billionaire bad boy brother’s best friend (say that three times fast!) - twisted love by ana huang

this month, we're taking on a TikTok favourite, new adult romance complete with steam, suspense and darker themes. heavy on the tropes and easy on the cover design, this month's pick alleges to include Grumpy/Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Enemies to Lovers, Brother's Best Friend, Morally Grey Heroes and of course, Billionaire Romance. this month, we're reading Twisted Love by Ana Huang. 

synopsis music by Lilliben

choose our next podcast read by going here and voting in the first week of each month!

make sure you subscribe to hear our groundbreaking thoughts as soon as they are unleashed. if you want to be on the same page as us, follow us at talklit.gethit on Instagram and TikTok.

theme music born from the creative genius of Big Boi B.

join talk lit, get hit podcast for deep dives into the hottest BookTok recommendations, trending contemporary fiction, and literary favourites! each episode features book discussions, spoiler-filled chats, and thoughtful literary analysis of novels everyone is talking about - from viral romance and fantasy to modern classics. whether you’re looking for BookTok book reviews, author interviews, or a virtual book club experience, out podcast is your go-to space for readers who love stories and want to explore them in depth.

talk lit, get hit are reading and recording on Giabal, Jagera, Jarowair & Turrbal lands. we acknowledge the cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay respect to Elders past, present and future. always was, always will be.  

Transcript

Laura 0:00

Hello and welcome to Talk Lit Get Hit, a podcast where we read viral books the internet won't shut up about and rate them lit or shit.

Bridget 0:08

We're your hosts Bridget and Laura, lovers of sad girl fiction and tragic endings, fearers of smart, urban fantasy, and the Who Did This To You trope. Join us as we pick apart all the books the internet loves and embark on a journey to figure out why.

Laura 0:24

This month we're taking on a TikTok favorite new adult romance complete with steam, suspense, and darker themes. Heavy on the tropes and easy on the cover design. This month's pick alleges to include Grumpy Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Enemies to Lovers, Brother's Best Friend, Morally Grey Heroes, and of course Billionaire Romance. This month we're reading Twisted Love by Anna Huang. Bridget, hello, hello. Hello, hello.

Bridget 0:49

Did you like that? I had to stop myself from laughing. Yes. It was a real struggle. I loved it. Thank you.

Laura 0:59

Look, I was thinking this month, this is not our first time attempting to read a romance on Talklet get hit. And more often than not, we are rating them shit. Looking back, we have books like The Love Hypothesis, The Spanish Love Deception, Romantic Comedy, Red, White, and Royal Blue, Icebreaker, etc. etc. etc. All shit. I thought to try and beat the allegations of being romance haters or unromantic, we could take a quiz.

Bridget 1:30

Yay!

Laura 1:32

So I've picked a pretty official looking quiz from Psychology Today. I think this must be direct from the source because it says psychology in the URL. And it says today, so it's current. Tick, tick, tick. 20 questions long, three minutes to complete. Are you a hopeless romantic? Let's find out. Okay. Can't wait. First question. I believe in romantic destiny.

Bridget 1:55

I wish they had definitions because what's that mean? Buzzwords. Like you're destined to end up with the same person forever, or like there's one person for you, or I think those are um the same thing.

Laura 2:09

Schools of the same thought. Yeah.

Bridget 2:10

I'm gonna go neutral.

Laura 2:13

I think I partially agree with that.

Bridget 2:15

Number two, emotionally vulnerable relationships aren't scary. Once again, what like what context?

Laura 2:22

Like don't think about it too much. A romantic never would. Okay, stop spoiling my results. I'm gonna say that I sort of disagree with that. I think it is scary to be emotionally invulnerable, but I think it's scarier to have a relationship where you can't be emotionally vulnerable.

Bridget 2:38

Okay, slightly disagree. I can be impractical about love. I disagree with that. I don't think I'm impractical. Yeah, I think I'm very practical about love. I believe in soulmates and the one.

Laura 2:49

I think I agree to an extent, but I don't think that means the same thing to me that it does to some people. Or this quiz.

Bridget 2:56

Yes. I'm gonna still say agree. Okay. I think I disagree. Or like slightly disagree. I think there's many people you can mesh with, and not all soulmates are romantic. I plan romantic surprises for my partner. Disagree, don't do that.

Laura 3:10

Sorry. I like a lukewarm disagree. Some things will be like, oh, I got, you know, um, that tin of sardines. I know you love my dialogue. That's romantic, though.

Bridget 3:20

Like in the context of psychology today, I don't think this tin of sardines is romantic. Love language. Sardine.

Laura 3:30

I vividly remember the first gift I ever received from a partner. A partner, any partner, every partner, the partner I'm currently with. Disagree on all fronts. I can't remember at all.

Bridget 3:40

I can remember getting given a teddy bear by a boy that I didn't like, but I was made to date by one of my friends because she wanted him to buy us these ice blocks that were called TNTs. And when I say date, it was like everyone knew that we were dating, but we never spoke.

Laura 3:57

Yeah, that was the way. Yeah.

Bridget 4:00

I love stories of couples who succeed against all odds. No, I don't like that.

Laura 4:05

Yeah, I think it depends on the odds. Like we're talking about like they someone went to war and like she waited, or is it like they were in an abusive relationship? Credence. Yeah, everyone was like, you shouldn't date your cousin. I'm gonna say I pretty much disagree with that.

Bridget 4:18

Yeah, same. My friends say I am too affectionate with my partner in public. Disagree.

Laura 4:22

People are saying that to you all the time. Stop smooching, Bridget. I'm gonna say, disagree for that too. People are like, you are affectionate and we love it. Do it more, please. That's a story I told myself.

Bridget 4:34

I write my partner love notes. No, I don't write love notes. I don't like write anything. Yeah, it's a disagree. Disagree. I often ignore flaws in my new relationships. Well, I haven't had one of them for a long time.

Laura 4:47

Friendships, big tick. I I look for flaws.

Bridget 4:51

I don't think I ignore them. I think I fixate on them.

Laura 4:54

Yeah, I think I would disagree. Yeah, I disagree. And I think if I was starting anew, I'd be looking for any excuse to not date someone or to be like, oh, same. Yeah, same.

Bridget 5:04

There is only one match for me. I mean, I said before that I think I I think I disagreed with soulmates and the one, so I think I have to disagree with this, otherwise I'd be lying.

Laura 5:14

I think I pretty strongly agree with this. I think do I believe in soulmates as some big cosmic conspiracy? Probably not, but I think I believe in one match and soulmates as in like how many people in my life would I genuinely be willing to put in that work for? Because like a relationship is work, obviously. Okay, Mel Robbins. Yeah, I gave myself the ick. I can't think of many people I'd be so willing to grow alongside and like tolerate the noise talents on the I think that's yeah.

Bridget 5:53

I think you've swayed me. What are you putting? I'm putting Luke agree. Okay, Luke, Luke Womagree. Luke Walmagree, okay. Love does not conquer all. Like, once again, like if it's an abusive relationship, if it's incest, love shouldn't be conquering it. So I agree. And like it does not conquer all.

