corallydeer 's review for:

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

5.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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One of my new favorite books. The subject matter is definitely very dark and people should absolutely be aware of that before trying to read these books. At least for me, the subject matter wasn't enough to turn me off, and in reality, I truly loved both the story and the author's style overall. Carlton has a wonderful writing style that flows exceptionally well and still feels completely natural. I constantly found myself enthralled and reading for hours on end with ease. Addie, as a character, was a bit annoying at first but I got used to her personality over time and I loved Zade and Daya (Addie's best friend).

Very curious now to see how I'll handle the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury

The amount of content warning tags makes it hard to explain them all, so for simplicity's sake

this is a dark, stalker romance with violent vigilantism around taking down child and adult human trafficking (for everything from sex trafficking, pedophile rings, organ trade, ritualistic sacrifice and cannibalism)

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