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Filthy Wicked Psychos #1
Запутанная игра
Роман-сенсация BookTok! Международный бестселлер в жанре темной романтики! Первая книга серии страстных романов о мафии популярного зарубежного автора Евы Эшвуд! Драматичная, захватывающая и чувственная история любви для всех любителей романов о мафии с перчинкой, неоднозначных героев с серой моралью и тропов «от ненависти до любви» и «обратный гарем»! Выбор поклонников Софи Ларк и Д. Дж. Шэн.
Я всегда была невидимкой. Но они меня заметили.
Всю свою жизнь я могла положиться только на себя: мои родители мертвы, приемной матери не до меня, девчонки в кампусе травят за шрамы. Отчаянно нуждаясь в деньгах, я решаюсь продать единственное, что у меня есть — невинность. В ту ночь, когда я должна была отдаться жестокому мафиози, в номер, словно темные тени, ворвались трое парней и убили его прежде, чем он успел ко мне прикоснуться. Я была уверена: теперь умру и я. Но они оставляют меня в живых. Трое опасных братьев сделают все, чтобы я держала язык за зубами, даже если ради этого придется следить за каждым моим шагом. Каким-то образом для каждого из них я становлюсь чем-то большим. Страстным желанием. Навязчивой идеей. Искушением. Как бы сильно я ни пыталась отрицать пугающее влечение, которое пульсирует между нами, я знаю: если не найду выход из этой запутанной игры, их тьма меня поглотит.
Я всегда была невидимкой. Но они меня заметили.
Всю свою жизнь я могла положиться только на себя: мои родители мертвы, приемной матери не до меня, девчонки в кампусе травят за шрамы. Отчаянно нуждаясь в деньгах, я решаюсь продать единственное, что у меня есть — невинность. В ту ночь, когда я должна была отдаться жестокому мафиози, в номер, словно темные тени, ворвались трое парней и убили его прежде, чем он успел ко мне прикоснуться. Я была уверена: теперь умру и я. Но они оставляют меня в живых. Трое опасных братьев сделают все, чтобы я держала язык за зубами, даже если ради этого придется следить за каждым моим шагом. Каким-то образом для каждого из них я становлюсь чем-то большим. Страстным желанием. Навязчивой идеей. Искушением. Как бы сильно я ни пыталась отрицать пугающее влечение, которое пульсирует между нами, я знаю: если не найду выход из этой запутанной игры, их тьма меня поглотит.
512 pages, Hardcover
Published October 17, 2024
About the author
Eva Ashwood
44 books6,464 followersEva Ashwood has been a reader her whole life and a writer for several years. She loves telling stories of alpha males and the fierce women who bring them to their knees.
She's a sucker for reverse harem, bully romance, enemies to lovers, heroes who redeem themselves, and all the drama and passion of new adult love.
She's a sucker for reverse harem, bully romance, enemies to lovers, heroes who redeem themselves, and all the drama and passion of new adult love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,898 reviews
July 24, 2023
bruh what the hell was this?? 🤨
anyone who said this book was good is lying! This book didn’t get good until i got to the 80% mark. Wtf is up with that Ms Ashwood??? It’s not even about the spice i’m talking about actual PLOT. There were so many POVs. Which is cool or whatever if you can keep yo shit together. I was so confused on who was who and who did what. Like i swore for about 46% of this book i thought Malice and Ransom were twins. But NO it’s Malice and Victor.
oh don’t even get me started on these dumb ass names. RANSOM and MALICE?? 🫣 What even is that?? Okay i’m being mean… to each Author their own! Me personally… im not naming my characters Ransom and Malice. I genuinely thought they were going to be nicknames but nooooo them those boys REAL names 🤨🤨 wth. They said they momma loved them clearly she did not!! Not naming them that!! The only child they loved was Victor!! But i digress
The problem wasn’t even the names it’s the fact that this book was so fucking boring.. i had to push myself through this book. I hated it. But my momma ain’t raise no bitch so we finished it!! But it was so boring. 😴 i read and read and read and waited for the plot to pick up and it just didn’t. it felt like i was looking at a tv static. that’s what this book felt like. I had such high hopes for this book because everyone raved about how GREAT it was !! 😒😒 Now why y’all out here lying like that!
I know they said there’s no spice scene until the last 20% which was totally fine with me. however she added a lil foreplay throughout the book but it was the WORST foreplay i’ve ever read. like i didn’t understand what i was reading 🤨. she said he stepped inbetween her legs barely pressed against her but she already reaching an orgasmic high????? SHE WASNT EVEN RIDING HIS THIGH!!! SO HOW DID SHE GET OFF????? MATH AINT MATHING!!!!!
Then we get to the actual spice scene and it was decent but like i ain’t feel nothing. it was mediocre at best… built all that tension just to get one spark. NAH HONEY AFTER ALL OF THAT BUILDUP I WANT THE ENTIRE FOURTH OF JULY SPECTACULAR!!
i’m going to cut my review here because it’s starting to get a little unhinged. I PERSONALLY would not recommend this book TO ANYONE!!! I’m sorry this just was not it! If you said it is… you lying to yo self and everyone else 😒 BYEEEEEEE
anyone who said this book was good is lying! This book didn’t get good until i got to the 80% mark. Wtf is up with that Ms Ashwood??? It’s not even about the spice i’m talking about actual PLOT. There were so many POVs. Which is cool or whatever if you can keep yo shit together. I was so confused on who was who and who did what. Like i swore for about 46% of this book i thought Malice and Ransom were twins. But NO it’s Malice and Victor.
oh don’t even get me started on these dumb ass names. RANSOM and MALICE?? 🫣 What even is that?? Okay i’m being mean… to each Author their own! Me personally… im not naming my characters Ransom and Malice. I genuinely thought they were going to be nicknames but nooooo them those boys REAL names 🤨🤨 wth. They said they momma loved them clearly she did not!! Not naming them that!! The only child they loved was Victor!! But i digress
The problem wasn’t even the names it’s the fact that this book was so fucking boring.. i had to push myself through this book. I hated it. But my momma ain’t raise no bitch so we finished it!! But it was so boring. 😴 i read and read and read and waited for the plot to pick up and it just didn’t. it felt like i was looking at a tv static. that’s what this book felt like. I had such high hopes for this book because everyone raved about how GREAT it was !! 😒😒 Now why y’all out here lying like that!
I know they said there’s no spice scene until the last 20% which was totally fine with me. however she added a lil foreplay throughout the book but it was the WORST foreplay i’ve ever read. like i didn’t understand what i was reading 🤨. she said he stepped inbetween her legs barely pressed against her but she already reaching an orgasmic high????? SHE WASNT EVEN RIDING HIS THIGH!!! SO HOW DID SHE GET OFF????? MATH AINT MATHING!!!!!
Then we get to the actual spice scene and it was decent but like i ain’t feel nothing. it was mediocre at best… built all that tension just to get one spark. NAH HONEY AFTER ALL OF THAT BUILDUP I WANT THE ENTIRE FOURTH OF JULY SPECTACULAR!!
i’m going to cut my review here because it’s starting to get a little unhinged. I PERSONALLY would not recommend this book TO ANYONE!!! I’m sorry this just was not it! If you said it is… you lying to yo self and everyone else 😒 BYEEEEEEE
May 25, 2023
4.5⭐️ 3.5🌶️
UGH 💖💖💖💖
What a start to a series!
So this follows Willow, who has a shitty homelife and is pretty much raising herself, and what happens to her after one night after trying to earn some extra cash, 3 brothers bust in, and they’re after the man Willow is with and kill him, and then take her under their control cos of what she’s witnessed 👀
It’s giving Madison Kate series vibes but more adult and mature and darker (not exact but if you’ve read that you’ll definitely love this)
This is the perfect start to the series, Eva does such a good job at painting a full picture to the story, we slowly start to uncover what’s happened to these characters in their lives leading up to where the book begins, what they’ve been through etc
The 3 bothers Malice, Victor and Ransom are just 🌚💖
They each have very distinctive personalities (something I feel is so necessary in why choose book dynamics)
Malice is the brooding, intimidating, grumpy one
Victor is OCD, good with technology, quiet, and has obsessive tendencies and a huge need for order and control
And Ransom is the cheeky, upbeat one
Malice and Victor are also twins!
