Twisted Games (Twisted, #2) by Ana Huang Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Twisted Games - please read with discretion. You can read my review of Twisted Love on my blog, here.

Making my way back to this series and I have to say that I had the time of my life reading this book. I was constantly giggling and kicking my feet, and there were times where I had to put the book down and start walking laps around my apartment during certain scenes. I was not sure I was going to feel regarding the whole princess and bodyguard trope, and I am so happy to say that I was proven wrong in my skepticism. Bridget is a princess to what I essentially consider Genovia from The Princess Diaries, and Rhys Larson is her newly appointed bodyguard. Initially, I was not sure what their relationship struggle would be, but when Bridget literally says "I don't want to wear the crown," my immediate thought was that I fear she just jinxed herself.

Rhys Larson's first appearance is something a romance reader dreams of - "The biggest man I had ever seen in real life" - Bridget, girl, you and I both cheered and gave a standing ovation. Her immediate distain for him once he started speaking was a key indicator that I knew I would love their banter and relationship, and every chapter after that proved me right. Rhys is so incredibly grumpy and Bridget is essentially a walking ray of sunshine - they are a match made in heaven. The random Jules lore in chapter two had warning signs blaring in my mind, and with the knowledge that she takes the lead in the next installment makes me even more motivated to keep up with the series. Christian Harper popping up as well - I have heard this man's name so many times on TikTok but did not have a clue who he was until this moment.

I literally forgot that Bridget casually got kidnapped with Ava in Twisted Love, and this book backtracks in time, so when the kidnapping happened again, I was cackling that Rhys was more inconvenienced than concerned that the literal princess he was in charge of got kidnapped out of nowhere. I love a good grump, but why was he so dead set on not letting Bridget go to a single concert when she was in her final year at college? I felt so bad for her when all of her friends would go without her and she was basically forced to stay in her house, missing out on these last moments. Sure, Rhys setting up the at-home concert was thoughtful, but he would not have had to do it if he just went with her to the festival instead of making her stay home.

The Rhys perspective chapters had me cackling out loud - he gets mad at her because she has a personality instead of being one dimensional, he is so unserious. That being said, his backstory is so heartbreaking, and the author did a great job in expressing his inner turmoil and the conflicting feelings he has towards his family and his past in the Navy. However, I am a sucker for a tortured past trope, and throw in scars on his back, and I am basically the world's happiest romance reader - two top ten tropes in this book, I never lose.

"...and crawl to me," is CRAZY work and TikTok did not prepare me for the absolute insanity that is Rhys Larson when he is feral for Bridget. He is freaky and fun and such a delight to read about. He is so obsessed with Bridget, and the jealously trope was amazing this entire book - you could tell he was annoyed that he liked her so much, and with their ten year age gap, he was constantly trying to find a reason to not become even more infatuated with her. Everything he says to her is so wild it had me gagged - "You are leaving with a guy. Me." like sir, yes, sir.

Personally, and this is just me, if my brother, who had been training to take the throne for his entire life, abdicated and left me to be first in line knowing that I wanted to live a normal life and marry for love, I would smack him so hard. He would have flown off his horse and into another dimension - you could literally feel the dread fill Bridget up when she realized what his abdication meant for her. Bridget is also so funny, I genuinely enjoyed her personality and can see why everyone wanted to be friends with her. On the other hand, someone needs to get that girl to a therapist as soon as possible - she has so much weighing down on her and she blames herself for things out of her control.

Bridget's grandfather, the literal king, had me so annoyed on so many levels. There was a moment where I thought he was able to propose that Bridget marry her cousin and I was going to faint. The amount of misogyny that pours from his veins and the rest of the advisors was so off-putting and had me truly agitated - I cannot say I was not surprised, but it was so sad to see Bridget slowly become more drained as the days went on. I was actively preying on this man's downfall the entire book. She is literally first in line to the throne and everyone treats her like her only purpose is to become a wife.

