Twisted Hate

The review

Jules Ambrose is a former party girl grinding for the bar exam. Josh Chen is a cocky doctor-in-training, her best friend's brother, and the one person who gets under her skin every single time. Their animosity finally boils over into an enemies-with-benefits deal with three rules: no jealousy, no strings, no falling in love. You can guess how long the rules last. Twisted Hate is the bickering, combustible entry in Ana Huang's Twisted series.

Huang is at her funniest here. Jules and Josh fight like it is a competitive sport, and the book gets real mileage out of two people who are both too proud to admit they are having fun. Josh is less brooding than Alex or Rhys from the earlier books, which makes the dynamic lighter and more playful.

Under the banter there is a real story. Jules has a past she has worked hard to bury, and when it comes back the book pivots from comedy into something darker and more protective. Josh's own history with his family, and with what happened in Twisted Love, also gets room. The emotional third act is earned.

The heat: four peppers. Amazon's listing flags explicit content, mild violence, profanity and topics that may be sensitive to some readers. The enemies-with-benefits setup means the door opens early and stays open, so this is one of the steamier books in the series by page count.

Know before you start: it follows a new couple and works as a standalone, though the cameos and some of the family drama land harder if you have read Twisted Love first. It ends with a happy ending for Jules and Josh. If your favorite part of any romance is the arguing, start here. If you prefer the cold-hero fantasy, Twisted Love or Twisted Lies will suit you better.

Read it if you want enemies with benefits and a lot of laughing. Skip it if you prefer a brooding hero; Josh is all charm.