Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Haunting Adeline

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

119 reviews

ent0mbed's review against another edition

dark medium-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? It's complicated

0.25

⇢ 0.25 star

DNF - 58%

“All I want to do is break her. Shatter her into pieces. And then arrange those pieces to fit against my own. I don’t care if they don’t fit—I’ll fucking make them.”

I knew I would hate this book before I bought it — honestly I only got it so I could talk shit — and I was proven correct.

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I would like to start by saying am all for a good dark romance but this is just lacking the romance ( as well as consent ). The most romantic thing he did was leave roses for her. Like that is literally it.
DARK ROMANCE = ROMANCE WITH DARK CONTENT!!

And I do not want a single person saying ‘it’s just fiction’ because these things happen in real life. And when fiction starts to taint your real life values it clearly is no longer ‘just fiction’

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⇢ Adeline —

Her character has literally no personality whatsoever .

She admits to what Zade doing to her being SA, yet her character continues to be with him. She is quite literally just a lump of flesh that does whatever he wants. I am so fed up of seeing shallow female characters within dark romance.

I also hate how ‘perfect’ she is. Like having a good pair of tits, ass and a flat stomach. Don’t get me wrong I wish I had allat, but it’s like does it have to be that way ?

⇢ Zade —

Zade rescues people from human trafficking rings. And for what ? Because he has some god complex.
How can you be that hypocritical as well. He’s just as shitty as the men he tortures.

Also I feel his whole sex trafficking saviour thing is literally added so we can say one decent thing about this man.

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NOW FOR THE SMUT …. It was crap!

Truth be told I only read this book for the spice — as I heard much about it — and it was appalling. Like I wrote better in my Harry styles fan fiction as a 12 year old, sorta appalling.

First of all, the gun scene. I’m my opinion it had potential if Adeline actually consented to any of it … oh and if it wasn’t terribly written.

And as for the famous — very over hyped — house of mirrors scene.
The concept is hot and heart racing … but the execution was boring. I felt no thrill when reading that scene. Infact I was tempted to just skip it because I got bored as fuck.

Even worse was the dirty talk. Utterly horrific. I had to put the book down so many times because I cringed so hard at it.

“As much as I hate to say this to you, I am no stranger to a woman’s pussy and what it feels like when it weeps for me.”

EWW! If a man ever said that to me I’d dry up like the Sahara desert in an instant. This man is supposed to be some sex God and is saying shit like THAT.

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And lastly is my opinion that this Book is pretty much just Q-anon smut. For example Zade literally going by Z … like Q!

Finally, I always would end a review with ‘no hate’ but honestly I take that back for this review. Because if you can write a book and romanticise this shit in it I have no respect for you

Content Warnings

msmagoo502's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Problematic requires a large suspension of belief and morality just nope

Content Warnings

e11iphant's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

misswirum's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is a book that's extreme hyped on social media, and I guess I expect more? It was kinda slow, but also kinda relaxing?
I liked the c-plot the most. I was deeply invested in knowing who killed Adeline's great-grandmother. The ghost-vibes was a nice touch.

I also liked Parson Manor. It was described perfectly!
I think Adeline was an okay FMC. I really don't see the hate for her. Zade was also okay, although unhinged lol.

Will be diving right into Hunting Adeline🫣

3,75/5⭐️
4/5📝
3,5/5🌶

Content Warnings

kat_reads26's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Haunting Adeline is one part dark erotica, one part action-thriller and a sprinkling of Nancy Drew style mystery. Despite how it may be categorized at your local bookstore, is not a romance. This is a NC/CNC Erotic Thriller that isn't for any readers who are easily affected by triggers such as stalking, NC sex, CNC sex, abuse, and mentions of pedophilia. If any of that puts you off, don't bother reading.

With that said, Haunting Adeline started strong and then became a chore to read. The idea of a sexy-stalker-CNC romance with a spooky setting was very intriguing. I'd heard good things from Booktok about this one, including how heavily "spicy" it was. While there is graphic sex scenes depicted here, I have definitely read better. What's worse is that the book is so plot heavy that you have to read through several chapters of our FMC playing detective in her house and our MMC playing "good guy" mercenary with maybe 10 spicy scenes in a 500+ page book.

Speaking of our MMC, he's a complete hypocrite. The chapters from his POV are all about how he wants to save women and children from trafficking and take down pedophile rings/the skin trade and how disgusted he is by the sexual abuse that takes place. And yet he is a textbook definition stalker that has set his sights on the FMC for no discernable reason besides beauty and sexually assaults her again and again. The author does her best to convince us that its not as bad as it is because our FMC is aroused by fear and mystery. That while she "knows its wrong" her body "can't help it." The MMC is clearly told no to his advances over and over again throughout the span of the story (with a few CNC moments nearer to the end) but he persists, claiming it's a game and that he's turned on by her fear and by the chase. The author insists the stalker needs to be redeemable and likable so she has essentially made him the batman of sex trafficking rings.

The sex scenes we do get (albeit rape for most of the book) are padded with multiple chapters of our MMC being the hero of an action movie no one signed on for, as well as an ongoing (and insufferable) added plot of the FMC solving her Great Grandmother's murder. I mean, I guess Adeline needed SOMETHING to do when she's not getting assaulted by the MMC.

If you were hoping to get a dark/taboo sexy love story to get off to while you read... this isn't gonna be it.

I'm not kidding when I tell you that 95% of the sex scenes in this book are non consensual. The FMC is more or less Stockholm syndromed into falling for her stalker via his magic penis. I'm not saying this story wasn't worth reading...but I am saying I probably won't read the next one.

This story ends on a cliffhanger. I'm fine with not knowing what happens next.

Trigger Warnings with Spoilers:

There is a scene where the female main character is made to masturbate with a gun, 50% of the story is about sex trafficking rings, child abuse, child torture, and pedophilia, the relationship between the main characters is non consensual for most of the book, then it is CNC for the rest

Content Warnings