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iseefirede's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Gore, Rape, Cursing, Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual content, Trafficking, Pedophilia, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, and Infidelity
jodi_xo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Alcoholism, Stalking, Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Child abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Pedophilia, and Death
kaileyhanrath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Child death, and Trafficking
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
My biggest issues with Haunting Adeline are as follows:
1) Its writing style is bad. This author cannot write for shit. This book is extremely vague and noncommittal in its descriptions, frustratingly unwilling to give much specific information about the world, and unbelievably cringe-worthy in its dialogue.
2) It promotes a pretty fucked up view gender - the world of Haunting Adeline implies that even the best of men are predators and even the most strong-willed of women are victims/prey. I could go on about this point with a few dozen examples, but I will boil it down to the most galling one: at one point, there are two victims of human trafficking being discussed - one an adult woman described as a "twenty-four year old girl" and one a child, a little boy. And there is more time and focus put on how this poor "girl" than the actual child. It goes without saying that it's normal to feel for any victims of trafficking, but I find it suspicious that in a book that pulls out pedophilia and child abuse as an excuse for every other crime committed, more focus is given to the female victim, who is an adult, than the literal child - and of course, she's infantilized.
3) Putting a warning that says "this isn't antisemitic" at the beginning of a book is not sufficient. You have to actually not perpetuate antisemitic propaganda in the book. Saying "oh I just like conspiracy theories and it's just my twisted mind" and then vomitting the contents of right-wing Facebook memes onto the page is an act of both idiocy and hubris. God, the ego on this Carlton.
There is a lot more I could gripe about - like how the male lead Z justifies his murders in the most annoying and unconvincing ways or how the titular Adeline just takes him at his word about everything despite him stalking and raping her or the super pervasive ableism or the absolutely weaksauce attempt at class analysis or how this is absolutely catnip for white women who believe they're going to be kidnapped at Target - but I'll just save us both some time and sanity and tell you not to bother with this dumpster fire of a book. If you're looking for a dark bit of smut, just pull up AO3.
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Violence, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Classism, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Ableism, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism and Torture
Minor: Death of parent
louiepotterbook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Confinement, Car accident, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Stalking, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Rape, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
dani_darko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Stalking, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Gun violence, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Sexism, Trafficking, Blood, and Cannibalism
xmurbef's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
I went into this with incredibly low expectations, and maybe that’s why I sort of enjoyed it? I didn’t expect there to be a substantial plot, and I actually found myself struggling to put it down so I could find out what happens next. Thank god I have access to the sequel because ending in a cliffhanger like this also deserves jail. J A I L.
Plot aside, it should also be noted that this isn’t *just* a smutty romance novel. The list of trigger warnings I’d attach to this book are nearly as long as the book itself. Definitely not for everyone (or most, tbh). I’ll list a few here:
TW: sexual assault, human trafficking, sex trafficking, r*pe, murder, general violence, and generally non-consensual /dub consensual encounters of a wide variety
*To the author’s credit, these trigger warnings are all outlined on the first page of the book. So the reader is properly warned.
The mental gymnastics it requires to even remotely attempt to understand the thoughts and actions of the male main character is beyond my capabilities. And frankly, some of the shit is just corny. To be expected where smut is involved, I suppose. *sigh* I’ve heard book two is a million times more graphic, so I’m really not even sure I want to read it. We’ll see how it goes.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Rape, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Infidelity, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
thebookaddict's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual violence, Grief, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Hate crime, Medical content, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent and Drug use
sleepyochre's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Rape, and Stalking