Hey ForeverBookers,
How are you all? I hope you’re all good!
I’ve just finished reading “Haunting Adeline,” which I enjoyed.
3 Stars!
It tells the story of Addie, who we meet as a twenty-six year old woman. She’s an author although, this isn’t focused on in the plot of “Haunting Adeline.” She’s knows she has a stalker. His name is revealed as Zade later in the book. He becomes her sexual partner and then her lover nearer the end of the book. How do Addie and Zade end up together? And do they stay together? You’ll need to read for yourself to find out! We also see from Addie’s great-grandmother Gigi’s POV through letters. Gigi died, how and why we and Addie doesn’t know. This is the main mystery point of the novel, that Addie is trying to figure out.
I read Haunting Adeline for Reading Rivalry. The prompt is covered was “I Volunteer As A Tribute” because Addie literally gives herself sexually to her stalker, no doubt in her mind.
There are triggers in “Haunting Adeline.” They’re surrounding child and female trafficking.
Spoilers Below
“The windows of my house tremble from the power of thunder rolling across the skies. Lightning strikes in the distance, illuminating the night. In that small moment, the few seconds of blinding light showcases the man standing outside my window. Watching me. Always watching me.
I go through the motions, just like I always do. My heart skips a beat and then palpitates, my breathing turns shallow, and my hands grow clammy. It doesn’t matter how many times I see him, he always pulls the same reaction out of me.
Fear.
And excitement.
I don’t know why it excites me. Something must be wrong with me. It’s not normal for liquid heat to coarse through my veins, leaving tingles burning in its wake. It’s not common for my mind to start wondering about things I shouldn’t.”
This is the start of “Haunting Adeline.” Addie knows that she’s being stalked from the beginning. She doesn’t know it’s Zade until about half way through the novel. I wish she’d known that fact a little sooner to be honest. I thought the mystery went on for a little too long. It wasn’t a mystery to us because we see from both Addie and Zade’s POV, so although Addie was left in the dark, Zade obviously wasn’t.
In the above quote, it says that Addie is both fearful and excited. She feels a sexual desire for Zade, which she knows she shouldn’t feel, especially when she doesn’t know him. I kind of thought the story started before the book did if that makes sense. It was like Addie experienced viewings of her “stalker,” what she calls Zade to begin with before she knows who he is, before the start of the book. I would have liked to have seen the first time she saw him.
When Zade reveals himself, it’s during when he and Addie are having sex. I LOVED the sex scenes in Haunting Adeline! They were sooooo HOT!!! I wanted Zade here with me! Is he my favourite book boyfriend now? No, but he’s probably 4th or 5th on my list now. He’s also very protective towards Addie, too and this comes across in the latter half of the novel.
The main plot of “Haunting Adeline” is centred around human trafficking. I wouldn’t say this novel really focuses on this main plot point. It’s more of a a prelude to Hunting Adeline, where I believe most of the trigger warnings lie. It just introduces the female and child trafficking.
Zade saves young girls from sex traffickers. We see this happen twice in the novel. Once when Zade goes to a house party where the guests are due to literally feast on a young girl, and the other time at the club where this evil group of people meet. Zade saves this girl too.
We’re left on a cliffhanger with both of our main characters at the end of “Haunting Adeline,” Zade is in a predicament.
“The fuck happened?” My head is fucking throbbing, and my back feels near broken. “Why are you here?”
“I came as soon as I figured it out. It was a setup. This last video… they knew we were coming… I don’t know how, man. But they purposely leaked the fucking video. It was a fucking setup.”
This is Zade after having just woken up after being knocked out when he tried to save the last young victim in the novel. He’s talking to his lackey, Jay. Jay is reporting how the girl being victimised was a setup. How is this possible? We’ll find out in “Hunting Adeline,” I expect.
Gigi is married to John but wants to be with another man. John doesn’t like this for obvious reasons. I thought John was a bit of a tool to be honest. He was nasty and not supportive of Gigi’s decisions. Do Addie and Zade find out who killed Gigi or is that answer left unanswered? You’ll have to read for yourself.
I really enjoyed reading Addie’s last part more. I found it scary and thrilling. She has a car accident when she’s on her way to her best friend Daya’s house because she texts to say she’s in trouble. I don’t trust Daya AT ALL! I think she’s twisted and evil! I hope that Zade saves Addie! We’ll see…
Overall, I just enjoyed “Haunting Adeline.” I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either, so that’s why I’m giving it 3 stars. It wasn’t all that I thought it would be, which is why this review is so short. I thought the plot was intense but very simple and could have been expanded on for the length of the novel. The bits that I enjoyed the most were the love scenes between Addie and Zade. There were quite a few of them, which I appreciated. The Gigi plot told through the letters was what kept me most on edge other than the ending of the book.
I’m going to read “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness next, which already has an in depth review on my blog so I won’t review it again. After that I’m going to reread “A Court of Frost and Starlight,” by Sarah J Maas, which also has a review so I won’t review that again either. It’s my birthday in the middle of December, so I won’t read too much more I don’t expect. I’ll wrap up my year, if not read another short book by the end of December if I can! Anyway, Happy Christmas if it’s not before then!
Comments
Post a Comment