love how the disclaimer for this book really says:
"Sebastian Garcia is not the 'sweet kind of guy'. If you are not into strong-willed
1.5 stars ✩⋆
love how the disclaimer for this book really says:
"Sebastian Garcia is not the 'sweet kind of guy'. If you are not into strong-willed men, you will be by the end of this book."
and you're probably wondering, is this Sebastian Garcia dude really not the 'sweet kind of guy'? weeelll lemme show you what Sebastian (H) says the third time he meets the heroine // WARNING for all the poor, unfortunate innocent souls out there this quote ⤵ is NSFW //
"Get on your knees and suck my dick, you dirty whore."
sooo, you be the judge of whether or not this Sebastian Garcia dude is the "sweet kind of guy" while i go bleach my eyes please and thx.
honestly, i'm glad the disclaimer was there in the beginning because holy shit. the annoyance? the anger? the infuriation? the annoyance (had to repeat this twice)? it was UN-fucking-PARALLELED. i just wanted to slap both Sebastian Garcia (H) and April Bennett (h) with my slippers the whole entire time and i'm not even exaggerating.
『 P L O T (??) 』
and as for the plot? well, as the wise words of the almighty withcindy said, BITCH, WHAT FUCKING PLOT?! WHERE IS IT?? WHERE'S THE FUCKING PLOT?!? YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYES RIGHT NOW AND YOU TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF PLOT THERE WAS! just know that 1 horny idiot + another horny idiot = this whole book. okay? okay.
but ughhh fine if you wanna know,
↳ all that ever happened was April has a crush on Sebastian when he goes to the cafe she works at and visits only a couple of times, she accepts a job from a "gentleman's club" (y'all know what this means) then the manager for that place was like nuh uh honey you're gonna be one of our Escape Girls (don't pretend you don't know what this means), her first and only client is - surprise, surprise - horny idiot #1: Sebastian Garcia. they have sex for 7 days, miscommunication happens and then BOOM- a six-year time jump occurs.
and what do they do when they meet again? THEY FIGHT AND HAVE SEX. that's it. i'm not even joking this is all they ever do for the entire book it was exhausting oh my god.
『 C H A R A C T E R S 』
but moving on, let's talk about April Bennett (h) shall we? first of all, can we just take a moment and acknowledge the fact that she really said this about Sebastian: "He looks like he may be European or something." and i genuinely got confused because wait a damn minute-
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you're in London... London is in Europe... Europe = European... ... of-fuckin'-course he's gonna look "European" you dumbass ?!?
but this isn't the only quote where i questioned my sanity because y'all look at these:
↳ “This is true. Speak tomoz. xoxo."
seriously. who the f says toMoZ? tell me one person who says this right now. i'm waiting.
↳ "I have an alias now. How gangster."
sounds about ʸᵗ
↳ "He looks like he may be European or something."
yes, i'm repeating this because if i suffer, y'all need to as well ...more
when i saw that this book has groveling, best friend's brother, grumpy/sunshine trope, touch her and i'll kill you, i hate everyone but y2.75 stars ✩⋆
when i saw that this book has groveling, best friend's brother, grumpy/sunshine trope, touch her and i'll kill you, i hate everyone but you, a bed-sharing scene, great friend group, and revenge plan (???), i ran so fast and downloaded this real quick. plus, this was being hyped in booktok so might as well read it.
i don't know why but this book just made me evaluate my life- myself. why do you ask? well, WARNING FOR NON ROMANCE READERS THIS ⤵ QUOTE IS SPICY OK BYE:
"And your pussy is mine. Every inch of you belongs to me, and if you ever let another man touch you- he'll end up in pieces, and you'll end up tied to my bed and fucked in every hole until my name is the only one you remember. Do you understand?"
and at first i was like
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because there's things you need to know about me when it comes to my taste for irl men:
1. i hate bossy men (pls- i'm bossy enough as it is) 2. toxic? i rebuke this negative energy. 3. if you threaten to kill someone if they so much as touch me, therapy or 911? 4. if you call me questionable nicknames while having sex, BYE ✋
and normally, my attitude is why do men but when i read this? i don't know myself anymore.
