Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton 🥀
Book Tropes:
- stalker
- dark
- enemies to lovers
- touch her and die
My Review:
☆☆☆ stars
“I stalk her because I’m addicted. I’m fascinated with every move she makes, every word that comes out of her pretty pink mouth. And now, I’m addicted to her scent, her taste, and the way she sounds when she’s scared for her life — just as much as I’m addicted to the way she sounds when she’s begging for more.”
I wish I knew where to begin this review. I truly do. I guess the safest way to start it is by saying that it’s true when some people say Booktok sets unrealistically high expectations for books, just for you to go into a book with these expectations and come out of it like “This is what everyone hyped up?”
for starters, I’d like to preface this review by saying I went into this book knowing the majority of what happens, who does what, and all the “popular quotes” and reasons why everyone loves Zade. i love zade, i love addie…I just expected so much more than I received. people said the ending was so sad and so unexpected…I honestly don’t think so. that’s the ending that tore everyone up? lol. the overall plot of the book had its highs and its lows and I honestly feel like it lacked..something. it lacked something to keep me engaged and feel the need to keep reading. I DNFED this book around two years ago around the 20% mark and I still understand why.
I think I only have myself to blame really cause I went into this book with the expectations and standards that Booktok and Bookstagram have implicated on me, thinking this book would alter my brain chemistry in the best way. in reality, I’m coming out of this book with the same brain chemistry I had going into it and the strong feeling of being underwhelmed. nothing extravagant really happened in my opinion, at least nothing I haven’t read before, nor was there any moment in time where I felt like this book was gonna end up being that memorable for me.
it’s a dark romance for sure, with many dark themes and decent smut, but that’s really it. zade can definitely be considered a book boyfriend of mine, but not one that stands out from the rest (lol). everything he did for Addie was so cute, the “popular quotes” mentioned and highlighted in this book is definitely worth all the hype they get, but that’s it. honestly, I think this book is more “life-changing” to people new to the dark romance genre than people who have read many dark romance books and are used to dealing with such heavy themes in their reads. that doesn’t go to say I’m judging anyone cause of course not, but I’m sadly coming out of this book underwhelmed and having none of my standards or expectations (thanks to social media and other reviews) met.
crossing my fingers I like hunting Adeline better than this one.
I wish I knew where to begin this review. I truly do. I guess the safest way to start it is by saying that it’s true when some people say Booktok sets unrealistically high expectations for books, just for you to go into a book with these expectations and come out of it like “This is what everyone hyped up?”
for starters, I’d like to preface this review by saying I went into this book knowing the majority of what happens, who does what, and all the “popular quotes” and reasons why everyone loves Zade. i love zade, i love addie…I just expected so much more than I received. people said the ending was so sad and so unexpected…I honestly don’t think so. that’s the ending that tore everyone up? lol. the overall plot of the book had its highs and its lows and I honestly feel like it lacked..something. it lacked something to keep me engaged and feel the need to keep reading. I DNFED this book around two years ago around the 20% mark and I still understand why.
I think I only have myself to blame really cause I went into this book with the expectations and standards that Booktok and Bookstagram have implicated on me, thinking this book would alter my brain chemistry in the best way. in reality, I’m coming out of this book with the same brain chemistry I had going into it and the strong feeling of being underwhelmed. nothing extravagant really happened in my opinion, at least nothing I haven’t read before, nor was there any moment in time where I felt like this book was gonna end up being that memorable for me.
it’s a dark romance for sure, with many dark themes and decent smut, but that’s really it. zade can definitely be considered a book boyfriend of mine, but not one that stands out from the rest (lol). everything he did for Addie was so cute, the “popular quotes” mentioned and highlighted in this book is definitely worth all the hype they get, but that’s it. honestly, I think this book is more “life-changing” to people new to the dark romance genre than people who have read many dark romance books and are used to dealing with such heavy themes in their reads. that doesn’t go to say I’m judging anyone cause of course not, but I’m sadly coming out of this book underwhelmed and having none of my standards or expectations (thanks to social media and other reviews) met.
crossing my fingers I like hunting Adeline better than this one.
Book Blurb:
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 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 DO NOT OWN THE PHOTO INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW, I ONLY OWN AND WROTE THE REVIEW SHOWN ABOVE!!**