Laura 6:11

There are lots of terrible things people will call love. Yes. Yes. Like honest love, love when we're being real with ourselves.

Bridget 6:18

Wholesome love, like respectful love.

Laura 6:21

I agree with this.

Bridget 6:23

I don't think we're the right target audience for this.

Laura 6:25

I I've got to say, this is not voting.

Bridget 6:27

No, I don't think we're gonna get hopeless romantic. My friends say I don't proceed with caution when meeting someone new. No, I would I mean, once again, not meeting someone new, but I would disagree because so cautious I'm not meeting anyone.

Laura 6:40

Yes, if I was single, it'd be it.

Bridget 6:42

I idealise romance. No, I have to say it doesn't cross my mind often. And like I hate every romance book I read, apart from like five of them. Yeah, I disagree.

Laura 6:54

I don't strongly disagree. I might even go neutral neutral on this one.

Bridget 6:59

Yeah, well, if I don't think about it, then I have to go neutral. Like it's yeah, it's not like I'm like, no. Okay, I believe in rom com happily ever after love. No, because I think a lot of them break up when the movie finishes.

Laura 7:11

I believe in the version of love that rom coms sell us. I think there are like, you know, those New York street interviews with an old person on it. Yes. Um parkbench or something. That makes me believe in the rom-com version of love. It's out there somewhere. Is it as prolific as we're led to believe? Perhaps not. Yeah, does it happen in three weeks like it does in the movies? What magic.

Bridget 7:32

16. I daydream about perfect love's grand gestures of romance. No, I don't daydream about that.

Laura 7:38

I live it. I mean, yeah, I feel like a lot of these questions are geared towards single people. So I mean, I would always like a grand gesture of romance.

Bridget 7:49

Well, but just say neutral. Okay. Number 17, I avoid losing my head in a new relationship. No, I don't see that happening for me.

Laura 7:57

I would say I disagree. I am losing my head. I'm like, screw all my friends, screw all my commitments, yeah. Calling in sick, I've got to hang out. Disagree. But not strongly. People say I confuse chemistry with compatibility. Pretty assumptuous to think that I have chemistry with anyone. Do you think you've ever felt chemistry with someone?

Bridget 8:23

I don't we don't when I see like people be like, oh, those two actors have great chemistry, I'm like, are they just like funny? Like just hot. Are they just hot and funny in the same room? And like like witty. Yeah. Because I would say like Jennifer Lawrence, hot, funny, witty, she's got chemistry with everyone. But like someone like Cindy Sweeney, she's only hot. Yeah. She's not funny and witty, and I don't see her having any chemistry with anybody. Yeah, I agree. So I don't I don't really know, but if you get along with somebody, to me, that's chemistry, but that's compatibility because you get along.

Laura 8:55

I think chemistry is a hot person's game. I'm gonna say I I don't do this. I disagree. Disagree. Oh, I disagree. First of all, who's talking about me?

Bridget 9:05

And why? Number 19, I follow my heart in respect to love.

Laura 9:11

Yeah, I think we've made that pretty clear. Like, my heart is like, just be sensible, please. Agree. So I think that's not agree. Oh.

Bridget 9:21

I think that'll be your mind. Drew's still out on which part does which. I'm gonna go slightly disagree. Number 20, love fades over time. I mean, it can, like a Sims relationship, if you don't talk to the other sim, it will like the relationship bar will slowly decrease.

Laura 9:38

Yeah, I think love can fade if you don't nurture it or if you don't care about it. So again, I don't think this is a good faith question by psychology today.

Bridget 9:49

Because like, if yes, if you don't talk to them or like spend any time with them, like my best friend, whoever they might have been in grade one, yeah, I don't even know who they were. Or if they don't talk to you, you might start to feel a bit less interested.

Laura 10:03

That doesn't mean that love always fades. I think the angle of this question is like you only have sex in your 20s and then you're ugly and practically dead.

Bridget 10:12

Okay, well, I disagree. I think I disagree. I think I disagree too. Score? I can't wait to see this. Intriguing. Mmm. We've been given a number out of a hundred, and so zero to twenty four is highly unromantic, twenty fort, unromantic, forty four to sixty-eight is moderately romantic, sixty-nine to eighty six is you are romantic. And eighty-seven to a hundred is highly romantic.

Laura 10:39

I love that they said you are romantic instead of just romantic. And they did they think it was like too harsh to say you are unromantic.

Bridget 10:49

Yeah, it's not really matching up. Okay, my score is 28 out of 100 unromantic.

Laura 10:55

Oh, mine is 46 out of 100 moderately romantic. Which is intriguing because I would say you are a bit more forgiving of romance books than I am. Mm-hmm. Mine says you are both practical and sentimental. Love is all you need, and soulmate are nice notions, but you understand that a relationship requires some pragmatic thinking. Valentine's Day may be a commercial holiday, but you don't mind celebrating either. Your approach, while realistic, is not businesslike nor overly emotional.

Bridget 11:25

I don't agree with mine. Mine says the notion of love is all you need is not part of your reality. You rely on logic and practicality. A relationship is a business agreement. Oh shit. Not unlike Victorian era marriage arrangements. What's your dowry? And Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday. Your approach while pragmatic is a little too business-like and clinical. You could use some loosening up. I think I needed to be a bit more like you. Oh my god, you are not romantic, but your partner's head is in the clouds.

Laura 11:59

Well, I'm just saying, who's been hustling, making making big podcasts all day? Who's been playing games? This is callous. And unfortunately did nothing to dispute the rumors that we are unromantic.

Bridget 12:20

Yeah.

Laura 12:20

Whatever.

Bridget 12:22

It's not as bad as the time um that we got told we were Esme Cullen. That's still the worst quiz result I've ever got.

Laura 12:31

Earlier I ran through a long list of romance books we've read on the show and not enjoyed. But with those aside, can you think of any romance novels you've read that you would recommend?

Bridget 12:42

I have two categories for my recommendations. Some are book talkie romance books, and the other category is something a bit more literary. I'll just quickly go through them because we both know that I'm not good at describing what happens in books, and I can't remember what happens in most of them. So just take my word for it. Cool. Love it. So we have for the book talkie romance books, Not in My Book by Katie Holt, Wild Things by Laura Kay, Exit Lane by Erica Varink, Two Can Play by Allie Hazelwood, surprisingly, and I also don't mind her chess one. Check and mate, I think. Kiss Her Once With Me by Alison Cochrane and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

Laura 13:18

Oh, that was a good one.

Bridget 13:20

Yes. And then I have some more literary books. Open Water by Caleb Azuma Nelson, Exciting Times by Nurcia Dolan, Henry Henry by Alan Bratton, How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang, and Swimming in the Dark by Thomas Jadrowski.

