H. D. Carlton Books in Order
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With how popular Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton has become on BookTok, I think it was only fitting to list how to read all of H.D. Carlton books in order.
These books are incredibly dark, so please check out the trigger warnings on each to make sure you’re prepared for the type of content you will encounter. These may be the darkest love story you have ever read, which is why so many people love them.
Funny enough, the Cat and Mouse Duet is one of those series I decided to try out because of the bad book reviews. Have you ever seen those? They’re videos on TikTok where essentially they show bad reviews the book received but it’s basically just that people can’t handle dark romance books. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite things authors do.
With that in mind, I am going to give you a little teaser of some of the things you can expect while reading this series.
- Dark thriller stalker romance
- Gun play scene
- Lots of sex scenes
- Touch her and you die
Oh, did I mention that the creepy stalker just happens to be super hot? Also, he might kill people for committing crimes against women.
This story also has a very unique way of it formulating itself. Not only is it dual perspectives, but there’s this aspect of journal entries that I am very into.
While I have spent a lot of time hyping up the Cat and Mouse duet, I highly recommend reading even more of H. D. Carlton’s books for the full experience.
H. D. Carlton Books in Order
- Satan’s Affair [Amazon]
- Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book One) [Amazon]
- Shallow River [Amazon]
- Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book Two) [Amazon]
- Does It Hurt? [Amazon]
What is Haunting Adeline About?
First, there are a variety of content warnings for this story, as well as the second book in the series, so make sure you’re comfortable with them before getting into it. This is a very dark romance, so if there’s anything off-limits to you, this may not be the story for you. I will include the summary of the first book but not the second so that you don’t have any spoilers if you are interested in reading this series for yourself.
Summary
Content warnings: This book ends on a cliffhanger. It is a dark romance that contains graphic violence, dub/non con and stalking between main characters, explicit sexual situations, kinks such as degradation, gun play, and somnophilia, and deals with subject matters such as child trafficking, child deaths, and human sacrifice.
The Manipulator
Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton
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.
In this book, we meet Adeline Reilly, a successful writer who lives in a stunning Victorian manor in the woods. One day, she goes to a book signing where she is spotted by a man who spends his time ridding the scum of the world from the Earth. He wants to ruin her and make her his, and what better way to show someone the worst of yourself than turning into a frightening stalker?
Satan’s Affair
This is a novella that is recommended to be read ahead of Haunting Adeline but it isn’t necessary. I will note, this is horror, so keep that in mind.
Summary
Every Halloween, Satan’s Affair will come to you. We travel the country, offering terrifying haunted houses, thrilling rides and the tastiest food.
And with every passing town, I cleanse this world, one execution at a time.
I hide within the walls, casting my judgement for those that reek of evil, singing lullabies to their rotting souls. Once you’ve been chosen, there’s no escaping my henchmen—they cater to my every desire.
You can run and you can hide, but it only excites me.
Come.
Take a walk through my dollhouse, where your screams will blend and your cute little pleas will go unanswered.
But I can’t promise it’ll be over quickly…
Satan’s Affair by H. D. Carlton
Shallow River
Summary
Content Warning: This is a dark thriller that contains rape, DV, depictions of child abuse, graphic violence, and sexual situations.
Shallow River is where souls suffer slow and miserable deaths.
When River McAllister escaped from Shallow Hill, she left her innocence behind–and some of her sanity, too. Now she’s rebuilding her life with her dream man and life couldn’t be better.
Ryan Fitzgerald is everything you’d want in a man. Attractive, rich, an aspiring lawyer, and would do anything to keep River. But that’s not the only thing that attracts her. It’s his attentiveness, his possessiveness… maybe not so much his temper.
When her relationship takes a dark turn, Ryan’s estranged brother, Mako, is the only one who sees it. He knows exactly what Ryan is capable of, and it’s not the first time he had to be a knight in shining armor.
River came from Shallow Hill, though. She’s never needed saving before. What Mako doesn’t see, is that River is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
The only one who should be scared is Ryan.
Shallow River by H.D. Carlton
Does It Hurt?
This is another super dark standalone, which is why readers absolutely love H. D. Carlton. But, make sure you’re ready to read a story this dark.
Summary
Content Warnings: This is a dark romance that contains very triggering situations such as graphic violence and gore, graphic murder, graphic language, suicide ideation, mentions of suicide, depression and anxiety, PTSD, near-death situations, stranded in the middle of the ocean, dub/non-con, mentions of incest and pedophilia (not depicted), child abuse, mentions of rape and other forms of abuse, kidnapping, and explicit sexual situations for 18+. There are also particular kinks such as autassassinophilia (arousal by risk of being killed), breath play, degradation, and sadomasochism.
Who am I?
I’ve forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I’ve only ever walked in stolen shoes.
Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.
Enzo Vitale.
An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he’s not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would’ve ran.
Now, I’m a girl who’s seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.
It’s no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?
Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton
These books have taken the book community by storm and I think for good reason. If you started with the Cat and Mouse book duology, now is a great time to go back and read the rest of the series. There’s a reason H. D. Carlton is a best-selling author, let me tell you.
