweetness hook-ups, and I’m a happy girl. Also, the smut in Twisted Hate was literally every chapter. I swear, every chapter. I get that Ana had to make the hook-up pact believable and include a lot of smut, but that’s just not my jam or jelly (or Jule or Josh).

The other thing I wasn’t too hot on was Josh. I love me a certain type of book boy: bad, dark, a little psycho, absolutely grumpy and brooding, hates-everyone-but-her. I accept certain bends to this rule (we spent more time with Christian in this book and I’m in complete love with him), but I’m not a big fan of the fun, lovey, normal boys—I can find those in the real world, thanks very much. Josh was too much like that. Sure, in the smut scenes, he was super Alex and Rhys-coded, but outside, he was just too fluffy. Plus he’s a doctor—can you think of anything less sexy? Didn’t think so.

In general, though, I loved the book and just loved spending more time with my favorite friend group and some great book boys. Also, at the very end of the book, we get super great fluff of Alex and Ava getting engaged (I KICKED MY FEET SO HARD I FLEW OFF MY BED), as well as some super great lead-up story to Twisted Lies. When I tell you I am excited for the last book, don’t believe me; I am so incredibly obsessed and invested in that book, that it’s not even a joke anymore. I already love Christian so much, and I’m ready to learn more about Stella.

Also, can I ask you guys a question cause I’m unsure here: there’s that character Dante Russo that shows up at the end of the book—is he another Ana Huang multiverse character? His name seems familiar from BookTok, but maybe I’m just imagining it. Is he a real character in another series, or am I hallucinating?

Genre: romance, fiction, best friend’s brother, enemies-to-lovers

Age: honestly? 100+

Rating: 9/10

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Twisted Games (Twisted Series Book 2) by Ana Huang

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