The Viral Book "Haunting Adeline" Takes Dark Romance Way Too Far

Dark romance, a subgenre of adult romance novels that focus on heavy themes such as stalking, abuse, and crime, has quickly become one of the most popular genres of fiction aimed at young women. As the years have passed, this genre has only gotten more extreme and more shocking. Recently, controversy has ignited over the novel Haunting Adeline, by H.D. Carlton, because of the author’s decision to write a book about rape, stalking, torture, and trafficking, then market it as a romance novel to Gen Z and Millennial women.

The novel has sparked intense debate in the corner of TikTok known as BookTok, which is mostly made up of Gen Z women, due to the realistic nature of its controversial topics. Essentially, the plot of the book follows a woman named Adeline, who lives in a creepy Gothic mansion. She is stalked by Zade, a man who runs a hacker organization called Z that is killing child sex traffickers. Ironically, even though his entire job is about killing sexual offenders, he has no issue repeatedly stalking, threatening, attacking, and raping Adeline, until she falls in love with him.

The Core of the Controversy

To be clear, these scenes are rape and are called rape in the novel itself. (The novel is written from the perspective of both of the main characters – some chapters are narrated in first person by Adeline, and others are narrated in first person by Zade.) The entire storyline, when told by Adeline, is about her grappling with how she is being raped but also kind of likes it. There is a graphic scene where she is assaulted with a gun. There is a scene where she is chased down by Zade, as he says he will assault her if he catches her. There is a scene where he cuts the side of her neck with a knife. The disturbing implication of these scenes is that despite all of her boundaries being violated, Adeline secretly likes it. 

When Zade narrates the story, he frequently discusses how his treatment of Adeline is not morally wrong and not comparable to the sex criminals he is hunting because she will eventually fall in love with him and realize it was never rape to begin with. The mental gymnastics Zade uses to convince himself and the reader that he is not a manipulative rapist coercing another person to develop feelings for him is flabbergasting. 

Another controversial point about the book has been the side plot about the pedophile ring. While Zade is not stalking Adeline, he is running an organization known as “Z.” The mission of Z is to end child sex trafficking, which is probably the only morally sound message in this entire book. However, the way Z operates is by hacking into databases, finding secret clubs and parties, then breaking into them, abducting pedophiles, and torturing them. Unlike any other romance novel on the market, about 25% of the book is devoted to graphic torture sequences. As the novel progresses, and as readers get into the sequel, Hunting Adeline, there is graphic discussion of sexual abuse against children. Author H.D. Carlton has stated she decided to include this subplot due to her love for old horror movies, but that feels a bit distasteful to me. Any novel that explores disturbing subjects like child trafficking – crimes that happen in real life and not just in old horror movies – needs to do so with great sensitivity. At times, it feels like the author is using the horrors of child sex trafficking for pure shock value. This is incredibly harmful, as child sexual abuse impacts real people all around the world. 

The Root of the Novel’s Viral Success

Despite all of the shocking subject matter, the novel is a viral success. Haunting Adeline was originally self-published in 2021. In the literary industry, it’s uncommon for self-published books to get popular, let alone reach The New York Times Bestseller list, and be shelved at major booksellers across the United States. This popularity doesn’t come from nowhere. On BookTok, there are videos with over five million views discussing the novel. There is also an incredibly large fanbase on TikTok, Instagram, and Tumblr devoted to discussing, making fan art, and writing fanfiction about the novel. This raises the question – why is this disturbing book so appealing? 

The first reason why women are drawn to this novel is the taboo nature of it. Many people find transgressive things interesting, and this book is subversive. In a culture where people are fired from offices for simply calling a coworker pretty, what is more scandalous than a book that questions consent culture itself? In a world where men are less masculine and women want to be desired and pursued, the idea of a manly man who tortures pedophiles and won’t take no for an answer is appealing. In a time where women are struggling to find a man willing to commit to her and not turn her into a forever girlfriend or situationship, what is more of a fantasy than a man who will do absolutely anything to keep you, forever? Even though Adeline is abused, she is desired and she is romanced. While Zade stalks Adeline, he leaves roses and other gifts in her house (which is technically love bombing, a manipulation tactic). He also takes her to an elaborate party, the type of date that women in 2024 only dream of. Zade also tries to protect her from other people in her life who harm her, even if he is harming her too. For many young women, they fantasize about a Zade, as Zade cares, unlike the many guys who can’t even be bothered to pay for dinner. 

The unfortunate bit about modern culture is that it is nearly impossible to depict these positive masculine traits without it being read as creepy, due to the marketing campaign against “toxic masculinity.” For that reason, the only books that depict men with these traits are ones that embrace being creepy, embrace the idea of darkness, and embrace the most shocking themes possible. It’s a shame that women are resorting to these extreme fantasies to find a way to tap into these emotional needs and desires. In a better culture, this book would not be viral, as the bits about Zade that draw women in would be able to be seen in other places. 

New Adult Fiction

Another dimension of the controversy regarding Haunting Adeline has to do with the fact that it is considered “New Adult,” or NA. The New Adult genre is a newer category within contemporary publishing that refers to books that are the next step up from the “Young Adult,” or YA, genre. Young Adult books are aimed at tweens and teens. However, over the past few decades, the audience for the Young Adult genre has gotten increasingly older, as former Young Adult readers have left the genre behind in age but not in taste. Since they are aging, they want books with themes that match their current lives, adult themes, but want it written in a style that is aimed more at teenagers. Haunting Adeline is part of this genre, and based on the cover art and writing style, it does feel like a young adult book. If it were not for graphic violence splattered across every chapter, it would feel much more like Twilight. 

This has led to the novel being shelved in Young Adult sections at local library branches. There are several videos of book staff discussing children buying the book. A middle school teacher on TikTok discussed seeing her students read the books in class, and made a video speaking to parents about why they should not buy it for their kids. 

Due to the aesthetic of the book cover and the writing style, many tweens think it’s for them. And when someone is having a rebellious middle school phase, what is more appealing than a controversial title? Considering how this book disturbs adults, it’s clear this book is inappropriate for tweens and could even leave them with lasting psychological damage. If someone is young and has no idea yet what a healthy relationship is, developing a book crush on Zade, and seeing him as a good boyfriend, could certainly lead them toward unhealthy relationships in the future. 

Closing Thoughts

Unless the culture changes, it’s unlikely that books like Haunting Adeline will lose popularity. Unfortunately, as books like this continue to prove successful and dark romance continues to rise, it’s likely they will only get more shocking.