Phantom

"There is little in life I'm deserving of—little that I allow myself to indulge in. Yet you are the crux of all my selfish desires." Before I start my review, I want to say that I don't think you need to read the Cat & Mouse duet prior to this. Will it help and break your heart even more when you connect the dots to Gigi's story? Absolutely. But this is coming from someone who didn't remember much about Gigi's story and had to go back to read through the journal entries in Cat & Mouse duet, and this story still made sense. You will want more, though, to really get even more details of the outcome after the ending. Phantom tells the story of Genevieve, a wife, a mom, a reader, a writer. She's been a devoted wife all of her life, but she's slowly realizing her family—mainly her husband, John—isn't as picture perfect as it once was...if it ever had been. She finds out her husband gambled all of their life savings, and has become a true drunkard, and even abu$ive towards her. Ronaldo was sent to keep an eye on John, but instead comes across a lovely woman sitting by her window, and one look at her, he is a gone man. "How cruel it is that Mother Nature spent millions of years forming such a beautiful sight only for you to exceed it within mere minutes." Listen, I love Zade with my whole heart, I really do. But Ronaldo had me physically SWOONING! He also had me tearing up over the things he'd say to Gigi. He has this tender side towards her that had me *banging fists on table*. I seriously hope people love him as much as I do. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to only love you in the dark when you deserve to be loved in the light?" The writing fully transported me to that time period. I loved seeing Gigi through Ronaldo's eyes, how he would describe what she was wearing, how she looked; it was what first set me back completely to the 1940s. And Gigi is a soft yet vivacious character I couldn't help but be drawn to. What I loved most about her was her complete devotion to her daughter, Sera. While she's head over heels for Ronaldo and wants to have that happy ending with him, her priority is and always will be her daughter. I found that so admirable and heartbreaking at the same time. While this is a mafia and sta|ker romance, there's a softness that seamlessly ties everything together to deliver a breath-taking and addicting story that will consume you from beginning to end. Going back to Ronaldo, this man had me equally swooning and fanning my face with his dirty talk! Even when his dirty talk was filthy, there was an elegance to the way he'd phrase his wording that had me in the biggest chokehold! "Does one stand beneath a waterfall expecting to breathe? I beg you to suffocate me, mia rosa." Hailey's writing is vastly different, in a great way, with a softer and lyrical undertone that flowed into the storytelling—poetic without it being poetic; it's hard to explain! But it showed a different side to her writing that I can't fully put into words; just know it was phenomenal, which makes me even more excited for her future books! "I would follow you anywhere, Genevieve. If you were standing at the edge of the earth and wanted to fall, I would only stop you long enough to take hold of your hand so I could go with you. There isn't a life where I wouldn't be your phantom, or a death where I wouldn't be your reaper." I did not want this beautiful love story to end, but in true H.D. Carlton fashion, we got a bonus scene that made me so happy! It was the scene that gave a full-circle moment to this all-consuming romance. - Mafia Romance - Forbidden Romance - Sta|ker Romance - Possessive MMC - Cheating (not between the mc's) - Touch Her and 💀

I must admit that this book was not exactly what I was expecting. I definitely have mixed feelings however, overall I really did enjoy the love story between Ronaldo and Gigi. If you've already read the previous two books you know what happened to Gigi however you don't really get to know her very well. I loved that in this story we got to experience her falling in love with Ronaldo. It was sweet, kind, tender, definitely rough also, and enjoyable seeing her come out of her shell and experience life with Ronaldo. Personally, I don't really love when people have affairs however in this case with what John was doing I guess I looked past the fact that this was technically Ronaldo and Gigi having an affair. I just thought that the book was going to be a little bit more traumatic I guess, and it turned out to be more of a love story than I expected. I did enjoy the ending but it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping to experience more of what happened with her death. But honestly, the more I think about it I think it ended at a perfect spot with the reader feeling their love and the hope that they had for the future. It was a really good book and very well written. I read the book on Kindle and listened to it on Audible and I loved the voice actors. They really did a great job of bringing the characters to life and overall, although the book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, this was a great book!

I enjoyed reading the book and it kept me entertained it wasn't confusing and there was plenty of spice I didn't really like that she ended it where she did I feel like I wanted to know more of what happened that killed her instead of it just being like they wrote often into the sunset when we all know that Frank killed her but I wanted to see how that played out... I guess it's kind of a spoiler to say that that's how it ended but I feel like if I had known that I might not have been so interested I wanted to know the whole story you know. But the writing is good the banter is good Knowing more of her life is good even if you don't get to truly know the rest of it.

