Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advance e-ARC of Belladonna, this an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book Signa and Death are just fantastic. I was drawn into their world from the opening pages and loved every moment of it.
The story moves at a decent pace, this is a YA so expect typically tropes of semi love triangle and pining 😆
Death is my new book crush 😍🥰 I enjoyed his interactions with Signa, their connection was well developed throughout the story and made me swoon.
This story is a gothic murder mystery that blends well with the Victorian setting and was bogged down with over explaining of the world.
Highly recommended read I can't wait for the sequel Foxglove.
#Netgalley #Belladonna

Belladonna follows Signa, a girl who can cheat death and speak to spirits as she tries to solve the murder of a relative she never met while living in her house with the family she has left behind.

I cannot believe how much I loved this book. The spooky, gothic setting was perfectly crafted, pushing the story along by adding a hint of fear to the story.

The characters were compelling, the story was so creative and beyond anything I've read before and the writing always left me wanting to read "just one more" chapter.

I can't wait for book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Adalyn Grace for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

This was an excellent read with plenty of intrigue, ghosts & dark fantasy feels! I loved the main love interest in this (morally grey character vibes, HELLO) and the writing is beautiful.

The plot felt really unique, with unexpected plot twists and a murder mystery element, and I would have liked to have stayed in the world longer!

I’ll absolutely be picking up some of the authors other works after enjoying this read so much.

OMG WHAT A READING!!! MY POOR HEART CAN'T TAKE IT. Wow this was wow, I barely have words. It was a roller-coaster of a reading. I got the chills, I laughed, I cried, I had mixed feelings, I was enraged, surprised.... all you can think of. The world building was amazing, the way she talked about Death and the way she created that works was truly amazing. I felt troughout the book that I was a character myself, I consumed and was consumed. The characters were amazing, the plot was excellent. The intrigue and mistery. You could read this with or without the romance and you wouldn't have regretted. I was sooo not expecting the ending. My jaw dropped literally. Especially when I had so many mixed feelings toward a certain character (which I will not name cause I might spoil something). And please let's talk about DEATH!!!! He made to my top 5 book boyfriends!!!! I want a death to myself! I swooned so hard that I think I've melted at this point. To summarize, I love this book with all my mighty and recommend it with all of my heart. Definitely my top 5!!!!

Wow! This books is absolutely fantastic! The writing was so immersive and I felt like I was part of every scene. I didn't want to put it down and read it in one or two sittings which is very rare for me. The plot and characters are so very unique and well thought out.

I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this ARC.

The premise of the book is what drew me in: A girl who cannot be killed but is plagued by death. Death being a character with lines, a personality and a great sense of humour. A murder mystery in a creepy mansion and ghosts who may or may not be helping.

The best part of the book was the mystery, both the one in this book and the one it sets up for future series.

I thought I would love this, I thought it would be one of the best books I read for the year. But really it was sort of average. I don't want to spoil anything but I felt as though Signa just wasn't the smartest cookie. I dislike books where the author writes twists that readers figure out almost immediately but don't let the mc figure it out till the end. It was just frustrating.

The romance in this book wasn't anything to write home about, it felt flat at times but I do love that death was not written as a villain. He was pretty sweet if not a bit sad for being obsessed with a teenager.

Overall I wasn't impressed but I feel it will still be satisfying for other readers.

4.5 stars

Thank you so much to Hodderscape for providing me with an ARC of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

I absolutely adored the aesthetics of this book. It was a wonderful and enticing concept that dealt with death and loss. Think murder mystery in the Gallant household with a Luc like love interest (definitely one for all of you VE Schwab fans).

The characters were wonderful and I loved how it explored the position of women in society and the power they truly wielded. This would be a great late summer read.

Gothic Bridgerton meets fantasy! Spoiler-free review
First I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we follow the 19-year-old Signa and her mysterious gift: she cannot die and can talk to Death. I absolutely loved the first half of the book, seeing Signa trying to navigate this world full of strict social rules, meanwhile trying to solve a murder mystery with the hot stable boy. 4.5 stars for the first half! If the book continued in that direction, I would've loved it. Unfortunately, in the second half of the book, I did not like how her relationship with Death developed and found that hard to read. The answer to the mystery was somewhat surprising, but the ending was just okay.

Overall, an easy and entertaining read

I think fantasy mystery might be a new favourite genre, and when you add in the gothic and paranormal *chef’s kiss*

Signa Farrow is Cursed. She is known as the cursed orphan as everyone who adopts her dies. Signa slowly realises that she cannot die, and can see and speak to spirits.

Signa is sent to live with her last remaining relatives She consumes the deadly belladonna berries to summon death to help her save her last remaining relatives, The Hawthorne’s as the daughter Blythe is dying from a mysterious illness. Signa must team up with death to find out who’s hurting the members of her family and why before it’s too late.

Chapter 43 is 😱🤯 That twist got me. Literally sat there with my jaw open for a good 2 minutes. so so good and unexpected. The whole mystery was executed so well, I can tell I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time and I need the next book immediately.

I was so taken in by the gorgeous writing style and worldbuilding, and I found myself falling in love with the characters as the plot progressed. This is my first Adalyn Grace novel and I am so impressed, I can't wait to purchase this one release!

★ Belladonna had an intriguing premise and a killer pitch - Bridgerton meets Knives Out - but lacks the full, complex cast and gripping romance to live up to its self-made hype. ★

It's books like Belladonna that lead me to favour the quieter underdogs of the YA Fantasy market, instead of trusting in the hype most of the time. It never seems to end well for me.

Let me be clear: if the romance in this book had been better, you'd probably be reading a 4-star-minimum review. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and the relationship between Signa and Death was Belladonna's biggest let down.

Prior to reading this book, I'd never read anything with a non-corporeal love interest. Does that make sense? I'm going with it anyway. I've read books with all sorts of love interests: fae, werewolves, dragons, you name it – so the 'supernatural' element doesn't bother me, and I didn't expect to dislike Death going into this. I can't tell you whether it was Death's lack of form (no spoilers here) or just the general lack of chemistry between him and Signa that made this romance so lacking for me, but here's the disclaimer regardless. I just... didn't feel anything while reading their scenes together. I went as far as to skip their ~spicy~ scenes because they sort of... weirded me out? Death was also pretty flat as a character generally; there wasn't much to him and he certainly wasn't as interesting as he was probably supposed to be.

I don't know. Maybe this book just wasn't for me. Every other early review I've seen for Belladonna so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Moving on.

I liked Signa as a protagonist, but I really struggled with my feelings towards her in the beginning. She's definitely reminiscent of Daphne from Bridgerton (and I suppose all the other high society girls from similar time periods). All she wants is to join that society, get married and throw parties. At this point, it was a little hard to connect with her. But, as the plot progresses, she begins to develop and realise she wants different things from her life, to not be confined to these boxes and mingle with other society women who seemingly want her to fail so that they can succeed (in the marriage market, at least); she begins to relish in her newfound Death-like abilities and unleash a darker side to herself, and it was Signa that I much preferred.

The supporting cast was decent – there's not really much for me to say about them. I liked Blythe the most, and how she never let her illness get the better of her. I didn't care too much about any of the other characters until the end, when their involvement in the overall plot becomes clearer.

The mystery aspect of Belladonna was definitely the most intriguing and compelling part. Trying to guess who killed Lillian kept me turning the pages, but I could never have predicted the reveal at the end. That's not to say I didn't like it, because I did! It was one of those moments where everything you've read so far clicks into place, and props to Adalyn Grace for all her work developing this part of the book.

I'm not entirely sure where the sequel, Foxglove is headed, and neither am I sure if I'll read it or not. But I did, for the most part, enjoy this first installment in the series and am happy to have read it. I just wish the romance was better (for me). :(

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

This was a lovely read, full of some really intricate and exciting world-building. I love a Death and the Maiden archetype.

The book's opener is shocking and sets the stakes high. It's really cool. However, the book does become lower stakes for the first half, but when kicked back into gear, it's incredibly engrossing.

I liked Signa, but she has some very self-centered tendancies which I found tedious and frustrating at times. She struggles to think of anyone outside her immediate world-view, especially when Blanche and other women bring up the very real struggles of womanhood. I do however love her care for her adopted family and her excitement about the world.

Death is a very interesting character, as one would assume, and has a more unexplored side to him. Sometimes he came across incredibly kind, even sweet, and other times, seemed to have a very villain-esque manner. He says some sinister things and does a Voldemort "there is no good and evil, only perception and power" thing. I'll be interested to see what direction his character moves in, and whether these aspects remain aspects or begin to be the dominant parts of him.

