Series Review - Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton

Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton

The Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton is made up of Haunting Adeline, followed by Hunting Adeline. It is essentially the story of Adeline and Zade. Adeline, also known as Addie, is an author who's at a book signing when she makes eye contact with a mysterious stranger. Little does she know that this mysterious stranger, Zade, just fell into an obsession with her from the first moment he set his eyes on her. He decided then and there that he'd do anything to get her into falling in love with him by stalking her and using some unconventional tactics, to say the least. 

The trigger warnings at the beginning of these books should be taken very seriously. The first book isn't quite as dark as the second book, but it still has very graphic scenes and descriptions of sexual assault and different rough kinks. The second book is significantly more graphic and describes the sexual assault in way more detail, as well as other graphic gore, child sacrifice, and other darker subject matter. These books are not for the faint of heart.

As for the characters, Addie is an amazing female main character who grows into the strongest version of herself by the end of the series. She went through a lot, from being stalked by Zade to solving a murder mystery in her family, getting kidnapped and forced into human trafficking, and then having to work through the trauma and PTSD after everything. I have so much respect for her character and feel so strongly about her. Zade, despite all his questionable actions, is also one of my favorite characters. He is the perfect candidate for a "morally gray" description. He invented a vigilante organization to take down human trafficking rings, yet still can't control his dark desires when it comes to Addie. I should probably consider therapy after reading these books because I could not stop swooning over Zade. Like seriously, is it normal to be blushing when a stalker is professing that he'll stop at nothing to keep a girl by his side forever? But who doesn't love a villain who would burn the world down if it meant getting to be with you? Also, THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS SCENE! Omg, I literally can't. Zade is the ultimate book boyfriend, and you will never convince me otherwise. Anyway, even the side characters in this series are also amazing. Daya is such a great best friend to Addie, Sibby is such a complex character, and even Rio (another morally gray character) has redeeming qualities. 

This series is extremely well written, and I would not recommend reading this as your first dark romance. I made this mistake and found it just a little too intense. Once I started these books I couldn't put them down. There were just so many interesting plots throughout this series including Zade and Addie's romance, solving Addie's great-grandmother's murder, Zade's goal to end human trafficking, Addie's kidnapping, Addie's captivity, Addie's escape, Addie having to work through her trauma, and so much more. The first book ends on a huge cliffhanger, so I jumped right into the second one after finishing the first. The end of this series is essentially a happy ending, and most things are completely wrapped up. I'm not sure if the author is planning to write more installments, but there would be room for that. 

It will be hard for other books in this genre to top this series.