Book Club Night Kit

Haunting Adeline

H. D. Carlton

Cozy night

A moody Gothic thriller set in a grand old manor, full of atmosphere, secrets, and a heroine who loves cats and words. It is a book that begs to be talked about in a warm room with a blanket nearby.

Cozy Nights and Creaking Floors

Bring your softest blanket and your bravest heart for a warm evening inside the manor of Haunting Adeline. Soup, sweets, and gentle conversation await.

Reading level: Moderate

Best for: A close-knit club that loves shadowy settings and speaking candidly with zero judgment

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Cozy up and tell us: where were you curled up while you read this one, and did the setting seep into your evening at all?
2.Adeline adores her cats and her writing nook. What is the small comfort in your own life that you would never give up, no matter what?

Digging in

1.The old manor almost breathes on the page. Which room or corner would you most want to wrap a blanket around, and which one made you want to leave a light on?
2.This story leans into things that unsettle us. What surprised you about what your own body and heart did while reading, and did any part comfort you when you least expected it?
3.Family history and inherited spaces run through the book. Has a house or heirloom in your own life ever felt like it held a story bigger than you?
4.Adeline is a writer who processes the world through words. When life gets heavy, what is your version of her notebook, the thing you reach for to feel steady?

Going deep

1.Without giving anything away, this book sits with the tension between feeling wanted and feeling safe. How did that push and pull land for you, and did it stir anything personal?
2.Some scenes are meant to be hard to sit with. Speaking gently and only as much as you want to, how did you take care of yourself while reading, and where did you draw your own line?

On the table & to sip

To eat

Slow-simmered tomato soup with grilled cheese soldiers

A nurturing, hold-in-both-hands comfort meal for a stormy Gothic-manor mood

Warm spiced apple hand pies

Homey and a little indulgent, like something baking in an old country kitchen at dusk

Dark chocolate and sea salt shortbread

Cozy but with a shadowy edge that nods to the book's darker romance

To sip

Spiced hot cider with a cinnamon stick (no alcohol)

Warm, fragrant, and non-alcoholic, perfect for wrapping cold hands around

Vanilla chamomile latte (no alcohol)

Soothing and gentle to keep the low-pressure, unwind-together mood going

Mulled red wine

Deep, brooding, and cozy, echoing the manor's candlelit atmosphere