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i don't know what came over me but suddenly i... i um.. that quote above... i LiKe it... so if you know me, no you don't.
but anyways, going back to the book, i like both Ava (h) and Alex (H) as individual characters. Alex is literally THE definition of a "fictional character" because that man is too perfect. basically, he has an IQ of 160, created a software thingy that made him a multimillionaire in high school and became the COO of a real estate agent development or something and has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory aaand knows Krav Maga AAAND apparently fucks like a porn star? i-
that's too much perfection ma'am.
i thought Ava and her friend group were also fucking perfect because
✧ Bridget is a literal princess (i'm not joking) ✧ Jules is jessica rabbit (??) apparently (also, fingers cross for a Jules and Josh book) ✧ Stella is this influencer who has 400k followers (???)
can i be a part of this fictional friend group pls and thx.
i thought the romance was cute in the beginning. usually, in a brother's best friend book the girl is always pining for the guy while the guy plays a martyr act and becomes a ho to "push" the girl away even though he has feelings for her. i'm glad that's not the case here and love the fact that Ava was even a little indifferent towards him at first. and honestly? the smut scenes were kinda hot.
overall, this is a very chill book. at least for me. though there are some tw (spoilers) // parental deaths, violence, and child abuse
-`,✎ WHY NOT A HIGHER RATING?
➳ since uh, when? i really did think the romance and the whole Operation Emotion thing in the beginning was cute, though, their feelings for one another went from 0 to 100 very fast because Alex really went from not caring that Ava was having a nightmare and acting all cold and "heartless" to:
"She was mine. She just didn't know it yet. I hadn't known it myself until I saw her in Colton's arms and every instinct raged at me to tear her away. To claim what belonged to me."
i only sensed attraction but i didn't get the feeling they were already at the "she's mine, he's mine" stage. one chapter he's acting all nonchalant and cold and then in the next he “desires” her and tells us how badly he wants her and i was like bish when? most of the things he talked about in his pov was about his revenge and a little bit of attraction and with ava's pov it was all the operation emotion so them having intense feelings for one another felt kinda quick.
their banter was cute the scenes were cute but personally it wasn’t enough for me to be convinced with his new macho man personality towards her. there wasn’t enough depth to be honest. like i didnt get the vibes he cared enough for her to call her “his” because even when he saw her having night terrors in the beginning, i got the vibes he didnt care for her that much and still acted like she was a nuisance.
➳ telling >>> showing when they got together after the first time they had sex there was a lot of telling >>> showing of how they are as a couple and that really bugs me because i'm the type of person who wants to know everything. apparently, they went on dates, alex was suddenly making jokes (?), and they talk through the night but because of the 0 to 100 energy and telling >>> showing, I. STILL. DONT. SEE. THEM. DOING. ALL. THAT. like- what do they even talk about?? and because of this, i wasn't really convinced with their “love”, i just didnt feel it because
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i wanted all the details of how they are as a couple and we didn't really get that. once they have sex, most of the romance were written in the inner monologue and it's mainly because the last half focused more on the revenge plot. also, even the the grovelling was telling >>> showing. noo, i need more.
➳ Vicious reincarnated no, but everyone is right tho- i can definitely see the Vicious in Alex. he likes fucking classy women, has insomnia, and has a revenge plan that includes the heroine. i see no difference.
➳ OW drama don't worry, it's nothing bad but i just find it icky when Alex says that the OW fucks like a porn star or when he was about to go on a "date" with the OW (don't worry, Ava ruined his plans) or when the OW says this to Ava's face:
"Alex doesn’t do either of those things. It’s well known amongst a certain segment of D.C.’s female population. No kissing, no face-to-face contact during sex. But he will take you from behind. Choke and fuck you till you see stars. Call you the filthiest names and treat you like a slut."
and then Ava thinks this is hot. personally, if someone says this to my face about the guy i'm into, i will dip because that's an ick for me (please blame my virgo sun and my high standards). you're telling me you're gonna fuck your girl the same way you've fucked your past hookups? ew no thx.
