Let’s just start with the obvious: the spice in Haunting Adeline is scorching. Carlton knows how to write a sex scene that makes you want to fan yourself and take a moment. If I could give five stars for steam alone, this book would get them all. But alas, there’s a plot wrapped around the smut, and that’s where things start to fall apart.

Zade Meadows, our “morally gray” stalker-turned-hero, is undeniably swoon-worthy. He’s intense, dangerous, and the kind of bad boy that lives rent-free in your head. But the problem isn’t Zade himself, it’s the hypocrisy of his moral compass. He’s out here preaching justice while committing some of the same acts he’s supposedly condemning. And listen, I can suspend disbelief for the sake of a good dark romance, but this was asking too much.

Then there’s Adeline. I wanted to root for her (I really did) but she felt more like a vehicle for the plot, or Zade’s obsession, than a fully realized character. Her decisions often bordered on nonsensical, and while I can appreciate a damsel who occasionally saves herself, her arc felt hollow.

As for the story, let’s just say believability wasn’t on the menu. I’m fine with a bit of absurdity in my dark romance, but this veered into soap opera territory. Secret societies, overly convenient twists, and a narrative that tried to be edgy but often felt forced… it was all a bit too much.

If you’re here purely for the smut and depravity, you’ll have a great time. Carlton undeniably delivers on that front. But if you’re looking for a cohesive plot or characters you can take seriously, Haunting Adeline might leave you frustrated. Trigger warnings and a more serious warning directed at Carlton for actually understanding what consensual non-consent really is — this was not it (at least not at first).