The story develops quite slowly sometimes I needed the pace to pick up and there is little to no spice until the last 10% but let me tell you… those scenes are SO WORTH IT OK
So. So. Worth. It. There’s enough tension prior to this to keep you reading on, it’s truly deliciousssss 🤌🏼✨
Could it have been 100 pages shorter considering it’s part of a series, yeah probably cos it did get slow in some places which is why it doesn’t get 5⭐️ otherwise it easily could’ve!
There is forced proximity/one bed/stalking/age gap/possessive mmcs/underground and organised crime etc
The tattoo scene. That’s all I’m gonna say. Leads to like 4 chapters of straight up spice. It’s worth the wait. 😮💨😮💨
UGH 💖💖💖💖
What a start to a series!
So this follows Willow, who has a shitty homelife and is pretty much raising herself, and what happens to her after one night after trying to earn some extra cash, 3 brothers bust in, and they’re after the man Willow is with and kill him, and then take her under their control cos of what she’s witnessed 👀
It’s giving Madison Kate series vibes but more adult and mature and darker (not exact but if you’ve read that you’ll definitely love this)
This is the perfect start to the series, Eva does such a good job at painting a full picture to the story, we slowly start to uncover what’s happened to these characters in their lives leading up to where the book begins, what they’ve been through etc
The 3 bothers Malice, Victor and Ransom are just 🌚💖
They each have very distinctive personalities (something I feel is so necessary in why choose book dynamics)
Malice is the brooding, intimidating, grumpy one
Victor is OCD, good with technology, quiet, and has obsessive tendencies and a huge need for order and control
And Ransom is the cheeky, upbeat one
Malice and Victor are also twins!
The story develops quite slowly sometimes I needed the pace to pick up and there is little to no spice until the last 10% but let me tell you… those scenes are SO WORTH IT OK
So. So. Worth. It. There’s enough tension prior to this to keep you reading on, it’s truly deliciousssss 🤌🏼✨
Could it have been 100 pages shorter considering it’s part of a series, yeah probably cos it did get slow in some places which is why it doesn’t get 5⭐️ otherwise it easily could’ve!
There is forced proximity/one bed/stalking/age gap/possessive mmcs/underground and organised crime etc
The tattoo scene. That’s all I’m gonna say. Leads to like 4 chapters of straight up spice. It’s worth the wait. 😮💨😮💨
August 5, 2022
If you are looking for a very spicy why choose romance with enigmatic and intriguing characters, then… this book is for you.
Stars: 4.5/5
Spice: 4/5
Willow is financially desperate, and it leads her to some questionable decisions. A decision that leads her to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and lands her smack dab in the middle of the Voronin brothers’ sights.
I fell in love with Willow from the start. I found her to be the perfect mix of cautious and self-assured to deal with the Voronin brothers. And speaking of the brothers they are jus drool worthy with a perfect mix of personalities to keep the interaction between them interesting and keep the reader glued to the book. The scenes between them are full of tension and later on in the book spice.
Just a heads up that this book does end in a cliffhanger. I knew that going into it, so I was expecting it. I’m eagerly anticipating the next book. In the meantime, I will be reading the Kings of Chaos series which is set in the same universe and is completed.
Stars: 4.5/5
Spice: 4/5
Willow is financially desperate, and it leads her to some questionable decisions. A decision that leads her to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and lands her smack dab in the middle of the Voronin brothers’ sights.
I fell in love with Willow from the start. I found her to be the perfect mix of cautious and self-assured to deal with the Voronin brothers. And speaking of the brothers they are jus drool worthy with a perfect mix of personalities to keep the interaction between them interesting and keep the reader glued to the book. The scenes between them are full of tension and later on in the book spice.
Just a heads up that this book does end in a cliffhanger. I knew that going into it, so I was expecting it. I’m eagerly anticipating the next book. In the meantime, I will be reading the Kings of Chaos series which is set in the same universe and is completed.
June 7, 2023
Where’s the game and why’s it “twisted?”
August 2, 2022
5⭐️
I absolutely LOVED this. I was hooked from the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters, the spice was great and I really enjoyed the story. but that ENDING. the book isn't even out yet and I'm already excited and waiting for the next.
(longer, full review to come!)
arc review - book releases August 5th
okay now here's the full/extended review!
*there is explicit spice, violence, stalking, and a character with severe OCD. check TWs/CWs before starting*
some tropes: criminal/morally gray MMCs, reverse harem, forced proximity, virgin heroine + hero (one of the men)
so characters first:
I think Ransom might be my favorite, you know I love a grumpy, dark, tattooed MMC but Ransom's POVs were my favorite to read and almost anytime he was on the page I was smiling. Now talking about grumpy dark tattooed MMCs? Malice fit that exactly, and I loved when he spoke in russian to Willow, I had to pull up google translate every time but iykyk ;)
I think the only reason Malice *wasn't* my favorite was because we got so many more moments between Willow and Ransom that I loved more. (altho I have a feeling that may change with the next book). now the final brother: Victor. I thought his character was interesting, I can't wait to see more of him, even tho I have a feeling it is gonna hurt when Willow finds out exactly what the boys' father did to Victor. You learn a little in this book, and that's more than enough for my heart to start hurting for these brothers, but especially Victor.
Now, Willow: I actually really liked her character. Usually the naïve/innocent MC gets on my nerves and I find them annoying, but I didn't feel that with this one. You can see how strong her character is and it just continues to develop throughout the story.
and then here's the story (without spoilers):
This story had me hooked right from the beginning with Willow having to sell her innocence in order to pay for her schooling and then having three guys break into the room and kill the guy before it happens? It's like the best dark knight(s) moment and I loved it. After Willow witnesses the murder and the guys decide not to off her too, they keep tabs on her from a distance... ish. At least until they have Willow move in with them to keep a closer eye on her. From there the tension between the four of them builds. The spice is so good and worth the wait.
I am *very* interested in seeing where they go from here, especially after that ending. In classic Eva fashion, it is a cliff hanger. not quite as bad as the ending of Reign of Wrath... but this still made me want to scream. I am gonna stop there tho, because I don't want to post any spoilers.
I can't wait to find out more about who X is and what happened to Willow and her parents in that fire that happened when she was little. I have a hunch that is going to be important in the coming books since it was mentioned so many times, so I am keeping my eyes open to any hints as to what happened there.
Thank you again to the author for sending me a copy, I loved every word and can't wait for the next one!
I absolutely LOVED this. I was hooked from the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters, the spice was great and I really enjoyed the story. but that ENDING. the book isn't even out yet and I'm already excited and waiting for the next.
(longer, full review to come!)
arc review - book releases August 5th
okay now here's the full/extended review!
*there is explicit spice, violence, stalking, and a character with severe OCD. check TWs/CWs before starting*
some tropes: criminal/morally gray MMCs, reverse harem, forced proximity, virgin heroine + hero (one of the men)
so characters first:
I think Ransom might be my favorite, you know I love a grumpy, dark, tattooed MMC but Ransom's POVs were my favorite to read and almost anytime he was on the page I was smiling. Now talking about grumpy dark tattooed MMCs? Malice fit that exactly, and I loved when he spoke in russian to Willow, I had to pull up google translate every time but iykyk ;)
I think the only reason Malice *wasn't* my favorite was because we got so many more moments between Willow and Ransom that I loved more. (altho I have a feeling that may change with the next book). now the final brother: Victor. I thought his character was interesting, I can't wait to see more of him, even tho I have a feeling it is gonna hurt when Willow finds out exactly what the boys' father did to Victor. You learn a little in this book, and that's more than enough for my heart to start hurting for these brothers, but especially Victor.