"I wasn't a blackmailer," Bridget... you are actively being blackmailed, now is not the time for moral dilemmas and taking the high ground. I literally just completed my cyber security training for work the other day, and Bridget had me stressed to the max. Big shoutout to Alex Volkov for coming in clutch towards the end of this book - sorry for judging you in your own book, but in my defense I thought you were insane for half the things you did to Ava. But I have found it in my heart to forgive you, and when being compared to Rhys who literally never did anything wrong ever, it does not but you in the best light.

There are a ton of time jumps in this book, and at times it began to irritate me - weeks or months would go by and by the end of the book, I had no idea how much actually did pass - maybe three years? Honestly, this is one of the longer romance books I have read, and there were definitely some plot points that could have been resolved quicker - the book started to feel a little too long for my liking.

Imagine being so horny that you plan to overthrow one of parliament's oldest laws... Bridget truly is that girl. I know that Nikolai was happy for her, but do y'all think he was lowkey mad he did not think of it first before he abdicated? The man was trained for twenty-five years to be king and then said goodbye immediately. Maybe it is because I have not read a true romance book in over a month, but I ate this book up and truly enjoyed nearly every minute of it. Ana Huang, you have pulled me into this series and I will certainly be seeing these stories through, and cannot wait to see what is in store for Jules and Josh in Twisted Hate.

You can add Twisted Games on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) by Adalyn Grace Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

The prologue really drew me into this story - I had heard mixed reviews of this series, and I had it on my TBR list for quite some time, so I was pleasantly surprised to be drawn right into Signa's journey. The banter that Death and Signa have right off the bat was so enjoyable, and as a long-time lover of enemies-to-lovers, I had high hopes for their relationship progression throughout this book. I have been yearning for a good grumpy male lead, and while Death does make his appearances worth while, I wish he had more scenes.

Sylas and Signa were a great little detective pair, and the tension between them throughout the book on top of the tension between Death and Signa was so fun to read - you could see the inner struggle that Signa was battling as she spent more time with each of them. Sylas is essentially the grumpiest man in the nicest room on the train, and his reactions to everything that Signa does in this story really added a layer of enjoyment. That being said, I loved the way that Death spoke to Signa, and the way he was always trying to make her figure out things on her own.

I was becoming very torn between who I liked more for Signa - Death or Sylas - but in the wise words of Katherine Pierce - "It's okay to love them both" - so I did. The pacing of the plot was slow for about two thirds of the book, and finally took off and was filled with a decent amount of action and discovery in its last third. The masquerade scene was truly chef's kiss - I loved every single minute of it, and it had such a great energy surrounding it, truly drawing the reader in.

The side characters - Blythe, Percy, Marjorie, Elijah, etc - certainly aided Signa's story, and the author was able to create an intimate circle of people surrounding the leading lady. I do wish some characters became more fleshed out as the plot progressed, but the select few that did receive that special attention were definitely worth it in the end. However, they were not the reason that I was invested in the story, and I found myself reading at a faster pace when their side plots took precedence over Signa's development.

The overall mystery of the story was certainly enthralling, and if the book was about one hundred pages longer, I think there could have been more development. A decent amount of twists seemed more obvious than they should have been, and it took a bit of the suspense out of reading when I could see what was going to happen chapters before it was revealed.

I love gothic romance, and with the added mystery aspect, I thought this was a fun read that could be a great entry way into the genre as you build yourself up. The setting of the story - at least what I was able to imagine in my head based off of the author's descriptions - was stunning, and truly gave that eerie feeling as murders need to be solved. The story has certainly intrigued me, and I will definitely try to revisit this series in the future.

You can add Belladonna on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date with releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been on the hunt for a literary fiction novel that explored the autonomy of women and the repercussions that narcissistic, manipulative men have on women since the second season of Tell Me Lies has been airing on Hulu. Doug has commissioned Annie, a one-of-a-kind robotic girlfriend, for himself to fill the void that his ex-wife left -- conveniently, he has had her made to resemble his ex-wife as close as possible. As Annie is routinely put through modifications per Doug's request and attempts to mold her responses to his actions and feelings, she begins to have an identity crisis as she becomes more human every day.

