Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

236 reviews

lavendar's review against another edition

After a few people & book-tok had recommended this book, I went to check it out. After reading articles online, and barely glancing in store, I got stopped by the trigger page, and then proceeded to have a discussion with those that had recommended it. 

On a basic book review level it’s poorly written, full of clichés and useless profanity, needlessly grotesque, explicit to the point of insanity & generally nauseating, with a middle-schoolers vocabulary in a VERY adult setting. 
And while these genres have plenty of others struggling with the same things (occasionally appreciated for the ease it gives in reading comprehension & a “book-binge”), presenting similar tropes & situations in a dark twisted way that makes you think, or at least catches your interest — this one takes it too far. 

People can read what they so choose. Everyone has different taste, interpretations, interests, opinions, & reasons behind a book. That’s the magic of stories, there’s something for everyone & perhaps this is your sort of romance novel; that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be mine. 
I appreciate the warnings in the book; the author is very upfront from the get-go, honest, informative, and properly trigger-warning & encouraging that very sentiment; if this isn’t for you, don’t read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Grief, and Toxic friendship

While it does address topics that are horrific and not one to turn a blind eye to, it handles them in the worst way possible. It does not represent or speak on behalf of survivors, it does not show allies or healthy support systems, it does not give any hope for a path toward healing, helping, or even teaching better. And that is the reason I write this. The attempts at justification & encouragement in the book itself when it comes to these matters is NOT okay. It does so without reprimand, growth, or any lesson aside from enabling. Going so far as to paint anyone who disagrees with the abuse, assault, and murder as hurtful, judgmental, & not-supportive or “accepting”. To try to paint this as “female empowerment” and a “sexual awakening” to be embraced, to make assault “sexy”, to be a “dark” & “morally gray” plot — in reality, it is none of those things. Only one, that glorifies abuse. Stalking & Stockholm syndrome, is not a “love story”. Pain is not love. This is not an “anti-hero”, the blunt reality is a rapist & murder. And a woman who is raped, assaulted, abused, and attacked physically, emotionally, and mentally to the point of gaslighting over & over again. There is no justification. No, “love heals all wounds”. This is assault, this is abuse, and this is wrong. — Selling it as anything else is a VERY dangerous & frankly hurtful message. Because the reality is while this may be a work of fiction, and is definitely dramatized, this has been someone’s reality. Not a plot line. Not a turn-on. But something real, dangerous, and life-wrecking. Main-stream media depicting and “selling” this ideology, book-toks full of making jokes — ships — saying “he’s so romantic” or “all I want in a man” or “a sad boy” & reacting with “OMG my heart broke” consuming “the angst & brooding”, calling it fiction & dark-twists on fairytales; a “game” only ignores reality and encourages worse ones. The horrific truth is: Human trafficking is real. Sexual assault is real. Sexual abuse is real. Physical abuse is real. Emotional abuse is real. Gaslighting is real. Gun violence is real, and people die from it. Stalking is real. Domestic violence is real. Toxic relationships are real and too commonly occurring because people aren’t taught to see the signs, especially when books like this call red flags “enticing”. Abuse occurs to many people in many ways through many relationships; it is harmful, and very dangerous. And danger is not something to strive for. Fear should not play a role in intimacy. And you don’t need this book to know that. This book will not teach you or give light to “truly take in the depth of horror”. Or create some fantasy that breeds anything other than harm. That is not real. So, please heed the warning, really read that first page by the author on triggers & content, and consider it the next time you go to make a post or recommend it to a friend. Stories and words have power, use them and your time wisely. Do the things that bring you joy and closer to safety & health. And for me, this book was not that.

moominlala's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

shadowlynd's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

xchumin's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

While Haunting Adeline presents an engaging plot and doesn't shy away from important themes, Zade's characterization is a significant point of contention. His strong moral compass, particularly his condemnation of human trafficking and the mistreatment of women and children, clashes starkly with his own actions, such as stalking and assaulting Adeline. This inconsistency undermines his character and creates a sense of hypocrisy.

The development of the romantic relationship between Adeline and Zade feels somewhat rushed, especially considering their tumultuous beginnings. While Adeline's emotional journey is well-explored, particularly her fear and growing affection for Zade, the depth of their connection could have been further developed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

elntastic's review against another edition

Oh Boy…this book certainly made me feel a lot of things…but none of them were nice. I think the main emotion I felt reading this was anger. After that came frustration. And utter disbelief. Disbelief, that there are so so many people that genuinely love this book. I don’t usually judge, but I think if you like this kind of romantic dynamic, then there is something wrong. But let’s get to the book in detail now. First of all, more than half of the book consists of sex scenes. And until page 473 (which is precisely where I stopped) they were not consensual. The MMC Zade does not understand the word no. He does not care and intentionally ignores it. I think that in itself is already so f‘d up. He was convinced that whatever he did to Adeline, she would enjoy and like, even if, while he did it to her, she didn’t and was literally telling him to stop. It made me so incredibly angry at Zade. I see so many comments here praising Zade…how?? The man literally rapes and sexually assaults a woman throughout the whole book. But what made me the most angry was that, while I was always hoping for Adeline to finally really fight back and stop him, she just succumbed to him and admitted that she did like what he did to her. That’s when I had to stop reading. She is literally just a weak character that lets a man treat her the way he wants to. So frustrating! All the things he says to her that resemble something like „you‘ll end up loving this“ and other things, become true because she allows it. I think the worst scenes in the book were when Adeline was literally in pain and he ignored it. That is so messed up…And to those who think, what Zade did to Adeline is okay, because she does actually secretly like it, I have one question: how did he know that though? He didn’t know her at all or what she was into before he met her. He just assumed that she would enjoy his assaults. But what if she hadn’t? Then it would literally be pure rape throughout the whole book (which in my opinion it still is)! I read this book bcs I wanted to understand what all the hype was about. While I must admit that from a psychological standpoint it is interesting, it is still extremely disturbing. If you like consent and strong FMC‘s, don’t read this !!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

mossycaroline's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

ilikenaps's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

moxiereads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

l_fitz20's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

Heavily disliked this book. Glorified rape when the MMC is supposedly battling the entirety of the sex trafficking ring and saving/rehoming victims. insanity. regret not DNF-ing tbh. felt like it was trying to be too many things at once w/ the different “plots” going on all at once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

mairaaki's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail