Paperback: 528
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Published: 2022
Language: English
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Twisted Hate is a battle of wills and I lost track of who I was rooting for.
I've always preferred the hate to love trope over any other. There is something about the animosity between characters, the simmering tension that slowly burns, melting away and making room for newly found passion that blends into love, yet not before a true, solid foundation is built between the leads.
I can't say I found a perfect dose of that in this novel, however, it was close enough.
One of the main reasons I felt a strong pull towards this book was the story Ana Huang promised. A tale of two broken people, let down by everyone time and time again, yet stubborn enough to get up and start anew, even when their every instinct was yelling at them to give up.
And she certainly delivered.
Ana's characters feel outlandish at times. They're these all-powerful, crazy rich, overprotective violent men that have a soft spot for this girl they randomly met on a Tuesday evening. Now I'm not saying I'm not enjoying those books because Merlin's beard, I do, but with Twisted Hate, she changed it up. The characters felt suddenly very real, very relatable and very flawed, which in turn made them so much more lovable.
There's this anti-Josh propaganda going on around social media and to be quite frank with you, I don't understand it. Despite his portrayal at times, Josh has perhaps the most depth out of all the male leads - and I'm only referencing his book, so don't come at me, I am aware of his childish remarks in the others 😂
Still.
Josh and Jules always felt like the life of the party, the careless duo that bickers like an old married couple - which is an endless source of entertainment, let me tell you - but it never felt like we were getting the full story.
And now that we did, it lives rent free in my mind and I will probably never stop crying about it.
Each of their backgrounds is tainted and they bear too many scars because of it, but they never let that aspect erase their personalities. Jules is pure chaos, the sort of person that acts first and thinks much later due to fear of missing a chance. Josh is a bit more calculated, but never one to miss an opportunity. I'd go as far as to say they are two sides of the same coin, matching like puzzle pieces and balancing each other to perfection, all the while challenging each other to the brink of madness.
The previously mentioned stubbornness also transpires into their work fields and transforms into determination to succeed, greatly fueled by hate and a (sometimes) healthy dose of pride which I enjoyed watching unfold. But there were also many times when I wanted nothing more than to smack them both over the head in hopes that some sense would be knocked back into them.
But oh well, the downside of fictional characters I guess 🤷♀️
And because there is no way to talk about this book without addressing the elephant in the room, let's move onto the spice.
Was it too much? Definitely. Did I hate it? Absolutely not.
Look, I knew what I was getting myself into this time. The book was advertised as enemies with benefits and I was here for it. The banter and need to outdo each other made the scenes actually worth reading, turning them into competitions that kept the reader entertained, if only to see who won.
Overall, if my gushing didn't already give it away, I really loved this book. I loved the character growth, the journey from leftover teenage mentality to responsible adulthood and most of all, the process of understanding true commitment and fully accepting, then embracing it.
After two not so great books, I'm excited to have finally found the one. I related to both characters in equal measure and I think, for me, that was half the enjoyment.
P.S. - does anyone know where to find a conveniently available Ana Huang man? I'm in desperate need of one before I meet Christian and fall irrevocably in love with him 😭
