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A review by voxvenati
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
This book was a mess. The concept was interesting enough - a stalker romance? In an old, possibly haunted house? Ok. I’m on board. But everything after the premise was handled like garbage, unfortunately.
The first and worst offender? Zade. First, that name is really not it. Second, he is boring. He doesn’t even have an interesting backstory. Third, they tried to make him a good guy instead of committing to the stalker theme. “Oh he’s a vigilante”. Weak. Last, he is such a strange combination of conspiracy theorist, edgelord, and ??? It’s extremely unsexy. I’ll provide quotes in spoilers:
Moon landing conspiracy theorist:
I don’t know if God really exists. I don’t know if mankind has ever walked on the moon.
Edgelord:
Since I was a kid, I had a knack for computer science, and my skills have surpassed even the top hackers in government organizations.
The first and worst offender? Zade. First, that name is really not it. Second, he is boring. He doesn’t even have an interesting backstory. Third, they tried to make him a good guy instead of committing to the stalker theme. “Oh he’s a vigilante”. Weak. Last, he is such a strange combination of conspiracy theorist, edgelord, and ??? It’s extremely unsexy. I’ll provide quotes in spoilers:
I don’t know if God really exists. I don’t know if mankind has ever walked on the moon.
Edgelord:
Since I was a kid, I had a knack for computer science, and my skills have surpassed even the top hackers in government organizations.
The second worst thing about this book is the writing:
Her blonde hair is tucked tightly into a chignon, pink lipstick painted on her thin lips, and icy blue eyes.
“As much as I hate to say this to you, I’m no stranger to a woman’s pussy and what it feels like when it weeps for me.”
I love the way his fiery orbs trace over my body, like a paintbrush tracing the curves of a woman on a canvas.
The sex scenes were in a sort of reverse order of escalation. In my opinion, they started with the most dark/fucked up stuff and moved into seriously vanilla sex by the end. Why would they do this..?
Also, for a book with dub/noncon, it never felt like dubcon/noncon. Adeline is into it almost right away. There isn’t a real internal turmoil, it’s just. Kinda like a role play for her. Again, weak that they didn’t commit to this fully. That isn’t to say it isn’t assault - it’s definitely sexual assault within the context because there was no consent. But the way Adeline reacted was…not what you’d expect of noncon or dubcon.
When all is said and done, this was a mediocre book with poor writing and an awful payoff for the actual mystery element. Weak plot, no character development, and mid sex scenes. And though the sex scenes were plentiful, I wouldn’t want Zade within ten feet of me with his borderline incel vibes, so I’m not sure if that counts as a positive or a negative.