Laura 13:34

How about you? Um, I mainly have the more sort of literary ones. So I have Heart the Lover by Lily King, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, and every Emily Henry book ever written. No Hard Feelings by Genevieve Novak, uh, Seeing Other People by Diana Reed. But I guess something that I was wondering as I was putting together this list is how front and center does the romance have to be in order to be considered a romance? And do sad or slash tragic love stories count, or is the romance genre only for happily ever afters?

Bridget 14:05

Yeah, that's why I split mine into book talk and not book talk, because I think book talk has to have the happily ever after. I think so. I have some notes about this later on, but I think Anna Huang agrees.

Laura 14:16

Well, that's an excellent segue. As we mentioned at the start of the show, we're reading Twisted Love by Anna Huang. This is a book that we've been threatening to read for a good couple of years now, actually. So I'm wondering what your initial thoughts, expectations, hopes, and dreams were heading into the book.

Bridget 14:32

Okay, well, look, I've seen the hideous cover with the ice blue eyes. I've seen the other iterations of the hideous covers, I've seen the trope marketing, I've hated the other romances, mostly that we've read on the pod. I think I thought it would be an awful experience, but I did have a little glimmer of hope that maybe this time would be different, like new year, new me, etc. etc. Because I just always think to myself, wouldn't it be fantastic if all of a sudden I decided to eat these books up? Like I read them so fast. I fly through them. I read this in one sitting. I could read a thousand books if I decided to like these books. So I was like, fingers crossed, my goodreads goal this year will be bigger than ever. It's gonna be awesome. I really want to make it. I really want to. Yeah. So hopeful, but you know, because I'm unromantic, logically. Like, no, probably not.

Laura 15:29

How about you? Oh, look, flying in the face of all past experiences. I was feeling kind of excited. I did not start reading this until my last week at work for the year. So I was rung dry. I was ready for some brain rot, and this seemed like it was gonna fit the bill. Based on the cover, based on the synopsis, I really did think it was gonna be dreadful, but for whatever reason, I was like holding out hope that it could be what I needed. Something that I thought was quite unique about this book is that often when we go to read books like Wildfire, like The Love Hypothesis, Magnolia Parks, whatever it is, when I look at that book on Goodreads, there's a real sinking feeling. Cause I'll see that some of our listeners and mutuals have rated it quite highly. And even worse, sometimes, although please don't stop doing it, I love it, is when someone's like, Yay, I was hoping this would win. I really love this book, or like, can't wait to hear what you guys think about it. And you're like, ah, well, it's not gonna be good. But when I looked at Twisted Love on Goodreads, quite unanimously it had been rated a three-star or lower, most commonly a two-star by people we know, which is unusual. Yes, very unusual.

Bridget 16:45

Unless you're the kind of twisted person who loves having books spoiled for them, you may want to hit pause if you haven't read Twisted Love already. If you're all good with spoilers, then carry on. Either way, make sure you are subscribed to our show.

Laura 16:57

Content warnings from the author's website include abusive parents, aquaphobia slash panic attacks, attempted murder slash drowning, child abuse, death and violence, mentions of suicide, and degradation kink. Alex Volkoff is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can't escape. Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

Bridget 17:22

But when he's forced to look after his best friend's sister, he starts to feel something in his chest. A crack, a melt, a fire that could end his world as he knew it.

Laura 17:32

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares for childhood she can't remember. But despite her broken past, she's never stopped seeing the beauty in the world, including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn't want. Her brother's best friend, her neighbor, her savior, and her downfall.

Bridget 17:51

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen. But when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both and everything they hold dear.

Laura 18:00

With all that out of the way, now it's time to reveal the truth of how you feel about Twisted Love now that you've read it.

Bridget 18:06

Okay, it could be summed up in two ways. I've got one with three words and one with a lot more words. Okay. Three words. What a mess. And then longer is in Anna Huang's kitchen, she has magnetic poetry on her fridge, but instead of words, they're just tropes and book talk buzzwords. And late at night, she sleepwalks and she goes into the kitchen and she just moves things around on the fridge. And then in the morning she wakes up and comes into the kitchen, and she's like, right, ready for work and just starts writing. That's how I feel about it.

Laura 18:38

How did you feel about it? I was drunk the whole time I read this book and I had a great time. Woo! I was woo-hooing. Woo-hoo! You were doing Sims Business. I was. I know it's bad. I know it's bad. And there's some sort of commentary here, and it's not flattering about. Yeah, well, I'm romantic. I do rate a lot higher on a romantic scale than you.

Bridget 19:12

You just wouldn't get it.

Laura 19:15

Uh romantic scale. Were you literally drunk or were you drunk on love? It's hard to say, honestly. A bit of both. Yeah, I just was like, you know what? I'm vibing. It's time. It's awful. And I want to know more. Why? Why? Oh my god. Okay. It's weird because the alcohol seemed to have sort of absolved me of some of the guilt I felt when I read and loved The Hating Game. Because this is a book that I shouldn't like. It's a book I'm sure if I read under any other circumstances, I'd be like, what the hell did I just read? Under the influence. Yeah. But I'm not racked with guilt the way I was. I'm like, you know what? It slapped. It was good. It was not good.

Bridget 20:10

Well, at least we're not boring anymore.

Laura 20:13

Alex and Ava's.

Bridget 20:17

Okay.

Laura 20:20

This isn't going the way I thought it would. I honestly, it made me so delusional. I was like, Bridget's gonna like it. I like it. Okay. Alcohol is in. Drinking is so back. Sick. Okay. Alright, cut the shit. Let's talk about Anna Huang.

Bridget 20:47

Okay. This is Anna's bio, which has come directly from her website, and it says she is the number one New York Times, number one USA Today, and number one Sunday Times best-selling author of over a dozen contemporary romances, which have collectively sold 25 million copies worldwide. Her subgenres range from sports to billionaire in suspense, but all of her books feature her signature blend of steam and swoon. Her work has been translated into 34 languages, and she has been featured on Good Morning America, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Washington Post, and more. A book talk phenomenon, her breakout twisted series has over 2 billion views on the platform. It is currently in development for television at Netflix. Anna is also a crossword puzzle enthusiast and an avid traveler. She's visited nearly 40 countries, several of which have served as an inspiration for her books. Now I know that when I was reading that, I was putting on a bit of a bratty attitude, but I do have to say that I watched a lot of interviews with Anna and I find her charming.

Laura 21:51

Oh, I'm so glad you said that because I was like, ah man, I really don't think the alcohol can justify my feelings. Like it just no, it's just too much. Much that's like against how I would normally feel. And what I did feel was that I liked her a lot.

Bridget 22:05

Yes, I think she seemed kind, which is like weird to say about someone you're seeing on YouTube, but um, she seemed to be like proud of her work. I love that for her, and I think she was seemed really smart.

Laura 22:17

Yeah, and I think she seemed really self-aware as well. She knows she's not like curing cancer with these novels.

