What more can I say than, WOW.
This book simply convinced me from start to finish!
The Cover:
I have the English hardcover at home. But the design is exactly like the paperback. It's just fantastic. All the elements depicted play a role in the book.
The cobwebs from the attic, the red roses, the skull.
Everything is perfectly coordinated.
The dark cover fits perfectly with the story.
On the back, there's a blurb about her and beneath it about him. Just great.
The Blurb:
The Manipulator
I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.
The Shadow
I didn't mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can't stay away.
I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves. The way she undresses...
I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I'll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.
My Opinion:
I can only repeat it. WOW!
This book is definitely not light reading. The trigger warnings are to be taken seriously. Stalking, violence, and human trafficking are major themes throughout the book. Nevertheless, I would recommend it to anyone who loves Dark Romance.
The story of Adeline and Zade is simply fantastic.
I fell for him right away. I love his demeanor and especially how he treats Adeline.
Even though Zade does unspeakable things, I never saw him as the villain. He is a deeply good soul.
The interaction between the two is great, and both characters grow with the story.
In general, all the characters in the story are well-developed, and I had a hard time putting the book down.
I started it during a 24-hour reading marathon and devoured half of it right away.
At the beginning, the book is a bit slow, but that's because stalking has to build up. So, I didn't find it annoying at all. It actually heightened the suspense immensely. The idea with the letters is also brilliant.
The fact that the book ends with a massive cliffhanger initially put me off, but now that I'm done, I have to admit I immediately started the second volume.
I'm absolutely in love.
I think I just have to read all of HD Carlton's books.
