The Neurospicy After Dark Archive

• MC Club
• Trapped Together
• Forced Proximity
• Protective Alpha Hero Type
• Touch Her and Die
• Morally Gray Characters
• Trauma Healing Vibe
• High Stakes & Survival
• Action & Suspense

• Childhood abuse and trauma
• PTSD
• Panic attacks
• Kidnapping
• Burial alive / confined spaces
• Violence
• Murder
• Organized crime
• Graphic injuries
• Torture references
• Emotional abuse
• Strong language
• Open-door sexual content

Lazar “Keys” Alexeev thought his undercover mission was over, but one stubborn return trip changes everything when he meets Lyric Johansen. Lyric is a quiet woman with gentrle nature that immediately captures Keys attention despite her being unlike anyone he has every met or imagined himself falling for.

A brutal attack leaves the pair buried alive together and survival becomes their only focus. In the darkness together, an impulsive desperate kiss changes everything for them. As they fight their way back to freedom, Keys realizes there is no force on earth powerful enough to keep him away from the woman who somehow found her way beneath every wall he’d ever built.

Christine Feehan has built the Torpedo Ink series around deeply damaged people learning to trust, heal, and love despite unimaginable trauma, and Twisted Road continues that tradition beautifully.

I can’t say I was shocked that the storyline didn’t waste any time whatsoever in throwing the reader directly into danger. The buried-alive sequence chilled me to the bone and created an immediate suspense while simultaneously laying a foundation for the forecasted romance. I appreciate that Feehan doesn’t rely on constant misunderstandings but lets shared survival i.e. trauma bonding become the catalyst for the relationship central to the plot.

I really liked Lyric Johansen. She is probably one of my favorite characters from recent Christine Feehan novels. Let me tell you, I have been reading Chrisine Feehan novels since the beginning.

Lyric is introverted, socially anxious, uncomfortable with eye contact and often she exhibited overwhelm when forced into large social situations with constant stimulation. I liked the fact that despite these characteristics she was not portrayed as weak or lacking.

I would say that instead she was portrayed as a quiet resilient woman and that throughout the novel this was her greatest strength. She was able to repeatedly step into frightening situations despite living with anxiety simply due to this resilience. It made her character feel much more relatable to me and authentically human.

I would say that Keys is everything that readers have come to expect from a Torpedo Ink hero. He is dangerous, protective, violent when necessary and completely confused the moment Lyric enters his life.

Unlike a lot of possessive MC heroes, I would say that Keys spends a lot of the novel question why he feels so intensely connected to Lyric especially when she is so far outside his comfort zone. I enjoyed reading as he slowly realized that being vulnerable, letting someone isn’t a weakness and that he can have that for himself.

I felt that this relationship worked exceptionally well for me. They balanced each other, had amazing intimacy and great chemistry. The trauma bonding via being buried alive together established a trust immediately between the two that can only be achieved through this shared event. The physical connection and chemistry never overshadowed the connection and the development of the relationship which is key for me when reading a novel like this.

As I always come to expect from Christine Feehan, the writing is immersive and cinematic. She excels at creating tension while allowing readers inside the emotional struggles of both protagonists. Her descriptions remain vivid without becoming overly flowery, and as a longtime Torpedo Ink reader I appreciate how seamlessly familiar characters remain woven throughout the story.

The pacing balances action, suspense, romance, and quieter emotional moments remarkably well. Every action sequence pushes both the external danger and the emotional high stakes forward.

• Some internal monologues become repetitive, particularly regarding Keys questioning his feelings.

• Readers unfamiliar with Torpedo Ink may occasionally feel like they’re missing background information about secondary characters.

• Some action scenes move quickly enough that I occasionally wished they had lingered just a bit longer before transitioning back into romance.

Although each Torpedo Ink novel follows a different couple, this series is heavily interconnected. New readers can certainly enjoy Twisted Road, but longtime fans will appreciate many of the recurring relationships and character growth even more.

This is also a considerably darker romance than the bright cover colors might initially suggest. Childhood trauma, violence, organized crime, and psychological healing remain central themes throughout the series.         

Lyric was the standout character for me due to her neurodivergent characteristics and perspective.

Her discomfort with prolonged eye contact, tendency toward sensory and social overwhelm, and preference for quieter interactions may resonate with many neurodivergent readers. What I appreciated most is that these traits are never portrayed as flaws to be “fixed.” Instead, Keys accepts Lyric exactly as she is, learning how she communicates and recognizing that her quieter demeanor doesn’t diminish her strength. It was saddening to read about her being rejected by her family but also extremely common with many neurodivergent people later in life due to differences and inability to accept them.

The broader theme of finding people who accept your authentic self rather than expecting you to mask hit home. Much like many neurodivergent individuals, several Torpedo Ink members carry deep emotional scars and struggle with believing they’re “too broken” to deserve love. Watching these characters slowly build trust and create a family where they can exist without pretending felt incredibly rewarding. It was inspiring as well because neurodivergent readers need to be reminded that they can find that it is possible.

That message i.e. that healing doesn’t require becoming someone else, only finding people who love the real you is one of the novel’s strongest emotional takeaway.

Twisted Road delivers exactly what readers have come to expect from Christine Feehan: dangerous bikers, explosive action, emotionally scarred characters, found family, and an intensely protective romance wrapped inside a suspense-filled story.

While not my favorite Torpedo Ink installment overall, it is certainly one of the stronger recent entries thanks to Lyric’s wonderfully written character and the believable emotional progression between her and Keys.

If you love:

• Motorcycle club romance
• Protective alpha heroes
• Found family
• Romantic suspense
• High-stakes survival
• Trauma healing
• Emotionally driven romance

…then Twisted Road deserves a spot on your TBR.

Thank you to Christine Feehan and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Twisted Game (Torpedo Ink #10). I am leaving this review voluntarily and received no incentive or compensation to do so. Receiving an ARC did not influence my opinions either. As always, every thought, emotional breakdown, happy sigh, and rating expressed here is entirely my own.