-`,✎ OVERALL THOUGHTS
again, i thought the romance was cute but it was just ok. the first half was full of cute moments but the last half kinda went down with all the telling >>> showing and i was kinda disappointed with the groveling because of this. like- you're just gonna describe how Alex has grovelled for a YEAR in just a page? no ma'am i want to see everything. also, i wanted more scenes of them of how they are as a couple because i just don't see Alex being all soft towards Ava.
i'm excited for the next book, aka Bridget's book tho! i love the whole princess/bodyguard, forbidden trope. plus, her future mans name is RHYS. that name will forever be sacred so this fictional man who has the privilege of being named after that sacred name better live up to my high af standards.
»»━━ Twisted series ━━«« #1: twisted love — ava x alex ➳ 2.75 stars #2:twisted games — bridget x rhys ➳ tbr #3:twisted hate — jules x josh ➳ tbr #4:twisted lies — stella x christian ➳ tbr...more
thought the main dude was meh, hated the main girl (sorry but her victim complex at the end irked the fuck outta me), liked all the talk about sex worthought the main dude was meh, hated the main girl (sorry but her victim complex at the end irked the fuck outta me), liked all the talk about sex work and the stigma that comes with it and how it affects people, and the romance? lol. this is another case of surface level romance where it’s all physical attraction >>> emotional connection and y’all know i hate that shit.
all in all, i am once again apparently a psychopath because i felt nothing....more
well this was kind of a mess. i should not read friends to lovers books back to back - *cough* malina *cough* - they're giving me a headac2.5 stars ✩⋆
well this was kind of a mess. i should not read friends to lovers books back to back - *cough* malina *cough* - they're giving me a headache.
friends to lovers/unrequited trope would always be a double-edged sword for me because sometimes, the angst is just *chefs kiss* even though there are some elements that i absolutely loathe and i guess i just love stressing myself out so sometimes i like it, i even welcome it so there's that. but sometimes... it's just- well, (childhood) friends to lovers usually goes like this:
1. girl and boy are childhood bffs 2. girl has been in love with boy since forever but boy is obviously a blind dumbass 3. girl stays in the sidelines (never dating and is a virgin- this is very specific by the way) while boy becomes, you guessed it, a ✨ho✨ 4. someone is suddenly interested in the girl, boy finally gets his head outta his ass and "sees" his best friend for the first time because obviously when another dude is sniffing around it's unacceptable.
and well, ya know. this is annoying af because you're telling me if there hasn't been another man interested in the best friend, the boy wouldn't have "seen" the girl?? yeah, no.
for the most part, this is exactly what happened here but the difference is there are TWO girls in the trio of best friends, Liv (OW), Bloom (h) and Carter (H). Carter noticed Liv first and had a thing with her for a couple months and then Benj (OM) suddenly comes along and shows interest in Bloom so obviously that's when Carter started "seeing" Liv for the first time. so there's this weird love square thing in the first half.
i did like some parts as i thought the sexual tension was immaculate and the writing was good! i can also appreciate the author giving a trigger warning in the beginning (spoilers // h's dad committed suicide) so thanks for that. if you like angst, and have no qualms about love square drama, then you'd like this.
but anyways, because of the dumbassery of the characters imma rant a little bit so,
✧✦ SPOILERS AHEAD ✦✧
we know Liv and Carter have been keeping their "thing" a secret while Bloom is "sister-zoned" for 2 months(?) now but obviously Bloom isn't a dumbass
"It's in the way he watches her sometimes, in the moments she's looking away or laughing at someone else's joke. It's in the intensity of his gaze when she's off on her own. He's always watching her, in different ways than he usually watches me."
that's lovely.