Bridget 22:23

Yeah. So she is Chinese American and she's the daughter of Chinese expats, and she credits her love of writing stories to her mother. Um, when she was in grade one, she was in English as a second language classes, and I heard her say in an interview that she just thought it was like a fun little class just for her to hang out with and like a teacher one-on-one, which is so cute. And then her mum said, Every day write a story to practice English. And she said, I thought my mum just liked reading my stories. Oh. She's just so cute. She discovered Wattpad and she was writing a lot on there when she was 15, and then she uploaded her first novel when she was maybe 18. Something I also found a little bit interesting is she said that she's embarrassed to write the spicy scenes in her books. And I mean, she's very brave, because that seems to be a a big percentage of her books, and the dedication for Twisted Love is quite funny. Says to my mum for all her support and encouragement over the years. Mum, if you're reading this, turn back immediately. There are scenes in here that will scar you for life.

Laura 23:23

It's all you can really do. She's been warned.

Bridget 23:25

Yeah. She said that her parents still go and buy her books and they display them, but to her knowledge, they haven't read them, which I think is for the best.

Laura 23:32

I did kind of laugh when I read that the twisted series was written after 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic because you very affectionately, in a previous episode, coined that era of writing as COVID slop. Did I? Yeah.

Bridget 23:48

Wow.

Laura 23:49

I thought Bridget will have something to say about this. But she began writing and self-publishing novels and promoting them on TikTok. Her twisted series went viral and was republished by Bloom Books in 2022.

Bridget 24:02

There are four books in the Twisted series. She has finished writing the series, so the first book is Twisted Love, second is Twisted Games, Twisted Hate, and then Twisted Lies. And unfortunately, this is another kind of Bridgerton style series where every book is the same story but a different character.

Laura 24:17

But you know, that's what the girlies love. It's funny that you say that as well, because when I was looking for information about the Netflix adaptation, I saw that in January of 2025, Netflix acquired the rights to a seven-figure deal for the series. And obviously, each series will follow one of the members of the friendship group, the same as the book. There's not really any information in terms of casting or script or anything like that, but I did read a couple of articles where Netflix were calling it the replacement for Bridgetton. That's wild. So I mean I mean Bridgetton is even finished. It's not. She's got miles to go.

Bridget 24:54

She hasn't ruled out writing a fifth book for the series, but she said that it would be epilogue style rather than a new romance, which, oh God, what awful news that is.

Laura 25:04

Babe, we don't need it. You're good. You're good.

Bridget 25:06

As we said before, she has released over a dozen contemporary romances. She's currently churning out about two books a year. I watched an interview with her where she said in the indie publishing world that that's considered slow, and some people release one every few months, but it takes her about six months to finish a book. A lot of thinking, but actual writing about six to seven weeks.

Laura 25:26

I read an interview with her where she said she's good at writing to deadline.

Bridget 25:30

This is the second dark romance book that we've read on the podcast, but I thought it would be interesting to hear from Anna Huang herself about what she considers to be a dark romance. She said, I think dark romance is subjective, but to me it is books that have darker themes and characters. So this is where you see a lot of anti-heroes and villains positioned as protagonists, where there may be psychological or physical trauma depicted on page as well as villains. It's more like heavier emotions than in classic contemporary romances at the end of the day.

Laura 25:58

Well, I think that mention of dark romance and morally grey characters is the perfect segue for a discussion about our leading man, Alex Volkov. Alex was an interesting guy. Tell me about him. Did you know that he has an IQ of 160? You know what? I had heard like rumblings about that. It's barely mentioned. He has a disease. It's called perfect memory disease. Look it up. It's a real name, but I can't quite remember it. He remembers everything perfectly in vivid detail. It's different to a photographic memory. Don't even think about comparing the two because it's not the same. No. It's a curse. Idiot. It's a blessing and a curse. Another thing that I could tell you about Alex is that he sort of for some reason seems to have the vocabulary of a 1950s gangster because he is repeatedly saying that people are going to be toast. If that guy looks at you again, he's toast. He's toast.

Bridget 26:59

You're going to be toast. You and your business will be toast. And another thing, he's got one tool in his arsenal. And that is watch your mouth. Otherwise, your business is going down the drain. And you'll never work in this city again. You'll rule the day. That's it. That's his only threat. Another big part of his personality is he has insomnia. And also he's good at teaching meditation and how to get through phobias. But for some reason, can't like apply that information to himself, like to cure his insomnia. He's not like doing any meditation or anything to help with that. Like he's just like, not for me. I believe in the shit, but not for me. Only for Ava. It is interesting that someone who allegedly has such a high IQ is such a dumbass. He's such a dumbass. Like everyone's got the upper hand on him.

Laura 27:45

Yeah. And also he sucks.

Bridget 27:47

Yeah, I mean, I hate him.

Laura 27:49

When I say I like this book, he played no part in that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. Except he was half the book. Yeah. Well, I guess like when I ignored what he was doing, then I liked it whole. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah.

Bridget 28:02

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Laura 28:04

It's like if I just it was like, okay, whatever that man's there. Yeah. Let's pretend he's someone else. Then it was good. Yeah, okay. I don't I don't quite understand, but I'll stick with you.

Bridget 28:17

Neither do I. Okay, so let's talk about the memory before actually. Hang on. There's one thing we've forgotten. He's a really good singer.

Laura 28:26

I did not forget that. He's a really good singer. I screamed when I read that.

Bridget 28:33

Yeah. The question I have for you in your mind, what song was he singing? What was he performing for Ava?

Laura 28:41

Any situation like this, my mind always goes to the scene in the mighty boosh. Turn around.

Bridget 28:49

Every now and then I get a little bit lonely.

Laura 28:53

It's always total eclipse of the heart.

Bridget 28:55

Okay, great. What about you? The song that I was imagining was Right Here Waiting by Richard Marks. And I don't know if you know that, but I'm I think you'll know it when you hear it. So it's the one wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you. Yeah, that's him. Yeah. Yeah. In his actions when he's in London, and also just like the same vibe of like, you know, mysterious, and I'm so sexy, and I'm Ukrainian.

Laura 29:23

Yeah. We'll backtrack slightly because we have painted an intriguing but quite abstract portrait of this guy. So he is what, 26 or something? Yeah. He's a young man who became an orphan through having his parents and sister murdered in front of him. He is a businessman that is tied up in some dodgy dealings.

Bridget 29:46

And real estate.

Laura 29:47

Yes.

Bridget 29:47

Well, I mean, you could put that in dodgy dealings.

Laura 29:49

Grey type. Yes. With a little bit more murder, I would say. He is very robotic. He's very serious. He's quite manipulative and abusive in the way that he acts almost everyone in his life. Yes. I would say the definition of morally grey. He I no, that's not morally grey, actually. Like it's wrong to murder. I think he's just a bad guy.

Bridget 30:11

And I guess that's the appeal for some people. Unfortunately, not for me. What you just said about Christian Grey was so true because I felt like there was so much Edward Cullen and Christian Grey in him. And like I read this coming off my Twilight reread, and when they were in the car, like in the very start of the book, I was like, okay, like I could maybe get into this. I can trick myself into thinking this is Edward like on the way back from Port Angeles. Maybe. Because it was quite similar. But as the book progressed, no, it didn't really help me trying to picture that. I was like, I can't quite reach that far.

