Twisted Hate

Josh Chen is one of the protagonists of Twisted Hate. He’s described as tall and muscular with dark hair, high cheekbones, and a dimple in his left cheek. Though Jules claims to hate him, due to his vanity, she acknowledges his good looks. Josh is a third-year resident specializing in emergency medicine, but also a “notorious adrenaline junkie” (35). He used to seek hookups as a form of Adrenaline Providing Distraction, but has since lost interest. His upcoming trip to New Zealand and the chaos of the ER room prove more effective distractions.

Josh is traumatized by his father Michael’s and ex-best-friend Alex’s betrayals, as Michael attempted to kill Josh’s sister, Ava, twice, and Alex’s seven-year friendship with Josh was built on lies; now, Alex is romantically involved with Ava. Josh’s unresolved anger and hurt plague him, making him distrustful of people—especially prospective partners.

Josh’s arc comprises letting go of failed relationships and accepting healthier ones. He finds Freedom in Closure through his hate-to-love relationship with Jules, as he reflects and apologizes for his weaponization of her own trauma. He also gives up on Michael and reconciles with Alex, as the friends are now transparent with each other. Though chasing adrenaline is an inherent part of Josh, he learns to no longer use it as a distraction for his issues.

Max is an antagonist to Jules in particular, as he is her manipulative ex-boyfriend from Ohio who embroiled her in a life of crime. He is released from jail after a robbery gone wrong, which Jules escaped unscathed—and his first act of freedom is to blackmail her with a sex tape. Jules was initially drawn to him as a teenager, “sucked in by his looks, charm, and flashy car” (176). Having been raised by Adeline, who values appearance more than personality, she pursued Max after being kicked out of the house. However, his good looks belie his greed.

Due to his inability to change, Max serves as a foil to Jules. They share a past, but where she finds Freedom in Closure, he fixates on his hatred for her—even going so far as to push her down a flight of stairs when she denies him. By refusing to reflect, he reaches a point of no return and dies unceremoniously.

Adeline Miller is Jules’s mother, a former model who cares more about shopping for beauty products than paying for groceries and bills. She has flawless skin, auburn hair, and a body that’s “the envy of every woman in town” (258). As Jules grows, Adeline envies her beauty, “treating [Jules] like [she] was her competition” instead of her daughter (288). Adeline instills Beauty as a Measure of Value in Jules, and as a result, Jules both prizes and resents her own beauty. She grows up believing love is conditional and that she is unwanted, undeserving of true love. As per her arc, she must free herself of Adeline’s influence in order to find happiness. Adeline’s husband, Alastair Miller, is the wealthiest man in Whittlesburg, Ohio, and became Jules’s stepfather after marriage. Though he provides the mother and daughter with financial stability, he is a predator who targets teenage Jules. However, Jules is the one punished for his transgression, as Adeline kicks her out for “seducing” her husband. Alastair eventually dies in a house fire, coincidentally after getting caught having sex with a 16-year-old girl. His sexualization of young girls only exacerbates Jules’s misconceptions about beauty and value.

Michael Chen is Josh and Ava’s father. In Twisted Love, Ava is revealed to be unrelated to Michael. Unable to forgive his ex-wife’s infidelity, he makes two attempts on Ava’s life that land him in jail. In Twisted Hate, he’s been in jail for two years and sends Josh weekly letters; Josh hides these letters in a drawer. Michael’s betrayal is largely to blame for Josh’s hesitation to form long-term relationships. Josh feels guilty for keeping Michael’s letters after all he’s done to Ava and their deceased mother, yet yearns for the father-son relationship they used to have. He eventually finds Freedom in Closure by reading Michael’s letters and visiting him in jail. This visit proves disappointing, because “the person Michael Chen had become wasn’t someone [Josh] wanted to call [his] father” (344)—but now he can heal and pursue healthy relationships with Jules and Alex.

Jules’s three friends are the female protagonists of the other three Twisted novels. Ava Chen is Josh’s sister, who is described as too trusting, a flaw explored through her relationship with Alex in Twisted Love, as well as her friendship with Jules. Josh wishes to “protect her, especially after [their] mom died and [their] father turned out to be a fucking psycho” (13), which is why he dislikes Jules’s recklessness. Years ago, he tried to convince Ava to end her friendship with Jules for this reason; however, Ava stood up for Jules. As Josh’s sister and Alex’s partner, Ava strengthens Josh’s relationships with both Jules and Alex.

Bridget von Ascheberg is the recently coronated Queen of Eldorra, a small European kingdom. Bridget was a princess when she met Jules, Ava, and Stella at Thayer University. At the end of Twisted Love, her older brother abdicated, leaving her first in line for the throne. In Twisted Games, she fell in love with her former bodyguard, Rhys Larsen, and was coronated when her grandfather, King Edvard, stepped down due to health issues. Bridget’s high-profile life is broadcast across social media and inadvertently allows Jules’s ex-boyfriend to find her. Her wedding also pushes Jules and Josh to realize their true feelings for each other.

Stella Alonso is Jules’s roommate, an observant fashion blogger and influencer. She makes subtle appearances throughout the novel, and though Jules declares her the “most unflappable of all [her] friends” (49), she becomes more stressed, hinting at hidden struggles. Her unusual behavior and Christian Harper’s introduction set up their love story in the fourth and final novel of the Twisted series, Twisted Lies.