Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Haunting Adeline

"Let me know which stars you prefer. The ones above you, or the ones I make you see. When you make someone fall in love with the darkest parts of you, there's nothing you can do that will scare them away."

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Wow, this is far from what I was expecting when it comes to this read. Adeline is a famous author who has just moved into her recently deceased grandmother's manor. While renovating the house, Addie soon finds red roses in places where they shouldn't be and a dark shadow lurking outside her windows at night... meaning that she has a stalker. After multiple failed attempts for the police to catch him, Addie soon takes things into her own hands and antagonizes her stalker to the point where he comes into her home and puts a gun to her head. After numerous times crossing paths, Addie learns that her stalker, Zade, is a murderous serial killer who goes after sex traffickers. His victims have soon set their sites on his little mouse and the chaos unfolds.....

I knew that this was darker read before I had gotten into it, but I was surprised that there was a more murder-mystery element to it in regards to Addie's great-grandmother's murder. Even though I thought that Adeline was more of a flat character, I really was invested in the plot and the interactions that unfolded between her and Zade. I also liked the alternating perspectives, which was refreshing to see things from both Zade and Addie as they dive deep into their own investigations.

PLEASE make sure you read ALL OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS before you pick up this book. I can assure you this may not be for everyone. Also make sure to read the disclaimer at the beginning of the book as well. There are a lot of adult themes throughout this book including non-consensual sexual acts (some involving weaponry), very detailed descriptions of gore, murder, torture, pedophilia, and more. (July 2023)

I hate the fact that this book ends on a cliffhanger but I am glad that my friend let me borrow the sequel right away! Happy reading... if you dare ;)

4 out of 5 stars

Content Warnings

sofial1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ebancroft's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I honestly didn’t think this book would live up to the hype of the first one, which I instantly fell in love with, and for the first maybe 1/3 of this book, I was fearing that it wouldn’t.
But oh my god did it deliver.

H D Carlton knows how to right a seriously addictive book. I devoured the first one, but this one I wanted to savour, because I knew that when I finished this book, I would reach the conclusion of Zade and Addie, and I had no idea where it was going to go.

I don’t have many words for this book, everything I said about the characters, and the story telling, in my review of the first book ring true of this book as well.

The end of this book made me cry which I definitely was not expecting, but I’m so happy with Z and Addies end, it was perfect.

The last thing I would say about this series, definitely DEFINITELY, take the warnings and content descriptions seriously. This book could be very triggering for some, more so than the first book, so really bear that in mind, but it is SO worth the read if you can.

Content Warnings