Laura 30:44

Because I think it's one thing to have someone who's like, I don't know what I'd do if someone ever hurt you, or like, you don't know what those guys were gonna do to you. But he is like actually insane. Like he there's a scene at the end of the book after Ava and Alex have been through the entire plot of this novel, had some dramas, reconciled against, you know, the world's better judgment. And Ava is at an art gallery. She's put on a show of her whole photography collection. This is after he's done his song. He's come to make amends, he's sung his song, he's bought her entire photography collection.

Bridget 31:16

Boo.

Laura 31:17

Yeah, that was that was bad. Wow, way to let her achieve things on her own merit, Dickhead. I was surprised he didn't pay for her to get into the program. And so Ava is innocently talking to this guy from her course. Anyway, the guy in her course asks if she wants to go out, and she's in the midst of rejecting him, and she says to the guy, You're cute and funny and talented too. Any girl would be lucky to date you. The guy says, I sense a butt coming, he said wryly. But But she's busy tonight, a smooth voice interrupted. From tonight through the foreseeable future. I turned my pulse accelerating when I saw Alex standing less than five feet away. His gaze zeroed in on where I was still touching Jack's arm. I pulled away, but it was too late. I could practically taste the danger pulsing in the air. Gone was the man who'd bared his soul on stage. In his place was the ruthless CEO who wouldn't hesitate to crush his enemies to dust. You're the guy who performed tonight and is always waiting for Ava outside WYP. Because he has been stalking her, actually. For a year. Important to know.

Bridget 32:22

For a whole year.

Laura 32:23

Jack narrowed his eyes. Who are you again? Someone who will rip your entrails out and strangle you with them if you don't take your hands off her. Alex said in a deceptively calm voice. Oh, my bad. It was only then that I realized Jack still had his hand on the small of my back from when he'd hugged me earlier. You're a psycho. Jack tightened his hold on me, and I suddenly feel for his life, I'm calling security. Yes. Great move, call security. Like the first sensible reaction someone has had to this man in the whole book.

Bridget 32:54

They all thought he was her boyfriend. Read the body language. From the first day he rocked up, she was not into it. And even if he was, that's still stalking. Yes. Something that I tried to do was kind of catalogue all of the times that I rolled my eyes in like an extreme way, especially when I was listening to the audiobook. There was a lot where I was like, you are actually kidding me. That's not that's not what you just said. I'll just spit him out. We're all prostitutes in our own way. He also recognized Madeline's scent at some point, and that was crazy. I also can't believe that he has social media. Like when he's watching the fight by the pool, I don't believe that that man has social media. That's not true at all. Horny college guys are some of the most dangerous people on the planet.

Laura 33:46

Says the actual murderer.

Bridget 33:48

Their stupid, like Harry Potter conversation. Like, did you just call me Voldemort? He just said Nikini. Shut up.

Laura 33:58

That was a point where I was really getting shades of the Spanish love design.

Bridget 34:02

Yes, definitely. I was a destroyer, not a protector.

Laura 34:07

Okay.

Bridget 34:08

I'm hoping that I'm, you know, in your sober state, I'm injecting some sensibility into me. I'm still like, yay! The red velvet thing, he's obsessed with her red velvet cupcakes. And I think the last thing I really want to say about Alex is like many things in this book, the whole memory thing was so dumb. It did not need to be a part of this book because people that have traumatic experiences don't need to have whatever his memory disease was called to remember that. People have flashbacks. People are triggered by things, people remember things in vivid detail. We don't need to know that you remember every single moment of your life. You can remember pivotal moments because the only things we heard about were those pivotal traumatic moments. Stupid, stupid part of the plot.

Laura 34:56

I feel like it was more distracting than it was useful because when it was brought up, there was some commentary on it from Ava or Alex that was like, wow, that seemed all too convenient, or like, whoa, that's like something out of a movie.

Bridget 35:07

Yeah.

Laura 35:07

Like this, I'm not sure of the science, but whatever. I can't remember exactly the commentary, but I thought, okay, this is her like in a meta way asking us to suspend our beliefs.

Bridget 35:17

Yeah, yeah, just move on, guys. But you'll let them have perfect memory. I'm never letting this go. Yeah, you're right. It didn't serve any purpose. So many things didn't serve. Like the singing served absolutely no purpose.

Laura 35:31

Well, I think here we go. Hands off the singing. No, you talking about the red velvet and the Harry Potter stuff just sort of like jog my memory because I forgot all of that stuff had happened. And I think, not to move too far away from the characters, but I think that's kind of why in my state I enjoyed the book. Because it was such a frickin' mess. I did not know what was coming next. Like we had that cutesy, silly, like sunshine grumpy, like operation emotion thing happening. We had a frickin' murder mystery. Yeah. We had some mafia shit. We had some like Christian Grey stuff. Like it did not know what it was trying to be. And every page I was like, whoa, this is happening now. It was the fridge magnets.

Bridget 36:17

There was just shit.

Laura 36:18

It was like lucky dip. What are we gonna get this chapter? And I think it was relieving because I don't know if this is intentional, but I've noticed she said her books have steam and not spice or smut. And like I thought, okay, this is like reasonably graphic, there's not too much of it. And I thought we were gonna be getting a lot of it. And so, like, what were we like halfway through the book? The jig was up. I what I thought would be the main twist in the plot had been revealed with Ava's dad. And I was like, well, great, they're just gonna smash for the other 40% of the book. Okay, this is where it fulfills what I'm expecting it to be. But then it just kept going with all of this like subterfuge and like mafia stuff.

Bridget 36:58

Everything was so obvious as well. Like, of course it's the uncle.

Laura 37:01

Why would he be like repeatedly prying every time you spoke to him about like, so did you kill that guy? Yeah. Yeah. Have you gotten any closer? That can't be the conversation you have with your uncle every time you see him. It's so embarrassing.

Bridget 37:14

When we were hearing about how Alex, you know, only sleeps with certain kind of women and like he only likes certain kinds of things in the bedroom. I thought we were gonna get that Christian Grey like BDSM, like red room of pain, playroom, whatever that stupid shit was called.

Laura 37:30

It wasn't really like that at all. No, he was just like, You're a slut! You're my gorgeous slut. No, I feel exactly the same. I thought, oh, okay, that's what it is. Yeah. And she was like, Yes, call me a slut.

Bridget 37:42

Yeah. I like those things too. Okay. Also, another thing that I was quite confused about was like his obsession with her came out of absolutely nowhere. Like, we know his inner thoughts. So from the start of the book, if he's loved her for years and years and years, he've cut he's catalogued her favourite things of every single thing, and he knows her innermost workings before they've even kissed. Then why did we not know about that from chapter one? I don't know what chapter it is, but like all of a sudden he's obsessed with her. And all of a sudden she's obsessed with him. And it's never been like, wow, the light turned on. I saw the person that's been in front of me for all these years. Like, also, how many times did we have to hear passing the potatoes at Thanksgiving? Like, get a new line, please. And then, like, once they were a couple weird, wholesome vibes, it was like 17 books in one.

