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A review by bashsbooks
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
dark
mysterious
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? No
0.25
I've read 137 books this year, and this one stands out as the worst. It's not due to the sex, which is desperately trying to be edgy but is actually quite boring, nor is it due to the darker themes - I start my review by saying this because undoubtedly this author and fans of this work likely think that criticisms of it come from that angle.
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 of 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.
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 of 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Racism and Torture
Minor: Death of parent