Ana Huang - One of the Most Exceptional Romance Authors of the 21st Century

Who is Ana Huang?

Ana Huang comes from a Chinese immigrant household, and she discovered her love for writing as a child (6). Growing up, Huang took English as a second language, and it was through her mother's encouragement to deeply immerse herself in the language that she started creating stories (4). Initially, she never thought of pursuing writing as a career but instead she considered it a hobby (4). Now, she is a quickly uprising author. According to her biography,"Ana Huang is a #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance." (1). Ana Huang, like many, started writing her fictional stories on a platform called Wattpad. She has completed a number of books, including 4 series in which some are still in production. Her first publication was in 2013 with the singular novel All I've Ever Wanted (5). Following are the releases of her very successful series: If Love series starting in 2020, Twisted series starting in 2021, Kings of Sin series starting in 2022, and Gods of the Game series starting in 2024. (5). Huang has appeared on many public television shows including Good Morning America, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and The Drew Barrymore Show (1).

"BookTok Sensation, Ana Huang." (6)

King of Envy- Kings of Sin Series

As stated previously, Huang has written many books in her time as an author. Huang's Kings of Sin series follows the seven deadly sins. The fifth book in the series won her an Audie Award. King of Envy (2025) is a romance novel following a forbidden love trope (7). The book holds multiple adult themes and is advertised towards young adults. The book follows a love story between a billionaire CEO named Vuk Markovic and a supermodel named Ayana Kidane (7). Vuk always had a fascination with Ayana, yet she became engaged to his best friend, Jordan Ford. The wedding was a hoax in order to benefit them both (7). "Huang calls King of Envy and its palm-sweating suspense a 'return to form'" (7). While the book has a sexual nature, rather than feeling uncomfortable or passing it along as simply a "guilty pleasure read", many readers, especially women, consider Huang's spicy novels as empowering. Huang emphasizes including diversity in all of her novels. Specifically King of Envy, Vuk is a selectively non-verbal character who uses American Sign Language to communicate and Huang found it important to include that demographic as it is not popularly shown in the writing scene. (8)

    Huang's Accomplishments (1)

US Highlights:

    - Amazon Editors' Best Romance Books of 2023,2024, & 2025

    - Barnes & Noble Best Romances of 2025

    - Audie Award for Best Romance 2026 

    - Holt Medallion Award for Best Extra Spicy/Erotic Romance 2025

Global Highlights

    - Spotify Top 10 Romance Audiobooks of 2024

    - Goodreads choice Award Finalist for Best Romance 2022, 2023, 2024, & 2025

& many more!

Literary Reviews

While there are not many typical "major" literary reviews for Huang just quite yet. Cosmopolitan said "There is a reason romance author Ana Huang has sold more than 8 million books." and that to understand why.. well you just need to read her novels for yourself (2). According to many readers on Goodreads, Huang's readers are calling her book, King of Envy, a slow-burn romance book with yearning, a bit of predictability and corniness, and had dark and eerie vibes (3). There has been mixed reviews for King of Envy specifically. Some are saying it was a phenomenal and scalp-tingling read, while others are disappointed and confused with the second half of the novel (3). 

My Personal Thoughts and Opinions

    From a personal perspective, I have heard so many wonderful things about Huang's work. The only book I have ever purchased of hers was the first book of her Twisted series, Twisted Love. I started reading it and never wound up finishing it because I got lost in other books I had more of an urgency to read. Now, after doing this blog it has made me want to start reading her work again and I have set out plans to buy her Kings of Sin series one by one and start reading them as well as finally finish Twisted Love after years of it sitting on my shelf. While romance films have never been my cup of tea, there is something about romance novels that suck me into the plot. I haven't read anything lately that has not been a dark/horror romance so I am excited to see how I like her work!

If you want to take a deeper dive into Ana Huang yourself, take a look at her page here : Ana Huang

Works Cited

(1)Ana Huang: Home, https://anahuang.com/. Accessed 16 September 2026.

(2)Fuentes, Tamara, and Ana Huang. “Ana Huang's 'The Striker' is The Hottest Sports Story You'll Read All Year.” Cosmopolitan, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/a62610496/ana-huang-the-striker-excerpt-exclusive/. Accessed 25 September 2026.

(3)“King of Envy (Kings of Sin, #5) by Ana Huang.” Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/210825471-king-of-envy. Accessed 25 September 2026.

(4)“Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Author Author, ANA HUANG” Youtube, uploaded by Self Publishing Info with the SPA Girls, 8 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFfWitY5bpU

(5)“Order of Ana Huang Books - OrderOfBooks.com.” Order of Books, https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/ana-huang/. Accessed 16 September 2026.

(6)Schumer, Lizz. “BookTok Sensation Ana Huang on How She Became a Romance Sensation (Exclusive).” People.com, https://people.com/ana-huang-books-twisted-king-of-sloth-8630875. Accessed 16 September 2026.

(7)SuperSummary | Literature Study Guides & Summaries, https://www.supersummary.com/king-of-envy/summary/. Accessed 16 September 2026.

(8)USA TODAY - Breaking News and Latest News Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2025/05/01/ana-huang-king-of-envy-booktok/83353078007/ Accessed 17 September 2026.