Book Review: Twisted Hate

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang.

Quote: "I had closure but no one told me closure was such a bitch. It clawed at my bones and ripped a bloody gash through my heart until every breath became a battle. But instead of trying to assuage it, I embraced it. Because even though pain hurt like a motherfucker, it proved you were still alive, and it was only after it faded that you could finally heal."

Plot: Jules Ambrose is the best friend of Josh Chen's sister. Since the minute they met, they hated each other's guts and it has been the same ever since. Whenever you would see the both of them together, you find them bickering with each other. However, as people say, there is a thin line between love and hate. One night of passion leads to an agreement, enemies with benefits. But, is that all their relationship going to be?

My Personal Views: This book was..hm, how do I explain it? To be frank, I did not like it. There I said it. I guess, after reading Twisted Games I set the bar too high, which lead to disappointment. I mean, sure, it was cuter but for me, Twisted Games was much better. The banter between both main leads just did not feel natural, hence I just could not feel their chemistry.

The writing was surely good, but the plot was not. I had expected much more than what I got, that's the main reason I guess. The whole stealing and stuff just did not feel that much of an interesting story to me. For me, I sure felt Rhys and Bridget had much better chemistry than Josh and Jules ever did.  

Out of the whole book, I think my favorite part was when Josh apologized to Jules. I think out of the whole book that is where I felt their chemistry shined brighter than ever to me.

Even though this story was just not for me, I still am gonna read the last part. Stella and Christian's story is next!

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐/ 5

TV Show: The Boys

 

The Boys (Season 1, 2 & 3)

Quote: "When they're apart they're absolute fucking rubbish. But you put them together, they're the goddam fucking spice girls" 

Plot: A superheroes series, where the superheroes are not your good, kind and always helping hands but actually are corrupted jerks. 

My Personal Views: When you hear the word Superhero, you always imagine a good-natured guy who will always come to save the day. But this series shows you the face of your supes that you won't like at all or you never even imagined. 

If I have to use one word for the whole 3 seasoned series, it would be Badass. Oh, definitely badass. Each character is terribly badass. Let's be real, as much as you might hate Billy Butcher, you know he is a fucking badass. And, let's not forget our girls, Starlight & Kimiko. I mean that Season 2, last episode, catfight? I mean whattttttt....

That scene honestly left me speechless. See? That's what I like about this series, they don't show women as someone who should be kept safe or should be fantasized about, I mean, I love how the whole 'Girls are actually strong' is portrayed in the whole show. And thank god! They're not shown as weak girls who always need to be saved. On the contrary, Kimiko is shown to be the strongest amongst the boys (even though she is a supe) which I think is a first. 

Each character has their own story and their own demons to fight. I have a love-hate relationship with Billy Butcher. His sarcasm? Love it. The way he treats his pals? Hate it. You have to appreciate his sarcastic remarks, come on.  

Honestly saying, I did not think I would like it when I started seeing it because I did not even know what it was really about when I started it, but after seeing all of the seasons until now, let me tell you it was really amazing. Sure, it is very R-rated and has very disgusting scenes but eh, you gotta appreciate the plot though. 

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Book Review: Twisted Games

Twisted Games by Ana Huang.

Quote: "Ours was a story destined for a tragic ending, but when you were already on a train headed off the cliff, all you could do was hold on tight and make every second count."

Plot: Rhys Larsen has only one job- to protect his clients. He is the new bodyguard of Princess Bridget. Rhys is broody and stubborn, qualities that Bridget hates about him. Rhys can see the fire that is Bridget Von Ascherberg, especially when they both argue. It is a game that might involve rules and hearts getting broken. 

My Personal Views:  When I started reading Twisted Games, I had expectations that it would be better than the first one as Twisted Love was cute but could’ve been better and Ana Huang served it just right. 

For me, Twisted Games was far better than Twisted Love, not only in the plot but also in the characters. First thing first, let’s talk about the plot. Just like probably Ana Huang’s every book, it was a whole lot of cliché (which I am not complaining about, trust me) however, this book’s cliché was a lot digestible. Scenes were obviously better written and better expressed. Coming to the characters, personally, I think Rhys & Bridget had much more chemistry than Alex & Ava ever did. There was cute and sarcastic banter which only helped in making their chemistry better. That whole hate-to-love trope goes good I guess (I am expecting it does because the next twisted book is filled with it). 

They introduced Christian in this one, which was kind of a surprise to me because I thought he would come straight in book 4 or 3, he was linked to Rhys another thing I did not expect. Talking about surprises, even though the whole plot was well-written but the story was something that was quite expected but the surprise came when I saw who was the real culprit behind the camera & video stuff. I mean, I seriously did not see that coming (especially for the PR). This twisted book was actually kind of nice to read, filled with cute Rhys &surely miss Bridget moments. I will surely miss their banter.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Anime Review: HunterxHunter (HxH) *Contains a bit of Spoilers*

HunterxHunter by Yoshihiro Togashi

Quote: "It was a minor change. Something somewhere shifted. If I had been this way from the beginning, while I am no god, what I could do with this world, No. Perhaps only now can I see it this way." 

Plot: HunterxHunter is about a boy named Gon Freecss who is set out to become a hunter and find his father Ging Freecss, who is a world-renowned Hunter himself. In this journey, Gon makes friends and also goes through life risking missions.   

My Personal Views: OH MY GOD, HunterxHunter is so good. Not going to lie, after I started it, I did not think it was going to be THIS legendary. Though my favorite arcs were Yorknew City and of course, Ant Chimera arc. My least favorite was the Greed Island arc. Let's first talk about why I did not like Greed Island arc. I think it was because it felt like more of a filler to me. I mean, sure, it was interesting to watch Hisoka working with Killua and Gon but Yorknew City and Ant Chimera arcs were much better. Now, talking about the Yorknew City arc, before watching Ant Chimera arc it was my top favorite. I mean, have you seen the Phantom Troupe characters? Each one of them has their own personality and I loved watching them. Kurapika got much more screen time in it so it was pretty good. And that scene where Chrollo waves his hands like he is the conductor of an orchestra, while the whole city burns? Cold, bro. 

However, Ant Chimera became my top favorite arc in the end. When I started watching this particular arc, sure, it was good. The fights were great and even when Gon turned berserk? It was going pretty good. But when I saw how Mereum and Komugi died at last? Bro, that broke my heart into pieces. Togashi has done such a perfect job writing Mereum's character. He made Mereum a legend, to be honest. I think this has happened for the first time in history when a villain died not because of a cold fight with the hero (even though he had a pretty good fight with Netero) but because of love. 

The changes that Mereum developed over time, the way his character was so well-written, and the way the whole of Mereum & Komugi's story was so well-written. God! They became my favorite anime couple for real. When I saw that Mereum had come back after his fight with Netero, I did not like it, to be honest. I thought his comeback would be kind of an insult to Netero's amazing power and I was filled with questions since Netero died who would kill Mereum now? But the way his ending was written, made me take my words back. I think the way he died with Komugi, both of them breathing their last breaths together, was so beautiful!!! Made me cry my eyes out. Also, when Mereum said what he said to Palm, about spending his few moments alive with Komugi. OH. MY. GOD. Was Mereum even a villain???

Coming to the last few episodes of HxH, I always thought whenever Ging and Gon will meet, it is going to be epic but at the back of my mind I thought it will be a, you know, kind of a heartbreaking reunion. But when they actually met?? That was so hilarious! And I totally liked this reunion better than having a heart-to-heart reunion. 

Then, when Killua and Gon parted ways, that kind of made me nostalgic, and also when they showed their whole story. At the end of it, they showed the whole storyline, basically everything that Gon and Killua have gone through. They also included Komugi and Mereum's story, which was so cute! 

When I see or read scenes or animes like this, so deeply well written. The first thought that comes into my find is how can someone come up with something so awesome? How can a human write something so incredible? I am all praises for Togashi's work. One of the best artists of all time.    

Also, I heart HunterxHunter is coming back! Super excited to see that too!

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5