Twisted is a standalone reimagination of Aladdin in the Never After series. In this edition we are introduced to Yasmine & Julian, who together form a plot that will benefit them and their causes.

The beginning started quite slow, in terms of plot and buildup for me and the ending felt a bit rushed and could have been drawn out just a touch longer. However, for the most part, Twisted had a perfect pacing that kept me turning the pages. The spice was a lot lighter through this one and definitely more one sided. While I love Emily and her series, this one fell a little flat for me. Still, I bow to the Queen of reimagination, and look forward to further books that come from the wonderful Emily McIntire

Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

I love a good retelling but this one fell a little flat for me as the main character has some morally irredeemable qualities.

It was also a bit flat as the sex scenes were well written but lacked some chemistry.

However while this one ultimately was not for me, I do think many fans of dark contemporary romance will find this really hits the mark.

I have never read any of Emily McIntire's books and I have had Hooked on my TBR shelves for ever, but I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. So when I got an ARC of Twisted, I figured now was a good time as any to start. I am so glad I did! This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down. I flew through it in 3 days-it's been a really long time since I have done that! I can't stop thinking about the story and the characters! I know this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, there's a lot of triggers and cringe worthy things, but I ate it up! I was all in! Julian is such a bad person- truly a villain -he's killed people just to further his career and he was even going to marry then kill Yasmin (the main MC) so he could stay in control of her dad's company when they both died- like what??! Why am I okay with this? Oh, because he's hot and he had a bad childhood and it's not really his fault he's like this and he changed his mind about killing her because he loves her and now he will unalive anyone who wants to hurt her. And that doesn't sound any better! Lol. But that's how into the book I was.

My favorite movie growing up with Aladdin so reading Twisted was right up my alley. I loved Julian and Yasmin's chemistry and the love they had for each other. It really was everything I could want from this book.

I think this might be my favorite of this series. Twisted is NOT a retelling. It is a fractured fairy tale based on stories that we love. I really liked the threads of a story we all know well. I loved the conflict and the longing between Julian and Yamin. Both of their personal struggles and growth through the story paired with the slow burn of their romance is just so satisfying. I am super excited to see if there is more in this series.

Personally, I would recommend for fans of Katee Robert, for fans of dark villiany romances and for readers who love to hate their heroes.

Yasmin and Julian is the enemies to lovers that all fans of that trope will love. It has all of the elements of the best dark romances, the tension that some thrillers have, and the spice that all fans of Emily McIntire have come to love.

**thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the E-Arc

Holy Brat. ❤️ Julian is probably my favorite hero of Emily’s fairytale reimagining but make no mistake he’s an aphla-asshole. God I wanted to rip his hair out for a good part of the beginning of the book. Yasmin probably isn’t my favorite heroine in the series I kept wanting her to stand up for herself to anyone but Julian just once. That being said I love her loyalty to Julian.
Yasmin is dealing with the looming death of her father from terminal cancer. He desperately wants her to marry before he dies but he wants her to marry one the suitors that he approves of. Yasmin only wants her childhood lover.
Julian spent his whole adult building and climbing the ladder at Sultons. His anger over being left out of the will is murderous, and will stop at nothing to regain control over his company including stealing the hand of his mentors daughter.
I really love this book. I love this series I do wish the couple started being together a little sooner it was a little slow in the beginning and felt a little repetitive but I still loved it.

I was to preface this by saying I love Emily McIntire and I will continue to eat up this series.

This Aladdin-esque fractured tale features a host of popular romance tropes such as: marriage of convenience/forced marriage; enemies to lovers, age gap and "touch her and you'll die".

In my personal opinion, this book does not burn slowly at all. Since the book was in dual POV, the reader could see the inner monologue of both characters wants and desires extremely early on, which was rather disappointing considering the book is being marketed as a slow burn enemies to lovers. I would have LOVED to see more of the enemy buildup at the beginning.

I think using the cheating trope as a classifier makes more sense than love triangle to me. I was really not a fan of how she straight up abandoned her childhood love for someone she apparently "hates" after minimal interaction with Julian.

I felt as though in her other works (especially with Scarred) the main "bad guy" was ACTUALLY a villain who wanted to do villainous things. Julian was so gungho about getting the lamp and Sultans but then switches up randomly when he hops into bed with her? It read as very superficial. I would have loved to see him struggle with wanting riches vs love more.

