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⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 4/5
Josh Chen can charm literally anyone.
Except Jules Ambrose, who has apparently hated him since the day they met.
Twisted Hate by Ana Huang takes that setup and does exactly what you think it's going to do with it, and somehow it still works.
This is book three in the Twisted series, an enemies-with-benefits romance that turns into something a lot messier and a lot more emotional than either of them planned.
Listen to it if you like banter that's really just foreplay with extra steps.
Skip it if enemies-to-lovers tropes feel played out to you at this point.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Twisted Hate |
| Author | Ana Huang |
| Narrator(s) (audiobook) | Aiden Snow, Cindy Kay |
| Series | Twisted, Book 3 (works as a standalone) |
| Genre | Contemporary Romance |
| Subgenre | Enemies to lovers, enemies with benefits, forced proximity |
| Audiobook length | 15 hours (Unabridged) |
| First published | January 27, 2022 |
| Publisher | Tantor Audio |
Josh Chen is gorgeous, cocky, and on his way to becoming a doctor.
He's never met a woman he couldn't win over.
Then there's Jules Ambrose. A thorn in his side since the day they met, and somehow also the person he can't stop thinking about.
One night, their animosity finally boils over. Josh's solution is very Josh: an enemies-with-benefits arrangement, strictly no strings, no jealousy, and absolutely no falling in love.
Jules is focused on passing the bar exam and has zero interest in complicating her life with a guy who annoys her on principle.
Of course, those rules don't survive for very long once actual feelings get involved. That's where the fun starts.
There's more going on under the surface for both of them than the arrangement lets on, and that's where the story gets its real weight.
Josh's whole thing is charm, and the fun of his character is watching that charm completely fail to work on the one person he actually wants it to work on.
Jules doesn't fall for the golden-boy act, and honestly, that's exactly why he can't stop circling back to her.
Their dynamic runs on banter first. Sharp, quick, a little mean in that specific way where you can tell neither of them fully means it.
What I liked is that Jules isn't written as someone who just needs the right guy to soften her up. She's got her own goals, her own baggage, and her own reasons for keeping people at arm's length that have nothing to do with Josh.
Their "no feelings" rule falling apart in slow motion is honestly more satisfying than if they'd just gotten together right away. You watch both of them lose the argument with themselves in real time.
Compared to a lot of enemies-to-lovers setups, this one leans harder into the emotional backstory once you get past the initial banter and heat. Both Josh and Jules are carrying more than they let on early in the book, and that gives the second half more depth than the opening chapters suggest.
The forced-proximity angle through their friend group also keeps things grounded. This isn't two strangers thrown together, it's two people who already have history and shared people in their lives, which raises the stakes on both sides.
Honest criticism: the "enemies" part leans more into bickering-with-tension than genuine dislike pretty early on, so if you want a slow build from real animosity to attraction, the shift happens faster than the setup implies.
Twisted Hate is narrated by Aiden Snow and Cindy Kay, continuing the same duet-style narration from earlier books in the series.
Having both voices makes the constant back-and-forth banter land the way it's supposed to. A lot of this book is dialogue-heavy, and hearing Josh and Jules go at each other in real voices instead of reading it on the page adds a layer the text alone doesn't quite capture.
Snow brings the right amount of cocky ease to Josh without making him grating, and the chemistry between the two narrators carries the tension in scenes where the two characters are needling each other.
At 15 hours, it's on the longer side. The dialogue-heavy pacing helps the runtime feel easier to get through.
Good fit if you want fast, sharp banter over slow-burn tension.
Good fit if you like enemies-to-lovers with real emotional stakes underneath the bickering.
Good fit if dual narration with strong chemistry between the voices is something you enjoy.
Not the best fit if you want the "enemies" part to feel more hostile for longer.
Not the best fit if 15 hours feels like a big commitment for a contemporary romance.
Twisted Hate by Ana Huang, Book 3 in the Twisted series, may be available to borrow free on Libby with a public library card, depending on your library's collection. Alternatively, the Start Free Trial Now button on this page can help you get started — check the trial page for current terms and what's included.
Twisted Hate is the version of enemies-to-lovers that leans on banter more than brooding, and it's a fun shift after a book like Twisted Games.
Josh and Jules aren't perfect characters. They're both a little messy in ways that feel real, which is probably why their arc works as well as it does.
It's not flawless. The transition from actual dislike to obvious attraction moves fast. But once it gets going, it's hard not to get pulled along with it.
Want to give it a try? New members can listen through a 30-day audiobook free trial, which makes Twisted Hate an easy one to try if the Josh-and-Jules dynamic has you curious.
