Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Haunting Adeline

I saw this book recommended on TikTok and FB groups for those of us who enjoy a bit (okay, actually, a lot) of spice in our reading, and after reading the synopsis, I initially decided it wasn’t for me.

But, I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone with my reading this year, in case I might find that I enjoy something I never bothered to try. It worked with another title (following two serial killers’ romantic tryst), so why not this?

Well. I’ll tell you why.

The female main character is, of course, the most devastatingly-beautiful, well-traveled, successful, early-twenties writer, who inherits a spooky manor from her grandmother (travel in her early twenties and a homeowner in the PNW…in THIS economy?!) But, whatever. This is a trope in all the romance books. Successful, breathtakingly beautiful FMC. Fine.

The male main character. Ugh. He’s a super-hacker who is also a super-spy and super-stealthy super-soldier who rescues “trafficking victims” by killing bad guys. He devotes his life to saving “girls and children” (as written in the book), but upon seeing a poster of the FMC outside a book shop decides he is going to stalk her and force her to love him. Huh??? Where’s that savior complex now, dude?

Of course, the first trafficker we encounter is described as a “Mexican” man. The next predator we are introduced to is part of a group of politicians who participate in Satanic rituals of drinking kid’s blood, and - wouldn’t ya know it - he’s got a stereotypically Jewish last name! Bigoted stereotypes, ahoy!

All the “trafficking victims” are portrayed as loved and cared for little English-speaking girls who were snatched up by evil immigrants and will be returned to loving families, furthering this ridiculous notion that these trafficking rings are snatching up middle-class white women and their tow-headed children Braydynn and Braxxlyeigh from the children’s section of Target, rather than portraying the reality that most trafficking victims are groomed by family or close friends, or are a part of marginalized communities that are easily exploited or taken advantage of.

The “hero” MMC murders a man and leaves his hands on the FMC’s doorstep, sexually assaults her multiple times (once with a handgun), and then she falls in love with him because he bangs her so good. He’s a disgusting hypocrite, and she is a dimwit.

We’ve also got a potential ghost (?), a drug dealing crime family, a 1940s mafia, a crazy “broken doll” who works in a haunted fair and murders people…the list goes on.

The FMC was maybe (?) haunted in this book, but the fact that people can find anything redeeming in either of the main characters of this book is what will haunt me.

Content Warnings

sheebsbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

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cperez18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

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karlyjo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

1.0

very conflicted with my rating for this book. did i stay up until 3am to finish it? yes. did the mystery element have me turning the pages like crazy? yes. for that reason it should be a 3-4star rating BUT I cannot stand the countless times God was painted in a false light and Satan was glorified. Also Zade hates rapists and pedophiles but he rapes her but it’s okay because she ended up liking it? and he called her little girl while doing it? no. the spice was the majority of the book and had my jaw on the floor but despite me flying through this book i can’t rate it more than one star for those reasons. also the ending had my stomach twisting with the elevated form of child sacrifice and pedophilia and the dark part of the dark romance became a little too much for me. did i have a unique and fast reading experience? yes. could i ever in my right mind recommend this book to anyone? no. even though it was thrilling and the spice scenes were… on another level… at the end of the book i felt like i never should have picked it up in the first place. yet i’m curious to read the second but i don’t think i will anytime soon. or maybe ever. everyone in this book needs major therapy

Content Warnings

juliaskzy's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

OK hear me outtttt
Honestly I loved the way this was written. The tension was good, it felt like a thriller. I thought it would be a lot more disturbing than what it was but that might be due to my refusal to envision the fucked up parts.

Content Warnings

awil_23's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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readyforit's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5⭐️4🌶️
This is a dark, dark, dark romance that involves non-consensual sex scenes between FMC and MMC, her stalker. Do not read if you are not in the right headspace or have any of the triggers mentioned. I don’t think anyone should read this unless their frontal lobe has developed.. maybe not even then. It’s especially heavy on child sex trafficking. These parts were hard to read through. Honestly idk how to feel about the non-con relationship. You know it’s obviously wrong but you find yourself rooting for the antagonist in the end, trying to find any sort of silver lining. It’s like I got Stockholm syndromed too. I generally liked the plot, and I’ll read the sequel since it ended on a cliffhanger, but I probably won’t reread due to the intense dark themes. I’ve read dark romances before and they’ve always come with a little fluff to balance out the spice and darkness. This didn’t really feel like a romance to me, it was all based on her fear. There’s dark romance, and then there’s this book. I’d say MMC leans further black on the morally gray scale. If you took the “romance” out of this, it would be more of a thriller/mystery, so it got stars for that bc I liked that part of the plot.

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