What do you get when you put an author in a haunted Victorian mansion, give her a family murder mystery, add a stalker……
I went into Haunting Adeline (Book 1 in Cat and Mouse Duology) expecting the stalker to be the main event. Instead, it was the haunted house, the family mystery, and Adeline’s increasingly chaotic investigation that had me turning pages like my life depended on it.
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.
Genre
Dark Romance
Tropes
- Thriller
- Stalking Situation
- Murder Mystery
- Conspiracies working in the background
- He is obsessed with her
- Morally Grey MMC
- Author FMC
- Cat and Mouse Game
My Review
I have a very simple weakness when it comes to books: give me an old, slightly sinister house with a questionable family history and I am immediately investigating every locked door. The moment I read that the house is haunted, I knew the house is going to be my favourite character…..🥹
H. D. Carlton’s Haunting Adeline drops Adeline into her late grandmother’s beautiful house in Seattle, where she discovers old journals, a family mystery, and the rather inconvenient presence of a stalker who refuses to leave her alone. Going in, I expected the dark romance to be the main event. And yes, the stalking, the chemistry, the texting, and the decidedly spicy moments certainly were entertaining.
But what surprised me was how much I enjoyed everything happening around the romance. The mystery surrounding Adeline’s great-grandmother, the eerie atmosphere of Parsons Manor, Adeline’s hilarious inner monologue, and the increasingly disturbing secrets surrounding the stalker kept me turning pages.
For all the darkness surrounding Haunting Adeline, what ultimately made it work for me was how many layers there were to uncover. I came for the dark romance, but the haunted house, Gigi’s murder, Adeline’s investigation, and the larger conspiracy kept pulling me deeper. I expected to take my time with this one. Instead, I devoured it in a day and a night. (It was raining heavily, and I enjoyed every second of reading this book)
My question to the readers is: At what point does the stalker’s mysterious appeal outweigh the fact that his behaviour was genuinely disturbing?
My Rating
- Overall: ★★★★★ | 5 Stars
- Plot: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Romance: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Characters:★★★★★ | 45 Stars
- Pacing: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Ending: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶| Level 4
- Book Cover:★★★★★| 5 Stars ( Perfection)
The Best Part
- The Mystery of Gigi
- All the cozy parts of the story where Adeline moves and makes this house her home
- Daya and Adeline’s Friendship
- The romance of course!
The Worst Part
- The ending……lol 😭
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