Now, Willow: I actually really liked her character. Usually the naïve/innocent MC gets on my nerves and I find them annoying, but I didn't feel that with this one. You can see how strong her character is and it just continues to develop throughout the story.
and then here's the story (without spoilers):
This story had me hooked right from the beginning with Willow having to sell her innocence in order to pay for her schooling and then having three guys break into the room and kill the guy before it happens? It's like the best dark knight(s) moment and I loved it. After Willow witnesses the murder and the guys decide not to off her too, they keep tabs on her from a distance... ish. At least until they have Willow move in with them to keep a closer eye on her. From there the tension between the four of them builds. The spice is so good and worth the wait.
I am *very* interested in seeing where they go from here, especially after that ending. In classic Eva fashion, it is a cliff hanger. not quite as bad as the ending of Reign of Wrath... but this still made me want to scream. I am gonna stop there tho, because I don't want to post any spoilers.
I can't wait to find out more about who X is and what happened to Willow and her parents in that fire that happened when she was little. I have a hunch that is going to be important in the coming books since it was mentioned so many times, so I am keeping my eyes open to any hints as to what happened there.
Thank you again to the author for sending me a copy, I loved every word and can't wait for the next one!
November 17, 2023
she ate but left a couple crumbs
August 15, 2022
Thank you Eva Ashwood for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest review!
🩸 The story 🩸
When Willow can no longer afford college, she sells her virginity. On her first night, her client is however murdered by three guys. Seeing as she’s a witness, the guys follow her to make sure that she doesn’t ruin their lives by telling what she saw. They however do not expect her to ruin their lives in a different way.
Although I really liked the premise of the story, the story itself felt quite flat to me. There was a hint of a plot in it, but it ended up disappointing me. For example, although the guys were supposed to be badass, they weren’t at all. Mal is the only one who shows some promise, but the other ones have turned into drooling puppies from literally moment one. What I really disliked however, is how Willow was already having sex dreams about every one of the guys from the first second she saw them. This doesn’t make any sense at all; she literally saw them killing people and hadn’t had a real conversation with them. I don’t get how that would somehow end up in sex dreams, and I just don’t like that. I just feel like there was no build-up between them at all, everyone just immediately loved each other for some fucking reason, while they didn’t know ANYTHING about each other. Ok.
The one thing I must say though is that the spice was good. I didn’t really expect this amount of spice in the first book, but it was a pleasant surprise. However, the email thing near the end made me spitting mad. I don’t care what you said about loving red flags, that’s the biggest turn-off I’ve ever seen. I don’t do non-consensual stuff, and I’m just not okay with it. I didn’t like the ending for that reason, the drama seemed quite unnecessary, and the cliff-hanger was just annoying because of it. I want to know what happens next, but I also don’t. The guys will probably tear down the world for her – again, without any reason because what’s there to like? – and I’m just not sure if I’m feeling it.
🩸 The characters 🩸
📦Willow📦
I cannot help but feel like her life was a bit too much of a “poor me” act. I mean, her parents are supposedly deadsupposedly because of course they’re not, are they?, she has burn marks all over her body, she’s really poor, and poor her – no one loves her!! So many things about her annoyed me and were obviously only there to progress the plot. For example, she talks to herself without any reason, besides the fact that at least then the guys can conveniently overhear her and know what’s happening to her and shit. Because of course!! I just don’t get why they like her at all. She doesn’t have any character besides being poor, she doesn’t have any hobbies, and she just doesn’t have any depth besides drooling over the guys. I wasn’t alright with them I mean, she literally wanted to sell her body for it, but now suddenly she doesn’t care anymore? Really?! What bothered me the most though is how she kept putting on the poor me act, saying that “no one ever notices me!!” and shit like that. Literally every guy in this book was hitting on her for some reason, while she kept emphasising how unnoticeable she was and blah blah. I’m fine, I swear, I’m sorry for being this salty lmao. She’s just such a flat character, while she’s supposed to be the main character. I’m just so over her.
🔪The brothers🔪
First of all, I cannot deal with the names of 2/3 of the guys. Ransom and Malice, are you serious? I’m sorry, but I absolutely detest that. I literally cringed every damn time their names came up. I’ll be calling them Ran and Mal from now on. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the guys besides their names. I really liked Ran at first, but he turned into such a cliché that I kept cringing every time he spoke. puke. Mal seems promising, although I’m not completely sure if I like him yet? I do feel like I like him the most out of all of them at this point though. Victor is just… I don’t know, not it. He’s giving me major Saint from Kings of Quarantine vibes, but his OCD behaviour is a bit too much. He does however have the most depth so far because of this behaviour, so that makes me like him a bit – he’s the only one who actually has some character traits besides “bad-ass” or “went to prison” or something like that. Furthermore, it honestly didn’t make any sense for them to know Russian. I’m sure it’ll be important at some point, but there really wasn’t a reason for them to learn it? I don’t know, it just once again feels like something that’s just there to progress the plot or a convenient thing for the dirty talkalthough Russian isn’t a sexy language at all imo but okay.
🩸 The writing 🩸
The writing was alright, there were some mistakes, but it wasn’t too bothersome. As I said, the steamy scenes were written well, but I do feel like there are some plot-holes and some missing information which could’ve given the characters some depth.
🩸 Overall conclusion 🩸
Although the premise of this story sounded really promising, this wasn’t a book for me. There were many clichés in it, there was no build-up or chemistry between the characters, they were basically all flat characters, and the entire story was just blah to me. I’m sorry, this just wasn’t a book for me I guess.
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Review 3rd of August 2022
Disclaimer: I’m currently on vacation and cannot write an extensive review; I will write one as soon as I’m back! Here’s the short one.
Thank you Eva Ashwood for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest review!
I got interested in this book because it sounded really promising; bad guys killing someone and taking the girl who witnessed it all with them. However, the first thing that made me wary were their names. Two of the main guys are called Ransom and Malice - which I absolutely hate. I just hate it so much when people are literal English things I can’t - this just made me cringe so hard, and I’ll thus proceed with calling them Ran and Mal. I was expecting some mature bad guys, but they all behave as if they’re still in high school. The same goes for Willow, who basically spends the entire book feeling sorry for herself and saying that she’s really nothing special and no one notices her. Well girl, you’re right about that; you’re nothing special. Because of this, the relationships between the MCs were odd to me; she immediately loves them while she literally only saw them kill a dude and hadn’t actually had any real fucking conversations with them?????? Same goes for the guys, why on earth would they like her, a whining girl who literally doesn’t do anything? Seriously, she’s like a flat character; although she’s in college, she never says what she’ll actually do, or what she’s studying, she doesn’t seem to have ANY hobbies - which I guess I get because she always works, but so do I, and I still read? She basically only lists after the guys for the entire book. So yeah, I didn’t get why they liked her nor why she liked them because there was literally no buildup between the characters, it was basically insta love. Anyway, sorry, rant over.
I did however enjoy the mystery about the guys’ pasts and Willow’s past - I’m quite sure her parents are alive and we’ll see more of them soon. I’m interested in hearing more about them. The spice was also already there in a BIG amount, which surprised me for a first book, but I did like it. I also liked Ransom at moments, but he turned into a overly cute boyfriend puppy kinda guy, which I didn’t love at all. There were just so many cliches in his relationship with Willow - like drawing her a bath after something sexual, really? - and I just didn’t like most of the cliches. So many things that he said to Willow just made me cringe so hard, so I ended up not loving him at all anymore near the end. I love my guys truly bad and not this kind of wannabe badboy. Mal seems promising in this regard though, hope he’ll stay like that too.
The writing is important to mention too; I love that there were barely any mistakes! I bookmarked the ones that I did find, so please contact me Ashwood if you want to know which ones I found.
So yeah, I didn’t really love this, mostly because of the shallow characters and the names, but I’m interested to learn more about their pasts. I’m also intrigued about X; I hope that’ll be a good plot and not something disappointing.
