Review - 'Twisted Games' by Ana Huang

Am I getting too old and cynical for romances? Say it ain't so!

I have trouble passing up books with the word "bodyguard" in its description (cue "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston). In fact, I picked up the first book of this series solely because I wanted to read this one. The princess and the bodyguard is a pairing as old as time, not to mention absolutely swoon-worthy, and before I cracked open the first page, I was filled to the brim with anticipatory glee for all the fun I was about to have.

And for the most part, I enjoyed the story itself. It was a bit long-winded, but compared to instalove, I'll take a slow burn any day. While this didn't break any new ground and is pretty much what you'd expect from the trope, it was still fun. Rhys the Bodyguard is all like I take security very seriously ma'am, and Bridget the Princess is all like you can't tell me what to do. I'm totally on board with that.

And yet. Yet, yet, yet. I feel like something was missing. Was it better chemistry, more snarky banter? I'm not sure. All I know is what I got felt like a paler version of what it could've been. Or maybe the problem is me and I built this up so much in my head, nothing could possibly meet it.

One thing I do know for sure is that Ana Huang's male characters are a bit too much for me. They're so sexed up and possessive, it's hard to take them seriously. They way they talk and act, you'd think they came straight from the chest-thumping Stone Age. No other man can even look at their women, lest glares and threats erupt from their mouths. They're constantly like, Who do you belong to? Me! And that's more or less verbatim.

And the sex scenes. Ugh, I feel like such an old fuddy duddy for saying this, but they were so frequent and unrealistic in that porny way, I was cringing with embarrassment for the characters. I enjoyed the first third of the book so much more simply because there was no sex in it. But the last two-thirds felt like every other scene was dramatic sex, and I was so over it.

It's hard to really enjoy a story if I'm cringing my way through so much of it, and that's what happened here. Obviously, romances are personal, and this is clearly a case where my tastes just don't quite line up with the author's. And there's nothing wrong with that. Plenty of readers love this series; I just wish I were one of them.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars