Twisted Games by Ana Huang Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Princess x bodyguard

➮ Dual pov

➮ Enemies to lovers

➮ Age-gap

Synopsis

Rhys Larsen is a stoic bodyguard who has vowed to never get emotionally involved with his clients. That was until he met Bridget von Ascheberg... a rebellious and stubborn princess. Bridget desires freedom, and Rhys desires her. Their love could tear her whole kingdom apart.

Best Quote From the Book

“ I came back despite knowing the torture I’d have to go through because I can’t stay away from you. Even when you’re not there, you’re everywhere. In my head, in my lungs, in my fucking soul."

My Thoughts

Of all of the girls in the series I know of so far, Bridget is by far my favorite. She is so fun, spunky, and determined. As I mentioned in my Twisted Love review, I adore Brdget's character and attitude. Hence, I thoroughly enjoyed her story because it meant I got more from her. The royalty drama she brings is also a nice change of pace from Ava's story.

Yet another protective guy! Similar to Alex, Rhys would move mountains for Bridget if he thought it would make her life easier. There are lots of times his protectiveness bothers Bridget but it is really just how he shows he cares. There is one scene in particular involving an at-home festival and it is honestly one of my favorite scenes from the entire series. Rhys is a lot easier to root for compared to Alex. He truly is the embodiment of "if he wanted to he would."

Rhys amused me frequently during his many attempts to remain stoic. Unsurprisingly, Birdget's openness rubs off on him and he often fails dramatic to keep his stoic and cold persona active while around her. 

My rating decreased a bit because of a very confusing last-minute plot twist. I am all for books not ending as a reader expects them to, but I genuinely lost complete track of what was going on and the various relationships between the different characters. It sucked me out of the reading experience and led to me just feeling as though the book didn't know how to wrap itself up. 

As a warning, this book is very spicy. Many chapters are unskippable with this content. If those kinds of scenes are not your preference, this series is not the one for you. 

Overall, I will always be a fan of a book that has Bridget as one of the characters. I can say with confidence she is one of my favorite characters of 2023. I look forward to seeing if she will have any notable roles in the rest of the series. Rhys was very charming and caring towards Bridget which was nice to see. The royal drama plotline helped differentiate this story from Twisted Love. It is truly a series of interconnected standalones.