Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

76 reviews

jerlynhay's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

this is the worst book i’ve ever read in my life. zade literally raped adeline. then we are expected to pretend he is actually just a really good guy who kills sex traffickers / pedophiles & it is completely fine that he is a rapist. the romanticization of rape and sexual assault when it comes to this book is insane.

“And I know how fucked up that is—to take something without consent. I know that’s what I’m fighting against every day. She hasn’t given it to me yet, but she will. I know my little mouse better than she knows herself. She’s in too much denial to see how drawn she is to me. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t instigate, pushing, knowing damn well I stay true to my word.”

“Her actions speak an entirely different language than her words. A language filled with desire and pleasure—she just hasn’t learned to translate it yet.”

and the audacity that people have to say zade didn’t “actually” rape her & that she obviously wanted it, these are literally his own words. he literally says that she did not consent to him & is using every excuse in the book to justify his actions. he is a rapist.


also, this book is so poorly written. there is so much over explaining & unneeded details that add nothing to the story. h.d. carlton falls victim to the coffee synonym syndrome & it is actually painful too read. haunting adeline is just the same three scenes repeated over and over again. i think it is time for miss carlton to find a new job!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

nineinchnails's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i went in blind for this so i had no idea it was instalove at least from the mmc's side (i usually hate this) but i think there was enough push and pull in their relationship otherwise for it not to be the end of the world. i liked the prose a lot and i loved the setting of the book but i think the structuring could have been done a little better. i don't know if it's just me, but it feels like not enough happened for it to be 500+ pages long. i liked the characters for the most part, but something about zade calling her "little girl" (and himself "daddy") in a sexual context feels especially heinous considering his day job but also very out of character? from the way he was written outside of these moments it feels like the last thing he would ever incorporate into his sex life. in general though i did enjoy the read and the writing style was a welcome surprise.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

jodi_xo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

This is a really good book, although not for everyone as mayn’t aspects of this book are intense. It covers a lot of dark topics. Many trigger and content warnings attached to this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

chaosbringer566's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thebookaddict's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? N/A

4.5

Jeetje wat een boek. Ten eerste als je hieraan wilt beginnen zou ik de trigger warnings lezen! Ik vond zelf dat het wel mee viel met hoe erg het beschreven was (wel is het onderwerp natuurlijk heel erg intens). Het boek heeft een donker thema en er is veel seks zonder wederzijdse toestemming. Dit kan als schokkend ervaren worden. Voor de rest vond ik het een top boek. Het houdt de spanning erin en er is genoeg spice. Wel vond ik hem erg lang duren, het had korter gekund en gemogen. Het einde was ook echt een hele erge cliffhanger. Ik ga zoiezo deel twee lezen, want ik kan deze dark romance wel waarderen. (Uitgebreidere recensie vind je op mijn instagram @thebook.addictx)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent

gravelhayley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

0.25

READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS AND REVIEWS.  If you don’t want to feel disgusted reading this book, skip it entirely or at least until a little over half the book. The plot (minus the stalking, and everything attached to it) would’ve made an interesting read, but I just cant get past the beginning. I had to skip many pages reading this. The ending of the book was good and I probably will read the second book but definitely am glad I did not purchase this book with my own money. Only read if you are willing to audibly say “what the actual f**k is going on, this is disgusting”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Classism

angeliquescollection's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fuck. Man idk. That ending is wild. I love these 2. I love this book. My first 5 star. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

bookrach's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This series will stay with me and haunt my dreams and nightmares until i finish the entirety of H.D.Carltons wicked collections.
Her writing is sublime. Her brain is dark, but god, these books are incredible. 
This absolutely is a love story, despite what she says.
Reading the triggers prior is a must.

The books were previously banned due to the triggers - but the scenes detailed (in depth) will be happening somewhere, to someone in our world. We deserve to be uncomfortable and shocked. I am so thankful i have never been exposed to a world this dark, but i am well aware this could be someones' past, present, or future.

I hope to god there is a Zane out there fighting for them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

audreytwo's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I loved this book so much. Truly did make me question if I should be institutionalized though. Fair warning, it's messed up. Not for the faint of heart. A genuine dark romance. This book has me in a chokehole and I can't escape. For me, the worst warning is that you HAVE to buy both books, the cliffhanger at the end has me pacing back and forth until the bookshop opens and I can get my hands on the second book. I can't wait to reread it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm, Vomit, Car accident, and Alcohol