Laura 38:29

Yeah, it was a mess. A mess. It swept me off my feet.

Bridget 38:33

I think some of the stupidest lines are in the part where they're at the Thayer University Annual Alumni Charity Gala. And this is something that Alex attends every year because it's a fountain of information. And Ava attended because she wanted a chance to meet like one of her career idols or something. You know, they're dancing, they've got some sort of possessive shit going on, like dick measuring contest with some other guy. And then she says to him, You don't know me at all. And he says, Is that so? Try me. She says, My favorite colour, yellow. My favorite ice cream flavor, mint chocolate chip. My favorite season, summer, because of the warmth and sunshine and greenery. But secretly, winter fascinates you. It speaks to the darkest parts of your soul, the manifestations of your nightmares. It's everything you fear, and for that you love it. Because the fear makes you feel alive. Okay. Who like no one would ever say that. And if if someone did say that to me, I'd be like, okay, mate, maybe it's because I'm unromantic. But if someone said that to me, I'd be like, I'm out, I'm in peace. Got you by the quiz. This is easier. You suck. You admit it, girlfriend.

Laura 39:39

Sorry. Love cannot conquer all. Nah, look, I have to come clean. I guess I was too drunk to be reading this podcast book. Because I'm like, you're reading out these quotes, and I'm like, I don't have anything written down. I have twice. I read this book twice, and I hated every second of it. Split. So like sometimes. Sometimes I was drunk and listening. Sometimes I was drunk and reading.

Bridget 40:01

Right. But you know, like there was a shallow uh sorry, it keeps going, I just realized. But there was a shallow question, sunshine. Hate the nickname, sunshine. Ask me something real. What do I want? A dangerous loaded question. And then he says, love. Deep, abiding, unconditional love. You want it so much you're willing to live for it. Okay. You want it so much. You'd say yes to anything. Believe in anyone. One more favor, one more kind gesture. And maybe, just maybe, they'll give you the love you want so desperately you'd whore yourself out for it.

Laura 40:35

That is not how we speak to our friends, Alex. That's just actual drivel. It's drivel. I don't remember that. And I think this is, you know, like I said earlier, not a flattering portrait of fans of these books because I enjoyed this book on No Thoughts, just vibes. Yeah. Barely vibes, to be honest.

Bridget 40:53

I mean reading Barely processing. Reading the reviews. They're all no thoughts, just vibes. I would like to read a review, actually. Um, and I might not say the name of the thing because I I mean I am aware that it might be a bit mean of me to broadcast it in this mean kind of way. But these were the kind of reviews that I'm seeing, and I'll just let you know that everything except the last three or so lines is in capitals. This book deserves more than five stars. Even the word perfection is not a good word for it from how amazing this book is. Gosh, even the amazing is not good for it. This book is literally god tier. The chemistry between the main characters was just everything. I took six days to finish the book. And the reason why is because after finishing the hating game, oh, shots fired, my brain just started telling that, since this book is so good, just don't finish it so fast because I just know that I'll have trouble into picking my next read because nothing would be as good as the book I'm reading. Well, at least that's for my unread books that I have on my bookshelf. Well, hopefully my next read is going to be so good and turn me head over heels for the main characters. Also, just read it. Don't even read the description, just fucking read it. That's like that's every review. And here's another one. Holy moly, okay, hello. I love this book. Alex had a development I loved seeing. I can see where he was coming from, and his overprotective nature was adorable. Not to mention his possessive personality. Love. Ava had a development I love seeing as well. She overcame a lot of obstacles, and it was amazing seeing her notice her worth in the end. And the mystery got me sitting on the edge of my seat. Everything came together perfectly, and it was so shocking when the puzzle pieces all came together to reveal themselves. So good. Enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of the Twisted series when I can. And like, I know I said at the start of the episode that I want to be able to enjoy books like this. Like I would love to be this person. Once again, it's probably because I'm unromantic. I just can't be. I didn't say anything. I just can't be this person.

Laura 42:46

What are they reading? There was no growth for Alex. And Ava made no discovery as to her self-worth. Her self-worth took a swan dive, I would say. I would say because something that happens repeatedly with her as well is that she calls him out on his behaviour and then it does absolutely nothing to shape or change his character. And then she takes him back. Yeah, it takes him back and changes again and again and again. It's like toxic grease. Let's move on to Ava. What can I tell you about Ava? Ava likes the colour yellow. Butter yellow. Available is a simple, simple girl. Um, I think there is the husk of an interesting character in there. I think Ava Chen is a more interesting female character than we often receive in this kind of book. And I would say Ava, despite her stupidity when it comes to relationships, is probably the saving grace of this book because I actually did kind of like her, even though I thought she was stupid. I don't agree with the liking, but I do agree with the other things you're saying.

Bridget 43:49

Yeah.

Laura 43:50

Ava is a Chinese American character, which is a lot more diversity than we've ever seen in any of these other similar novels. Yeah. She does, however, suffer from that same like really infantile, like puerile, dumb in a monologue that's like me make him me wanna make him waf. Me we sundwes. Molly and me. Bisque. And it's really hard to hear. It's really hard to be, it's really hard to be in the head of someone like that when they're also being preyed upon by this monster.

Bridget 44:24

Something I found quite interesting when I was doing my research is this article from booksrun.com and it was about Anna Huang's body of work and how different it is from the usual romance books we kind of see. One part of this article said that a very unusual trait for this genre is a self-sufficient heroine. And this is something that I actually took offense to like I am offended. I was triggered by this based on my new discovery as a Bellaswan lover. It says Anna's stories are different from Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey, for example, where the female protagonist is, let's say, somewhat clueless. In Anna Huang books, a fierce woman is a perfect match for the ruthless and intelligent protagonist. She can easily understand his sarcastic remarks and respond accordingly, leading to the high class banter and steamy romance. The female is complex with her own goals and ambitions. There is much more to her than just being in love with a kinky and wealthy man. Her personal growth also plays a significant role in the plot, making us modern readers feel very content. And I think that's incorrect for two reasons. I think it's incorrect because I don't see that Ava is a perfect match for Alex because I think that Ava deserves more than Alex. I think she is a nice kind person and she deserves somebody who isn't going to kill people.

Laura 45:46

Yeah.

Bridget 45:46

And I also don't think that she was that intelligent or complex. Like I think if if there was a little bit more time or thought given to the like the construction of her character then yeah I could see that because as you said before there were like parts that were interesting. Like there was a shell that was interesting. It just wasn't really filled in very well. And the second thing that I took offense to with this is saying that Bella Swan isn't intelligent or can't understand sarcastic remarks. And I think that's incorrect. As I said in our let them episode Bella Swan is kind of that bitch. She is running the Cullen family. She is funny. She is smart she knows what's going on. She knows it's Victoria. She knows it's the Vulture. She knows what the werewolves are doing. She knows what's going on. She figures out she can hear Edward in her head if she does she's smart okay she's smart. And when I'm reading Midnight Sun I'm like you know Edward I get it. She's charming. She's funny like when she's in the kitchen and she's like watch me hunt getting her breakfast and then she's like can I get you anything funny funny okay I implore everybody read Twilight again you'll see what I mean take off the lens of Bella hating.

