Review: “Twisted Games” by Ana Huang

Series: Twisted, #2

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: July 29th, 2021

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She can never be his…but he’s taking her anyway.

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until her.

Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.

Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defenses until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she’s his.

His princess.
His forbidden fruit.
His every depraved fantasy.

***

Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she’s suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies—and treacheries—of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can’t have.

Her bodyguard.
Her protector.
Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom…and doom them both.

 

My god, where do I even start with this book?! The tiny hint we got of Rhys in Twisted Love was enough to make me want more. And oh boy, Ana Huang delivered a story worth talking about for ever and ever. There’s just something about the bodyguard trope that does it for me. I love heroes that will burn down the world to protect the heroine – not only because it’s his job, but because he just loves her so much he doesn’t know how else to express it. And with Bridget and Rhys you get so much delicious sexual tension, chemistry and explosive steam that once you start, you won’t be able to put the book down.

“I took this job thinking I had one objective, but now it was clear I had two. 

The first was to protect Bridget. 

The second was to resist her.”

Bridget von Ascheberg is a princess and as all princesses do, she needs a bodyguard as she finishes up college and starts a whole new life. Rhys Larsen is said bodyguard, a hulk of a man with Navy SEAL training and no patience for princesses. They have everything stacked against them from the start, but somehow that only makes this story that much more interesting and exciting. These characters are so brilliant too. They know that there’s only so much they can do, there’s only so much they can enjoy together and apart, but when you love someone enough, you’re willing to go that extra mile. Right?

I loved Bridget when we met her in Twisted Love and I loved her even more when we finally got to see her side of things and how she’s handling the world. She’s not your typical spoiled princess with money and fancy cars. She lives a simple life and she keeps a low profile. Her best friends are regular girls who she leans on for almost everything. I love that Ana didn’t write Bridget like every other princess or rich girl – she’s a good person with a big heart and while she wants nothing to do with being queen or living in her home country of Eldorra, she’s not going to make their lives difficult by doing whatever she wants. Bridget is aware of her position and she behaves the right way. 

And then we have Rhys. Good lord. He’s the epitome of grumpy sexy bodyguard. Having worked with his fair share of pretty rich girls and socialites, Rhys doesn’t have the patience to deal with that kind of job. He’s pleasantly surprised when Bridget is nothing like those girls, but he’s also got his strict rules in place for a reason. Rhys is the kind of guy who does everything by the book and respects process and routine because it’s kept him safe. He’s got his darkness and his secrets, which makes him that much more intriguing, but Rhys is also really good at his job. He knows that he needs to protect Bridget, no matter the cost, and he does it beautifully. Maybe too well, really, since he makes sure everyone who gets too close knows that she’s off limits.

“If she was an addiction, I never wanted to be cured.”

Their chemistry is off the charts. They start out nipping and hating each other, because Bridget pushes all of his buttons and Rhys doesn’t care about hurting her feelings. But I love how slowly, all of those shields and walls come down and the two of them lean on each other. There’s desire, lust and attraction between these two right from the start, but they know that nothing can ever happen. I really enjoyed seeing how Rhys was holding himself back from wanting to take Bridget in every way he could. But my favourite thing about their relationship was watching Rhys thaw towards her and open himself up to her. Their relationship is about mutual respect and connecting on the little things, which only makes the bond they have stronger.

I also want to take a moment to talk about their sexual chemistry, because holy smokes! You know that Rhys is going to be an absolute alpha in the bedroom (and everywhere else, really), and he’s got the dirtiest mouth which heightens the whole thing so much. Their sexual tension was hot and the desire simmering beneath the surface was unmistakable, but the sex? Wooie! I think Ana outdid herself with their sex scenes, because there was always something so raw and honest between Bridget and Rhys, it wasn’t just about scratching an itch, it was about connecting in every way. And since theirs is an absolutely forbidden relationship, they find those little moments through sex to really just be together.

“We weren’t a fairytale. We were a forbidden love letter, tucked into the back of a drawer and retrieved only in the darkness of night. We were the chapter of bliss before the climax hit and everything crumbled into ash. We were a story that was always meant to end.”

Please read Twisted Love so you have more information and back story for the supporting characters, but you can still read and love Twisted Games even if you haven’t. This book is angsty, hot as Hades and has a forbidden age gap romance featuring two ridiculously brilliant characters. I am so ready for Jules and Josh in Twisted Hate!

Thanks to Ana Huang and Wildfire Marketing Solutions for an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.