Haunting Adeline

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault, rape, stalking, and child trafficking.

Haunting Adeline has both a prequel novella and a sequel novel, all of which fall into the dark romance genre. The Cat and Mouse Duet books can stand alone but are best read together. Before reading Haunting Adeline, Carlton recommends that readers familiarize themselves with Satan’s Affair first. Likewise, Haunting Adeline ends on a cliffhanger that necessitates reading Hunting Adeline, the sequel, for a full understanding of the narrative. Though neither Satan’s Affair nor Hunting Adeline are discussed at length in this guide, it is useful to understand how all three works operate within the genre of dark romance, as each work presents different facets of the genre. Satan’s Affair, for instance, is focused more on horror, which is a component of many dark romance works, as it follows Sybil, or Sibby, as she kills and tortures people picked from the attendants of Satan’s Affair. Sibby’s backstory emphasizes the danger of Zade’s encounter with Sibby in Haunting Adeline, and her efforts to “slay demons” parallel Zade’s efforts to end human trafficking. Hunting Adeline also branches more into horror and suspense, as the bulk of the novel focuses on Adeline’s struggles as a trafficking victim, both during her capture and afterward as she deals with trauma and grief.