*Article may contain spoilers, please read with discretion*
With the fast approach of cold weather, it’s almost time to indulge in one of the most beloved fall activities: reading. Whether it be on a park bench or in the comforts of your own home, settling down with a good book to read is a great way to get yourself into the autumnal spirit. Although there are plenty of authors and books to choose from, it can often be daunting to pick the right one. However, with the latest release of her 13th novel, Ana Huang may be the perfect author to kick off your fall reading.
Huang, most well known for her maturely themed novels and numerous “BookTok” sensations, has recently published her first novel for her new series Gods of the Game, titled The Striker. While it may be tempting to jump right into her latest release and read it as a stand alone, all of Huang’s novels give small callbacks and references to each other, so reading her previous releases may be beneficial for a fuller understanding.
But, for those who neither have the time nor the ability to read the rest of Huang’s catalog, a brief guide to the “Ana Huang-verse” can be found here.
To start, Huang began publishing in 2020 with her If Love series. Following the perspectives of three different couples, the If Love series introduces characters including Farrah Lin, who makes a few appearances during some of Huang’s other novels. While this series does not interconnect with her other novels quite like the rest, starting at the beginning is always a good place to start, and if you’re looking for a new series or author to read, the If Love books may be important to consider.
After the success of the If Love series, Huang released the first book in her Twisted series, Twisted Love. The success of Twisted Love skyrocketed Huang to fame through the TikTok community, “Booktok,” and boosted her levels of readership immensely.
“]Twisted Love introduced the pinnacle characters of Alex Volkov and Ava Chen, who are now considered one of the most beloved couples within Huang’s catalog. With Alex simply starting out as the best friend of Ava’s brother, a recipe for a love story was already in place, and Huang certainly delivers. Within their story, the remaining roster of characters for the Twisted series were unknowingly revealed, with Ava’s friend Bridget Von Aschberg and her bodyguard Rhys Larson being the focal point of the second book, Twisted Games. To some, the book may seem a tad controversial due to the “bodyguard x client” relationship between the two, however Rhys is willing to risk it all for her, even if it means losing both his privacy and his career.
After Bridget and Rhys’s heartwarming love story, Huang teased towards the end of the novel that another friend of Bridget and Ava’s, Jules Ambrose, and Ava’s older brother, Josh Chen for their book, Twisted Hate. Their story contained the references of not only the rest of the cast within the Twisted series, but also included two other characters, one being Farrah Lin. The other, Asher Donovan, is seemingly unimportant in this context, however he proves his own worth within a more recent novel of Huang’s. Jules and Josh have a classic “enemies to lovers” story, testing both the limits of their love and hatred for each other.
To round out the Twisted series, the final couple Huang details includes Jules’s roommate, Stella Alonso, and friend to Alex Volkov, Christian Harper in the book Twisted Lies. Although neither were particularly close during any of the previous books, an unforeseen circumstance causes the two to indulge in a “fake relationship,” that may not be so fake at all. While the tone of their romance may be one of the darker works of Huang’s due to the explicit content, it’s still deeply beloved by her readers, especially due to the small epilogue given for all of her characters in the series towards the end of their novel.
While Twisted contains some of the fan favorite novels, Huang’s third series, Kings of Sin, brings a whole new cast of characters to Huang’s already expansive world, leaving room for more love to go around.
Kings of Sin kicks off with the story of Dante Russo and Vivian Lau detailed in the novel King of Wrath. Dante and Vivian’s relationship was briefly mentioned in Twisted Lies, not much was known about the couple other than that they knew Christian Harper. Their own story has a sense of maturity that mirrors the other books, mainly the fact that the “forced marriage” trope is in full effect. This has earned it a classification in the “dark romance genre,” so reader discretion is advised. However, despite the maturity of their story, Dante and Vivian provide a captivating love story that will certainly pull at the reader’s heart strings.
Within King of Wrath, Huang once again teases the next couple to be featured in their own novel, Kai Young and Isabella Valencia. Both are friends of Dante and Vivian, and are featured as the main characters in the novel King of Pride. While Kai is perceived as the perfect gentleman and suavely nerdy, Isabella is the exact opposite, and therefore his best fit. While the two face their own trials and tribulations throughout the novel, Huang leaves their story in an overall happy place, which can’t be said for the next couple teased towards the end.
King of Greed is Huang’s third installment of the Kings of Sin series, focusing on two characters in a dying marriage. Domenic Davenport and his wife, Alessandra Davenport, are revealed to be in the final stages of their relationship, with Alessandra eventually serving divorce papers to her husband to end it all. While Domenic may not have been the most attentive husband throughout their marriage, he is willing to do anything to get her back and fight to rekindle their marriage. With plenty of groveling and heartfelt confessions, King of Greed provides readers with a level of emotion previously unseen in Huang’s novels, making for an overall captivating story. And in true Ana Huang fashion, the author once again leaves us with morsels of content for the next couple in her series.
For Huang’s fourth novel within the Kings of Sin series, King of Sloth, she introduces the audience to the characters of Sloane Kensington and Xavier Castillo, both of whom being friends with the previously mentioned characters. Sloane has the unfortunate job of being the publicist for her client, Xavier, who she heavily dislikes due to his reckless behavior. However, after a shocking turn of events, Sloane and Xavier must work together to save his reputation and learn along the way that maybe the other isn’t so bad after all. After facing a slew of issues at each other’s sides, Sloane and Xavier create an intense “enemies to lovers” story, leaving the audience wanting more. And luckily for audiences, Huang plans to deliver within her next novel, King of Envy which is anticipated to be released in the spring of 2025.
While audiences wait for King of Envy, they can enjoy Huang’s latest release in the meantime, which was shockingly revealed within King of Sloth. While Sloane may have been the publicist for Xavier, she also serves as the publicist for English soccer star, Asher Donovan. Although given a brief mention in Twisted Hate Donovan serves as a much more prominent character within King of Sloth, with Sloane mentioning happenings in Asher’s career throughout the novel. The small teases at Asher gave audiences a small look at what was to come, and now it’s finally here.
The Striker serves as Huang’s first novel in the Gods of the Game series, which will be an interconnected series of sports romances revolving around the English Premier League (soccer/football league). Asher’s story begins in the height of his transfer from his previous team, where he is forced to bond with the enemy off season. However the enemy isn’t where the love story lies. In fact it’s with his trainer- and the enemy’s sister, Scarlett DuBois. Although having to spend the summer in each other’s presence, a professional boundary line may be crossed between the two, and maybe it’s just what they needed.
With this brief guide of the Ana Huang universe in mind, reading The Striker should be a breeze for anyone interested, however if you’ve been inspired to indulge in Huang’s other works as well, there’s no better time than the fall reading season to pick one up and start reading.