55 pages • 1 hour read
Ana HuangTwisted Lies (Twisted, #4)
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Author Context: Huang Universe
The Huang universe of Ana Huang is made up of discrete but interconnected works, putting them in conversation with other popular author universes such as the Maasverse of Sarah J. Maas. Huang creates connections between both the Twisted series and the following Kings of Sin series. The Kings of Sin series, much like the Twisted series, follows the interconnected love stories of four billionaire business owners: Dante Russo, Kai Young, Dominic Davenport, and Xavier Castillo.
These men all happen to be members of the exclusive Valhalla Club mentioned in Twisted Lies, which is frequented by Alex Volkov and Christian Harper. At the club, Christian has monthly chess matches with Alex, Kai and Dante do weekly boxing, Dominic and Dante have regular tennis matches, and all come to drink and brood.
Twisted Lies introduces not only the Valhalla Club but also Dante Russo. Dante is Christian’s first client and an old friend. Dante is also the CEO of the Russo Group, “a luxury goods conglomerate that encompasse[s] over three dozen fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands” (16). Stella notes that “Christian [i]s a finely honed assassin’s blade sheathed in velvet; Dante [i]s a hammer burning bright with deadly intent” (222). In contrast, she describes Vivian as “open-faced and friendly, with beautiful dark eyes and a warm smile” with which she doesn’t grace Dante (222). Stella and Christian have dinner with Dante and his fiancée, Vivian, in the novel. It is revealed that they claim to hate one another.
Throughout the Kings of Sin series, more crossover moments occur between the two series. In King of Greed, Dominic and his love interest, Alessandra, encounter Josh and Jules multiple times in Spain. Dominic and Alessandra also both have degrees from Thayer, the same university that Ava, Bridget, Jules, and Stella attended. In King of Sloth, Sloane wears a Stella Alonso brand dress, and the novel also mentions Eldorra’s royal couple (Bridget and Rhys) as well as their daughter, Camilla. Jules is Xavier’s lawyer when he opens his nightclub, and Alex Volkov owns the bank vault where Xavier wants his nightclub to be.
Series Context: Twisted
Twisted Lies is the fourth and final installment in the Twisted series. Each installment follows the love story of one friend in a group of four women: Ava Chen (Twisted Love), Bridget von Ascheberg (Twisted Games), Jules Ambrose (Twisted Hate), and Stella Alonso (Twisted Lies). Though the books can be read as standalone works, Huang recommends reading them all in order, as later installments contain spoilers for previous installments.
When Twisted Lies takes place, all the romances between Stella’s other friends have already taken place. In Twisted Love, Ava Chen falls in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex Volkov. Ava and her brother, Josh Chen, also deal with their abusive father in this installment. Her relationship with Alex culminates in a marriage proposal that occurs the summer before the events in Twisted Lies. Their wedding is to take place in the coming fall—at the end of Twisted Lies. In Twisted Games, Bridget von Ascheberg falls for Rhys Larsen, her personal bodyguard and the best employee of Christian Harper’s security company. Following their fake-dating-turned-real-engagement, Rhys leaves the company to aid Bridget in ruling over the kingdom of Eldorra when she becomes queen.
In Twisted Hate, Jules Ambrose has a hate-to-love journey with Josh Chen. Twisted Hate is most relevant to Twisted Lies, as it is the first time that Stella and Christian become significant characters in the series. Josh and Jules become involved in a dangerous art deal when Josh comes into possession of an ugly but supposedly valuable painting that Jules is blackmailed into stealing from him and handing over to Christian’s business competitors. By the end of Twisted Hate, Christian has anonymously repossessed the painting with the help of his friend, Dante Russo. At the start of Twisted Lies, Jules and Josh have been dating for seven months, and Christian has had the painting back for nearly as long.
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