As for their love itself, the pacing was off to me and once the "enemies" portion was done it felt very rushed and insta lovey; they didn't share many conversations but now they're suddenly in love?

Speaking of, the men he murdered for her were murdered in such a cartoonish way it was hard to take it seriously.

That being said, as per usual, the writing style was perfection, it was the pacing I had major issues with. I also really liked her relationship with Riya. I also found the relationship with Julian and his mom very interesting and I am glad he got closure with that storyline.

Another issue, without going into much detail, the twist at the end seemed unnecessary and used as a convenient way to write off a character.

I really think one had great potential, if the plot focused more on Julian's struggle for money and power vs his confusing feelongs, the search for the lamp and the Jeanine plotline I think it would have been much more interesting.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and NetGalley for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review ❤️

Oh. My. God. Just when I think I can’t possibly be more obsessed with a MMC than I am with James Barrie and Tristan Faasa…in walks JULIAN FARACI!!!! He’s the epitome of a broken man, parading around like the most confident guy in the world, when deep down he believes himself to be no one’s first choice. He concocts a brilliant plan to marry his boss’s daughter, so that when his boss dies, he can kill her & inherit the company. But his plan goes awfully awry when he falls in love with his wife. And let me tell you, NOBODY better be
1. talking about HIS WIFE,
2. disrespecting HIS WIFE, or
3. touching HIS WIFE, because he. will. m*rder. And it’s of the *Dexter* variety, so buckle up.

This is a sloooooow burn, with high tension & a ton of angst. The hatred between Yasmin & Julian is strong, and there were moments of doubt for me, thinking, how is Emily making these two fall in love?! She does it in spectacular fashion, trust. But for most of the story, they literally despise each other & for me, that’s the perfect enemies to lovers.

Every little [Aladdin] detail in this book is so perfect, I can’t even. I want to mention all of them & none of them because I don’t want to ruin them for anyone. They’re just so much fun. If you’ve read & enjoyed any of the previous Never After books, you’ll love this one. If not, they’re all standalones, & you should 110% pick this one up.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

She's his diamond in the rough. He's her worst nightmare. Yasmin Karam, daughter to one of the richest men in the world, has never known strife. So, when her beloved father falls ill, she's determined to make his final days his happiest. His last wish? To see her married to a man of his choosing. Except Yasmin's heart already belongs to someone else. A servant. A street rat. A man her father would never consider worthy. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Yasmin strikes a desperate deal with her father's right-hand man, Julian, not realizing he has his own twisted agenda.

Julian Faraci has one goal: become the most powerful man in the world. He's built a future from broken bones and faded bruises, never caring who he hurt along the way. But when his mentor falls ill, he finds himself on the verge of losing everything, and he'll stop at nothing to inherit what is rightfully his. Even if it means forcing a woman he can't stand into marriage.

Yasmin is a brat who speaks out of turn, and he's the villain of her story. But he decides she'll be his—no matter what it takes to convince her.

Overall this was a fun ride. It's the most recent book in Ms. McIntire's fractured fairy tale reimagining series focusing on Aladdin. I was eager to get into this book after having just finished Scarred. I like what the author did with the well known characters and there was a lot of great tongue in cheek references from the well known film. There are some dark themes and some potential triggers, but overall a well thought out story and some great spice!

This was the spin on Aladdin I didn't know I needed. This book has several of my favorite tropes. Enemies to lovers...check. Forced marriage...check. Age gap...check. I love how the author included some of the original details from the Aladdin we know and love and placed them in this steamy read with a morally grey male main character. I loved getting to know Julian and his back story. His story is heartbreaking and it makes you feel for him. A surprising character I loved was the snake. It was an unexpected piece to the story that just works. This is another beautiful and spicy read from Emily McIntire. I can't wait to see what story Emily twists next!

Oh. My. God.
Will Emily McIntire ever fail to KNOCK me out of my CHAIR? I hope she never does.
After her twist on Peter Pan, The Lion King and The Wizard of Oz, she is SERVING us with her twist on Aladdin: Twisted! (see what i did there?)

I’ve always had such a pleasure reading the Arranged Marriage and Forced Proximity tropes, but i’ve never read a book with an age-gap between the two love interests (i’ll have another serving, please🙃). We also love a morally grey (more like BLACK black) love interest😇

Honestly, this one is definitely my favorite of this series so far, and i’m so excited for the other ones set to come!

Live, Laugh, Love Emily McIntire🤍💎

I’m gonna be honest, the beginning of the book made me a little nervous and I thought I was gonna hate this but wow was I so wrong.
Forced/arranged marriage is one of my all time favourite tropes and Emily outdid herself with this book!
I am honestly speechless this was outstanding!!
The characters, suspense, character growth and romance was everything I wanted and more.
Please check trigger warnings before reading some scenes are quite graphic and may not be for everyone!
Also, thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Emily absolutely killed it again! Twisted is the next book in the Never After series and by far it my absolutely favorite. This book had all the yummy tropes I eat up:
Forced marriage ✅
Age Gap ✅
Enemies to Lovers ✅
Morally Grey Men ✅
Slow Burn ✅

If you love all these things than I’m begging you to pick up this book! Julian and Yasmin absolutely have my heart and I can’t say enough how much I adore this book.

Literally enjoyed every part of this book from beginning to end. Despite being a retelling with a twist this book has gripped my interest so much. I loved how Yasmin didn't back down from Julian. Their constant bickering is something I enjoyed so much. They're some moments where I had tears like the bond between riya and yasmin.

Julian ?! He is so hot with that arrogance and the face he protects yasmin *swoon* My heart hurts for baby julian and what he went through his childhood because of his mother.

I needed more of JulianYasmin and I hope we get some novel on all the couples at one point.

This one is spicy AF. Not sure about library purchase, but this is definitely a book for me to purchase for my personal library if you know what I mean

“Are you mine?” *screams internally*

This book, y’all… so good! This one ties with my current favorite in the series. I’m not even a huge Aladdin fan, so I went in with no serious expectations. It has all the good stuff: age gap, enemies to lovers, “touch her and you die”, fake engagement/marriage, hidden treasure and it’s spicy. I can’t even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this story, if you haven’t read this series DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and start. If you have, what are you waiting for?? Go read this one.

I have read all of Emily McIntire's Never After Series. I have loved all three of those books. I was so excited to get this one and dive in.

I didn't think this one was done as well as the other three before. There were a lot of phrases that the author used repetitively throughout the book and once I noticed them it was very annoying. I didn't feel like the description of Julian was done as well as say, James or Tristan in her other books. I wasn't attached to either of the main characters.

I did enjoy the book as I was reading it but I didn't love it. Emily McIntire is an amazing author and I will definitely continue reading her works but I think she struck out with this one.

Love love loves this dark retelling of a classic story !!! From this first chapter you are 100% hooked on seeing how far this dark romance will go!!! And the answer is, ALL THE WAY! Can’t wait to read more from Emily McIntire, she never fails to get the readers excited!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Emily McIntire, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4⭐️
🌶🌶.5

I have been counting down the days for this release, so when I got approved for an ARC I literally screamed. I have loved every book in the Never After series so far (with Scarred being my absolute favorite because no man does it like Tristan Faasa) and Emily McIntire just has a knack for creating morally grey characters that draw me in from the first page. Twisted was no exception! Although the beginning was a bit slower than I was used to, I appreciate the change up from some of her other stories. In fact, I feel like (compared to the other stories) this book was ALMOST a slow-burn, because Julian and Yasmin really didn’t actually come together until around the 60-70% mark. However, the build up and the tension between the characters was unmatched. At first, Yasmin really got on my nerves, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like her as a character. Yet, as the chapters went on and we got to five more into her mind/emotions, I appreciated her for who she was, and also for who she was allowed to become when she was with Julian. Julian may be taking my second favorite Emily McIntire man place (sorry not sorry, no one will ever tip Tristan Faasa🙈), because that man is straight 🔥🔥🔥. His emotions, his passion, his crimes, his possessiveness, his GROWTH, literally everything about him made me fall more and more for him. The final showdown was absolutely top tier. Emily McIntire could write fractured fairytales for the rest of her life and I would eat them up like crack. SO SO GOOD.