Reviews with content warning for Classism - Haunting Adeline

First, let me start by saying that this is a *dark* romance. If you do not want a bit of blood and tears mixed in with your smut then this will not be the right book for you. You have been warned.

All of that being said, I think the author did an exceptional job of creating a morally gray character. Zade is not someone you want to like, but in the end you do start rooting for him because his cause is so just. Addie is the perfect heroin for this type of romance novel. She enjoys being scared and I think is a little bit twisted. Honestly, the novel wouldn't work if she wasn't just a little bit insane. The banter between the two leads is top tier and the spice is definitely high.

I think that this book is a great way for people to explore a darker side of romance without actually putting themselves in danger. I think it's okay to enjoy reading about things that we wouldn't be okay with in real life. I am eagerly anticipating the second book in the duology.

Content Warnings

shakurday's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of my favorites.

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Honestly, if it weren’t for such an intriguing plot, this book would’ve likely been a DNF or at the very least a 2 star or less. The writing is so bad. The punctuation is messy. The dialogue is stilted. I had to stop and reread countless times because the way the sentence was structured made it difficult to comprehend or just sounded so odd it was off-putting. This is significantly spicy but it was really difficult to overcome the bad writing to get to the heart of the story. Seeing as this is a duology and it ends on a cliffhanger, I feel compelled to read the second book, but I am not looking forward to submitting myself to that kind of torture for 500+ more pages.

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azileotulp's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I've procrastinated reading it for months and I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Obviously this book isn't for everyone (pay attention to warnings!), but I'm perfectly happy with darker stuff.

I really liked how long it took for the real smut to actually start. I'm honestly not a big fan of smut in general, so I liked that it didn't start until about one-third of the way in. It really ramped up after that point, but I didn't mind. Like I said, I'm not a fan of it in general, but I don't let that reflect my ratings because it's something I've come to expect.

I also loved the mystery throughout the novel with Adeline trying to find Gigi's killer. I did guess it, but it took quite a long time for me to realize. The use of Gigi's diary pages between chapters was also a really nice touch.

And how can I talk about why I love this book without talking about "the shadow?" (I'll call him Z for the rest of the review just in case anyone considers revealing his actual name a spoiler.) This man is a whole comedian. I lived for his POV. I loved seeing him come face-to-face with pedophiles and absolutely obliterating them in his mind. Just a very sassy, funny little guy. I feel like under most circumstances I would dislike how much of a hypocrite he was (a rapist who hates rapists?), but the fact that he acknowledged his own hypocrisy and just didn't care was such a power move and kind of hilarious to me.

Of course, I loved Adeline too. Her conflicting feelings of desire and hatred of Z were really interesting to me, and I liked the parallel between her own feelings for Z and Gigi's feelings for her stalker. Even without Z, I appreciate her as a character in her own right. She's funny, sassy, and strong. Even if I preferred the shadow chapters a bit, I definitely enjoyed her chapters too.

I honestly would love to give this book a slightly higher rating because I absolutely adored it. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was that it could honestly be a bit cringeworthy at times, specifically when it came to some of Z's dialogue. I wish I could give examples, but I don't have the book with me (borrowed it from a friend). I just know that as I read some of his dialogue, I had to put the book down and take a breath. It didn't happen often enough that it destroyed his character for me, but it was often enough that it brought down the book overall just a bit. Other than that, I have literally no other complaints. I feel like a lot of the hate comes from people thinking that it "glamorizes" things like sexual assault and stalking, but I never really got that feeling? I don't believe you're expected to read the story and conclude that Z would be a good person in real life. The warning at the beginning of the book literally describes his actions towards Adeline as non-con/dub-con. The things that happen in this book are pretty common fantasies for women (fantasy as in things that we don't actually want to happen in real life) and we shouldn't be ashamed of that.

I can't recommend this book enough. I've started the second one and I am loving it so far, and I'm definitely hoping I'll be able to give it 5 stars.

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ekmartin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The smut was good but it took so long to get there. Honestly shocked this was a slow burn. Also I definitely think the "Dark" romance aspect was way oversold. This isn't nearly as dark as all the booktok hype was letting on. I think maybe for those people this was their first dark romance - but I was expecting a lot more. The NC scenes were very much not NC as per the integral dialogue of the FMC, which just leaves us with stalking & murder. The end also drug on. Once I hit 80% I was wanting it to be over.

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sierrabowers's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book. The only reason I didn’t give it a 5 star rating is because of some of the random things put in that didn’t make sense or they were cringe. But otherwise, great plot and a great morally grey main character !! I liked the dual plot with the great grandmother’s murder and the infiltration of a trafficking ring. An amazing independent author! Support independent authors!!!!!
PSA PLEASE check triggers before reading.

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lochnessvhs's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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rensmagiclibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book dives heavily into intense and dark themes, so please take extreme notice of the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. However, if you're drawn to sinister storytelling, the dual perspectives of the Manipulator and the Shadow offer a gripping narrative. The ending left me eager to download Hunting Adeline.

For fans of dark 'romance,' this is worth exploring. But, if you're sensitive to these themes or not a fan of dark romance, skipping it won't be a huge loss. Personally, while well-written, it wasn't a must-read for me.

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