Laura 47:05

It's apples and oranges. Ava Chen has let two murderers into her life. I guess if you're a murderer you'd want to be pretty good at your job but one is not a professional murderer and granted she was a child.

Bridget 47:16

Yes.

Laura 47:17

She is traumatized. But based on the way that man gave up the jig about not being her father and trying to kill her I don't think he would have been doing a very convincing job of being a loving, affectionate biological father her whole life up until age 20 whatever too.

Bridget 47:32

No she was like sometimes I catch him looking at me as if he hates me. Okay, your dad shouldn't be doing that babe. I know she had repressed memories but that seems unusual.

Laura 47:42

But even when she was an adult he was looking at her like that. And I think a smart woman would stand up for herself around a man like Alex like that scene where she was doing that boudoir photo shoot or whatever with that guy and he stormed in and was like delete the photos I'll smash your frickin camera blah blah blah and she was like hey this is for my professional body of work you can't do that you don't control me and then spoiler alert related Bella wouldn't do something like that. Like when Bella puts her foot down to go and see Jacob or like whatever she's determined to do boudoir shoot at the blacks she'd get into the car and go to the Cullins and make them vote on whether she could do a boudoir photography. She was like Bella want to smash Bella smash. Bella smash bring the eggs I'm ready. She will emotionally manipulate as well yeah I agree with you.

Bridget 48:28

I don't think she comes across as a smart character. No the parts about her trauma were quite interesting like how she was afraid of water but that's another thing where I was like not really necessary wasn't really integral to the plot. I think it could have been if it was maybe I don't know weaved in a better way but I also think that she's lying about it because it's very insensitive of me to say but there's ev I have evidence. Okay. Do you know where perchance she decided to take the photos of the engagement shoot at the start of the book? Do you know where that was? No.

Laura 49:02

I'll just read it to you I was drunk Bridget How many times do I have to tell you I don't remember any of this book. I have like 10 pages of quotes that I've highlighted and the rest longest yeah boy ever.

Bridget 49:23

So at the start of the book Ava is stranded in the rain just before her brother's going away party is about to start and she's like I can't get an Uber it's raining also I'm in the middle of freaking nowhere. So she calls her brother and he's like I'll send a car don't go anywhere have you got the pepper spray there's freaks out in rural Maryland and so she's waiting for him Alex rocks up in his Aston Martin or if you were the audiobook narrator Austin Martin.

Laura 49:51

Yeah what? I'm glad you picked up on that.

Bridget 49:55

And so he's he's really angry about her like putting herself in this dangerous position. Even though once again apparently he doesn't care about her. And so she's just said did you just make a joke and then he just changes the subject and he says explain why you were out there in the first place.

Laura 50:11

I had a photo shoot with clients there's a nice lake a nice lake babe you're scared of water oh wouldn't it be good if there was a sequel where she was manipulating him the whole time you just got got either you're not scared of water you're at a lake I think the most glaring example of her lack of intelligence is that at the end of the novel she finds out that Alex she finds out that Alex had only been getting close to her brother and herself and her family so that he could seek vengeance and kill her dad who he believed had murdered his family.

Bridget 50:58

Question for you if you found out that Brian had been plotting to murder your family and he quote unquote fell for you in the process like cast your mind back to when you were first dating like a year maybe even two years into dating if you found out that he wanted to murder your family but he fell for you for real for real baby girl would you be chill with that well maybe this is the maybe this is the unromantic logical pragmatic part of me but if Brian was trying to kill my dad kill my dad who would try to kill me then maybe I'd be cool with it. I think like the important here my dad hasn't tried to kill me. Yeah that's true okay and her dad was undeniably a bad man. Mmm so I don't know I've been thinking about this question ever since I saw it in the show notes and I can't give you a straight answer yes or no. How about you?

Laura 51:54

What about if Brown was like sake your dad's dead I just think I'm not that trusting I think I would not be so chill with letting two murderers into my life.

Bridget 52:03

Well actually no sorry I did forget that he would be a murderer. Yeah I think I would agree with you. Yeah. But I mean it is he did he did try to kill me.

Laura 52:11

He killed his uncle right yeah and the other guy and that's another thing so as it's like okay maybe he maybe Brian doesn't succeed in killing your dad maybe your dad maybe he's been thwarted from that attempt but Brian still has killed at least two other guys that he know about it but then the uncle was gonna kill me. Yeah but murder's wrong murder is wrong are you the morally great protagonist?

Bridget 52:35

Knock it off no I it's all ridiculous. And I can't even picture it because it's so like I can't imagine it. Every time something happened in this book I was like as if this is shit. So I I just don't have a very good imagination. But I mean if Brian came to me tomorrow and said I've been killing people I'd be like okay why? Lock him up. Yeah. Hello 91 I got a motor report. In our Magnolia Parks episode we spoke a little bit about the threat of infidelity that was constantly hanging over the heads of every single character in that book. Our girl Jessa Hastings was talking about this in a podcast episode and she said that she was unaware that in the TikTok romance sphere cheating is worse than murder. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this quote from Anna Huang talking about this because I was like, oh okay backing up what she said. And she says there's this ongoing joke in a particular subsect of the romance community that's like murder is totally fine but we draw the line at cheating. You cannot do that, right? All of this plays into the reason why this trope appeals to people and why romance readers read romance. It's that escapism, that fantasy of having a guy that is so in love and obsessed with you that he is able to do all these things you're I don't want to say not like other girls but you're kind of the exception right the love interest is like the one person that is their exception and that's the fantasy of it. And then the interviewer says that's how it should be in real life no matter who you want to be with and she says exactly some of these real life men I'm like you could benefit from learning some things from these fictional men. That's why we're drawn to it. And I think for some of these more over the top moments it's easier for readers to accept because that is pretty outside the realm of possibility. It could happen but it's very unlikely. So it's easier for us to draw the distinction that it is fiction. But things like cheating it's so much closer to home and it's so much more possible that we're not as open or forgiving of that in fiction because it's so realistic.

Laura 54:30

I love that quote. Yeah I think she's really smart. There are a couple of other excellent quotes that I really enjoyed and one was on writing AlphaMail. She says it's the fantasy of having someone just take care of all these things so you don't have to think about it. In real life we're overwhelmed by all of the decisions we have to make and it can be exhausting. In real life we'd still want that agency and independence but I think in fantasy it's okay to let go a little bit and say here's this person who will take care of all of these things for me and all I have to do is sit back and enjoy it. I don't necessarily agree that someone like Alex would make me feel taken care of. I think I'd feel harassed and stressed and pressured. Yes. But I do understand what she's saying with that quote and I think it's a very smart and informed take.

