Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Ik zal je opnieuw vinden, Adeline by H.D. Carlton

139 reviews

book_s1ut's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

The whole skin trade aspect of half the book really threw me into an entire emotional rollercoaster I was not ready for. Definitely read with disrection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, and Alcohol

nmireland's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Kidnapping

Minor: Car accident

dee_elizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

talesandtitillations's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

*Possible spoiler warning*


Going into this book I had wondered how the content could possibly be more difficult to stomach than some of the scenes in Haunting Adeline. Without context of what would be happening in the book, I hadn’t considered is how emotionally challenging it would be reading about such painful and real topics such as were the key plot points in this book. 

As a woman, reading about all the abuse, rape, psychological torture and trauma, etc. was harrowing to say the least. I ended up having to regroup a few times in order to be able to continue reading such dark subject matter.

Admittedly, I usually read fantasy or romance as a form of escapism and this book does not provide any escapism as it shines a cold, harsh light on the plight of the women who find themselves in these circumstances. That being said, this book is incredibly well written, which is clear from the fact that it has such a profound impact on the reader. 

It doesn’t shy away from the darkness or pretend that surviving such harrowing conditions are by any means easily doable. The author doesn’t sugarcoat anything or imply that recovery from the acute psychological trauma of the experiences Adeline has to fight to live through is simple or achievable in the sense of returning to who you once were and being able to overcome the darkness that sinks into your deepest crevices. 

The book is, in my opinion, as realistic a portrayal of the consequences of survival and trauma from these types of experiences as we can hope to achieve through fiction. And to achieve that without losing momentum in character development, plot, pacing and reader’s interest is a feat in itself.

There were whole paragraphs, pages, chapters where I had to refrain from annotating or it would’ve just been me colouring the pages red for all the red flags and dark content. But there is not a moment where I felt that how messed up everything happening was was glossed over or romanticized. 

Adeline’s relationship was just that, a relationship that, although incredibly questionable and oftentimes disturbing, was a choice they made and kept making to the end. There was no illusion that the characters themselves didn’t see how messed up and toxic such relationships are and that they aren’t a healthy thing to choose to engage in. However messed up things between them are and how vehemently we as readers would be against this type of relationship in real life, the book allows for understanding of a broader spectrum of relationship dynamics and why people choose relationships such as the one between Zade and Addie. 

In terms of how realistic the plot is, it is fiction which, whilst it’s set in a world that is familiar to us and consisting of real places and things, it isn’t really feasible to imagine human beings equivalent to Zade really exist. His almost god-like abilities, while explained in the context of the story, can be considered unattainable or far-fetched from what is known to us in the world we exist in. Not impossible, but not very realistic or common if it does exist. However, he isn’t real so placing realistic limitations on him isn’t necessary in my opinion. And I think the author does a good job of portraying that he isn’t as god-like as others, and even he himself, like to fool themselves into believing when Addie is kidnapped. 

I would caution people who read this from glossing over and romanticizing the circumstances, relationships, character development and traumas in the book, and to carefully read trigger warnings before reading. Every moment of this book should be observed and analyzed critically and the emotions brought up should be given the same treatment.

This book shook me to my foundations and had me questioning every thought and feeling and the causes behind why I experienced them, which was incredibly enlightening and therapeutic in a sense. And that’s what dark subject matter should do—show us those dark parts within ourselves that we can’t expose to the world for fear of rejection. If done as expertly as H.D. Carlton has done here, it allows one to start becoming aware and accepting ourselves with those dark parts and all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury

orangeaiya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.75

Tough read. I thought the first book was dark but man getting through the first half of this one for me was hard. So much of it dragged for me which is probably great for someone who likes suspense. To me it began to feel like a survivor’s guide at some point. I loved that their relationship was more stable or consistent in this book though. I couldn’t leave off on a cliff hanger!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction and Stalking

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

alexleigh20's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ten_telegrams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

shinyfox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

anmitha's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse and Gun violence

scarlet_frost's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

This thing was really pushing the limits of what I want to consume as entertainment, I found myself cringing from some of the graphic sexual violence and some of the excruciatingly detailed murder scenes. It’s not for the faint of heart. There’s also a lot of choking and knife/blood play in the sex scenes, so if you don’t want to read that don’t read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

This books bread and butter is cringe trigger warnings, so if you are someone sensitive to explicit talk of rape, murder, mutilation etc, just don’t read this. If you though Haunting Adeline was bad this thing is 10 times worse