Do not take these lightly; your mental and emotional health matter!
• human trafficking.
• Child trafficking,
• conspiracy theories surrounding the government with child sacrifice and cannibalism,
• Children do die in this book,
• Stalking,
• Gun Play,
• Dubious consent scenarios,
• Rape,
• Murder,
• Torture,
• Kidnapping
I try to keep it spoiler free to be honest so if I slip up, sorry, but I do not give any in-depth detail!
Oh. My. Goodness. This was my first dark romance book ever. I don’t even know where to start with Haunting Adeline—this book absolutely hooked me from page one. I went in expecting a dark romance, but I didn’t expect to be so completely obsessed with every twist and turn.
Adeline is such a strong, smart, and layered heroine (although at times I was yelling at her and a lot of eye rolls were involved), and I loved how H.D. Carlton doesn’t make her perfect. She’s intelligent(most of the time), independent, and determined, but also vulnerable, scared, and human. Watching her navigate the terrifying realization that someone is watching her every move—I mean, the suspense of Z monitoring her life through cameras and hidden tech—had my heart racing. I could feel her fear and confusion in every scene.
And then there’s Z… oh, Z. I know, he’s obsessive, controlling, and borderline terrifying, but Carlton writes him in a way that made me so curious about his mind. The scenes where he orchestrates his stalking—like leaving little surprises and manipulating her environment—made me gasp out loud more than once. And yet, there’s something compelling about how meticulous he is, how deeply he’s focused on her. It’s twisted, yes, but also strangely fascinating to watch his character unfold (yes, I was there for every second of it, rooting for him and maybe just maybe being a cheerleader).
The tension between them is electric. That scene in the library, where Adeline tries to assert control and Z subtly manipulates the conversation—it had me clutching the book. And the way he reacts when she pushes back? I couldn’t stop reading. It’s dark, but it’s psychological cat-and-mouse storytelling at its best.
I also loved how the book explores trauma and control without sugarcoating it. Adeline’s internal struggle—balancing fear, anger, and a strange attraction—felt real. Her reactions, her doubts, her moments of courage… all of it made her character so relatable, even in such extreme circumstances.
Honestly, I stayed up way too late finishing this because I couldn’t put it down. The combination of suspense, dark romance, and intense character development is just perfect. If you love dark, twisted romance where the tension keeps you glued to the pages, Haunting Adeline is a must-read. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the duet!
Favorite Quotes
“When you make someone fall in love with the darkest parts of you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare them away. They will be yours forever because they already love all the fucked up bits and pieces of you.”
“My body is just a vessel that my soul inhabits, attached to a shell that it'll one day leave. And when that day comes, I won’t care to let that shell go. I carry my body around because I have to, not because it's a choice. But when I possess something meaningful, I’m choosing to hold on to it. Carrying something meaningful in my skin is effortless but holding onto something that I could lose—that takes devotion.”
“No matter how far I run, how hard I try to escape you --you're everywhere I go. You're everything I see. Loving you is like being trapped in a house of mirrors, little mouse. And I've never felt so at home while being so lost inside you.”