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readingafaerietale 's review for:
Haunting Adeline
by H.D. Carlton
I am absolutely speechless. This book made me feel things.
I feel like I’m trying to process this but I don’t know if I ever truly will do here are my thoughts anyways.
Adeline Reilly is so dark and twisty, so awkward and introverted, so strong and confident, so loyal and protective. She is rivaling many female MCs on complexity alone. She is so well written and human, I kinda believe she exists in the world? Addie is an indie book author who recently inherited Parson’s Manor from her Nana that meant so much to her. We don’t know the full depth of Addie’s childhood, only that her mother is cold and cruel, her father is really nonexistent, and her best friend/basically sister, Daya, is the other half of her. Daya as a secondary character was phenomenal - she was a voice of reason, while also being supportive and non-judgmental, and extremely useful as a skilled hacker. I want a Daya in my life.
Throughout the story we get glimpses of the darkness living within Addie that honestly make her extremely endearing to me. She believes in the ghosts of the manor, the demonic energy existing in the attic, she gets off on fear and lives for Halloween. And she spends most of this book trying to solve the murder of her great grandma, Gigi, after finding her diaries about falling in love with her stalker. MEANWHILE trying to come to terms with her very own shadow (history repeating itself???).
Zade is arguably the most morally grey character I’ve ever read. Honestly he’s on the verge of pure blackness. But the honesty in that (oh and the fact that he is literally dedicating his life to rescuing trafficked women and children) makes you fall in love with him anyways. Addie never stood a chance. We live through Zade’s POV between obsessing over Addie and saving victims from fucked up people (while he tortures and kills the latter). We don’t get any excuses for his behavior - he is what he is, without any shame.
This whole book is pretty messed up, but tells their story so intensely I had a hard time putting it down. The cliffhanger is brutal, I am very fortunate that I waited until the final book is out to start the series. It’s definitely not for everyone - you need to read the trigger warnings.
But the story is horrific and mesmerizing and it’s a constant rollercoaster of emotions. It’s really really well written and perfectly complex. It has mystery and romance, amazing characters, and a dark setting. It goes into depth on the depravity of humanity. It hurts to read at times - knowing that human trafficking and abuse is happening in the world right now, as we speak. We all need to channel our inner Zade and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.
I feel like I’m trying to process this but I don’t know if I ever truly will do here are my thoughts anyways.
Adeline Reilly is so dark and twisty, so awkward and introverted, so strong and confident, so loyal and protective. She is rivaling many female MCs on complexity alone. She is so well written and human, I kinda believe she exists in the world? Addie is an indie book author who recently inherited Parson’s Manor from her Nana that meant so much to her. We don’t know the full depth of Addie’s childhood, only that her mother is cold and cruel, her father is really nonexistent, and her best friend/basically sister, Daya, is the other half of her. Daya as a secondary character was phenomenal - she was a voice of reason, while also being supportive and non-judgmental, and extremely useful as a skilled hacker. I want a Daya in my life.
Throughout the story we get glimpses of the darkness living within Addie that honestly make her extremely endearing to me. She believes in the ghosts of the manor, the demonic energy existing in the attic, she gets off on fear and lives for Halloween. And she spends most of this book trying to solve the murder of her great grandma, Gigi, after finding her diaries about falling in love with her stalker. MEANWHILE trying to come to terms with her very own shadow (history repeating itself???).
Zade is arguably the most morally grey character I’ve ever read. Honestly he’s on the verge of pure blackness. But the honesty in that (oh and the fact that he is literally dedicating his life to rescuing trafficked women and children) makes you fall in love with him anyways. Addie never stood a chance. We live through Zade’s POV between obsessing over Addie and saving victims from fucked up people (while he tortures and kills the latter). We don’t get any excuses for his behavior - he is what he is, without any shame.
This whole book is pretty messed up, but tells their story so intensely I had a hard time putting it down. The cliffhanger is brutal, I am very fortunate that I waited until the final book is out to start the series. It’s definitely not for everyone - you need to read the trigger warnings.
But the story is horrific and mesmerizing and it’s a constant rollercoaster of emotions. It’s really really well written and perfectly complex. It has mystery and romance, amazing characters, and a dark setting. It goes into depth on the depravity of humanity. It hurts to read at times - knowing that human trafficking and abuse is happening in the world right now, as we speak. We all need to channel our inner Zade and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.