A Game of Cat and Mouse

Last fall, I took a chance and stepped out of my usual comfort zone. My head was full of serial killers roaming the country while detectives with checkered pasts tried to hunt them down, or a blind girl trying to survive Nazi occupation of France during World War II while supporting the resistance efforts, and honestly I thought it might be time to check out something fresh and different…

Now I don’t know about y’all, but a bookstore is like my own personal sanctuary. My wallet tells me every time I should never set foot inside those doors, but my heart aches and whispers of the countless treasures waiting just beyond my reach. The comforting feel of wandering between the stacks for hours, the coffee shop tucked away in the corner to get my caffeine fix, and the subtle smell of vanilla from the endless pages of books on the shelves draws me regardless. As I took my usual trip to Barnes & Noble, convincing myself it would just be for one new book and nothing more, the adventure began.

I see my normal haunts tucked away towards the back of the store; horror giants like Stephen King and Stephen Graham Jones beckon to come get lost in the fear. Larry McMurtry can be found promising Cowboys and Indians, a west that is still wild, free, and untamed. Yet I stifle the urge and move to the new releases, the hot up and coming books that are storming BookTok and grabbing reader’s attention world wide. For me, finding a great book often starts with two major components: How cool is the cover, and what does the title leave me feeling? As I scanned the various novels, I stumbled on one that spurred my curiosity yet I didn’t understand why…

The cover wasn’t truly remarkable, and it definitely didn’t prepare me for the new topic I would soon fall helplessly in love with. A simple black and white cover, with splashes of red roses among the skull, spider, and moth were unassuming. I guessed it would be a thriller, nothing out of the norm for what I would spend a weekend binging my way through. But then I read the synopsis on the back cover, and the hairs began to stand up on the back of my neck.

The Manipulator

I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don’t affect him.
Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He’s always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.

The Shadow

I didn’t mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can’t stay away.
I’m mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses…
I’ll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I’ll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to
– H.D. Carlton

So here we are; a love story, yet there’s no cliche hunky guy on the cover to trigger an immediate eye roll. It feels… darker, purer, and somehow more tantalizing than I was ever prepared for. A soft voice in the back of my head whispers, “Books like these are just for lonely girls, put it back and move on to something worth your time”. But another, much louder voice echoed too, “Give it a chance, besides… who has to know?”

Haunting Adeline

Page 1 and I’ve already found something new I had never been exposed to before: A trigger warning.

Warning: This book ends on a cliffhanger. It is a dark romance that contains graphic violence, dub/non con and stalking between main characters, explicit sexual situations, kinks such as degradation, gun play, and somnophilia, and deals with subject matters such as child trafficking, child deaths, and human sacrifice.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into…?”

-Me

Bottom Line Up Front – The Score: 5/5 Stars

• Characters: 8
• Atmosphere: 10
• Writing: 8
• Plot: 10
• Intrigue: 10
• Logic: 10
• Enjoyment: 10

Haunting Adeline is an extremely brutal, dark book that is not for the faint of heart to say the least. Carlton says that this book is only recommended for readers 18+, however I would say along with keeping in mind your own mental capacity based off the triggers, readers should be at least 21 if not older before trying to tackle this book.

The story begins with introducing our main character Adeline Riley. Adeline is a best-selling author who has just moved into Parsons Manor, a shadowy, gothic home in Washington that was left to Adeline by her recently passed grandmother. The world building introduces this sinister abode that Riley finds comfort and peace from getting lost inside the walls, yet there is more than meets the eye to Parsons Manor. Gigi, Adeline’s great grandmother was brutally murdered years before, and the case remains unsolved. Adding to the mystery, in comes a hidden diary from Gigi, revealing a world unknown to anyone full of lust, stalking, betrayal, and possible hints to who was behind her untimely demise. Adeline finds this journal, and then shortly after finds that she has a stalker of her own… (history sure has a way of repeating itself)

Enter Zade; Tall, dark, handsome, guarded, an icy heart full of pain, you name it and the guy’s got it. Zade first stumbles upon Adeline at a book signing. Drawn from across the street by her image, immediately the spark is lit and a dangerous obsession begins to bloom. As he is introduced to the story, it becomes clear that he is a morally grey individual, willing to bend his own boundaries to suit his desires, yet staunchly ready to take lives when it’s required to protect others. When he’s not flaming a growing obsession with our famous author, he is out taking down high rolling members in Washington’s underground sex trafficking rings, going by the pseudonym “Z”. With money, technology, and a heaping stack of physical and mental capability, Z helps save women and children, while also aiding their recovery and re-integration to society through his network of associates and employees.

In order to not spoil anything, the meat of the story will remain untold but what I can say is… buckle up for a roller coaster like none you have been on before. While in stark contrast to each other, Zade’s heroism and brutal stalking and assaults against Adeline play a perfect balance against each other throughout the story. A part of you will question your own morals, wonder why you can’t put this book down, and why you’re finding your mouth watering at the words you’re devouring on each page. Don’t worry, Adeline finds herself in much the same sticky situation as the relationship between the two main characters grows and transforms throughout. Filled with more romantic scenes than I can count, the story never felt overpowered by the sex and the lust. The line Carlton dances throughout interweaving these components is masterfully executed, and since reading it I’ve found that often I come back to this as my baseline ground for what a good romance book should be shooting for.

The first book ends on a massive cliff hanger, I know, total shocker after reading the trigger warning. But the author didn’t lie and I will admit I was rushing to find the second book immediately after finishing this one. From the start, Haunting Adeline is a compelling read that I found hard to put down. And it burned quickly; finding myself with 200 pages left and one sleepless night, I couldn’t put it down. I had to see how Zade and Adeline would end, I had to have more of the overpowering emotions that Carlton crafts and lets the pages exude. By the time I had finished the last page, I was breathless, hot, and felt a little more than just dirty… But I was hooked.

Now to be fair, this book definitely has some mixed reviews across the internet. Taking a look at some of the reviews on Goodreads, there’s a lot of one and two star responses left. Haunting Adeline is definitely not for everyone, and even if you are a romance reader, you might find that this one is a far left field from the classic modern romance novel. I ask that if you’re interested, go in with an open mind, let the story build, and hold your judgments until the end.

Off to the Races

Flash back to the book store with me. Leaving that day I had no idea what this simple cover would do to my psyche and my passion for reading. After finishing Haunting Adeline, it was like an entire new world had been opened up in front of me. Soon I found myself hunting for every H.D. Carlton book I could find, scouring TikTok for what the new hot romance books were, and even wondering if I could get down with some fairy romance too… Needless to say, I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romance novels, with maybe a darker side they might only share with that one person closest to them. If you seek this book out, just keep in mind, it is DARK, and it is brutal. But at the same time, there is a passion and love there unlike any other. Deep and unashamed, it’s a love that I’d probably risk getting stalked for also honestly.

Enough from me though. What about you? What are your thoughts on Haunting Adeline if you’ve read the book already? I’m hooked and going mad for more novels that call forth the same feelings this book did, so please leave a book recommendation below!

And remember:

Smut Books Aren’t Just for Girls!

– Austin Fisk, 2024

H.D. Carlton’s works can be found at her website here: https://hdcarlton.com/

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