Monsters Carve Thrones

Crowned Monsters Duet #2

by Adeline Humphries

Monsters Carve Thrones is the savage and emotional second book in the Crowned Monsters series—a story of survival, obsession, and the kind of love that leaves a body count.

Adela Sinclair is not a woman you cage.

Kidnapped by a former ally of the man she helped destroy, Adela is thrust into a nightmare across the ocean, where cruelty wears a suit and monsters don’t bother hiding their teeth. Every day is a battle to survive. But she is resilient. Ruthless. Unbreakable.

And while she bleeds behind enemy walls, Rafe Vaughan, fueled by reckless fury and an obsessive love, tears through enemies left and right.

When Adela rises from the wreckage of her captivity, she’s not the same woman they tried to break.

She’s a force. And she’s seeking vengeance with the Dark Monster of New York City at her side.

This time, they’re not just fighting back.

They’re carving their throne from the bones of anyone who had a hand in her suffering.

Genres: Dark Romance

344 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2025

About the author

THE CROWNED MONSTERS DUET is my debut work as a dark romance author. It has since been re-released with updates and corrections.

THE FALLING STAR TRILOGY is a dark rockstar romance with thriller elements.

I'm Adeline and I'm a 31 year old dark romance author who started out writing spice-heavy work (CMD), then soon pivoted to more emotionally heavy work (FST). My work is ever-growing as I continue to hone my craft and figure out what kind of writing resonates best. You’re on this journey with me, so thank you!

When I'm not writing morally ambiguous characters, I’m living a quiet and adventurous life in the US with my husband and cats.

I am forever grateful for everyone who has picked up my stories and given them a chance. Thank you so much for supporting me on this incredible journey. Little me would be so proud to say that she will one day be a published author after scribbling in her notebooks for years.

Reviews

[Ashley]

ADELINE! I read this duet after The Falling Star Trilogy and I just felt like I needed more of Rafe and Adela. They soon became my TOP FMC/MMC of the year! If you are looking for a strong FMC and a MMC that lets our girl be exactly who she is meant to be, this is for you. Infinite stars!

[Emma Faircloth]

this. is. how. you. write. a. dark. romance!!!!!!!

[Lydia Crawley]

⚠️CHECK TW⚠️
THATS HOW YOU WRITE A DARK ROMANCE!!

Adela and Rafe are possibly two of the most badass main characters I’ve ever read about!
After everything Adela going through during this book, it’s a miracle she was able to stay sane, but my gcd she did and the outcome was it worth it!

Rafe’s love for Adela is untouchable. The things he does to get her back to home, quite literally killing his way through Europe had me on the edge of my seat!

Easiest 5 star rating I’ve given in a while!😍 @adelinehumphries you are a fantastic writer! Can’t wait to see where the author world takes you and continue supporting all your next projects!🫶🏼🖤

[Romana]

Way better than the first one

So as I mentioned in my review of the first book, this one is much better. After that scene in book 1 I really thought that Rafe can’t redeem himself but in this book he was different character. So soft, caring only for her and Lauren (I loved their scenes together, amazing companionship between them and how they supported each other during hard times) and such a ruthless killer and monster for everyone else I loooooooved it. The man who litteraly burn the world to find her is my kind of man. The trauma Adela suffers in this book is horrible, but she is such a badass that you will love her and root for her vengence from the moment she is kidnapped. This book does have an HEA but the journey is really heartbreaking so be carefull with your TW, there is lots of explicit r@pe and beating, but not from MMC. This book has also dual first person POV, long list of TW, and chapters with specific TW are marked (I am not fan of this bcs it is actually huge spoiler. I would put it at the end of the book). And I have to say you actually don’t need to read the first book in my opinion to enjoy this one, eventhough it is duet and Rafe is amazing character in this book and so shitty in first one. The only thing I took ⭐️ down was that I expected epic revenge and Adela to be like phoenix of vengence, but it was just ok, nothing epic with slow torture of everyone who hurt her. Also the writting seems to be better in this book, eventhough there are some mistakes and even I non english speaker saw these mistakes. This book I would recommend 😊

[R. Skye]

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD!! Adeline killed it with her second book. I wasn’t bored at any point of the story and devoured this in 2 days. Rafe was even better in this and so was Adela.
Seeing his growth was honestly beautiful considering what he did/was in book 1. I know a lot of people (including me) wanted to punch him in the face lol but he made up for all of that and more. The complexity, emotions, and depth that we see in these characters is some of my favorite parts.

And THE SPICE?!?! WOWWW. It was HOT. 🥵🥵🥵🥵
Very spicy just like the first one.

I’m very excited to see Adeline’s next work! I miss our fave couple already.

[Becca]

My Thoughts: I've been so ready for the continuation of Adela and Rafe after that ending in the first book. This book did not disappoint and was full of action, spice, and twists. Adela and Rafe are now married, shortly after she was taken. Rafe is determined to find her and make the people who took her pay for what they did. Adela goes through a lot throughout this book, but she's a true fighter and resilient. While I was disappointed with Rafe's actions in the previous book, he redeems himself in this book. Adela and Rafe's relationship grows and becomes stronger. The spice between these two is top-tier. If you love dark, morally black romance, I recommend you pick this duet up.

[Donna]

Monsters may carve thrones, but this book carved out a permanent place on my favorites shelf. If you love powerful storytelling, compelling characters, and a journey that refuses to let you go, this is a must-read.

What I loved most was that beneath all the danger and chaos was a story about resilience, hope, and fighting for the people who matter most. The characters are beautifully flawed, fiercely lovable, and impossible to forget.

This series has completely owned my heart, and Monsters Carve Thrones was everything I hoped it would be and more. A perfect, hard-earned ending that left me emotional, satisfied, and not even remotely ready to say goodbye.

An easy five stars and a book I’ll be recommending to everyone.

[Charlotte Padgett]

WOW
I dont even know what to say! This book was just everything!
I did find some parts of it hard to read, it broke my heart and I had to put it down and come back to it! But all of it was just perfect!
The characters are just perfection, I love them ❤️ I feel like I need more Nico and Laura!!! but Rafe and Adela's relationship was just 10/10 perfect for each other! And when all 5 of them are together it made my heart so full!

[Emme Moorehouse]

Ouchie.

[Diane Harrs]

5 ⭐️ 5 🌶️ Amazing, Is all I have to say!!! New author to dark romance and she nailed it!!! 🔨🎯

[Angela]

TWs abound

Spent a lot of this book raging and disgusted

“Welcome to your reckoning, gentlemen,” though.

My cackle could be heard ‘round the world.

Adela is maybe my new favorite FMC. A strong, self-aware queen, with real feminine rage?? LFG.

[Teressa Oliverio]

This book hit with absolute emotional force. Watching Rafe and Adela endure such brutal emotional and physical trauma only to come out even more powerful than before was unforgettable. Their connection felt raw, obsessive, and fiercely protective in a way that made every moment between them intense. Adela refusing to break no matter what was thrown at her made her such a compelling FMC, and Rafe’s rage fueled devotion had me completely invested. Together they were chaos, vengeance, and love wrapped into one deadly force. The way they rose from destruction and turned their pain into power was so satisfying and honestly empowering to read.

[Amy Page]

Monsters Carve Thrones highlights the depth of Rafe and Adela's relationship. Adela shows her resiliency while faced with the unthinkable situation. Captured and in a different country, constantly told no one will be able to find her, Adela is able to make herself into the ideal captive while secretly maintaining her fire and desire for freedom.

Rafe is a man on the edge of breaking. The only thing holding him together is his will to find Adela. The additional side characters in Rafe's rescue team add to the plot and is nice to get to know Adela's best friend better too.

I appreciate the trigger warnings at the beginning of the chapters are nice to prepare yourself for what's to come.

Rafe and Adela have crazy chemistry and this story is S-P-I-C-Y. I read this to get to know Rafe and Adela better since they play an important role in the Falling Star Trilogy. I highly recommend if you love a dark super spicy toxic obsessive love story!

[alisha]

The conclusion we didn't know we needed !

This book was a great deep dive into the dark world of Rafe and Adela! In book one we were able to follow the makings of their complex love story, but in this book you get the nitty gritty ! We get to witness how dark and depraved their world really is! If you loved book one (like me) then you'll definitely get lost in this one !

[Brandee Fay]

Holy moly! This duet is so underrated. Like hellooooo???
Rafe and Adela 🥵 ....I was so curious about them after reading Resonance and I am so glad I got their story. Adela is such a frickinnn badass, she is probably one of my favorite FMC's of all time. Literally kicks ass and takes names. I'm so here for it. Rafe...idc what anyone says he is what we all love in our book boyfriends...dark, psychotic, obsessive, possessive and...hottttttt af!! The spice in this duet is next level!
I wish I would have read these before the falling star trilogy justtttt so I could have appreciated Rafe and Adela's presence in resonance more 😂 butttt fingers crossed we will get more of them in book 3.

[Andrea Gleditsch]

Yet another fantastic book from Adeline, it’s a must read 😍😍

[Chloe Jones]

This conclusion was an absolute letdown and only made the frustrations from the first book so much worse. I kept holding onto a tiny bit of hope that the finale would finally balance out the relationship dynamic, but the double standard remained completely unaddressed. Adela continues to have men fawning all over her, yet we never get to see other women obsessing over Rafe or chasing him. It completely robbed us of the chance to ever see a jealous, possessive side to Adela, which is so disappointing because the possessiveness only ever goes one way in this duet. To make the imbalance even worse, Adela never even cries for Rafe. He cried for her when she was stabbed at the end of the first book and when she was held captive by Waylon. But when Rafe was shot in the requiem, and Emma and Micah were also shot, their partners Jude and Heather were crying for them. Adela didn't shed a single tear for Rafe. He is always there for her when she is injured or bleeding, but she is never there for him.

I really hate seeing the FMC with another man, even if it is rape, and the whole second book explicitly shows Adela with Waylon. The exact same thing happened in the Falling Star Trilogy, where we are explicitly shown Jude having sex with Adriana. There were moments in the second book of that trilogy where Jude was kissing Adriana willingly during parties and having sex with her willingly. It only made me hate both Adela and Jude.

Also adela never initiates the i love you first it's always rafe saying it first & then she says like she is forced to say it back not because she wants or like feels to say it.

And I hated the way jude was being an asshole towards rafe in his trilogy because wdym you are free from that monster's clutches & have a chance at good life because of him but you are being rude towards him atleast respect that man who did so much for you & your gf , everyone was being an asshole to him in the falling star trilogy adela, jude , nico god I hate them all 😫.

Also I didn't like how both adela's obsessive men (morreau & waylon) kept calling rafe dog , he should have called both these lowlifes names.

The complete irony and double standard of making Rafe and Emma virgins while explicitly showing Adela and Jude having sex with other people is infuriating.I hate how we are never shown rafe & emma fucking other people & only glued to their idiot partners while they are (jude, adela) are whoring around.

Rafe and Emma should have dumped their scrawny asses because it would have saved both of these stories for me. It would only be fair if other men and women were also obsessed with Rafe and Emma, but in both of these stories, the possessiveness is completely one-sided, which I absolutely hate.

[BooksWithBem]

WHAT A BOOK 😭😂

I went into this after reading the Falling Stars books first, so I already had a little bit of an idea of what to expect going into this world, but this duet still managed to keep me completely invested.

Adela and Rafe had me feeling ALL the emotions. Adela is such a strong character, and I loved watching her fight for herself and refuse to give up, even when everything was against her. And Rafe… honestly, I cannot even explain the feelings I had about that man 😂😭

This book was dark, emotional, intense and definitely had me on the edge of my seat at times. There were so many moments where I was just staring at my Kindle like 👁️👄👁️.

I also really appreciated the trigger warnings being included with the specific chapter numbers. This was especially helpful for me because there were certain scenes I needed to skip, and knowing exactly which chapters contained them meant I could avoid those parts without worrying that I was going to miss important parts of the story.

Overall, this was a solid 4-star read for me. I loved the characters, the intensity and the connection to the Falling Stars books. Definitely a wild ride from beginning to end 😂📚

[s]

The first book was better, i got tired of reading this one. Maybe bc i dont really like rafe anymore. I legit js skimmed the last few chapters cause genuinely all they were doing was having sex. It felt like it was multiple times per chapter which idk js didnt feel right when she spent half the book being raped PLUS was raped by rafe in the first book. And idk how everyones js forgetting ab that happening cause it seemed to me that she had a worse reaction to rafe raping her one time versus that waylon guy and his buddy raping her multiple times. Js saying. The whole getting revenge part was nice and i was lowk more interested in laura and nico than anything else. It got a little corny and hard to read 🙂

Maybe 2.5

[Haley R.]

Andddd Rafe's redemption HIT! I got my HEA and I am so happy! As insane and unhinged Rafe was in book 1, he was even more in this one (but in better ways)!

I feel sorry for any readers who gave up on Rafe in book 1 because him in this book was, hands down, ONE OF THE BEST MMC'S I'VE EVER READ.

The spice in this one was freaking incredible. Rafe is DEFINITELY my dream man. Adeline is a very skilled writer and I can't wait to see her next books!

[Melanie Reads]

A super exciting read! It had plot AND spice. Adela and Rafe have a sexy, dangerous, and powerful love that is so fun to read about. Adeline did really well with her first duet and I'm looking forward to see what else she has up her sleeves!

5 star story
5 star spice

[Andrea S.]

This book was even better than the first. Loved it. The spice was spicy and the struggle was very humanizing to read on both Rafe and Adela's journeys. They are truly a power couple by the end of the duet. If you read the first book and was put off by the mmc's actions, definitely read this one.

[April]

really 5 stars but giving 4

I loved these books! Though mostly in this one there was a few repeated paragraphs and scenes which I was like “okay, I can just skip. One scene got confusing by the repeated lines and stuff, but I just moved past it. Overall 5/5 on the story!