and you know, in almost all of these childhood friends to lovers books i've read, it's usually just the main characters having special connection right? well here, both Liv and Bloom are equally close to him because they've all been best friends since they were kids buuuut again, he noticed Liv first
"I like her, I do. More than a friend, definitely. She's bright and beautiful and supportive. She's hardworking and devoted and funny as hell when she wants to be. I definitely enjoy making out with her, and I love how she knows what she's doing."
first of all ew (because he thought about this even after he kissed Bloom). and second, im still salty about this by the way because eeeww. and Carter was exploring a relationship with her until Benj comes along and Carter finds out that Bloom is a virgin... and now suddenly Carter has all these feelings for Bloom just because of... this..??
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i'm not convinced whatsoever because i mean- that fast? really? is he a fucking gemini is that it (no offense to geminis by the way, as a virgo i love geminis)? how can one's feelings switch up so quickly and so strongly i don't understand. and then this lovely scene comes up where Carter and Liv are making out, touching her ass and grinding on each other (around 32%), even after Carter started to have all these feelings for Bloom and we find out that these two have actually been making out behind Bloom's back for a couple of months now.
"But damn she feels good, and it's not like we haven't kissed or made out before. We have, far too many times than I'd like to admit, and for some reason, a jolt of guilt sparks in my chest when I think about the fact that Bloom hasn't known for a while."
hahaha *eye twitches* that's cute.
and you know, what happens next?? you guys know what happens next??? well, this dick went to Blooms workshop because she was upset and well, one thing lead to another, and they hook up when he literally just made out with the OW moments ago. and this isn't the only time by the way, a week goes by and he's still spending time with Liv (idk if they did anything) and during his football game Liv kisses Carter, Bloom goes to the bathroom because she saw this and then Carter kisses her, AND THEN she goes out to stargaze with Benj AND THEN makes out with him, goes home because she's confused af AND THENNN hooks up with Carter...
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so basically, they're all just exchanging DNA's at this point i guess. Chuck? Blair? Serena? Nate?? is that you?
silverlining tho, Carter ended it with Liv faster than Bloom ended it with Benj. i also like the fact Carter longed for Bloom more and Bloom wasn't hung up on Carter but obviously, her feelings with Benj was annoying as hell too. but guess what!! this isn't the end of this weird ass love square by the way, we find out that Liv and Benj were sleeping together behind both of Carter and Bloom's back so here i am thinking... wtf was the point??? and y'all know how they found out? huh? well, Carter and Bloom hid in a closet because they heard a couple going inside the room, said couple was Liv and Benj, they start having sex, and Carter and Bloom watch while, ya know, Carter touches her... yeah.
in conclusion, everything is a mess and they're all f a k e f r i e n d s
honestly, i just couldn't connect with all of the characters because they annoyed me too much. and Carter's feelings switched real fast and when i mean fast, i mean in a day. he had genuine feelings for Liv who he most likely shares the same connection he has with Bloom and then when he finds out about Benj and the fact she's a virgin he suddenly has these intense feelings for Bloom? he went on and on about how he was exploring a relationship with Liv and suddenly he doesn't care anymore and just wants to bone Bloom? nah i don't buy it.
and that whole love square resolution wasn't really addressed properly. like, does Carter still have not-so-friendly feelings for Liv? did Liv even have real feelings for Carter? or was she using him to make Benj jealous? were Liv and Benj sleeping with each other this whole time? i need answers pls.
