Welcome, or Welcome back! My name is Amanda and this is where I share spoiler-free book reviews and other bookish things. Thanks for visiting. Let’s get Smitten For Fiction.
A Twisted Love Story was The Literally Dead Book Club selection for August. I listened to the audiobook on Libro.fm.
“Subtle, compelling, and clever. A Twisted Love Story will take you on a tense and emotional thrill ride that doesn’t let up until the final page. Downing has crafted a complex, masterfully written tale that will have you rooting for the dysfunctional couple while simultaneously not trusting either of them.”
—Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author of You Shouldn’t Have Come Here
About The Book 📚
Title: A Twisted Love Story
Author: Samantha Downing
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
Publication Date: July 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Thriller (domestic), Suspense
Is it a thriller? mystery? suspense?
Thriller: The protagonist is in danger from the start
Suspense: The danger builds gradually, and the reader knows information that the protagonist does not know
Mystery: The protagonist is tracking down the truth of an event
Pages: 390
Content Warnings: toxic relationship, animal death, emotional abuse, sexual assault, death, panic attacks, stalking, alcohol, drugs, self-harm
R Contains profanity, violence, drug use, or nudity.
About The Author
“Samantha Downing is the author of the bestselling My Lovely Wife, nominated for the Edgar, ITW, Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France.
Her second book, He Started It, was released in 2020 and became an instant international bestseller.
Her third thriller, For Your Own Good, was released in the US on July 20, 2021 and was an instant USA Today bestseller.
A Twisted Love Story will be released in the US on July 18, 2023..” https://www.samanthadowning.com/about
My Review
› Read the first chapter of A Twisted Love Story.
› This cover gives me dark vibes. The rose petals are ripped off the flower and then sprinkled over the stem. This makes me think that someone takes something from someone, and then throws it back in their face.
Author’s dedication:
“For the man who inspired this book – you’re damn right I wrote about you.” (DAMN, love her courage)
› Bored with her corporate job, Ivy has a lot of free time at work which she uses to learn languages. She thinks her ex Wes left her chocolates and is stalking her because they are the same chocolates he used to always buy her. She files a police report and Karen, a sex crimes detective, shows up at Wes’s work to question him. He tells Karen he hasn’t seen Ivy since they attended a friend’s engagement party four months ago. He admits that he and Ivy once had an intense relationship, but that’s over and claims he is not stalking Ivy. Karen doesn’t buy the story he’s selling and she’s determined to dig into their past.
› Wes goes to Ivy’s house to confront her about the accusation. They are obsessed with each other and keep breaking up and getting back together. They end up having sex and deciding to get back together – yet again. They have a toxic relationship where they manipulate each other and love to make each other jealous.
“Love is a serious mental disease.”
› Bianca works with Wes as an assistant. She’s suspicious of him after the detective questioned him. Bianca has a master key hidden in nesting Russian dolls and she uses this key to snoop around the office at night when everyone has gone home. She finds info about Joey Fisher on Wes’s computer and is convinced Wes knows something about Joey Fisher‘s death.
› Tanner is Wes and Bianca’s boss. He’s head of the sales department and is known to be a prick.
› Heath has been Ivy’s best friend since childhood. He doesn’t like Wes and Ivy being together but is always there to help her pick up the pieces of every breakup.
› Wes and Ivy keep mentioning “that night” and are worried that Karen will discover what they did. They have to work together – which is not something they are good at – to avoid legal ramifications. Like a tornado, Wes and Ivy pull the people around them into their toxic relationship.
› Did Wes stalk Ivy? Who’s Joey Fisher? Why is Bianca so nosy? What happened “that night”?
› I rate reviews similar to the CAWPILE method
I don’t give a 0 rating for anything.
1-2 Really bad/Horrible/Waste of my time
3-4 Bad (F: Failed)
5 Mediocre (barely passed)
6-7 (C: Good)
8-9 (B: Really good)
10 (A: Outstanding)
› Characters: 6
These characters are very interesting. They all have secrets and flaws. I don’t think any named female character has had a conversation with another named female character about anything other than a man. Bechdel Test failed. I found myself rooting for Ivy and Wes. I like that Ivy’s name comes from a plant that is hard to get rid of.
› Atmosphere: 7
I wanted more description and world-building.
› Writing Style: 8
The narrative is repetitive, however, I liked the writing style and dialogue.
› Plot: 7
The first 24 chapters and middle are slow, but the last third was great. Loved the reveals and the climax. There’s too much “fluff” – words that aren’t moving the plot forward. I also felt like we needed more conflict.
› Intrigue: 7
I was intrigued the entire time, but there’s nothing fresh about this story.
› Logic: 6
Some actions and words felt out of character. I was confused about Bianca’s storyline and I don’t understand why there was a big deal made out of someone posting a pic on Insta – people do this all of the time with new people they’ve met. I don’t understand why we are told about Ivy learning languages over, and over, and over. What was the point of that?
› Enjoyment: 7
I had a good time reading this! I think Downing did a great job creating this relationship between Ivy and Wes that was kind of its own character. They are different people when they are together.
Is the book blurb accurate?
“reckless, delicious thriller about a young couple that gives a whole new meaning to the dangers of modern dating” This is NOT a “reckless” thriller about “modern dating”.
“It’s the kind of romance people write stories about.” Ummm…no I don’t agree with that either.
Average
1-2 = ★
2.1-4 = ★★
4.1-6 = ★★★
6.1 – 8= ★★★★
8.1 – 10 = ★★★★★
My Rating 6.9 ★★★★
Average Story Graph Rating 3.16
Average Goodreads Rating 3.26
79% of Goodreads reviewers gave A Twisted Love Story 3,4, or 5 stars.
› Final Thoughts
• A Twisted Love Story is a dark, mysterious, tense, and emotional story that reminded me of The Night It Ended by Katie Garner, The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon, and Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn from “You”. I think the book synopsis is misleading. I recommend you go into this one without reading the blurb. I loved the narration of the audiobook.
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