Official Review: Twisted by RA Winter

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 01 Sep 2018, 16:00

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Twisted" by RA Winter.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Werewolves and Vampires at odds in a cursed and dying world form the basis for the plot of RA Winter’s Twisted. In this world, werewolves are mostly males and vampires mostly females. A single witch, Tabitha, holds the key to lifting the curse on the land, but she cannot lift the curse by herself. When a werewolf and vampire appeal to her for help at the same time, Tabitha sees the possible end of the curse. Without warning, she swaps the bodies of the werewolf and vampire and sends them on a quest.

Twisted is definitely not an epic work. At only 72 pages, most readers will likely finish the book in just one or two sittings. Since most novellas leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed, I was pleasantly surprised at how well written this novella is. Often, a novella can feel rushed or superficial, but I finished this one and felt satisfied. Reading and finishing this one was a bit like enjoying a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie for a snack in the afternoon.

As with most novellas, character development in Twisted does not go terribly deep. Winter managed to provide just enough character development to help me feel like I understood the characters well enough to be invested in their plight. Each of the three main characters showed a character arc that included growth and change before the end of the book. These characters may not be incredibly deep, but they did not feel superficial, either. Winter made a good choice in keeping her main cast small so that she could develop them well enough to satisfy her readers in a short format.

I am also quite impressed with Winter’s ability to narrow her focus to the core theme of the novella. Overcoming prejudice by understanding your enemy acts as the primary theme, and she develops it well with her relatively simple plot and few characters. By avoiding unnecessary details and plot twists, Winter opens the space to explore her theme. Even though Winter does not delve deeply into her theme, she covers it sufficiently to give her novella a purpose.

Readers should know that there is a moderate amount of mature language. There are also some discussions of bodily functions and body parts. Toward the end, the author includes a deftly handled sex scene in the book. Using film standards for ratings, I would give this a PG-13 rating. I felt that this book fits right in with the paranormal romance genre. It provides exactly what I would expect in terms of content, especially when compared to other paranormal romance novellas. While it may be somewhat predictable, the high quality of Winter’s writing makes this book stand out from the other novellas in this genre.

Twisted gets a resounding 4 out of 4 stars from me. Winter’s writing is excellent, focused, and very well edited. I highly recommend this novella to mature readers that enjoy paranormal romances. This is an excellent snack-sized novella, which makes it perfect for a quick break or a lunchtime read.

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Twisted
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kemp1kor · Post by **kemp1kor** » 02 Sep 2018, 17:07

I agree with you that I'm generally underwhelmed when it comes to novellas, but this one sounds interesting. Great writing and editing is difficult to find a lot of the time, so I think I'll check this one out. Thanks for the review!

Sakilunamermaid · Post by **Sakilunamermaid** » 02 Sep 2018, 19:01

I typically read novellas to get back into reading after taking breaks. I love a good little paranormal fantasy featuring vampires, werewolves, and witches. Look forward to checking this out and other works by this author.

Kelyn · Post by **Kelyn** » 02 Sep 2018, 22:23

I love paranormal romance and one with vampires, witches and werewolves sounds like its right up my alley! Although I don't read novella's that often, this one sounds like a good read! I'll have to find a copy somewhere. Thanks for the review!!

crediblereading2 · Post by **crediblereading2** » 03 Sep 2018, 15:49

This is really twisted. Who would have known that the werewolf is really a woman and the vampire a man? I am not a fan of vampire books and movies anymore but I am still glad that you enjoyed reading this book. The plot is really interesting. Thank you for a delightful review of this book.

Amy+++ · Post by **Amy+++** » 05 Sep 2018, 08:19

I like how you compared the book to a warm chocolate chip cookie. Just the perfect read to fill in a gap of time during the day. And it sounded delicious. Great review, can't wait to read the book.

Rafaella Michailidou · Post by **Rafaella Michailidou** » 07 Sep 2018, 06:48

This book combines many things I love, fantasy and romance. I can't believe that you can fit a story like that in a novella. I'm intrigued thank you for your review!

topdan30 · Post by **topdan30** » 07 Sep 2018, 09:55

Warewolf and vampire. Thats a lovely review.

Kf7sh · Post by **Kf7sh** » 10 Sep 2018, 11:59

Thank you for the great review of this book. Looks like a good, short read. I will check it out.

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 12 Sep 2018, 20:23

kemp1kor wrote: ↑02 Sep 2018, 17:07 I agree with you that I'm generally underwhelmed when it comes to novellas, but this one sounds interesting. Great writing and editing is difficult to find a lot of the time, so I think I'll check this one out. Thanks for the review!

So many novellas can be so shy on details that it is hard to get into them. I was really surprised when this one captured and held my attention for so long!

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 12 Sep 2018, 20:24

Sakilunamermaid wrote: ↑02 Sep 2018, 19:01 I typically read novellas to get back into reading after taking breaks. I love a good little paranormal fantasy featuring vampires, werewolves, and witches. Look forward to checking this out and other works by this author.

If you like paranormal fantasy, this is a great one to whet your appetite after a break.

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 12 Sep 2018, 20:25

Kelyn wrote: ↑02 Sep 2018, 22:23 I love paranormal romance and one with vampires, witches and werewolves sounds like its right up my alley! Although I don't read novella's that often, this one sounds like a good read! I'll have to find a copy somewhere. Thanks for the review!!

This one was available on Kindle Ultimate. If you enjoy this sort of thing, it was a great, easy read. I hope you enjoy it!

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 12 Sep 2018, 20:26

crediblereading2 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2018, 15:49 This is really twisted. Who would have known that the werewolf is really a woman and the vampire a man? I am not a fan of vampire books and movies anymore but I am still glad that you enjoyed reading this book. The plot is really interesting. Thank you for a delightful review of this book.

As I mentioned in the review, it was pretty predictable in the plot department, but that freed up some of the author’s time and allowed the characters to develop a bit more. It wound up working in the end, I think.

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 12 Sep 2018, 20:27

Amy+++ wrote: ↑05 Sep 2018, 08:19 I like how you compared the book to a warm chocolate chip cookie. Just the perfect read to fill in a gap of time during the day. And it sounded delicious. Great review, can't wait to read the book.

And just like a chocolate chip cookie, it was a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Oulababe · Post by **Oulababe** » 14 Sep 2018, 04:55

I love romance stories with supernatural creatures especially when the characters are well build and explained, and that's exactly how you described this one. I'm definitely interested in reading it.