Well, once again, HD Carlton has written a beautiful story that will live rent-free in my mind for quite some time. This wasn't just a love story it was a story about love......the passion, head over heels, true soul mates, take your breath away, kinda love. “I would follow you anywhere, Genevieve. If you were standing at the edge of the earth and wanted to fall, I would only stop you long enough to take hold of your hand so I could go with you. There isn’t a life where I wouldn’t be your phantom, or a death where I wouldn’t be your reaper.” Gigi and Ronaldo's story was a heartwrenching, beautiful journey about finding your true soul mate. Gigi had a life that she thought was what she wanted but realized that she wasn't truly living. Being a mother was what she loved and wouldn't trade it for anything, Sera was her world. John, on the other hand, that man deserved everything he got. Needless to say, I was not his biggest fan!!! Ronaldo, wow, that man was swoon-worthiness at its finest with a side of dirty talking perfection! These two together was nothing short of fireworks!!! “Do you have any idea how hard it is to only love you in the dark when you deserve to be loved in the light?” “Now crawl to me, mia rosa.” Oh, this book is definitely a MUST read for those Cat & Mouse duet lovers! Being able to read more of Gigi & Ronaldo's story made my heart happy, and the journal entries.... icing on the cake! Plus, there's a little treat at the end that you don't want to miss!!! Trust me you NEED this book!!!

Ok that's a lie, I have plenty of words but as soon as I finished this book I was left speechless ESPECIALLY after the bonus chapter 😭 If you haven't read the cat and mouse duet first, I highly recommend that however you CAN read this one prior. This is Gigi and Ronaldo's story, Adeline's great grandmother and her stalker that Adeline learns about in the cat and mouse duet. DEAR GOD can I just say that Ronaldo is EVERYTHING 😍 his possessiveness and filthy mouth were *chefs kiss*. If you're a fan of a strong, bada$$ FMC then this is your book because Gigi is amazing. I loved the mafia storyline and am a sucker for a book that takes place in a different time period and I think HD knocked it out of the park with this one. The 🌶 was phenomenal too, well written and so hot. Loved seeing Gigi blossom and take control of what she wanted for once it was so refreshing. SPOILER ALERT-if you havent read the cat and mouse duet yet stop reading.... My only wish was that I had hoped that it would end detailing Gigi and ronaldo' s demise. You learn it in the HA books but I wish we could have seen more of Frank's obsession, read from Ronaldo s point of view when he discovers Gigi's been murdered, and that aftermath. Guess well just have to use our imagination.

"𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳." 🥀📝 || 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆 ⚠︎ check TWs | 18+ content ⚠︎ 📖 Phantom by H. D. Carlton Star Rating: 3.75/5 ★★★.75 Spice Rating: 3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 Spice Frequency: 3/5 🔥🔥🔥 POV: 1st/Dual Available on KU ✅ • st@lker romance • mature main characters (over 30) • m0b/m@fia aspects • historical romance • “crawl to me.” • he begs. • exh!bition!sm • forbidden romance / cheating • touch her and ☠️ Perfect for fans of H.D. Carlton’s Cat & Mouse Duet, Phantom is the story of Gigi (Previous owner of Adeline’s home and Addie’s grandmother) and Ronaldo. When Gigi finds herself in a loveless marriage with a man who gambles away every bit of their savings and drinks himself to oblivion, suddenly she notices a figure outside her window. Her phantom, Ronaldo. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this and appreciated the historical romance aspects, however I did find the plot to be lacking or slow at times. I enjoyed reading Genevieve’s character and her love for her daughter as well as her passion for journaling. Her journal entries were def a fun addition to the story! Ronaldo’s character was mysterious and sensual and I really vibed with him. As always, HD delivers on spice in this book and the dirty talk (especially considering the era this book is set in) was outstanding! The ending left me a bit perplexed because it felt like it came out of nowhere. Aside from a few nit picky things, I did appreciate and enjoy reading this and I am a forever HD Carlton fan. 🫶

What was I thinking going from one emotional book to another? Honestly it was not a well thought out plan. Did this book have me in my feelings?! Absolutely! Was it partially because I could relate to several things inside the book? Yeah, that really did not help the situation. But honestly I was still emotionally raw from the last book I read. Im over here like I will take a break from fantasy romance, and read the prequel to haunting adeline! Definitely gonna be okay. Well it wasnt! IT WASNT!!! Is the spice good?! Absolutely! Is the romance between them so amazing?! Uh yeah! But her martial struggles?! Uh yeah no. Break my heart. Then if you know what actually happens to Gigi because youve read haunting/hunting adeline! Yep no, you cry! THEN the bonus chapter is beautiful BUT it made me sob! I also enjoyed the audio book, along side reading. Which was fantastic, highly recommend that as well! Is this a great book? Yeah, its good. But it made me cry. So theres that. This Dark Historical Romance is the Prequel to Haunting Adeline. This book does have darker themes, scenes, and topics so please check all trigger warnings before diving in. The romance in this book is a forbidden romance. The book is very spicy, and all the spicy scenes are very descriptive. The book moves at quick pace following Gigi as she falls for her stalker Ronaldo. She knows its wrong as Gigi is not only married, but also has a daughter. The war is raging, and her husband is coming home later, with actions becoming more volatile. As her life becomes more dark, Ronaldo becomes the only light. This steamy, angsty book is captivating, and addictive.

She’s an amazing author. Didn’t like this book as much as I did the Adeline series.