“You’re right. Maybe you’re not a knight,” I whisper finally. “But maybe… maybe I don’t need a white knight. Maybe I need something darker.”
🩸 The story 🩸
When Willow can no longer afford college, she sells her virginity. On her first night, her client is however murdered by three guys. Seeing as she’s a witness, the guys follow her to make sure that she doesn’t ruin their lives by telling what she saw. They however do not expect her to ruin their lives in a different way.
Although I really liked the premise of the story, the story itself felt quite flat to me. There was a hint of a plot in it, but it ended up disappointing me. For example, although the guys were supposed to be badass, they weren’t at all. Mal is the only one who shows some promise, but the other ones have turned into drooling puppies from literally moment one. What I really disliked however, is how Willow was already having sex dreams about every one of the guys from the first second she saw them. This doesn’t make any sense at all; she literally saw them killing people and hadn’t had a real conversation with them. I don’t get how that would somehow end up in sex dreams, and I just don’t like that. I just feel like there was no build-up between them at all, everyone just immediately loved each other for some fucking reason, while they didn’t know ANYTHING about each other. Ok.
“You’re my favorite kind of distraction, you know that?”
The one thing I must say though is that the spice was good. I didn’t really expect this amount of spice in the first book, but it was a pleasant surprise. However, the email thing near the end made me spitting mad. I don’t care what you said about loving red flags, that’s the biggest turn-off I’ve ever seen. I don’t do non-consensual stuff, and I’m just not okay with it. I didn’t like the ending for that reason, the drama seemed quite unnecessary, and the cliff-hanger was just annoying because of it. I want to know what happens next, but I also don’t. The guys will probably tear down the world for her – again, without any reason because what’s there to like? – and I’m just not sure if I’m feeling it.
🩸 The characters 🩸
📦Willow📦
I cannot help but feel like her life was a bit too much of a “poor me” act. I mean, her parents are supposedly dead
🔪The brothers🔪
First of all, I cannot deal with the names of 2/3 of the guys. Ransom and Malice, are you serious? I’m sorry, but I absolutely detest that. I literally cringed every damn time their names came up. I’ll be calling them Ran and Mal from now on. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the guys besides their names. I really liked Ran at first, but he turned into such a cliché that I kept cringing every time he spoke. puke. Mal seems promising, although I’m not completely sure if I like him yet? I do feel like I like him the most out of all of them at this point though. Victor is just… I don’t know, not it. He’s giving me major Saint from Kings of Quarantine vibes, but his OCD behaviour is a bit too much. He does however have the most depth so far because of this behaviour, so that makes me like him a bit – he’s the only one who actually has some character traits besides “bad-ass” or “went to prison” or something like that. Furthermore, it honestly didn’t make any sense for them to know Russian. I’m sure it’ll be important at some point, but there really wasn’t a reason for them to learn it? I don’t know, it just once again feels like something that’s just there to progress the plot or a convenient thing for the dirty talk
🩸 The writing 🩸
The writing was alright, there were some mistakes, but it wasn’t too bothersome. As I said, the steamy scenes were written well, but I do feel like there are some plot-holes and some missing information which could’ve given the characters some depth.
🩸 Overall conclusion 🩸
Although the premise of this story sounded really promising, this wasn’t a book for me. There were many clichés in it, there was no build-up or chemistry between the characters, they were basically all flat characters, and the entire story was just blah to me. I’m sorry, this just wasn’t a book for me I guess.
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
Review 3rd of August 2022
Disclaimer: I’m currently on vacation and cannot write an extensive review; I will write one as soon as I’m back! Here’s the short one.
Thank you Eva Ashwood for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest review!
I got interested in this book because it sounded really promising; bad guys killing someone and taking the girl who witnessed it all with them. However, the first thing that made me wary were their names. Two of the main guys are called Ransom and Malice - which I absolutely hate. I just hate it so much when people are literal English things I can’t - this just made me cringe so hard, and I’ll thus proceed with calling them Ran and Mal. I was expecting some mature bad guys, but they all behave as if they’re still in high school. The same goes for Willow, who basically spends the entire book feeling sorry for herself and saying that she’s really nothing special and no one notices her. Well girl, you’re right about that; you’re nothing special. Because of this, the relationships between the MCs were odd to me; she immediately loves them while she literally only saw them kill a dude and hadn’t actually had any real fucking conversations with them?????? Same goes for the guys, why on earth would they like her, a whining girl who literally doesn’t do anything? Seriously, she’s like a flat character; although she’s in college, she never says what she’ll actually do, or what she’s studying, she doesn’t seem to have ANY hobbies - which I guess I get because she always works, but so do I, and I still read? She basically only lists after the guys for the entire book. So yeah, I didn’t get why they liked her nor why she liked them because there was literally no buildup between the characters, it was basically insta love. Anyway, sorry, rant over.
I did however enjoy the mystery about the guys’ pasts and Willow’s past - I’m quite sure her parents are alive and we’ll see more of them soon. I’m interested in hearing more about them. The spice was also already there in a BIG amount, which surprised me for a first book, but I did like it. I also liked Ransom at moments, but he turned into a overly cute boyfriend puppy kinda guy, which I didn’t love at all. There were just so many cliches in his relationship with Willow - like drawing her a bath after something sexual, really? - and I just didn’t like most of the cliches. So many things that he said to Willow just made me cringe so hard, so I ended up not loving him at all anymore near the end. I love my guys truly bad and not this kind of wannabe badboy. Mal seems promising in this regard though, hope he’ll stay like that too.
The writing is important to mention too; I love that there were barely any mistakes! I bookmarked the ones that I did find, so please contact me Ashwood if you want to know which ones I found.
So yeah, I didn’t really love this, mostly because of the shallow characters and the names, but I’m interested to learn more about their pasts. I’m also intrigued about X; I hope that’ll be a good plot and not something disappointing.
Read
September 6, 2024I read this a while ago, but if I remember correctly, there are two scenes with the OW.🙄 The first one is from one of the MMC’s pov, where he's screwing the OW, and that was before meeting the h. However, the other scene is after meeting the h, and she walks in on him screwing the OW and gets turned on by it.🥴🤢
I don’t know about the safety of the rest of the series, but I am definitely not going to read them.🤷🏽♀️
I don’t know about the safety of the rest of the series, but I am definitely not going to read them.🤷🏽♀️
July 7, 2023
I struggled at the beginning trying to get into it but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. This was very entertaining. There are some eye rolling moments but overall, I really enjoyed this book.
August 4, 2022
I purposely put off reading this book until the last minute because I knew I would obsess over that cliffhanger (and warning: it's not an easy one, but nowhere near as bad as ROW. Yes, I'm still salty about that. That cliffy almost sent my ass to therapy.🤣) but OMG this was so freaking good!! Willow is a badass, and though she's much softer than the other heroines I've read from this author, she still has such a formidable strength to her that I can't wait to find more about. Plus I have a feeling that a particular someone the guys tried to kill is going to end up being very important to her. The fbi needs to recruit me, ok?
As for the men; Ransom is unapologetically my favorite. Look, his connection with his angel is off the charts, and from the get go, Willow felt the safest with him. They truly develop such a special bond, and I love that all of her major firsts were with him, and the love he has for her-- even if he won't admit it just yet-- leaps off the page.
Malice is my second favorite, and all that animosity gave me Gage flashbacks, but I just know he will be giving Ransom a run for his money in book two. There were more romantic scenes with Willow and Ransom, so of course they are going to be the strongest couple so far, but I can't wait for her relationship to grow with Malice. Plus every Russian phrase he said to her (thank you Google translate) had me swooning!!
Vic-- he knows what he did. And look, I know he didn't do it to harm her but IM STILL MAD, OK. My heart broke for Willow at the end, because she thought she finally found her place in this world only to be blindsided once more. So this boy has a ton of groveling to do.