Bridget 55:17

Another smart and informed take that she had was sort of challenging the notion or challenging the idea that the genre of dark romance is fetishizing violence against women. And she says at the end of the day it is fiction and I think that the people who read it should be able to critically enjoy it because they know these themes are bad in real life. Fiction is a safe way to explore those fantasies and experience these visceral emotions without them actually being in danger the same way it goes for any other type of entertainment. The action movies that kind of glorify all of this violence they don't really think about the civilians that get caught in the way or the TV shows that feature serial killers as the protagonists. I mean all of these glorify themes that are not great in real life but the people who see them understand that they can be entertaining without condoning them in reality. And that is so true and it's something I haven't thought of but once again things that girls like are criticized more than something that is traditionally more a male interest like an action movie. And that's so true.

Laura 56:14

Of course of course she's right what's the difference nothing one's for girls traditionally and one's for men traditionally I've seen a couple of quotes from her talking about this concept of like a safe space to explore themes without any real consequences and it was making me think of that discussion we had in our credence episode about like taboo and the place it fills in the literary world or whatever it may be. And I guess obviously the choices that Anahuang is making in her novels with these characters are a lot more to my taste or a lot more palatable to me than Credence was. But I do really understand what she's saying here. I just don't like it.

Bridget 56:51

Yeah same. It's just not for me. And you know once again it's we're reading a book that's not for us except this time it was for you.

Laura 56:58

Yeah that kind of leads into something that I have been gearing up to admit and that is that I think that I would read another one of these and that is 90% based on the fact that the next one is about a princess and she did what so many before her have failed to do and that is fictionalize the universe. She is the princess of Eldora.

Bridget 57:22

Where is that who knows take notes yeah take notes Casey McQuiston yeah I would read it too because kind of interested in the princess friend. I did just watch Princess Darys uh the other day I would have to say I wouldn't listen to the audiobook though because the accent that the narrator gave the princess in that book Princess Bridget not good. Not good not good at all and I wouldn't be interested in hearing the sexy narrator again wasn't into that.

Laura 57:49

No, but when I looked it up he seems to be like somewhat of a celeb in the sexy narrator community.

Bridget 57:56

I got I got that impression as well.

Laura 57:58

He's that guy. One of the things that I thought was so funny about this book is that she didn't even really end up finishing the story for Alex and Ave. It was like anyway they go off to do whatever I'm just gonna start writing about the princess and Reese now.

Bridget 58:11

You know why she didn't finish it because the proposal scene is bonus content on her website. And so if you sign up for her uh newsletter you get access to the bonus chapter. Oh and so there's two bonus chapters I read them for us to to you know give us the full story. Please one of them they went apple picking and that went as well as you could imagine they had sex in the middle of the orchard and the proposal he like booked out a private museum and he was like we're going to see a an art show and there was no one there and you know he'd set up a thing and he was like will you marry me and she's like yes and then they had sex in there as well duh so yeah I mean that's why there's always a reason why and it's always a bonus fun we've come to the end we've learned a lot of things about each other in this episode this time for us to learn a few more we're gonna talk about our favourite and least favourite characters. So Laura what is your favourite character in Twisted Love by Anna Huang?

Laura 59:07

My favorite character is Princess Bridget.

Bridget 59:10

Oh same cool because I hadn't thought of it before now yeah I like uh she's fine like how we didn't talk about Eddie the friends or the brother. No well what is that nothing? And how about your least favourite character? My least favourite character is Alex Volkov. He is a freak yeah he is a freak I have a tie for mine. My least favourite characters are the murderer Alex Volkov and the annoying girl Jules. I hate her she's so annoying I won't be reading her book to be fair to Jules in the book if I hadn't listened to the audiobook I don't think I'd hate her as much because the way that the audiobook uh embodied her character was unbearable.

Laura 59:55

She sounds like a real cliche. She's probably a girl with a lot of privado but a heart of gold yeah I reckon she'd be crying in her book like you know she'd be like letting down her guard.

Bridget 1:00:08

Hitting rock bottom crying for the first time. I especially hated her I know we haven't really talked about this and I know we're about to finish the episode but I especially hated the stupid emotions thing like hairbrained scheme that she cooked up just like another thing that didn't really matter in the plot.

Laura 1:00:25

Because I thought that was gonna be the whole same I thought it was gonna be like a bit like the hating game or which I think would have made me hate the book more because that's like it would have fulfilled my expectations. But it was like half asked it was all half asked which I think was just what delighted me. Yeah didn't know what was coming next.

Bridget 1:00:43

Yeah this is I don't know if I can really do it justice but this is how Jules was represented in the book. Hear me out we all think Alex is a robot right well what if she can prove he isn't don't tell me you guys don't want to see him act like an actual human being for once she's not 22. That's not a 22 year old that's Mel Robbins. That's Mel Robbins and she might have infiltrated me more than I knew let them simple we come up with a list of emotions and you try to make him feel each one it'll be a test of sorts like giving him an annual physical to make sure he's functioning properly it's just shit. Sorry Lori Laura I know you really enjoy this book what Laura says next will shock you. Doctors hate her I have two Goodreads quotes to end the episode on the first one is from somebody called Kat Where's Simon and Cowell when you need him and the second one is someone from Anna If I were her dad I would want to kill her too I liked that one do you have any good ones one that I enjoyed that was one star.

Laura 1:01:56

I literally did not sign up for a murder mystery and why did he sing?

Bridget 1:02:00

Horrific it's so true though because there's so many parts in this book it was like what I this is not what I was promised.

Laura 1:02:09

Yeah I think like it was just sheer relief that it wasn't what I was promised. Like it was so bad. Yeah but I was like wow it's not the Spanish I thought it was gonna be the Spanish love deception 2.0 in parts yeah in other parts what the hell is happening I don't know what's coming next like along for the ride. All so predictable every little micro story that happened within I was like okay I know what's happening here. What's coming next? It's anyone's guess like really yeah that's true.

Bridget 1:02:40

The very last question we have for the day and I cannot wait to be outraged at your answer here Laura but do you find Twisted Love by Anna Huang lit or shit?

Laura 1:02:51

It is shit. Oh my god it is shit I was ready to fight no like don't get me wrong yeah I was swept up but I know it was ridiculous. I know under normal circumstances and like you know I don't know if I said this earlier but there are like 20 or so pages before the gin kicked in where I was like what the hell and I had a lot of highlights I had a lot of tabs I even tried the washy tape technique. Oh yeah and then suddenly something took hold and I was like you know what I don't care I'm just vibing. So like it's shin I know that. Yeah okay good it's obviously shining don't have to call for a lobotomy just yet I actually had one while I read this.

Bridget 1:03:37

Okay you got there first for our next bonus chapter we are talking about our feelings about the Netflix adaptation of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation. Have your say on what we read next by keeping an eye on the link in our show notes and on our socials. Make sure you subscribe to the show and if you want to be on the same page as us follow us at talklit.get on Instagram and TikTok