Review // Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Oxygen, words, coherent thoughts—all that sh*t escapes me when I get my first look at Adeline Reilly in the flesh.

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Rating - ★★★★
Book One of the Cat and Mouse duet
Genre/Trope - Dark Romance / stalker / vigilante
Release - August 12, 2021
POV - Dual 1st person
Heat - explicit scenes / non-dub consent
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Length - 551 pages

The Manipulator

I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He's always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.

The Shadow

I didn't mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can't stay away.
I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses...
I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I'll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.

I'm going to hurry up and put some words down here because I've already got book two loaded up and I NEED to know what happens next!

Adeline drove me nuts and I couldn't get enough of Zade. I know that's messed up. Dude was seriously a creepy stalker, but the author captured just enough of his sexiness on page to make it alright. Would I condone his behaviour in real life? Would I be as welcoming as Adeline? Would I have the police on speed dial and a gun permanently attached to my hand?

The answer is obviously yes. *side eye* Obviously.

Zade was a hotbed of contradictions. He dedicated his life to protecting the innocent. Women and children who were being targeted had a guardian angel in him. But he found no problem terrifying his sweet Adeline.

"I love that I scare you. I love that you try to run from me. The push and pull. The cat and mouse game. I fucking love it. And I think a part of you does, too.” — Zade

Adeline's denials to Zade got old pretty quickly, but I did enjoy the cat and mouse game going on between them. Every scene they shared was explosive. Every time they spoke, I learned another one of their truths. And the feelings that were growing... Let's just say I'm excited to start reading the next book.

This man is going to ruin me after tonight. I can taste it on my tongue.

This story is a mixed bag and I can see those who really appreciate something filthy and taboo really loving it.

Quick Peek

"You want to know why I love the house of mirrors?" he murmurs in my ear, eliciting sparks throughout my nerve endings. His voice is full of dark promises and dangerous beginnings.
I swallow thickly. "Why?" I whisper.
"Look around you," he commands softly. Hesitantly, I pull my eyes away from his, dragging my gaze across the dozens of mirrors.
"What you're seeing now is what I see every day. 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 of you."

H. D. Carlton is an International and USA Today Bestselling author. She lives in Ohio with her partner, two dogs, and cat. When she's not bathing in the tears of her readers, she's watching paranormal shows and wishing she was a mermaid. Her favorite characters are of the morally gray variety and believes that everyone should check their sanity at the door before diving into her stories.

Visit https://hdcarlton.com for more information