As for the plot, I'm not giving anything away, but damn I was glued to my kindle!! Eva sure knows how to spin a story in her unique voice and I cannot wait for more!! I told myself I was gonna be a responsible adult and wait until all four books in this series were released before I started reading, but we all know how that turned out, lol. Now imma need her to write like hell because I NEEEEEEDDDDD more of this group!!!
Like I said above, the cliffy didn't make me want to die, or stab anyone, but I do have a feeling I know who is involved. And that makes me that much more excited to continue this series! Gah, I'm so obsessed with this author! Make sure you all one click tomorrow!!
**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions **
As for the men; Ransom is unapologetically my favorite. Look, his connection with his angel is off the charts, and from the get go, Willow felt the safest with him. They truly develop such a special bond, and I love that all of her major firsts were with him, and the love he has for her-- even if he won't admit it just yet-- leaps off the page.
Malice is my second favorite, and all that animosity gave me Gage flashbacks, but I just know he will be giving Ransom a run for his money in book two. There were more romantic scenes with Willow and Ransom, so of course they are going to be the strongest couple so far, but I can't wait for her relationship to grow with Malice. Plus every Russian phrase he said to her (thank you Google translate) had me swooning!!
Vic-- he knows what he did. And look, I know he didn't do it to harm her but IM STILL MAD, OK. My heart broke for Willow at the end, because she thought she finally found her place in this world only to be blindsided once more. So this boy has a ton of groveling to do.
As for the plot, I'm not giving anything away, but damn I was glued to my kindle!! Eva sure knows how to spin a story in her unique voice and I cannot wait for more!! I told myself I was gonna be a responsible adult and wait until all four books in this series were released before I started reading, but we all know how that turned out, lol. Now imma need her to write like hell because I NEEEEEEDDDDD more of this group!!!
Like I said above, the cliffy didn't make me want to die, or stab anyone, but I do have a feeling I know who is involved. And that makes me that much more excited to continue this series! Gah, I'm so obsessed with this author! Make sure you all one click tomorrow!!
**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions **
January 7, 2023
I promised myself that I wouldn't start this book until the entire series was complete. But apparently, I have shit self control and whole lot of impatience. I just had to give in to temptation. And HOLY FUCK wasn't it worth it! I loved, loved, loved Ransom, Malice, Victor and Willow - though, I must say that Vic was giving major Saint Memphis vibes (from KOQ) ifykyk😉 Anyways, I'll be patiently waiting for the next book to be published after that cruel cliffhanger whilst I also die inside simultaneously😭 Manifesting for November 11th to come faster ahshsjkssk😩🤌🏻
January 27, 2023
The second Twisted Game started I could tell you where it was going. The predictability doesn't make it a bad book by any means, it just was painfully average. She is not like other girls and is rescued by three men who fall in love with her and will do anything to protect her except tell her the truth. Also, the term psychos to describe these guys is almost laughable because of how quickly they fold for this girl. If you're looking for a fun dark KU romance, this might be for you, but it's not very dark and the romance only picks up in the last third.
June 28, 2023
3.7 stars. It’s too soon to tell how I feel about this series, since I’ve only read book 1 out of 4. But it’s off to a good start.
This is an “enemies to lovers” dark RH with a great set-up for the "meet cute." Willow (22) is a college student in Detroit who’s down on her luck and desperate for money. She doesn’t want to do this, but out of sheer desperation, she agrees to sell her virginity for cash. (I don’t love virgin heroines, but it kind of makes sense for her - she’s covered in scars and wears baggy clothes, and barely has a social life, since she's always hustled to make ends meet. Plus, she’s not timid and clueless about all things sex. I always find it unrealistic when virgins are like that, especially if they’re older).
A scary Russian gangster guy is the one who buys her virginity. Before he can do the deed, the 3 heroes burst into the room to kill him (as revenge for that guy killing their mom). They’re about to kill Willow, since she’s a witness, and a loose end they can’t afford. But they spare her, and keep an eye on her instead to make sure she doesn't rat them out - which includes stalking her, setting up cameras in her apartment, etc. Pretty soon, the guys monitoring her turns into each of them getting interested in her. And she can't help getting fascinated by these guys who keep popping up in her life like phantoms, even though she's wary and scared, at first. So this is medium level dark - no dub/ non con, but the heroes DO kind of try to kill her, at first.
The 3 heroes are Russian-American gangster brothers Malice (25, the tattooed slutty mean one), Ransom (23, the pretty boy nice one), and Victor (25, the cold controlling analytical one, who's a virgin – not because he’s shy, or a romantic who’s waiting for the right person. But because he prefers jacking off to dealing with the chaos and emotions of another person).
Every time I start a new series by this author, I’m reminded that her stories often lack that intangible quality that makes me LOVE them, or think about them much after finishing them (which is why I gave this slightly below 4 stars). But, I DO always feel like I’m in good hands.
Her stories just feel like she’s a pro. Her prose isn’t anything special, it’s simple and straightforward. But she clearly knows what she’s doing. Her stories flow well, don’t have clunky sentences or plotting, are good at setting up the story immediately (not taking a long time to do it). Her RHs are also good at having heroes with distinctive personalities who don’t all blend together – and, they establish the hero personalities immediately. I never spend a long time having to be like “which guy is which, again?” the way I do for a lot of RHs. They're well paced, I never read a chapter where it feels like nothing happened.
The dark RH genre is filled with over-the-top shenanigans. In some RHs, the author isn't good at getting me to just go with whatever the premise is. In this story, is it ridiculous that Willow is selling her virginity, then gets entangled with these mysterious gangster brothers? Sure! But the way Eva Ashwood writes, I never pause to be like "this is absurd," the way I do with some others. She draws me in and gets me to just go with it.
All of this stuff shouldn’t be that noteworthy, but her sheer level of COMPETENCE is rare and stand-out in the genre. In a lot of other RHs by other authors, the writing is chaotic and clunky, stories don’t flow, and it takes quite far into a given story for me to be able to distinguish which guy is which, and what the plot even is. (I’m thinking about poorly written RHs like Pretty Lies, Havoc Killed Her Alpha, Ruthless Crown, Forever Changed Vengeance, etc). There’s so many RHs that feel like the authors have no idea what they're doing, and it feels insulting that they put out such an obviously bad product and expect me to just gobble it up.
So, Eva Ashwood will always get points from me for just her sheer COMPETENCE, which goes a long way. It remains to be seen if I will love this series, since this is book 1 of 4. I'm not sure if these characters will stick with me. But, if you're in the mood for dark RH, the plot and characters aren't unique, but it's enjoyable so far - and, the execution is better than many others in the genre.
This is an “enemies to lovers” dark RH with a great set-up for the "meet cute." Willow (22) is a college student in Detroit who’s down on her luck and desperate for money. She doesn’t want to do this, but out of sheer desperation, she agrees to sell her virginity for cash. (I don’t love virgin heroines, but it kind of makes sense for her - she’s covered in scars and wears baggy clothes, and barely has a social life, since she's always hustled to make ends meet. Plus, she’s not timid and clueless about all things sex. I always find it unrealistic when virgins are like that, especially if they’re older).
A scary Russian gangster guy is the one who buys her virginity. Before he can do the deed, the 3 heroes burst into the room to kill him (as revenge for that guy killing their mom). They’re about to kill Willow, since she’s a witness, and a loose end they can’t afford. But they spare her, and keep an eye on her instead to make sure she doesn't rat them out - which includes stalking her, setting up cameras in her apartment, etc. Pretty soon, the guys monitoring her turns into each of them getting interested in her. And she can't help getting fascinated by these guys who keep popping up in her life like phantoms, even though she's wary and scared, at first. So this is medium level dark - no dub/ non con, but the heroes DO kind of try to kill her, at first.
The 3 heroes are Russian-American gangster brothers Malice (25, the tattooed slutty mean one), Ransom (23, the pretty boy nice one), and Victor (25, the cold controlling analytical one, who's a virgin – not because he’s shy, or a romantic who’s waiting for the right person. But because he prefers jacking off to dealing with the chaos and emotions of another person).
