A review by nyxvalentineauthor
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

3.0

I would probably give this book a 2.7 stars if I could be more specific.

The non-spoiler section:
For starters, considering this "dark romance" feels bold, given there are multiple outright rape scenes (I don't consider this a spoiler, as the content warning explains there's noncon and dubcon elements. I just hadn't expected the noncon to be between the pairing.) This reads as a horror book, a mystery, and a case of trauma bonding. Note: No, trauma bonding is not where you bond with people over trauma, it's bonding WITH the person who GAVE you the trauma. I.E: your stalker.
I enjoyed the first half of the book far more than I thought I would. Based on everything I'd heard online, I figured this would be a DNF. I only read it out of curiousity, and found myself surprised by enjoying it. The enjoyment started to wane, and the story became more convoluted. Lines were crossed where I couldn't bring myself to even remotely enjoy Adeline and Zade, no matter what kind of cute moments were given. There's technically two cliffhangers in this story, one I would consider a proper cliffhanger, and the other, while technically applying, feels like it's very obvious where it will end up.
While a lot of the book felt pretty predictable, the mystery ending was enough to catch me off guard. I'm not going to call it an amazing, mind-blowing plot twist, I'm sure people smarter than me (especially if you read a lot of horror/thriller/mystery) could've figured it out without a problem. But it was enough of a twist to give me some satisfaction with sticking through a book.

Some of the descriptions were nice and well-written, other times it felt like I was reading a book aimed at kids. And I knew too frequently what Adeline was wearing when it wasn't relevant in the slightest.

SPOILER SECTION:
SpoilerZade is a fucking creep. And while I appreciate the fact he's not a completely despicable human being and he's trying to do good in the world, that almost makes his treatment of Adeline WORSE. I can deal with the stalking, but raping Adeline multiple times, and then trying to justify it because she gained physical pleasure from it. Plenty of rape victims will orgasm during the attack, it doesn't mean they enjoyed it, it doesn't mean it's not traumatizing, nor does it make it okay. It also doesn't help that there's a line later on in the book where Jay makes a comment about preferring his women willing, and Zade responds "Sounds to me like you don't understand a woman's body well enough to know when it sings for you, even when her mouth tries to resist." What. The. Fuck? So, a woman having a physiologic response to stimulation is a green light, even if she's telling you no and trying to push you off? And at no point during the book does it acknowledge the sexual assault is a problem. He has no character development of "this isn't the proper way to treat a woman I claim to be in love with." Adeline just starts to accept it, thanks to trauma bonding, thus he's led to believe it's fine.
I didn't enjoy the fact they tried to justify his actions and what not by giving the "twist" that the Saviors already had their eyes on her prior to Zade ever seeing her. Not only is it a predictable cliche, but it still doesn't justify any of his actions. It's great that he protects her from the creeps, just not himself.

Another moment that feels important to mention is Zade and Adeline have a discussion about whether or not Adeline has daddy issues. She explains that she has no problems with her father, he was around, he wasn't abusive, they just weren't close, so no, she doesn't have daddy issues. Zade then tells her "now you do", and there's a conversation about Zade being Adeline's "Daddy" and Adeline is his "little girl." Who the actual fuck deals with pedophiles, child rapists, and traffickers, and still finds that kind of language even remotely sexy? Especially since he's the one who initiates it.

Adeline acknowledges that her reactions to Zade are a problem. She acknowledges that she shouldn't be gaining pleasure from being stalked, that she should be way more terrified, and that it's fucked she's enjoying stuff. However, while she makes plenty of stupid choices (provoking Zade on multiple occasions, on purpose), it's still not her fault. She's not falling in love, she's becoming trauma-bonded and accepting the way her life will be. To her psyche, it's safer, easier, and less stressful to stop resisting. And because Zade also happens to do some good in the world, it further helps her justify feeling like she's developing romantic attraction. It feels like there should still be some clarity for her at the end of the book, because even after she tells Daya everything, she STILL doesn't tell him about being raped with his gun. I'm pretty sure she says at one point that she will never tell Daya about that. If you can't tell your best friend about your first sexual encounter with your supposed lover, there's still a problem. I feel like Daya should've reacted a lot more than she did as well. Zade may be Daya's boss, but he also stalked her best friend, traumatized her (hello, hands in a box? Which also could've gotten Adeline in a shit load of trouble), and killed people for the primary purpose of jealousy. Yes, Arch was a piece of shit. But 95% of Zade's reason for killing him is trying to hook up with Adeline. Daya should've been pissed and trying to wake her friend up, not being mad for 2 minutes and then going "oh well, at least he's hot and he fucks well."


Maybe there's finally some character growth and realization in #2, but I doubt it. I'm not sure whether I'm going to read it or not. It was fun for a horror/thriller, but that was about it.