This is essentially a deep dive character study as Annie begins to become less robotic and continues to defy the programming that makes her who she is - or should I say, that makes her who Doug wants her to be. Whether it be to up her cup size, shed a few pounds, or even change the way that she pleases him, Doug has control over Annie's every change and action, until she begins to override him in every way that matters. She becomes disorganized, sloppy, and agitating in Doug's eyes, but the reader sees this in an opposite light - she is becoming independent, expanding her knowledge, and questioning things around her.

The more that Doug makes adjustments to Annie's body and operations, it becomes apparent that he wants to control her without technically controlling her - he desires her to want to please him without using the words himself. His displeasure is clear and communicated to Annie through a numeric scale, and the constant evaluation emulates an emotionally abusive relationship, with Annie on edge and always trying to please him and apologize when she has done nothing wrong.

Humanity calls to Annie, and her curiosity to understand emotions and human relationships causes a tear in her and Doug's relationship. Annie's efforts to become more human cause the opposite effect she desired, and instead of making Doug happy, he becomes more frustrated that she acts more human with every day that passes. The addition of a Delta derails their relationship even more, and Annie becomes mistreated by Doug in ways she never expected, leading her down an unknown road that could have disastrous consequences.

Doug's treatment of Annie resembles psychological torture, and their relationship soon reads like a horror story. Doug is angry, agitated, and criticizing Annie to every extent, and Annie's apologies and attempts to improve his mood seem to push his mood in a downward spiral. Her autonomy is taken from her at his whim, and she fears for what might happen to her if Doug continues to treat her worse as time goes on. Greer does an excellent job at exploring Annie's sense of self as she imagines what her life would be like without Doug, and the difficulties that she faces as her humanity results in constant criticism.

My skin was crawling reading Annie Bot - Doug's narcissism takes control over him when he uncovers a secret, and with the discovery comes a more focused light on just exactly how he treats Annie and views her body and mind as separate entities. His ability to make any change to her body that he desires while also controlling the upgrades made to her AI. At one point the realization that he can make her programming revert to one of her earlier versions would make her more innocent and easier to "restart" gives the reader the confirmation they needed to conclude that manipulative men seek out women that they can mold to their exact needs, and will resort to anything to get what they want.

An exploration of emotional, physically, and psychological abuse on women, Greer candidly reaches into Annie's character and how she attempts to navigate existing in a space with a sexist man who at his whim, can change anything about her. In a world where men see women only as caretakers, homemakers, or warm bodies, this novel navigates the intricate and convoluted society that places male pleasure above all else. 

You can add Annie Bot on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Moonlit Thorns (Midnight Manor, #1) by P. Rayne Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Moonlit Thorns - no major plot points are revealed!

I love a dark romance Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I have to say that I had the time of my life reading this book. An older, billionaire romance with a bunch of spice is right up my alley, and even though I have read my fair share of these type of retellings, it never gets old. When Anabelle's father passes away and her family's estate is slipping through their fingers, she finds herself employed and housed at a manor occupied by the Voss billionaire brothers. Asher Voss, the 36-year-old billionaire with a cold side has somehow ended up with Anabelle at his fingertips, and her curiosity is about to lead her down a path she may not be ready for.

Anabelle's ex-boyfriend literally coming up to her and telling -- not asking -- her that they are going to get married actually had me laughing out loud. This man is living in the land of delusion, and I was glad to see that she did not put up with it one bit. That being said, she traded him in for a 36-year-old man that is set on tormenting a 22-year-old girl for giggles and because he was low-key bored, which I have to say, not Asher's best moment. I fear Anabelle has a curse on her, because she somehow finds herself in danger or in trouble nearly ever chapter.

The entire contract agreement that Asher presents to Anabelle is literally so insane - taking her phone for a year, only paying her minimum wage, and only letting her leave on Saturday nights - at least she had the good sense to read over every page before signing it. She basically becomes an indentured servant to Asher, and he does not even give her a decent uniform - he has her wearing what I can only picture as clogs, for crying out loud.

