This is the first book in the cat & mouse duet. This is also my first book by Hailey Carlton. I wanted to read it for such a long time, i couldn’t read it while having all my morals getting in the way, and i was not into dark romance at the time.
I’m so happy i finished the book everyone kept talking about, hyping it, and i find that it is good. Just that i won’t hype it too much.
Spoiler alert.
[This book ends on a cliffhanger]
Plot : ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story :⭐⭐⭐⭐
Burn :🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating :⭐⭐⭐⭐ (I was going to give it three stars, but one more star for zade and only him)
Tropes : enemies to lovers, contemporary, dark romance, stalker romance.
Pacing : medium.
Characters : i) zade — let’s talk about him, he’s the best hacker, who dismantles corrupt governments and rescues victims of human trafficking. He’s also a stalker, which bleeds into his obsession with Adeline. The book starts with creepy vibes, Adeline moving into her grandmother’s house, and gets stalked by zade. The story progresses slowly, zade’s obsession, and him rescuing women and making sure they are safe, away from f•••••• pedophiles, and rich people who only fill their pockets. Zade won my heart, because i didn’t think out of every other profession, he’d be a hacker, and also protects women, and children. (Real men could never). His obsession with Adeline is strawberry on top. (I don’t like cherry on top of a cake)
Zade does everything in his power to make sure no girl is being abused at the hands of a pedophile, or a rapist. He stalks Adeline, and makes her scared of her life, but in the book, Adeline loves it. And i don’t mind that either.
ii) Adeline reilly — Adeline is fiery, pretends to be strong, but is soft at heart, i liked her, but not too much.
What I loved : the story, the plot. I was invested, although I took my time finishing this book.
What I struggled with : nothing. Miss hailey’s writing is smooth, and i wanted to keep reading until the end.
Loveable characters or not : yes.
Strong character development : character development only for zade, Adeline still has to grow on me.
Plot driven / character driven : a mix.
Favorite quotes/ highlights : “my mother. Her favorite flowers were roses. She always had them clipped so i wouldn’t hurt myself. One year, i told her that i would be sad when she died because all the roses would die with her. So, she gave me a plastic rose and said that as long as I have that rose, she would never be truly gone.”
Any other details : this was my first stalker romance, and i wanted to read that sik luv by jescie hall, but i picked this book and got captivated, and wanted to finish it. Zade leaving roses for adeline touched my heart. I’m still so wrapped up in zade that i don’t think I can list down all the things that could have been potentially disturbing for other readers. I loved their love story, and although gigi’s love story is solved, as the book says, my heart says there could be more to their story than i know. Zade will always and forever be my kitty cat. He likes his name better, but I like kitty cat more. Zade won my heart, I am not taking into account what morals have to say, just that I love this man, and he’s 🫶🏼.