✦✧ ✧✦
there are some cute parts here that i liked, the pottery scene inspired by the movie Ghost? *chefs kiss* (but obviously Carter making out with Liv before this scene happened tainted things). and i do actually like the writing and how i can feel the longing from the characters (mostly on Carter's side). and the storyline with the dad made me tear up a little bit that was really sad.
but ugh i just can't with the love square drama y'all.
anyways, if there's a book about Liv and Benj, i ain't opposed to reading their side honestly. i wanna know why they're dumb af so there's that....more
y'all know it's a bad sign when i was this close to admitting i'd rather read twisted hearts all over again just to feel something because h2 stars ✩⋆
y'all know it's a bad sign when i was this close to admitting i'd rather read twisted hearts all over again just to feel something because here? i felt NOTHING.
i have been waiting for adamo's book ever since i first read this series last summer. he was just this cute kid that triggered my motherly instinct because he was just sooo.. well he was just so different from everyone. he was sweet, kind, not at all a ho like his brothers and doesn't wanna use women like they do, and for that i wanted to protect this precious little bean even AFTER he was being a little shit in twisted bonds.
and i felt so much for this character, felt so protective of him because he was so innocent and precious, this was literally me since book 1:
oops this is awkward. i know this is a beloved CoHo book and yes, i loved this back then when i first read it but rereading it now i- don1.75 stars ✩⋆
oops this is awkward. i know this is a beloved CoHo book and yes, i loved this back then when i first read it but rereading it now i- don't look at me.
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my reading taste have changed oookay? i might have overlooked every shitty thing back then but now that i'm more petty, have the penchant for holding a grudge, and have high standards for books ooohh boy.
✧ what is this about?
↳ okay so this is about Miles and Rachel oops sorry, i meant Tate and Miles. Miles being Tate's brother's best friend and Tate being Miles' therapist, ugh sorry, i meant friends with benefits person and the whole time she was hoping he would change his mind because duh she's falling for him while Miles just implicitly leads her on even though he's clear about his rules and pushes her away the whole damn time because of his past but he won't stop their little arrangement because our mans is horny as fuck.
also, Miles is a pilot. this is an important fact. ALSO also, this is not Tate and Miles' story- this is Tate + Miles and Rachel's story.
i read this years ago and the only things i remember is that Miles got horny while he was wearing swim shorts? (idfk why i remember this don't ask), Miles and Rachel's shower scene (again, idfk why i remember this but i wish i can unsee it thank you very much), and then the Nick Bateman trailer??
anyways, that's all i remember and i know, they're all irrelevant but do you know what i forgot?? huh? do you? DO YOU??! well, if you've read this then you can probably guess what i didn't remember because HOLY SHIT- the scene at the end. guys... GUYS. What. The. Fuck.
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i was speechless- S-P-E-E-C-H-L-E-S-S. i canNOT believe i forgot that scene holy shit. the anger. the annoyance- the fucking rage that i felt when i read that oh my god. anyways, i'm ranting again and y'all know the drill so,
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ SPOILERS AHEAD ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･．
⤅ dislike #1: Miles' pov
you know what, i'm gonna be straight to the point: MILES SEEMED MORE IN LOVE WITH RACHEL. or at least he will never love anyone the way he loved Rachel because it was that intense. now, now. lemme explain.
the problem is, almost all of Miles' pov in this book is about the past and most of these past chapters are of him falling so deeply and passionately in love with Rachel that he turns into fucking ✨ s h a k e s p e a r e ✨
She doesn't realize she's everywhere She's in everything Every single thing has just become Rachel, It's consuming me. My thoughts aren't thoughts anymore. My thoughts are Rachel. I can't fall in love with you, Rachel. I look at the sink. I want to look at Rachel. I breathe in air. I want to breathe in Rachel. I close my eyes. I only see Rachel. I wash my hands. I want to touch Rachel.
do y'all see this ⤴ ? this is the type of thing i wanted to see from Miles' pov when he's talking about Tate NOT Rachel but we never got to see this until the very end. and then when we get to the present chapters it's 98% in Tate's pov where we see her falling in love with Miles and this is annoying to me because seeing Miles treat Rachel like a goddess in his past chapters and then Miles being a little dickhead in Tate's chapters ugh-
energy? not m a t c h e d.
and with most of Miles' pov being in the past and falling in love with Rachel, obviously i couldn't help but compare and overanalyze every single thing and think he seems more in love with Rachel. and the thing that annoys me the most is that Tate's present pov and Miles' pov alternates so whenever we read Tate and Miles' romantic progression, the next chapter is Miles being so deeply in love with another woman, it's just...
