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

dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

My thoughts as i read the book. 
  1. Why didnt you check the attic whyyyy?? 
  2. 50 pages in, i am struggling to see the part where exactly the booktok and bookstagram fell in love with this novel? 
  3. Actively ignoring her stalkers threats and bringing home a guy. And then the whole oh he died because of me drama? 
  4. And then regretting bringing that guy home for ENTIRELY different reasons. 
  5. 105 pages in i realise this story is wholly about a man engulfing someone’s life just because he happened to see her at some random book store?? He is obviously a psychopath control freak (and not in an attractive way). 
  6. Unrealistic depiction of injuries
  7. Writing seemed off. 
  8. Fighting scenes werent well written. 
  9. “Hands shaking, I set the box back down and just panic. There’s a drop of blood on my toe. I knew there was blood on my hands already, but now my toes? I can’t take this.” Instead of building up the tension these dumb jokes ruin the mood so bad. 
  10. Wtf was that gun r*pe scene? Wow i thought nothing could disgust me but this motherfucking hypocrite psycho sure did. 
  11. Halfway through i am unable to form any connection with the characters i am not invested or emotionally attached to them and zade isn’t impressing me in the slightest. I have read morally questionable guys several times. I live for such characters in dark romance books but this was unacceptable. He didnt have to force himself on addie and on top of it - HIM ACKNOWLEDGING IT?? NO NO NO. A big no. 
  12. And even before that scene, i simply couldnt bring myself to sympathise with the characters. Addie doesnt give writer vibes. The actions scenes were plain boring. And the whole great grandmother being in love with her stalker plot felt unnecessary. I am at page 234 and 300 more pages to go. I am praying the plot takes a 180 degree turn and there’s something that could save this novel from going to my dnf list. 
  13. The first scene I actually liked was the one where mark invited zade to the charity event. 
  14. I sorta kinda liked addie and zade’s interactions after that point on. (Although i skipped through all the ‘intimate’ scenes. Not my cup of tea.) 
  15. It was awfully easy to guess who killed gigy. 
  16. It doesnt end there. Ofc it doesnt. Theres another book that is 516 pages long. 
  17. Overall i did not enjoy it much. But i do want to know what happens and theres a silver of a chance the second book is better so off we go! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings