Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Haunting Adeline

For a novice to the dark romance genre this was definitely an interesting plot. Zade was a hybrid of Dexter and Joe from You and I found that to be a fitting combination. Adeline is an adrenaline junkie who finds pleasure in fear. So honestly their relationship feels kismet.

My only real issue with it (besides the general implausibility), is their connection was far too rushed. I was all down for their game of cat and mouse however, the fake dating and the training sequence just felt off kilter compared to the rest of what was happening. That really threw me for a loop and I felt like he should have waited longer to start training her with self defense, once their bond was more cemented.

Secondly; I would have preferred her only think that Zade was her stalker when she was approached at the restaurant. I think that would have added a really interesting perspective because she would clearly be skeptical of him pretending to be her boyfriend then at the end of the scene he could have lit up a cigarette and it all would have come crashing down around her. That would have been more intense than what actually happened.

“One day, you will realize that you are not trapped in a prison,” he murmurs roughly. “You are in my church where I am your God, and you are my equal. I’m not a jail little mouse, I am your sanctuary.” “Does that make me a goddess?” “Baby, you rule the fucking kingdom, and I will gladly bow to you.”

Content Warnings

imogencooper20's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

r1vana's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One word. ZADE

Content Warnings

literamy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

There were parts of this book I loved — so much so that I had little fragments highlighted on every page. The backdrop of this story is stormy and volatile, in equal parts for the characters, the plot, and the setting. Anything having to do with a haunted house — in any capacity — immediately sucks me in. The ghosts in the corners, the gothic mansion, the rain and ledge of the cliff right outside, were all delectably spooky and set the mood for the darkness (and do I ever mean darkness) for the rest of the book. Oddly linked lineage of the women of the same family, all haunted and connected by different parts of the same thread, is one of my favorite tropes in fiction everywhere, and the story of Adeline Reilly and the women that preceded her was captivating from the get-go. Everything we uncovered about the cyclical act of both Gigi and Addie being inherently bound to the house and watched by men was tantalizing, toe-curling, and chilling, and with all of these moving parts, the story unfurled in such an exciting, thrilling way. The language in this book, especially in the way that Zade speaks, also crept inside me from the very beginning. Like the setting of the manor, it was pulsing and transcendent and played up the atmosphere of the heart-pounding haunt of Addie. The spicy scenes left me breathless, heart pounding, and the contrast between the absolute filth described and the way Adeline and Zade bantered was captivating — so fully immersive I couldn't pull myself away. Between the imagery and the plot, HD Carlton wove together a story so deliciously terrifying that it left me reeling!

But there were other parts of the book I found equally as hard to reconcile as the ones I loved.

This book is dark. If you're looking for an erotic thriller that doesn't push boundaries or delve into truly horrible, terrifying things, the haunting of Adeline will leave you equally as haunted. I'm a hopeless romantic, and even dark romances keep me as enticed and happy as lighter ones, but the themes in this book — and the overt, detail descriptions of things so horrific they made me sick — are not for the faint of heart.

The biggest internal struggle I had with the plot wasn't the back-and-forth of Addie being terrified and turned on by Zade and his actions. I thought the spinning of her moral compass and internal monologue felt as realistic as possible for such an intense, fictionalized situation. But I couldn't reconcile Zade's driving force to obliterate and execute human traffickers, predators, and sex offenders, and then turning around and taking away Addie's consent (in general, but especially in the gun scene). It felt like such a jarring, complete disconnect from the man we saw in action as Z, and it was so brutal, that I had a very difficult time with navigating how I felt while I kept reading. I think that the author did a wonderful, subtle job with other aspects of the story, but this is such a major, demanding center of the plot and Addie and Zade's relationship, and it felt so contradictory to his inner monologue and the actions we see him involved in.

The aspect of Zade being Addie's stalker — and a very bold determined one, too — wasn't difficult for me to accept and lean into as the story progresses. I absolutely think there was something alluring to Addie about the way he watches her, dotes on her, and in his own twisted way, protects her, and even if it's something I wasn't into or attracted to, the focus on Addie's monologue was believable and convincing enough for me to be absorbed by it as the story continues. Dubious consent isn't typically my thing, either, but with how much of the book was focused on Addie's senses of fear and attraction coinhabiting her body and brain, it made narrative sense for this character to be reacting the way that she was. And I think the antagonistic nature of her character, and constantly toeing the line between being exhilarated and being terrified, also made narrative sense. She did make some seriously bad decisions, especially with calling the police and choosing what to tell Daya, but there's a lot I can't fault her for, and well-written flaws are what make characters seem real. But the glaring disconnect between how Zade ignored Adeline's boundaries and touched her (very forcibly) without a way she could even consent and how passionate he was about stopping sexual predators was a lot to grapple with, and I left feeling very bruised and indecisive about it. I think there was a way to toe the line between erotic and dangerous, but the specifics of the language he used — "making her want it", "destroying her", etc. — didn't read as sexy to me because of how brutal and terrifying he was in the middle of it.

I was intrigued enough to finish the book — and with that cliffhanger, I'll very likely finish the duology — but there was a LOT that was impossible for me to get over, even in suspending my disbelief (or disgust). Like Addie, I felt so indecisive and consumed, only for me, it wasn't my feelings for Zade, it was my opinions on the choices being made. And the gothic backdrop, kick-ass heroine, and stormy skies above were enticing enough to keep me moving through the story, but I don't think I'll ever be able to reread the whole thing.

While there are plenty (PLENTY) of reviews that leave the broader concepts of content warnings, there's a few for this book in particular that I believe need to be said. Obviously, the obvious: dubious consent, consensual non-consent, murder, rough (and violent) sex, pedophilia, gore, etc., but there was also a very alarming number of instances where eyes got injured, ranging from a blade coming close to a comlete gouging. I can stomach a lot gore-wise, but eyes are where I draw the line. If you're easily disgusted or triggered by eye trauma, I HIIIIIIIIIGHLY SUGGEST NOT READING THIS BOOK OR SKIPPING OVER THE GORY SCENES! If I had known the extent of them going into it, I very likely would have stopped reading or skimming over all of the bloody, gory scenes. And while most of the smut was extremely detailed and heart-pounding, there were multiple usages of the word "juices", which I had to skip over to stay engaged.

I know I'll be thinking about Addie for days after finishing, and likely warring in my head about the things I loved and the things I hated. I hope this book doesn't haunt you — or that it does!

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