If two twisted hearts were ever meant to be together, it would be Jules Ambrose and Josh Chen. For the third installment of the Twisted Series, Ana Huang gave us Twisted Hate. A story of two intelligent, successful and loving people (just not with each other).
But as Ana writes, the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. The line between love and hate is wafer thin, but with added sexual tension and forced proximity, the line seems to blur altogether.
Twisted Hate
Our main male protagonist, Josh Chen, reveals a dominant side we weren’t privy to in the previous books – especially in the bedroom. I mean who wouldn’t want their bad attitude f*cked right out of them? Jules reluctantly loves it (who am I kidding? So do I). After refusing to let her *finish* unless she begs, Jules tells him to go to hell before Josh replies: “You’re my personal hell, Red and God help me, I don’t want to f*cking leave.” The chemistry – undeniable. The sex scenes – *Chef’s kiss*. Ana Huang, we all bow down to you, you absolute Queen of romance writing.
But if you have a once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand booked, you wouldn’t rearrange it to support the girl you hate in Ohio would you? Surely not for someone who literally makes you see red? Oh the line was there, but Josh Chen jumped right over it when he postponed his vacation to comfort Jules at her mum’s funeral. With their relationship evolving into something more real, what could go wrong?
Without giving away too many spoilers, we know that there is a turning point which leads to the inevitable betrayal on Jules’ part. Given Josh’s recent history (a deceitful best friend and murderous father – yes you read that right), it’s understandable why he lacked the ability to immediately forgive Jules. However, as with the other Twisted novels, Josh pushes her boundaries to the brink of almost no return.
Of course, Huang brings the story around and our main male protagonist has a revelation. He’s completely in love with our fave girl Jules. The reunion is inevitable and yet I lapped the pages up like I’d never read a romance novel before.
New Zealand
Josh eventually takes his trip to New Zealand, this time, he takes our girl with him for a week of adrenaline fuelled activities. Based on the multiple places and activities mentioned, I’ve created a one week itinerary for New Zealand’s South Island.
And… Wow. This was hard work because honestly, a week is a really short amount of time. You would only have time for the South Island. You’d be based in Queenstown for the duration, no traveling around. Aside from that, there’s a lot packed in.
As Doctor Josh Chen has limited vacation days, it totally makes sense to jam pack in as many adventures as possible into the one week. So here it is… if you don’t have a Doctor Chen to share your adrenaline fuelled days (and your hate-sex nights), then go it alone. Meet another traveler or Kiwi to absolutely dominate your vacation.
Day One: Arrive in Queenstown, New Zealand
Fly into the South Island of New Zealand and get acquainted with your hotel. For those with a bad attitude and who have brought their Doctor Chen equivalent, now might be the time to get your attitude back on track. Break in the bed / break the bed. Go wild.
Day Two: Skydiving – Twisted Hate Inspired
We’re going hard on the first day (pun intended). As recommended by the company, if you want to skydive, it’s best to book it for the first day. Weather conditions can affect whether you can go that day, so it’s worth booking in first to make sure there’s time to rebook if it gets canceled. Being strapped to a complete stranger as they literally push you out of a plane and trusting they’ll pull the parachute out? Not exactly the romance I’m looking for but it’ll certainly get the blood pumping.
Day Three: White Water Rafting
Ana Huang wrote that the opposite of love isn’t hate, its indifference. The opposite of skydiving? White water rafting. Tackle the rapids of the Shotover River before heading back to the hotel to tackle the bedroom. Hopefully you’ll be screaming for more reasons than one today.
Day Four: Canyoning
Spend your morning exploring the canyons of Gibbston Valley. You’ll abseil down multiple waterfalls and get soaking wet before heading back to Queenstown where you’ll hopefully get wet again.
Day Five: Milford Sound – Twisted Hate Location
When planning his original trip, Josh mentioned how much he wanted to sail the Milford Sound. Due to the time restraints of this itinerary, the only way to get there (it’s quite difficult to access) is by plane. There are day trips from Queenstown. Once you’ve flown to Milford Sound, the GetYourGuide website says: “You will board the Cruise and travel the length of the Sound to the mouth of the Tasman Sea” Honestly, it’s not even hard to bring out the innuendos. This is an expensive day trip at a whopping $550 (Australian dollars) per person. But looking at the photos, Josh was right to dream about sailing through here.
Day Six: Lord of the Rings Tour plus Ziplining
OK, so the Lord of the Rings location tour doesn’t scream adrenaline junkie, and it certainly doesn’t seem like Jules’ or Josh’s vibe. However… Can you really go to New Zealand without doing something LOTR related? And who knows, bring a couple of costumes and you’ve got yourself a new role play for the bedroom. Lean into it. Ana Huang would LOVE this.
As this is a half day tour, I would head to do zip lining in the evening. The latest time available that I found is 5.30pm. This gives you a good window between the LOTR tour and the zip lining. It’s 3 hours with 6 zip lines to do during this time. You’ll speed up to 70 kph – enough to spike anyone’s adrenaline levels. All whilst enjoying some beautiful views of Lake Wakatipu and distant mountain ranges.
Day Seven: Bungee Jumping – Twisted Hate Ending
Sadly you will be heading home today but not before getting one final adrenaline hit before heading back to reality. As with the end of Jules’ and Josh’s trip (and sadly, the end of book 3) they tandem bungee jumped from Kawarau Bridge – 43m above the Kawarau river.
Hold on to your partner tight, as Josh put it: “I missed this. The adrenaline. The rush. The feeling of being so alive that the entire world lit up around you. But it wasn’t just the bungee jump. It was the fact that I was experiencing it with Jules. No one and nothing could make me feel as alive as she did.”
They go on to do an upside down kiss as their bungee recoils. How they didn’t break their teeth I have no idea? But it’s not just fiction, it’s romantic fiction. Anything is possible and oh my god did I almost swoon when I read this scene.
So find the biggest pain in your ass, give them a nickname they hate, fall in love, book your trip to New Zealand and break your teeth kissing them on the Kawarau Bridge Bungee Jump. It will be 100% worth it.
If you don’t believe in love… maybe read anything written by Ana Huang.
The spreadsheet, although probably a little unnecessary as there isn’t much traveling around, is here: Twisted Hate – New Zealand
Want longer in New Zealand? Check out the two week itinerary for New Zealand’s North Island.
For more Book Inspired itineraries – click here.