Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton book cover

Books Like Haunting Adeline

If you finished Haunting Adeline and want more stalker romance, possessive hero, morally gray, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.

For reference, Haunting Adeline is:

Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

Last updated

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The picks

  1. 1. Den of Vipers

    K.A. Knight · standalone

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, possessive hero

    Kidnapped by four men to settle her father's debt, and she ends up falling for all of them. Violent and over the top, and it knows exactly what it is.

    • Why Choose
    • Captor and Captive
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Possessive Hero
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Dubious or non-consent, Torture, Gore, Murder

  2. 2. God of Malice

    Rina Kent · Legacy of Gods #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: stalker romance, possessive hero

    Killian is a psychopath at a university on a private island, and Glyndon catches his eye. Rina Kent goes full throttle. People either love it or DNF it.

    • Stalker Romance
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Possessive Hero
    • Dark Academia
    Content warnings

    Dubious or non-consent, Stalking, Graphic violence, Suicide or suicidal thoughts

  3. 3. Her Soul to Take

    Harley Laroux · Souls Trilogy #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: possessive hero, villain gets the girl, morally gray

    A demon named Leon is summoned to hunt Rae down, and he likes his work a little too much. Horror-adjacent, very kinky and full of CNC and blood play. Laroux posts a thorough warning list, use it.

    • Demons
    • Possessive Hero
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Torture, Graphic violence, Gore, Dubious or non-consent

  4. 4. Lights Out

    Navessa Allen · Into Darkness #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: stalker romance, possessive hero, morally gray

    Josie has a masked-stalker fantasy, and a hacker named Aiden makes it real. The twist is that she's into it and he keeps checking in. Funny, filthy, and a soft landing if Haunting Adeline sounds like too much.

    • Stalker Romance
    • Possessive Hero
    • Morally Gray
    • Touch Her and Die
    Content warnings

    Stalking, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one, Graphic violence

  5. 5. Buttons and Lace

    Penelope Sky · Buttons #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, possessive hero

    She owes Crow Barsetti, so he decides he owns her. The Barsetti books get softer later, but this opener is very dark and readers single it out for its rape content. Not a starter book.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Possessive Hero
    • Mafia
    Content warnings

    Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence

  6. 6. Deliver

    Pam Godwin · Deliver #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, morally gray

    Liv Reed is taken and handed to Van Quiso, whose job is training captives to be sold. As dark as captor romance gets, with a slow, strange turn toward something like love. For seasoned readers only.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Human trafficking, Sexual assault, Dubious or non-consent, Kidnapping, Torture

  7. 7. Does It Hurt?

    H.D. Carlton · standalone

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: morally gray, possessive hero

    Sawyer is a con artist on the run, and Enzo Vitale is the man she tries to steal from. Then things go very wrong for both of them. Less stalker than Haunting Adeline, but the backstories are brutal, so read the warning list first.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Morally Gray
    • Possessive Hero
    Content warnings

    Harm to children, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Torture, Murder

  8. 8. Tears of Tess

    Pepper Winters · Monsters in the Dark #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, possessive hero

    Tess is abducted on vacation with her boyfriend and sold to a Frenchman known only as Q. One of the early books that defined captive dark romance, and it doesn't soften anything. Check the author's warnings first.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Possessive Hero
    Content warnings

    Human trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse

  9. 9. The Ritual

    Shantel Tessier · L.O.R.D.S. #1

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: possessive hero, stalker romance

    Secret society, masked men, a girl promised to one of them. Very explicit, very dark and not subtle about any of it.

    • Dark Academia
    • Possessive Hero
    • Arranged Marriage
    • Stalker Romance
    Content warnings

    Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Graphic violence, Drug or alcohol abuse, Kidnapping

  10. 10. Twist Me

    Anna Zaires · Twist Me #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: possessive hero, villain gets the girl

    Julian kidnaps eighteen-year-old Nora and keeps her on a private island. That's the setup, and the book is honest that he is not a good man. Pure captor fantasy, often recommended alongside Captive in the Dark.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Possessive Hero
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Graphic violence

  11. 11. Hooked

    Emily McIntire · Never After #1

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, morally gray

    Peter Pan, except Hook runs a criminal empire and Wendy is the daughter of the man he wants dead. Each book in the series is a different villain. Great entry point if you want dark romance that isn't relentless.

    • Fairy Tale Retellings
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Mafia
    • Revenge
    Content warnings

    Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one

  12. 12. Corrupt

    Penelope Douglas · Devil's Night #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: stalker romance, possessive hero

    Her fiancé's older brother and his friends just got out of prison, and they blame her for putting them there. Devil's Night pranks, revenge and the book that set off a whole wave of masked-men dark romance.

    • Revenge
    • Stalker Romance
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Possessive Hero
    Content warnings

    Dubious or non-consent, Stalking, Kidnapping, Graphic violence

  13. 13. Blood of My Monster

    Rina Kent · Monster Trilogy #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: possessive hero, morally gray

    Sasha hides as a man to work security for a Bratva boss, and Kirill figures out a lot faster than she'd like. Classic Rina Kent: violent, obsessive and very spicy. The trilogy has to be read in order.

    • Mafia
    • Captor and Captive
    • Possessive Hero
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder, Torture, Dubious or non-consent

  14. 14. Comfort Food

    Kitty Thomas · standalone

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 5/5

    Shares: villain gets the girl, possessive hero

    Often called one of the original modern dark romances. A woman is taken and kept by a man who wants her to need him, and the book lives inside her conditioning. Short, quiet and deeply unsettling.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Villain Gets the Girl
    • Possessive Hero
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Physical or emotional abuse, Dubious or non-consent

  15. 15. Deviant

    Callie Hart · Blood & Roses #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: morally gray, possessive hero

    Dr. Sloane Romera goes looking for her missing best friend and ends up needing Zeth Mayfair, a Seattle criminal with very particular tastes. Readers who came from Quicksilver are often shocked by how dark it is. Collected now as Blood & Roses Volume 1.

    • Morally Gray
    • Possessive Hero
    • Forbidden Love
    Content warnings

    Human trafficking, Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Drug or alcohol abuse

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