Every time I start a new series by this author, I’m reminded that her stories often lack that intangible quality that makes me LOVE them, or think about them much after finishing them (which is why I gave this slightly below 4 stars). But, I DO always feel like I’m in good hands.
Her stories just feel like she’s a pro. Her prose isn’t anything special, it’s simple and straightforward. But she clearly knows what she’s doing. Her stories flow well, don’t have clunky sentences or plotting, are good at setting up the story immediately (not taking a long time to do it). Her RHs are also good at having heroes with distinctive personalities who don’t all blend together – and, they establish the hero personalities immediately. I never spend a long time having to be like “which guy is which, again?” the way I do for a lot of RHs. They're well paced, I never read a chapter where it feels like nothing happened.
The dark RH genre is filled with over-the-top shenanigans. In some RHs, the author isn't good at getting me to just go with whatever the premise is. In this story, is it ridiculous that Willow is selling her virginity, then gets entangled with these mysterious gangster brothers? Sure! But the way Eva Ashwood writes, I never pause to be like "this is absurd," the way I do with some others. She draws me in and gets me to just go with it.
All of this stuff shouldn’t be that noteworthy, but her sheer level of COMPETENCE is rare and stand-out in the genre. In a lot of other RHs by other authors, the writing is chaotic and clunky, stories don’t flow, and it takes quite far into a given story for me to be able to distinguish which guy is which, and what the plot even is. (I’m thinking about poorly written RHs like Pretty Lies, Havoc Killed Her Alpha, Ruthless Crown, Forever Changed Vengeance, etc). There’s so many RHs that feel like the authors have no idea what they're doing, and it feels insulting that they put out such an obviously bad product and expect me to just gobble it up.
So, Eva Ashwood will always get points from me for just her sheer COMPETENCE, which goes a long way. It remains to be seen if I will love this series, since this is book 1 of 4. I'm not sure if these characters will stick with me. But, if you're in the mood for dark RH, the plot and characters aren't unique, but it's enjoyable so far - and, the execution is better than many others in the genre.
August 10, 2023
If I could go back and decide not to read this book… I would
May 8, 2023
I kept reading hoping it would get better. It didn’t. It only got worse.
July 28, 2024
c’était ultra addictif. j’ai passé un bon moment, je ne connaissais pas du tout le résumé, je savais juste qu’il s’agissait d’un harem inversé avec 3 frères dont les psychologies sont très différentes les unes des autres et j’ai adoré ça-
Maxim- grumpy fâché en colère grrr
Victor- énigmatique, observateur, silencieux (et fascinant finalement)
Ruslan- souriant, attentionnée, golden retriever vibe
(par contre les noms en VO sont plus stylés qu'en VF c'est malice, victor & ransom)
l’intrigue est vraiment sympa mais j’ai trouvé certains trucs un peu too much ou moyennement crédible ce qui fait un peu baisser la note. j’avoue aussi avoir eu du mal à m’attacher à Willow, j’espère que ça évoluera dans les tomes suivants mais sinon c’est spicy bien comme il faut, j’ai hâte de découvrir la suite
— "trois frères. trois monstres. trois hommes qui n’hésiteraient pas à me tuer s’il le fallait, pour se protéger mutuellement."
Maxim- grumpy fâché en colère grrr
Victor- énigmatique, observateur, silencieux (et fascinant finalement)
Ruslan- souriant, attentionnée, golden retriever vibe
(par contre les noms en VO sont plus stylés qu'en VF c'est malice, victor & ransom)
l’intrigue est vraiment sympa mais j’ai trouvé certains trucs un peu too much ou moyennement crédible ce qui fait un peu baisser la note. j’avoue aussi avoir eu du mal à m’attacher à Willow, j’espère que ça évoluera dans les tomes suivants mais sinon c’est spicy bien comme il faut, j’ai hâte de découvrir la suite
— "trois frères. trois monstres. trois hommes qui n’hésiteraient pas à me tuer s’il le fallait, pour se protéger mutuellement."
July 29, 2023
Dnf @95%
I just couldn't..... I don't know what to like in this book. It fell so incredibly flat that it gave the flat earth theory a run for its money. The characters are all kinda just there doing what they're doing....this book was too long for what it wanted to achieve.
Would I ever come back and complete the series...?
Tbh idk...
I just couldn't..... I don't know what to like in this book. It fell so incredibly flat that it gave the flat earth theory a run for its money. The characters are all kinda just there doing what they're doing....this book was too long for what it wanted to achieve.
Would I ever come back and complete the series...?
Tbh idk...
August 5, 2025
"For all the readers who like their book boyfriends covered in red flags. Red’s my favorite color too"
⭐️ : 4/5
🌶 : 3/5
RH: small size (3), why choose; Malice, Ransom and Victor
The story is interesting, especially at the end. Such endings should be banned. What will happen??
You have to wait for spice🌶🌶🌶
⭐️ : 4/5
🌶 : 3/5
RH: small size (3), why choose; Malice, Ransom and Victor
The story is interesting, especially at the end. Such endings should be banned. What will happen??
You have to wait for spice🌶🌶🌶
January 17, 2023
I was extremely underwhelmed and disappointed by this being so hyped up on BookTok. So much so, that I’m writing my first GR review because of it.
As other commenters have stated, the story opens with Willow, an “advanced” college student (read: she’s maybe two years older than the societal norm for a college sophomore) who’s being bullied (not realistic at all for a college setting and honestly gave me After vibes, iykyk)and having trouble paying for her tuition. She’s a cocktail waitress at a strip club who goes to hooking (selling her virginity)as a quick way to get cash. Her boss sets her up with a madame. Everyone is hypercritical of her appearance due to the burn scars on her body (which she doesn’t discuss until somewhere in the last five chapters). When someone does express interest in her, she’s adamant in saying that she doesn’t see what is so great about her appearance and that she has nothing to offer. Blah blah she goes to the location and the john forces himself onto her. The three MMC’s come in and murder him, she sees it they get weirdly possessive over her from then on.
They stalk her and place security cameras in her apartment, pay her tuition and give her an undisclosed amount of money (which is probably the most psychotic thing these guys do in the book) and eventually they end up bringing her into their home to protect her from the people who are associated with the man they killed at the brothel. While they’re in the stalking stage, someone she thought was a good guy turns out to be a flaming pile of garbage and gets her drunk and tries to force himself on her, basically saying the only redeeming quality about her is that she’s a virgin and that’s all he cares about. “I’ve never fvcked a virgin.” is roundabout what he said. This character was extremely unnecessary (just like April? I can’t remember her name due to how insignificant she was to the plot.) Her adoptive mother is a piece of work that quite honestly, could have been left out due to how little any of their history was expounded. It was limited to “my mom isn’t my mom, but she’s the mom I know… but she steals from me all the time, and I still love her. Even though she let her johns do what they wanted to me.” She ends up stealing the money the guys give her by going to the bank and somehow getting access to Willow’s account?¿ Malice gets it back for her even though he swears he hates her. Sure, Jan.
After they bring her into their home, they vow to not get involved with her (news flash they fail, horribly) and to keep from developing feelings.
Again, they do. They’re bad at hiding it too, by the way. Both to themselves and others. They (Malice) messes up a deal that could have secured them more work because of their relationship with her. Which wasn’t even a relationship at the time, it was weird cat and mouse antics. I digress, they suck at being stoic and emotionally unavailable is my point. Which emotional unavailability is the kind of red flag that I would look for in a book like this. Sadly, none of that is present. Not even Victor, who is the most… quiet? of them all is able to keep himself from becoming obsessed. in his own way.
The characters are all surface level. Maybe one foot deep? Malice is the typical hot head. There’s really nothing more to him, honestly. Victor, Malice’s twin, has OCD that’s mentioned once by Malice very briefly. Victor’s POV mentions his tics but doesn’t elaborate on them at all. And they’re all the stereotypical OCD tics: counting, obsessively cleaning, germ avoidance. Ransom is the golden retriever little brother that they try to shield from the world. He’s arguably the one who fell first and the hardest for Willow. He’s the one who keeps Malice from killing her at the brothel to tie up loose ends. He’s the one who she has sex with first. He’s the sweetest towards her.
