cat and mouse duet reading order — h.d. carlton (haunting adeline)
May 16, 2026the duet that introduced me to dark romance.a stalker one at that. what a way to start.if you’re here because you’ve heard about haunting adeline and want to know what you’re getting into — good. this is exactly what you need to read first.
what makes this duet worth it
haunting adeline is the book that put dark romance on booktok’s radar and it earns every bit of that reputation. it’s spicy, it’s unhinged, and zade meadows is genuinely one of the most unhinged love interests in the genre. the gothic manor setting, the stalker dynamic, the tension that builds before anything even happens — it works because it commits completely to what it is.
book two is a completely different beast. darker, heavier, and not for the faint of heart. but h.d. carlton ends book one on a cliffhanger that makes the choice for you.
reading order
most of the recs in the library are on kindle unlimited, which makes the spiral slightly easier to justify.
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cat and mouse
H.D. Carlton · 2 books
Haunting Adeline
she can manipulate anyone… except the man who’s been watching her long enough to make her his anyway.
Hunting Adeline
connected books — read after the duet
phantom — a prequel set in 1944 in the same gothic manor as haunting adeline. different couple, different era, same dark energy. read after the duet.
where’s molly — a spinoff set in the same world. strongly recommended to read the duet first.
my dreadful darling — book one of the hollow graves duet. a new series, new couple, same h.d. carlton energy. full review here →
do you need to read them in order?
yes. haunting adeline ends on a cliffhanger. hunting adeline is the direct continuation. there is no reading these out of order.
my take
he fucks her with a gun. her stalker. anyways. book one is a hard yes. book two — check the trigger warnings first and then yes.
if you liked the cat and mouse duet, read these next
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