Twisted Love

From New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Ana Huang comes a billionaire brother's best friend romance!

He has a heart of ice…but for her, he'd burn the world

A diverse new adult steamy romance from Tiktok sensation and USA Today bestselling author Ana Huang.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can't escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he's forced to look after his best friend's sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.

A melt.

A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can't remember.

But despite her broken past, she's never stopped seeing the beauty in the world...including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn't want.

Her brother's best friend.

Her neighbor.

Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen-but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both...and everything they hold dear.

Twisted Love is a contemporary brother's best friend/grumpy sunshine romance. It's book one in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Ana Huang is a #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author. Best known for her Twisted series, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance with deliciously alpha heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of steam, angst, and swoon sprinkled in.

Her books have been translated in over thirty languages and featured in outlets such as Good Morning America, NPR, Cosmopolitan, and PEOPLE.

A self-professed travel enthusiast, she loves incorporating beautiful destinations into her stories and will never say no to a good chai latte.

GODS OF THE GAME:

The Striker

The Defender (coming October 28, 2025)

KINGS OF SIN:

King of Wrath

King of Pride

King of Greed

King of Sloth

King of Envy

King of Gluttony (Coming April 28, 2026)

TWISTED:

Twisted Love

Twisted Games

Twisted Hate

Twisted Lies

IF LOVE:

If We Ever Meet Again (Duet #1)

If the Sun Never Sets (Duet #2)

If Love Had a Price #3 (Standalone)

If We Were Perfect #4 (Standalone)

Ana Huang’s Twisted Love is an intense, emotionally charged contemporary romance that masterfully blends the "brother’s best friend" and "grumpy-sunshine" tropes with dark, suspenseful undertones. The story revolves around twenty-two-year-old Ava Chen, a vibrant, optimistic photography student who sees the beauty in everything, and Alex Volkov, a ruthless, fiercely intelligent billionaire with a heart of ice. Ava and Alex are brought into each other's orbits through Ava's overprotective older brother, Josh, who happens to be Alex’s best friend. When Josh accepts a medical fellowship in Central America, he entrusts Alex with a crucial task: keep an eye on Ava and ensure she stays safe. Alex, who operates with cold, calculating logic and rarely extends favors, agrees only out of loyalty to Josh. He moves into the house next door to Ava, setting the stage for a forced-proximity dynamic that deeply challenges both of their carefully constructed worlds.

Initially, the dynamic between Ava and Alex is fraught with friction. Ava is a free spirit, radiating warmth and relentlessly trying to befriend her stoic neighbor. Alex, conversely, is irritated by her relentless cheerfulness, viewing her as a distraction from his highly structured life and his secret, all-consuming obsession with revenge. However, as they spend more time together, Ava’s genuine kindness begins to chip away at Alex’s impenetrable exterior. He finds himself inexplicably drawn to her light, stepping in to fiercely protect her from unwanted suitors and everyday dangers. What begins as a begrudging sense of duty quickly morphs into a possessive, magnetic attraction. As they give in to their undeniable chemistry, they embark on a passionate, secret romance, fully aware of the fallout that will occur when Josh inevitably discovers that his best friend has crossed the ultimate line with his little sister.

Beneath the surface of their blossoming romance, both characters are haunted by severe childhood traumas. Ava suffers from a deep phobia of water and fragmented memories, believing that her late mother attempted to drown her in a bathtub when she was a young child. She relies on her brother and her father, Michael Chen, for emotional grounding, burying her lingering anxieties beneath a facade of relentless positivity. Alex’s darkness, on the other hand, is active and consuming. As a child, he witnessed the brutal murder of his family, a tragedy that stripped him of his humanity and forged him into a ruthless businessman. For years, Alex has been orchestrating a meticulous, highly illegal plot to destroy the people responsible for his family's deaths, and his pursuit of vengeance leaves little room for love or mercy.

The narrative reaches a devastating turning point when the secrets of their pasts violently collide. Ava uncovers the horrifying truth about Alex’s hidden agenda: his presence in her life and his friendship with her brother were originally calculated moves in his grand revenge scheme. In a massive, heart-wrenching twist, it is revealed that Ava's own father, Michael Chen, was deeply involved in the conspiracy that led to the murder of Alex's family. Furthermore, Alex’s relentless digging unearths a chilling truth about Ava’s own trauma. It was not her mother who attempted to drown her all those years ago, but her father, Michael, who wanted to silence the child after she witnessed something she shouldn't have. While Alex’s feelings for Ava had become incredibly real, the revelation that he withheld this information and used her proximity to destroy her father shatters Ava’s world. Feeling utterly betrayed by the man she fell in love with, Ava breaks off the relationship, leaving Alex behind.

The aftermath of the breakup forces Alex to confront a reality he never anticipated. With his revenge finally complete and Michael Chen exposed, Alex realizes that his victory is entirely hollow without Ava. Stripped of the one person who made him feel human, he experiences a profound shift in his priorities. The cold, unfeeling billionaire is replaced by a desperate man willing to do whatever it takes to win back the love of his life. The novel shifts into an intense period of groveling, where Alex goes to extreme, sometimes morally grey lengths to prove his devotion. He tracks Ava down, respects her boundaries while simultaneously ensuring she is protected, and slowly works to rebuild the trust he so carelessly destroyed.

As Ava struggles to heal from the staggering betrayal of her father and the heartbreak caused by Alex, she must decide if she can ever trust the brooding billionaire again. She demands that Alex evolve, forcing him to learn how to love without control and manipulation. Through grand gestures, brutal honesty, and a genuine willingness to change, Alex slowly proves that he is no longer the man who prioritized vengeance over her heart. The novel concludes with a hard-won reconciliation, culminating in a fiercely loyal partnership. Ava helps Alex find peace beyond his dark past, while Alex provides her with an unwavering, protective love, proving that even the most twisted hearts can be redeemed by the right person.