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i could've done with just one past Miles pov instead of making it every second chapter or making it 50% of the whole content and showing the way he fell in love sooOOoooOo deeply with Rachel instead of just having 1-2 chapters of his pov about Tate, who's the actual heroine of the book. it's just so bleh and icky the whole time she felt like second best for me and i just felt bad. i know i've always complained about telling >>> showing in other books but this is the only time i'll ever accept all tell, no show.
⤅ dislike #2: i can't with the doormat behavior
what makes everything more annoying is how Tate just lets him use her for sex and forgives him way too easily all the damn time like bish NO make him work for it for once and stop being a doormat it's annoying (yes, i know i've said the word annoying one too many times but that's how i felt 99.9% of the book OK).
“If any other man ever treated me like he did, it would be the one and only time. I don’t put up with the things I’ve seen a lot of my friends put up with. However, I find myself continuing to make excuses for him, like something could actually justify his actions last week.”
ma'am pLS-
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the whole time i was just yelling at her, TATE, YOU ARE NOT HIS THERAPIST. ugh this pissed me off so much i couldn't even cheer for their romance because Miles was eh and honestly had no redeeming qualities in the present and then reading about his past pov being all in love with Rachel and in the present he just uses Tate for sex and pushes her away quite rudely all the damn time is, again, A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G.
⤅ dislike #3: repetitive romance
no seriously. all they ever did was have sex, Tate hoping he would renege his rules and tell her that he does indeed love her and want a relationship with her, Miles pushing her away, Tate forgives him and then they fuck. repeat.
⤅ dislike #4: pain. just- P A I N
and then- AND THEN i was just reading Tate and Miles' repetitive interactions where i thought the same shit would happen again and again in peace but THEEENNN...
... ... hold on, lemme just give y'all a moment to breathe. ... ... are you ready? OK
"My God, Rachel."
um excuse me-
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you're probably wondering, mel, did he really say his ex's name, his ex who we've been reading about in his past chapters and won't shut up about how much he loves this other woman, while having sex with Tate?? well, i don't know let's look at the quote again shall we? are you guys ready?
He pulls out, then thrusts inside me again, this time with all his strength. It hurts. Give me your pain, Miles. "MY GOD, RACHEL." My God, Rachel... Rachel, Rachel, Rachel
there. did y'all see that? okay? good.
now, not gonna lie with you guys, this one HURT. when i read this scene i didn't know how to feel to be honest. was i shocked? appalled? speechless as fuck? all of the above?? yes. now with this scene, my annoyance reached its peak and is higher than the fucking stratosphere because why you ask? well, it's because there is NO GROVELING!! Tate leaves, Miles lets her go and says it's hard to feel bad for her because she's never felt real pain, then goes to Rachel for closure, goes to Tate and explains his past vaguely and all is forgiven???
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i'm pretty sure this is where my hatred for hero fucks up so bad but heroine forgives them after one speech trope came from.
now, some might say that he gets a pass because of his sad past- because it really was sad by the way - but you see, for the majority of the book we've been reading about how Miles fought for and loved Rachel, and Tate fought for and loved Miles, for once i wanted to see him fighting for Tate but we never got to see that because again, there is NO. GROVELING.
───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────
i can't believe i rated this 5 stars back then. i don't know who pre 2019 mel is. we don't know her.
honestly, because of the ending, i was this close to rating this 1 star because that's how annoyed i was with everyone but i felt generous today so. as always, i liked the emotional writing and how i can feel the longing and passion between Tate and Miles when they're having sex, the whole "ugly love" message, and learning about Miles' past and why he's the way he is?? it was so sad.
but overall, everyone annoyed the f outta me (except for Cap- he's the best character in this book), this is basically Miles and Rachel's story, and the ending was unsatisfying as fuck.