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A review by mellifluousmemos
Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The second book in the series is way darker than the first book. Again, I would not call this series dark romance, I'd call it horror. My review of Haunting Adeline is true for this book as well, though it's far worse and way more intense. In this book, when the author warns of knife play, it should be more specified that it's not only knife play, it's also cutting into old scars, blood (way too much blood), blood during sex, ingesting blood, and the like. The amount of blood, especially toward the end of the book, was very difficult to stomach.
I was able to read through the sexual assault, the rape, the abuse, and the like. I knew that Zade would rescue Addie, and that was why I kept reading. But it was very hard to get through. I appreciated that the story seemed to about picking up all of a victim's broken pieces and putting themselves back together again. Zade is not the most mentally well person to pick up Addie's pieces and help her put herself back together. But he was exactly what she needed to get back to herself again.
Zade wants to be the only thing in Addie's life that scares her. And while that does not sound like a healthy relationship, it truly seems to work for the pair of them. Again, if this were real life, I would certainly not condone such behavior in a relationship. Addie even tries to claim that she has Stolkholm Syndrome at one point. To a degree, I can understand that if Zade is the scariest thing in Addie's life, he can sleep at night knowing that he'll forever take care of her. But on the other hand, he threatens to kill her over and over again. So, that balance is incredibly fragile.
I appreciate that Addie not only gets her strength back after being victimized, but she also seems to get even stronger. I love the idea of her getting revenge on her captors and abusers. I almost wish that was more of the focus of part two, to be honest. I could have done without so much Sibby, especially for her to randomly disappear at the end of the book. It felt like she was a side character placed into the action for convenience sake rather than to propel the story forward in a more meaningful way. Overall, the spice was very intense. Sometimes the spice was hard to stomach due to the gore and the abuse. But it was a great Halloween read and there are defintiely some Zade quotes that I will be thinking about for a long time to come.
I was able to read through the sexual assault, the rape, the abuse, and the like. I knew that Zade would rescue Addie, and that was why I kept reading. But it was very hard to get through. I appreciated that the story seemed to about picking up all of a victim's broken pieces and putting themselves back together again. Zade is not the most mentally well person to pick up Addie's pieces and help her put herself back together. But he was exactly what she needed to get back to herself again.
Zade wants to be the only thing in Addie's life that scares her. And while that does not sound like a healthy relationship, it truly seems to work for the pair of them. Again, if this were real life, I would certainly not condone such behavior in a relationship. Addie even tries to claim that she has Stolkholm Syndrome at one point. To a degree, I can understand that if Zade is the scariest thing in Addie's life, he can sleep at night knowing that he'll forever take care of her. But on the other hand, he threatens to kill her over and over again. So, that balance is incredibly fragile.
I appreciate that Addie not only gets her strength back after being victimized, but she also seems to get even stronger. I love the idea of her getting revenge on her captors and abusers. I almost wish that was more of the focus of part two, to be honest. I could have done without so much Sibby, especially for her to randomly disappear at the end of the book. It felt like she was a side character placed into the action for convenience sake rather than to propel the story forward in a more meaningful way. Overall, the spice was very intense. Sometimes the spice was hard to stomach due to the gore and the abuse. But it was a great Halloween read and there are defintiely some Zade quotes that I will be thinking about for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Please take the trigger warnings seriously and understand that book 2 is far worse than book 1 in terms of how difficult these parts are to get through.