Dual POV in romance books are my gold standard, and I was so glad to see that this was held up -- it is always so fun to watch the perspective change when the female lead thinks the male lead hates her, and then we see that he is utterly obsessed with her. I was cackling when he put in one of her AirPods and started listening to her audiobook because girl, same. Watching Anabelle literally walk into danger was infuriating at times - I wanted to reach into the book and shake her to warn her about the red flags she was ignoring.

Asher's' brothers are giving off major bad vibes when they are first introduced - maybe not all of them, but the breakfast scene had my skin crawling a bit, and I was glad Asher stepped in. Preston, and even the sheriff that Anabelle used to date, are certainly no better, and yet you become glad that Asher is there so at least someone is trying to protect her, even if he does have ulterior motives. Not entirely sure why Anabelle is suddenly okay with basically becoming Asher's sex bot in his house when she clearly has stronger feelings towards him. Like girl, he is paying you minimum wage and now instead of his maid, you are his secretary/assistant - I need you to stand up.

Anabelle is thrown into a pretty horrible situation, and someone literally pulls the line "Maybe she consented?" Boy, she was drugged and unconscious, let us use our big brain cells and think logically - she obviously did not. She honestly has to deal with a lot in this book, and this is far from the first time that she is found in a dangerous situation. As the story goes on, we reach more "action" scenes towards the end, and it reminded me so much of plot points from Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James.

I had a blast reading this book - I was literally doing laps around my room at every chapter, and the story moves at a great pace to keep you completely enthralled with the characters. I do wish Anabelle stuck up for herself more often, and that Asher could tone it down a bit when he treated her rudely in the beginning, but overall it was a fun read and I will definitely be returning to this series.

You can add Moonlit Thorns on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Raven King (All for the Game, #2) by Nora Sakavic Review

 

This review contains spoilers for The Raven King. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

It has been over five years since I read The Foxhole Court, and I was worried that I would not remember anything plot-wise that happened in the first installment when I cracked open this book. Thankfully, memory served me well and everything came back to me within the first couple chapters. I truly forgot how much I loved Andrew - he is one of the funniest characters I have ever read, and is so completely unhinged, which makes him the perfect addition to this story. Every single day I pray for Riko's downfall - he is literally one of the worst people to exist in this series, and it is a testament to the Foxes for the way they put up with him, with the exception of Neil, who will use any chance he gets to instigate Riko. And we love him for it - and here is the prime example:

"You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullsh*t. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the f*ck up and leave us alone." 

GET HIM AGAIN FOR ME NEIL. The fact that Waymack literally has to tell Neil not to cause a scene with Riko and Neil just does it anyway... he's just a kid! And Riko deserves much worse than just being knocked down a peg or two. I genuinely need to give Neil a hug so bad... he has been through so much and does not feel like he has a place with the Foxes, even when they spell it out for him that they are his family now. Is Waymack aware that he now is the proud father of an entire team of Exy players? He basically is Neil's father, and the fact that we learn that he is actually Kevin's father had me speechless.

The way that Nicky talks about Erik makes me believe in love. You can tell that Nicky is such a pure soul and despite the horrors he had to deal with back home, he is still so kind and open with everyone. I love the relationship he has with Neil - they are basically best friends, and with Neil keeping his entire life essentially a secret from everyone, it seems that Nicky is the one he is able to open up to (besides Andrew). On that note, Andrew only ever seems to trust Neil, and considering he does not trust anyone, that says a lot. Even when it is just bits and pieces that Neil has to put together himself, it really shows how different Andrew is with Neil compared to everyone else. This is a slow-burn in the making, I can feel it.

The Thanksgiving scene at Nicky's house truly had me sick to my stomach, dear god take all of Andrew's pain, triple it, and give it to Riko. I physically recoiled when that chapter occurred, and it was soul-crushing to see Andrew go through that with Drake, and with the added racquet to Drake's head by Aaron, my jaw dropped. It always circles back to Riko, and I literally cannot comprehend how this barely legal college student is capable of things so disgusting. Drake deserved so much worse than he got. And of course, our favorite mysterious Neil has to chime in with "Will they give it back or am I going to have to get a new one?," in which he is literally talking about his racquet that was used as a murder weapon.

