I put this before most next in series book reviews, but please expect some spoilers for the first book because you have no business being if you haven’t read that one
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum
More on this later.
Did I say Haunting Adeline was dark? I’m sorry forget everything I said because Haunting was almost a romcom compared with Hunting. Okay lies, don’t forget everything I said. Sure Haunting was dark, but Hunting was black onyx to Haunting’s dark grey. (There’s gotta be a better way to abbreviate these books). Hunting Adeline is the kind of dark that makes you question everything about humanity, it makes your black little soul shrivel into itself until only a Zade can bring you back. Consequently my obsession was that much worse. Yes it was harrowing, but it’s also the kind of romance that evokes every feeling in you, that convinces you that soulmates do exist. Or at least makes you hope they do.
I’m telling you now, the triggers in this book are nasty; if you were triggered in book 1, this one is absolutely going to be worse. You’ve been warned. Especially considering how book 1 ended. But the way the author deals with Addie’s trauma and then her journey feels deeply cathartic, even though that journey is not at all mine. You know how sometimes it feels like an author poured their soul out into a story, that’s exactly what I felt here, like she cut open a vein and let her soul bleed out until it was all on the page. Painful, messy, heartbreaking, and eventually, healing. Yet still she brought a lightness to it no matter how bleak things got, less funnier than Haunting but with enough humor to remind you that the only way to survive this life is with laughter.
I was desperately consumed by Addie’s journey from a sassy, impulsive, confident girl to a broken shell back to a tough bad-a-s-s with a thirst for vengeance and a reshaped moral compass. A work in progress but stronger than ever. This is where the kintsugi comes in. I felt every emotion with her, and before I knew it I was sobbing through her healing journey at 3 am. And eventually cheering for her for every bit of vengeance and justice she got for herself.
I’d go so far as to say she saves herself to a large extent, but you know a lot of it is not possible without Zade. And it goes both ways, they’re so entwined there’s no one without the other. We already know Zade is like Joe mixed with Dexter on steroids, but his heart is a curious thing. Black and a little charred, but it beats and bleeds red. He’s a God among mortals, but he isn’t devoid of emotion. In fact, he’s deeply in touch with his emotions, which is rare for romance heroes, let alone villainous ones. And he’s brainy and funny and so tall. Omg I sound like a teenager with a crush but omg can you blame me??? He does heinous things, makes absolutely no apologies about them, yet has his own unshakeable code he lives by. Nothing is off limits when it comes to Addie of course. And we really see that in action this time around. His sheer madness in finding her and keeping her safe is awe inspiring. He has that villain who will burn down the world to save you energy that we love. Or I love at least. I never hated Zade even at his worst in Haunting (judge me all you want, I am who I am), but Hunting is where I fell irrevocably in love with him. I am forevermore at his mercy.
His techniques might be interesting to say the least, but whether he’s wooing her or protecting her or helping her heal, my heart was just a useless melty puddle with every single thing Zade does for Addie. I mean the adorability of Zade’s voice in Addie’s head, calming her and guiding her at her worst, and vice versa? My poor heart can only handle so much. Their connection is more electric, bl????dier, and more painful than ever, and a million degrees hotter. They were a five alarm fire in Haunting, but now their chemistry has layers; pain wrapped in heat wrapped in poison wrapped in deranged and irrational and pure love.
I could probably write an essay on Zade’s psyche alone, but I haven’t slept all night inhaling the last half of the book, and I’m already rambling, so I’ll refrain. An unexpected delight of this book was Sibby (yes, her) and her relationship with Zade and Addie. Her illness is normalized and their acceptance of her is absolute. And I’m frothing for her duet after all the development we’ve seen so far. Jay and Daya and Zaddie’s mrdry little family have my heart. I loved Haunting but this felt like a richer, if more shattering experience, and my insides feel rearranged from it. Also I never thought I’d say this, but Zaddie’s love is a love like no other, and I’d carve a rose into my heart for Zaddy any day. Well that’s the end of Nikita’s unfiltered love declarations for the day. Maybe.
Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book 2)
4.5 | 93,665 ratings
Price: 4.99
Last update: 09-06-2024
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Top reviews from the United States
Nikita Navalkar
Alexa, play Karma by Taylor Swift
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023
Amanda Larsen
Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2024
Rosaura Guzman
✨ 4.5 ✨
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2022