Netflix buys the rights to adapt a new romantic book series to TV - and it sounds even sexier than Bridgerton

Unlike Bridgerton, however, this series will be dark as well as sexy and romantic. The book at the centre of the adaptation is Ana Huang‘s romance novel Twisted Love - and also its sequels. The deal is reported to be worth seven figures, according to Variety.

The logline for the series is said to be: “A steamy new adult series that follows the lives of four best friends and their brooding love interests, riddled with dark secrets from their pasts, as they overcome the obstacles keeping them apart to fall in love.”

The story of Twisted Love centres on Alex Volkov, who is out for vengeance as he’s been haunted by a tragedy all his life. But, when he's forced to look after his best friend's sister, Ava Chen, he starts to gain feelings for her. Their forbidden romance is complicated by Volkov's quest to avenge a murder.

The Twisted Love adaptation would be the latest in a line of romance book-to-TV titles Netflix has created, including the hugely successful Bridgerton, One Day, and also Virgin River franchises.

The Twisted novel series, which includes books called Twisted Love, Twisted Games, Twisted Hate and Twisted Lies, has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide to date. The debut book, Twisted Love, spent 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold translation rights in 34 countries. The books can be read standalone as well as being part of the series as they all include different characters and stories.

Twisted Games tells the story of elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen and his forbidden relationship with princess Bridget von Ascheberg. Twisted Hate is about two people who can’t stand each other, Josh Chen and Jules Ambrose, who spend the night together and then decide to engage in an ‘enemies with benefits’ arrangement. Twisted Lies documents a fake romance between neighbours Christian Harper and Stella Alonso.

The project is early in the developmental process. No cast has been chosen and Netflix has declined to comment on the deal. If the project moves forward then all four Twisted books would be adapted into their own TV series. It’s not clear when any of them would air on the streaming platform.