The ending of the book is surprisingly unsurprising. There’s a cliffhanger caused by Willow leaving. Why’d she leave, you ask? Because someone else wants her and the guys have to deliver her to this person“untainted”. They don’t want to give her up, so they devise a plan that isn’t spoken about in any of the guys’ POVs. She gets up middle of the night, sees Victor’s various screens going and on them it’s videos of her, and the video of the four of them the night prior (they finally all get together starting in ch. 40 btw). But accompanied with the video is a message stating that she’s a whore like her mother and worthless. Instead of saying “hey wtf, explain this”, she leaves. Knowing that there’s people looking for her. And then gets taken as soon as she’s maybe a block away.
Overall, this turned into a hate-read because I needed to know how the book ended. It ended in a cliffhanger, so naturally I’m going to read the next one. I’m hoping the second one has the redemption the first one needs.
TL;DR: This feels like a weird interpolation of Den of Vipers. The brothers are not psychotic in the slightest. The FMC is whiny. The spice is not what I was hoping for. The plot was subpar to be polite.
Also note to self: stop trusting BookTok recommendations. You will be disappointed 100% of the time.
As other commenters have stated, the story opens with Willow, an “advanced” college student (read: she’s maybe two years older than the societal norm for a college sophomore) who’s being bullied (not realistic at all for a college setting and honestly gave me After vibes, iykyk)and having trouble paying for her tuition. She’s a cocktail waitress at a strip club who goes to hooking (selling her virginity)as a quick way to get cash. Her boss sets her up with a madame. Everyone is hypercritical of her appearance due to the burn scars on her body (which she doesn’t discuss until somewhere in the last five chapters). When someone does express interest in her, she’s adamant in saying that she doesn’t see what is so great about her appearance and that she has nothing to offer. Blah blah she goes to the location and the john forces himself onto her. The three MMC’s come in and murder him, she sees it they get weirdly possessive over her from then on.
They stalk her and place security cameras in her apartment, pay her tuition and give her an undisclosed amount of money (which is probably the most psychotic thing these guys do in the book) and eventually they end up bringing her into their home to protect her from the people who are associated with the man they killed at the brothel. While they’re in the stalking stage, someone she thought was a good guy turns out to be a flaming pile of garbage and gets her drunk and tries to force himself on her, basically saying the only redeeming quality about her is that she’s a virgin and that’s all he cares about. “I’ve never fvcked a virgin.” is roundabout what he said. This character was extremely unnecessary (just like April? I can’t remember her name due to how insignificant she was to the plot.) Her adoptive mother is a piece of work that quite honestly, could have been left out due to how little any of their history was expounded. It was limited to “my mom isn’t my mom, but she’s the mom I know… but she steals from me all the time, and I still love her. Even though she let her johns do what they wanted to me.” She ends up stealing the money the guys give her by going to the bank and somehow getting access to Willow’s account?¿ Malice gets it back for her even though he swears he hates her. Sure, Jan.
After they bring her into their home, they vow to not get involved with her (news flash they fail, horribly) and to keep from developing feelings.
Again, they do. They’re bad at hiding it too, by the way. Both to themselves and others. They (Malice) messes up a deal that could have secured them more work because of their relationship with her. Which wasn’t even a relationship at the time, it was weird cat and mouse antics. I digress, they suck at being stoic and emotionally unavailable is my point. Which emotional unavailability is the kind of red flag that I would look for in a book like this. Sadly, none of that is present. Not even Victor, who is the most… quiet? of them all is able to keep himself from becoming obsessed. in his own way.
The characters are all surface level. Maybe one foot deep? Malice is the typical hot head. There’s really nothing more to him, honestly. Victor, Malice’s twin, has OCD that’s mentioned once by Malice very briefly. Victor’s POV mentions his tics but doesn’t elaborate on them at all. And they’re all the stereotypical OCD tics: counting, obsessively cleaning, germ avoidance. Ransom is the golden retriever little brother that they try to shield from the world. He’s arguably the one who fell first and the hardest for Willow. He’s the one who keeps Malice from killing her at the brothel to tie up loose ends. He’s the one who she has sex with first. He’s the sweetest towards her.
The ending of the book is surprisingly unsurprising. There’s a cliffhanger caused by Willow leaving. Why’d she leave, you ask? Because someone else wants her and the guys have to deliver her to this person“untainted”. They don’t want to give her up, so they devise a plan that isn’t spoken about in any of the guys’ POVs. She gets up middle of the night, sees Victor’s various screens going and on them it’s videos of her, and the video of the four of them the night prior (they finally all get together starting in ch. 40 btw). But accompanied with the video is a message stating that she’s a whore like her mother and worthless. Instead of saying “hey wtf, explain this”, she leaves. Knowing that there’s people looking for her. And then gets taken as soon as she’s maybe a block away.
Overall, this turned into a hate-read because I needed to know how the book ended. It ended in a cliffhanger, so naturally I’m going to read the next one. I’m hoping the second one has the redemption the first one needs.
TL;DR: This feels like a weird interpolation of Den of Vipers. The brothers are not psychotic in the slightest. The FMC is whiny. The spice is not what I was hoping for. The plot was subpar to be polite.
Also note to self: stop trusting BookTok recommendations. You will be disappointed 100% of the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2025
Audio: 4 stars for Cassandra Medcalf and 4 stars for Daniel James Lewis
Book: 3.5-4 stars
It was a decent start to a series, a little slow but towards the end it picked up. I am looking forward to seeing where the next book goes!
Book: 3.5-4 stars
It was a decent start to a series, a little slow but towards the end it picked up. I am looking forward to seeing where the next book goes!
September 3, 2023
4.5 stars.
Ok. We’re off to a pretty good start.
I could’ve done without the scenes where Malice is fucking random girls. I get why the second one is there, but the first one was just completely unnecessary, and I would’ve been much happier if neither had happened at all. We could’ve shown that he was a manwhore in other ways, ya know?
But as long as it doesn’t happen again now that they’ve been intimate, I’ll be good.
I’ve got theories galore about that ending, and about Willow’s past. Hopefully we find out some more in this next book.
So far, I’m really into it. We’ll see if that lasts to the end, I guess.
Ok. We’re off to a pretty good start.
I could’ve done without the scenes where Malice is fucking random girls. I get why the second one is there, but the first one was just completely unnecessary, and I would’ve been much happier if neither had happened at all. We could’ve shown that he was a manwhore in other ways, ya know?
But as long as it doesn’t happen again now that they’ve been intimate, I’ll be good.
I’ve got theories galore about that ending, and about Willow’s past. Hopefully we find out some more in this next book.
So far, I’m really into it. We’ll see if that lasts to the end, I guess.
May 19, 2026
3.5 ☆
I had fun with this! It took me a bit to get into it, but ultimately it was enjoyable and addictive and I liked the bits of mystery. Each brother has a different personality and I love how strong of a unit they are. Her relationship with each one is also varied and I like that they each bring out a different side of her.
The tension was tensioning for sure. I could feel every look and slight touch, so Ashwood definitely did her big one with that. Due to the brothers being so different, the speed and intensity of each connection also isn’t the same and I’m glad the author stuck with what was natural versus everyone being all in simply because it was “time”.
Can’t say there’s a whole lot of character development though besides Willow, so I hope to see some of that in the coming books. We got some information on the brothers’ pasts, but I want to go deeper into that as well. I need more than the few mentions here and there.
Anyway, this was still a solid first book and I’m excited to continue!
I had fun with this! It took me a bit to get into it, but ultimately it was enjoyable and addictive and I liked the bits of mystery. Each brother has a different personality and I love how strong of a unit they are. Her relationship with each one is also varied and I like that they each bring out a different side of her.
