Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Haunting Adeline

I was not expecting non-con to be between the 2 main characters. I don't like how that's the starting point in their relationship, especially given his job. Feels contradictory to the way his character is built to be, you can't just say yeah he's hypocritical when he haunts himself with the memories of his job daily. I know some people may be into this but I personally really didn't like it.

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checkabookout's review against another edition

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This book should under NO circumstances be labeled as a romance. This is a horror novel and fully non-con. There is nothing romantic about a murderer forcing someone they’re stalking to let them deliver oral sex.

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kat1105's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
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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jureadswithjoy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I get it now ! I get the hype.
This book is certainly dark but all the social media attention barely gives it justice. I refused to read any reviews before going into this book. I went in blind and I loved every minute of it.

Let me preface by saying this : Please DNF if it gets too much for you. There are trigger warnings at the start. They say what you are going to get on the first page and not everyone can read that type of things, which is valid. Protect your mental health first as the author says it herself before even starting her story.
If you decide to continue and attack readers and the author for it, that's on you.

I'll start with the most obvious, Zade. I believe that the main reason why people get either obsessed or repulsed is because contrary to many dark romance books or beloved romance characters, he is not simply morally grey. It is very reductive to say that he "does bad things for a good cause". In many ways, he does but with Addie, he justifies bad things in the name of love. Some would call him a hypocrite, I would just call him an anti-villain. In his mind, he is justified to refuse Addie basic consent because his goal is for her to fall in love with him. The means justify the end, and obviously in this, it is a problem for the "hero" of the story, Adeline. He creates his own moral code and that is why he leaves so many reeling. How could you be refusing consent to this woman you are obsessed with and at the same time do so many bad things to bad guys, Dexter style? That's, for me, the complexity and beauty of this character. He is a villain in her story, and tells her as much. You also know immediately what you are going to get. I appreciated the straightforwardness, the absence of manipulation : his intentions are stated from the get go.

Adeline is an hilarious and very relatable character. I did not expect so much comic relief (and it was needed) from Adeline and her best friend. She is a socially anxious 26 year-old woman who gets off on fear. A match made in heaven for Zade (ultimately I guess). I think that her attraction to Zade makes absolute sense. As someone who is not comfortable around people and into social situations, a man coming to her and taking that stress away from her to replace it with fear play, which she likes, is coherent with her character. I enjoyed that her progression from fear to shame to acceptance was very slow and steady. There is no point in the story when I thought "that's going too fast".

The Villains. They are perfect villains in the sense that they are absolutely despicable for no good reasons. I am absolute distraught and disgusted by what they have in mind. I want them 💀 (hey, look at me pushing the boundaries of my own moral compass, isn't that what a good book does ?!)

The writing is my only critique. I enjoyed that it is accessible and paints a great picture of a gothic setting (I would pee myself if I had to even enter Parsons Manor, that place is creepy AF). However, I would have preferred the past tense for this story. It is written in the present and I think that makes it too "common". I am not sure I have the words in English to say what I want to say. Maybe something like it would have had more flair ?

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