"Haunting Adeline" is H.D. Carlton's unapologetically dark romance that follows Adeline Reilly, a reclusive author who inherits her grandmother's Victorian mansion, and Zade Meadows, the mysterious stalker who becomes obsessed with her.

This book lives firmly in the controversial 'dark romance' subgenre, featuring explicit stalking behavior, dubious consent, and psychological manipulation presented as romantic elements. Carlton doesn't shy away from heavy themes—human trafficking, sexual violence, and trauma feature prominently alongside the central stalker romance.

The dual POV structure gives readers access to both Adeline's fear and confusion and Zade's justifications for his increasingly invasive behavior. The pacing is uneven, with the romance plot sometimes overshadowed by Zade's vigilante subplot involving rescuing trafficking victims. Carlton's writing style is accessible and addictive, with steamy scenes that will satisfy readers seeking explicit content.

However, the book's treatment of consent is deeply problematic—Zade's stalking escalates to breaking into Adeline's home, watching her sleep, and leaving threatening gifts, yet this behavior is romanticized rather than condemned. The gothic mansion setting adds atmospheric appeal, and Carlton effectively builds tension and suspense.

This book is specifically for readers who enjoy morally gray or outright villainous love interests, aren't triggered by stalking/dubious consent themes, and prefer their romance with explicit sexual content and psychological complexity. Readers should absolutely skip this if they're sensitive to stalking, sexual violence, or non-consensual elements, or if they prefer healthy relationship dynamics in their romance reads. The book succeeds as escapist fantasy for its target audience but fails to address the real-world implications of the behaviors it romanticizes. It's competently written within its niche but represents everything critics find concerning about the normalization of toxic relationship dynamics in popular romance fiction.