Twisted lies is the fourth and final book in the author’s Twisted series Ana Huang. The series consists of four books, each about a specific character from a group of four girls: Ava, Bridget, Jules and Stella. Twisted Lies follows the romance between sweet influencer Stella Alonso and morally gray billionaire Christian Harper. What begins as a mutually beneficial fake dating arrangement turns into a custody romance when Stella’s former stalker returns and forces her to move in with Christian. While the novel delivers the steamy, highly dramatic romance As readers expect, a closer look through an intersectional feminist lens reveals troubling patterns around power, agency, consent, and how romance often obscures deeply patriarchal dynamics.
Stella Alonso and the perfect daughter syndrome
Stella’s character embodies the conflict between personal ambition and family duty. Stella is described as very ambitious about her career; She is an influencer, blogger and also works full-time for a fashion magazine in DC. She is very sweet, like a gentle ray of sunshine. Although she is an influencer, her life does not consist of being in front of the camera all the time. Stella’s family is mixed race and does not support her creative dreams.
Source: Ana Huang
To them, Stella is a disappointment because she wasn’t the “perfect” daughter they expected – “An.” Alonso should be perfect’. This mantra carries the weight of immigrant and minority aspirations, where “perfection” means following the strict, prestigious path their parents set out. Stella’s decision to become a fashion influencer and blogger is viewed as a public, unstable and disreputable venture.
This lack of support from her parents and her job at the fashion magazine with a toxic boss set the stage for her fear and anxiety Impostor syndrome not as a personal failure, but as internalized consequences of disregarding intersecting expectations of their race, class, and gender. The line “An Alonso did not suffer from anxiety and did not spend her nights worrying about everything that might go wrong the next day” reflects the consequences of the societal pressures she faced. Many young women, especially in Asian families, will understand this pressure to choose a “safe” career over their passions, to live up to family and societal expectations, and to have their own voice in the room.
Many young women, especially in Asian families, will understand this pressure to choose a “safe” career over their passions, to live up to family and societal expectations, and to have their own voice in the room.
This internalized pressure also shapes their view of relationships. She continually points out that Christian is the perfect son-in-law, saying, “My parents would probably love Christian.” On paper, he was as perfect as they came. Rich. Handsome. Well educated,’. These phrases reflect a societal reality in which a potential partner’s status, wealth, and background often take precedence over compatibility or mutual respect, reducing a relationship to a transaction befitting family honor.
Christian Harper: the billionaire landlord and protector
Christian is the billionaire CEO of Harper Security, he’s a cybersecurity expert and also happens to be Stella’s landlord, which we get a glimpse of Twisted hate where Jules and Stella move into his fancy apartment building for a fraction of the usual rent so Jules and Stella can afford it. This creates a fundamental power imbalance before their romance even begins.
Source: FII
Christian was portrayed as the complete opposite of Stella’s personality, which is very common in romance novels. He is cold, hard and morally ambiguous. Stella and Christian begin fake dating as Stella hopes that posting about a mysterious boyfriend could boost her stagnant Instagram growth and help her land a luxury brand deal. In the meantime, Christian could use a date for all the events he attends so people stop trying to screw him over or get together with him.
The relationship is based on a foundation where he holds all the cards – financial, physical and informational.
Here, the book briefly addresses the exploitative nature of influencer work, where Stella’s livelihood depends on algorithmic attention, desirability, and curated intimacy, while Christian remains unaffected, both professionally and financially, as he is the billionaire landlord. The relationship is based on a foundation where he holds all the cards – financial, physical and informational.
The double standard of “protective” stalking
The question of agency is at the heart of the book’s most problematic element; The story presents two Stalkers: the obvious villain from Stella’s past who starts harassing her again, and Christian himself who did it observe her life without her knowledge long before her fake dating arrangement. The book presents a double standard by rightly portraying the “evil” stalker as a threat, but Christian’s actions, including his stalking, his “rescue” using Harper Security’s high-tech resources such as surveillance, breaking into Stella’s apartment to “check” if there are hidden cameras, and justifying himself by saying “privacy doesn’t exist when it comes to security” are reframed as the ultimate actions of a protective, obsessive lover.
His class and power gloss over the injury. In reality, such behavior is frightening and abusive and teaches readers to confuse control with caring. For women, this blurred line between romance and surveillance isn’t just a phrase, it normalizes a deeply troubling pattern in which a man’s obsession is excused when he’s powerful and wealthy and portrayed as caring.
The burden of forgiveness
When Stella discovers the extent of his deception and surveillance, she feels deeply betrayed. But she follows the typical romantic style and forgives him after an intense period of his “submissiveness”. This story conveys the message that violations of trust, autonomy, and consent can be forgiven through a dramatic display of regret on the part of the powerful man, who then shifts the burden of the emotional labor of forgiveness onto the woman. This romance therefore excuses problematic behavior as long as the man is sufficiently committed afterwards.
Source: Goodreads
While Twisted Lies succeeds as an intense fantasy book with passionate love scenes, the underlying messages about power and agency are contradictory. Stella’s struggle with gender and cultural expectations creates an understandable struggle, but the story leads her to a romantic relationship that lands her a partner who dominates her through constant surveillance. A truly powerful romance would allow the heroine to consistently maintain her voice and boundaries, with a partner who respects her from the start as an equal, rather than a subject to be watched, managed, and ultimately won over.
Gunn Bhargava (she/her) studies political science at Delhi University and is a feminist author specializing in gender, power and human rights. Her work explores feminist media, pop culture and political analysis, drawing on her experiences with platforms such as Feminism in India, Writing Women and The Women Story. She wants to contribute to transnational feminist conversations through progressive journalism.