The tension was tensioning for sure. I could feel every look and slight touch, so Ashwood definitely did her big one with that. Due to the brothers being so different, the speed and intensity of each connection also isn’t the same and I’m glad the author stuck with what was natural versus everyone being all in simply because it was “time”.
Can’t say there’s a whole lot of character development though besides Willow, so I hope to see some of that in the coming books. We got some information on the brothers’ pasts, but I want to go deeper into that as well. I need more than the few mentions here and there.
Anyway, this was still a solid first book and I’m excited to continue!
December 5, 2022
3.5 - 4 stars!
Twisted Game was a very spicy RH romance. Willow is at the wrong place at the wrong time and is now entangled with the Voronin brothers (Malice, Ransom, and Victor). These men have a lot of baggage and don’t just see the world in black and white.
Keeping Willow in their sights changes the trajectory of all their lives and there’s a lot at stake both for Willow and the brothers.
Willow was a pretty good heroine. Feisty yet vulnerable, she mellowed the story out a little. The brothers each had distinctive personalities and I really liked them for different reasons. I would consider this a darker romance because there is an enemies-to-lovers feel to the whole story. There was angst, plenty of steam, and a suspenseful plot although not entirely unique. This ends on a cliffhanger and it was a doozy. If you like steamy RH romances that lean dark, this is definitely worth a read.
Twisted Game was a very spicy RH romance. Willow is at the wrong place at the wrong time and is now entangled with the Voronin brothers (Malice, Ransom, and Victor). These men have a lot of baggage and don’t just see the world in black and white.
Keeping Willow in their sights changes the trajectory of all their lives and there’s a lot at stake both for Willow and the brothers.
Willow was a pretty good heroine. Feisty yet vulnerable, she mellowed the story out a little. The brothers each had distinctive personalities and I really liked them for different reasons. I would consider this a darker romance because there is an enemies-to-lovers feel to the whole story. There was angst, plenty of steam, and a suspenseful plot although not entirely unique. This ends on a cliffhanger and it was a doozy. If you like steamy RH romances that lean dark, this is definitely worth a read.
June 5, 2026
•Dark Romance
•Why Choose (3 brothers)
•Gang (ish)
•V-Card FMC
•Forced Proximity
•St@lking
•V0yeurism
•Exhibiti0nism
•Pierced 🍆 & Tattooed
•🌶🌶🌶.5
Willow was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She went to her boss in hopes of getting more money.... but the sleeze ball suggests basically to go to a brothel to sell herself of her vcard. While there, the brothers find the guy who unalived their mother in her room. I know shes thankful they stopped what was about to happen. In all reality, she didn't want to do what she signed up for just to get money to keep going to college. She didn't want to be her adoptive mom. But now she's a loose end, and 1 of the 3 brothers wants to unalive her so she doesn't ever speak about what happened in front of her. But they let her go. They just follow her and watch her like crazy. They're becoming obsessed... she's burrowing under their skin and becoming a distraction for them to do their jobs. I did think the spice pace between the main characters was slow, but it wasn't too bad. When the spice hit between them.. holy moses. 🤭
•Why Choose (3 brothers)
•Gang (ish)
•V-Card FMC
•Forced Proximity
•St@lking
•V0yeurism
•Exhibiti0nism
•Pierced 🍆 & Tattooed
•🌶🌶🌶.5
Willow was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She went to her boss in hopes of getting more money.... but the sleeze ball suggests basically to go to a brothel to sell herself of her vcard. While there, the brothers find the guy who unalived their mother in her room. I know shes thankful they stopped what was about to happen. In all reality, she didn't want to do what she signed up for just to get money to keep going to college. She didn't want to be her adoptive mom. But now she's a loose end, and 1 of the 3 brothers wants to unalive her so she doesn't ever speak about what happened in front of her. But they let her go. They just follow her and watch her like crazy. They're becoming obsessed... she's burrowing under their skin and becoming a distraction for them to do their jobs. I did think the spice pace between the main characters was slow, but it wasn't too bad. When the spice hit between them.. holy moses. 🤭
October 3, 2024
̗̀˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓸𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓾𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓹𝓸𝓷 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭.
Oh my gosh, I didn’t know what to expect from this book since it was my first time reading anything by this author, but wow—I was totally hooked! Once I started, I couldn’t stop! The storyline was so good, and the way the characters’ lives all connected kept me glued to the pages. If you’re into reverse harem, this one’s for you. Plus, it’s a “why choose” (love those!), and the twist of the love interests being brothers? I had to know how that would play out! And while I wasn’t ready for the cliffhanger at the end, I’m honestly not mad—I immediately grabbed the second book! I’m especially excited to see how Victor’s feelings for Willow develop, since he’s been through so much. The brothers are one of a kind yk ;)
🥀⮫ reverse harem
🥀⮫ stalker/spying
🥀⮫ why choose?
🥀⮫ possessive mmc
🥀⮫ dark past
For all the readers who like their book boyfriends covered in red flags. Red’s my favorite color too.
Oh my gosh, I didn’t know what to expect from this book since it was my first time reading anything by this author, but wow—I was totally hooked! Once I started, I couldn’t stop! The storyline was so good, and the way the characters’ lives all connected kept me glued to the pages. If you’re into reverse harem, this one’s for you. Plus, it’s a “why choose” (love those!), and the twist of the love interests being brothers? I had to know how that would play out! And while I wasn’t ready for the cliffhanger at the end, I’m honestly not mad—I immediately grabbed the second book! I’m especially excited to see how Victor’s feelings for Willow develop, since he’s been through so much. The brothers are one of a kind yk ;)
🥀⮫ reverse harem
🥀⮫ stalker/spying
🥀⮫ why choose?
🥀⮫ possessive mmc
🥀⮫ dark past
For all the readers who like their book boyfriends covered in red flags. Red’s my favorite color too.
November 9, 2022
I choose this book because I loved the cover and the title was a little dark, so why not? I really enjoyed it, it was gripping and steamy. It ended in a CLIFFHANGER, which I have a love-hate relationship with, soooo now I'm hoping that I'll get to read the next book sometime soon.
P.S. An extra ⭐ for the awesome cover!
P.S. An extra ⭐ for the awesome cover!
October 29, 2025
4.75⭐️
Gli mancava tanto così 🤏🏻 per essere un 5 stelle 🫠
Gli mancava tanto così 🤏🏻 per essere un 5 stelle 🫠
August 10, 2022
this book..this book…THIS BOOK 🥵🥵
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Tropes:
Tropes include:
- V✨rgin 😈
- Voyeurism
- “Who did this to you?”
- Reverse Harem 😏🤍
- Possessive a$$hole
- Some stalk3r vibes…nice
With this being my first Eva book- I only knew that it was dark and twisted. I was BLOWN AWAY. It was so hot, had an awesome plot- and I literally read it in one sitting. The MMC’s are involved in crime- the biggest possessive a$$holes. However, each guy is so different at the same time. NOT TO MENTION- they’re brothers 😏🤤🤤🤤 The FMC is innocent, and very reliant on herself. When the four of them meet- in the worse way possible…they’re drawn to each other instantly. Tensions rise- and we’re left with a big cliffhanger :/ BUT, it’s okay because the one spicy scene with all 3 brothers right before…made up for it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Tropes:
Tropes include:
- V✨rgin 😈
- Voyeurism
- “Who did this to you?”
- Reverse Harem 😏🤍
- Possessive a$$hole
- Some stalk3r vibes…nice
With this being my first Eva book- I only knew that it was dark and twisted. I was BLOWN AWAY. It was so hot, had an awesome plot- and I literally read it in one sitting. The MMC’s are involved in crime- the biggest possessive a$$holes. However, each guy is so different at the same time. NOT TO MENTION- they’re brothers 😏🤤🤤🤤 The FMC is innocent, and very reliant on herself. When the four of them meet- in the worse way possible…they’re drawn to each other instantly. Tensions rise- and we’re left with a big cliffhanger :/ BUT, it’s okay because the one spicy scene with all 3 brothers right before…made up for it.
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