“It’s me. And you. Together. It won’t work.” Alex’s glare intensified. “Whatever fantasies you have of us swirling in that pretty head of yours, kill them. That kiss was a one-time mistake. It’ll never happen again.”

Synopsis
Ava Chen is a college student at Thayer University in Washington D.C. and a part-time freelance photographer. She and her best friend Jules live next door to her older brother Josh. Josh is very protective of Ava because of the severe trauma she endured as a child. She wakes up from terrifying nightmares nearly every morning at 4:44 AM but can’t remember what memory these dreams stem from.
When Josh leaves the US for the summer to volunteer in South America, he leaves his best friend, Alex Volkov, to look after Ava in his absence. Alex is a powerful, ruthless man with a heart made of stone driven by the need to avenge his family’s deaths. He has a condition called hyperthymesia or Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) that makes him remember every painstaking detail about every moment of his life, whether he wants to or not.
To help his friend, Alex reluctantly moves out of his lavish apartment and into Josh’s house to be closer to Ava. He can’t stand her sunny optimism and she can’t stand how he never shows emotion. Like ever. But, when Alex starts to act possessive of Ava, her friends are convinced that she is the only person that can evoke any kind of emotion from him. Thus begins Operation Emotion. What happens when the line blurs between their acquaintanceship?

The Good
- Ana Huang has a way with words fr.
- He calls her SUNSHINE
- This was downright addicting. I could not stop reading this if I wanted to. It has that same bingeable quality as a shitty soapy TV show.

The Bad
- It felt very insta-lovey which isn’t my favorite.
- I personally was not attracted to Alex. I need my men to show at least a modicum of emotion around me. The mouth twitches, jaw ticks, and flaming eyes got annoying.
- I wasn’t Ava’s biggest fan either. I feel like the author infantilized her at points and her optimism often bordered on naivety.
- The conflict near the end was so contrived and ridiculous and that’s why I consider this to be an almost fantasy-level scenario. It just doesn’t work in a contemporary setting and that’s what I perceived this to be. But I do honestly think it would translate well to a series or movie if these ever got adapted.
- Don’t even get me started on the actual ending because I will spoil everything in a blind rage.

The Playlist
I do not know why, but I got major 80s rock power ballad vibes from this whole series
♪ More Than a Feeling - Boston
♪ Sunshine of Your Love - Santana feat. Rob Thomas
♪ Keep on Loving You - REO Speedwagon
♪ Cryin' - Vixen
♪ Lost Without Your Love - LOUDNESS.
♪ Without You - Motley Crue

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THE SERIES
Ava Chen, Princess Bridget von Ascheberg of Eldorra, Jules Ambrose, and Stella Alonso are four best friends that met their freshman year at Thayer University when they were assigned to live in the same dorm. The series takes place over several years during which the girls fall in love with Alex Volkov, Rhys Larson, Josh Chen, and Christian Harper, respectively. All books involve morally gray heroes and pseudo-fantasy-level conflict. I would consider all of these books dark romances due to some of the graphic nature of certain plot points. Read all trigger and content warnings here.

Twisted Love: ☆☆☆
Twisted Games: ☆☆☆☆.5
Twisted Hate: ☆☆☆☆.5
Twisted Lies: ☆☆☆☆☆