I know Andrew would absolutely hate the idea, but my word someone needs to hug that boy. He has been through unimaginable horrors, and life does not seem to want to give him a break. And so WHAT if he killed his mom, he did it to protect Aaron, and the fact that it is brought up so often makes me feel even worse for Andrew. Waymack reminds me so much of Coach from Teen Wolf, except he actually has somewhat of an idea of what is going on with his unruly players. He would protect the Foxes with his life, and at this rate, same here.

Obsessed with the fact that the first gala went so bad with Riko and Neil, that they still had the Christmas gala. And in true Neil fashion, he pulls this one out "You think I'm afraid of your knife? I'm the Butcher's son," and how little did we know how much that would come back to haunt him towards the end of the book. Every single time that Neil bodies Riko in an argument, an angel gains its wings - it is truly a sight to see.

Why on Earth did Neil go to the Raven's Nest?? The boy has a death wish I swear, and I understand that he does it protect others, but much like Andrew he does not seem to have any regard for his own wellbeing or survival. I was literally about to throw up with Riko came into his room after his practice, and had to take a lap around the room before continuing on. Thank you Nora for not going into too much detail, because if I had to read about Neil being tortured, I would have passed out. 

I will absolutely not be taking any criticism on this series - it is so out of the park and insane, and I love every minute of it. Neil and Andrew's character development as individuals and as friends is so gradual and complicated. This series is notorious for its laundry list of trigger warnings, and back in the day on tumblr, it took over our lives. The side characters have stories of their own that add so much value to Neil and Andrew's stories, and the found family trope is so strong in this series.

You can add The Raven King on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Inheritance Games on my blog, here.

I completely forgot that this takes place in Texas and that everyone has Texan accents.. got the ick all over again. The first installment was a little slow to start and had me weary about continuing on with the series, but I kept finding myself thinking about what was going to happen next. However, this sequel was not what I had expected, and left me underwhelmed and unsatisfied with a number of plot issues and character development. From his first appearance, I stood by Grayson Hawthorne, and this book seems to abandon him as a possible love interest in trade for Jameson?? Am I supposed to be rooting for Avery and Jameson now?

Avery is on yet another hunt to solve what seems to be a hundred mini riddles in order to figure out exactly why Tobias left her everything, and yet she is the one who seems to be able to figure out the least -- she puts everything together at the last minute and only when every piece of information is set in front of her, practically gift-wrapped for her. There is some interesting stuff going on with her dad, and that was truly the only interesting part of the story for me. I frankly did not care for the other Hawthorne family members fighting the inheritance any longer, it became repetitive and juvenile. 

Are these characters allergic to using real curse words? It makes the story read as if it is taking place in elementary school instead of being young adult, and caused me to be thrown from the story every single time. It honestly was too much of a distraction than it should have been, and I wish it did not derail the tone of the book for me. The side characters are simply not that intriguing this time around, and their characterizations are pretty surface level, with the exception of a few that become more fleshed out in the last few chapters. There are far too many family tree issues and revelations that distract from Avery's story.

All of these private jet trips... oh I know their carbon footprint is off the charts. Avery constantly states how shocked she is that she has all of these things now, but girl, you are literally a billionaire, it should not surprise you for much longer. Her inheritance is still being handles by actual responsible adults, and she should be thankful for it -- she whines too much and does not seem to be able to get a grasp on the situation she is in. I was truly hoping that Avery would have a more well-rounded character arc in this sequel, but she was just a two-dimensional as she was in the first book. 

This dead old man really set up Avery to have the most complicated inheritance in history. He basically has set her up to go into dangerous situations, and seemed to not care at all when he decided to give everything to her. He gives nothing to his kids, and honestly I had to laugh. From the constant struggle with the will and inheritance, to the consistent arsons and bombings, the plot was lost and became erratic towards the end of the book. On top of Avery nearly being killed every other chapter, she is living her Mamma Mia moment with trying to find her biological father, and the Hawthorne family drama truly was dragging on.

You can add The Hawthorne Legacy on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!