Sylas. I didn't like the reveal. It was unexpected but also made him feel a little pointless.

I found the ending really, really interesting. For one, <spoiler> YA/NA heroines are rarely allowed to choose revenge and violence as healing and revel in that. It is powerful but I wonder if Signa will feel the ramifications at all? </spoiler> As well as that, the moments with Lillian's soul at the end were absolutely beautiful and incredibly moving. I felt really emotional over that whole scene. It was fantastically written.

And finally, that reveal. Wow. When they mentioned him earlier in the book, I was hoping it would come back around and it did! I loved the choice, and it's made me so excited to read the next book in the series!

Four very excited stars.

I really struggled to get into this book to start with, the first 30% was a tough read for me. Once I got past that though I was hooked and loved it. I loved Death and loved his interaction with Signa and I loved watching their story play out. It was exciting and I was desperate for her to solve the murder mystery so I could see what would happen next....I had no idea about the ending so that was a pleasant surprise and it has definitely left me wanting to read Foxglove when it comes out! Brilliant ❤️

5*
- Light enemies-to-lovers
- Atmospheric gothic fantasy
- mystery solving
- murder
- ghosts

Thank you Hodder and Stoughton, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Signa Farrow has been surrounded by Death her whole life. With her string of guardians all meeting untimely ends, Signa is determined to not let Death ruin her fresh start with her cousins at the mysterious Thorn Grove. But when her aunt's ghost tells her she was murdered and her daughter is next, it's up to Signa, Sylas the infuriating stable boy, and her sworn enemy Death himself to help stop the murderer before it's too late.

'Belladonna' was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and it did not disappoint! This is the perfect mix of fantasy, romance, mystery and the gothic! If you looking for a book that feels like a Hozier song, look no further. (It also needs to be said that this is one of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen!).

I adored the writing style and how Signa as a character develops and comes into her own with her powers and sense of self. Death was mysterious, alluring and the sarcastic love interest of your dreams. I have never been more excited for my theories to be right than I was when I got to that bit! Signa and Death balance each other out perfectly- the banter, reluctant allies, consent, and encouragement?!!! I can't wait for 'Foxglove' and that cliffhanger was evil- I loved it!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because I haven’t seen much about it and I didn’t read the blurb, but I was hoping I would love it. Although I did really like it, I didn’t love it. It reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and unfortunately I didn’t love that one either. I really liked half of the storyline, however it was the other half that disappointed me. I won’t give specific details because it will be a spoiler, but I’d love to talk about it with someone who’s read this book. I did like the characters, and liked reading about them, but just didn’t love them. I didn’t predict what was going to happen, but I wasn’t surprised by it either. It was a really easy book to read and I did like Adalyn Grace’s writing, so I would read more from this author. I’ve also been left with a few questions, so I’m hoping there’s a second book to come so I can find out the answers and what happens next. Overall it was an enjoyable book and I’m glad that I read it. I know that some people will love this book, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for, so I will still be recommending it to people.

"But Death did not need to be seen; he was to be felt. He was a weight upon the chest, or a collar buttoned too tight. A fall into frigid, lethal waters. Death was suffocating, and he was ice."

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. In case someone doesn’t want to stick around for the full post, Belladonna is a fantastic read, perfect if you’re a fan of the V. E. Schwab books, The invisible life of Addie LaRue and Gallant.

Belladonna comes out on the 30th of August and was published by Hodder & Stoughton. It’s a young adult book, and can be further classified as YA fantasy or YA thriller or mystery. It’s 416 pages long and beautifully written. I can 100% imagine all the merchandise that people can make from this because the book is pretty quotable. I hate saying that but it’s true! I have 101 lines highlighted on my kindle! Belladonna is also the first book in the series by the same name, and while I’m not sure how many books we’ll get from the series, I can already tell you that I will request the second one on NetGalley as soon as I can and probably get pretty hardcover editions of all of them. The second book is titled Foxglove (according to Goodreads).

"It’s also not Adalyn Grace’s first book. She’s also the author of All the Stars and Teeth duopoly, which seems to have incredibly well received (NYT called the it the biggest YA fantasy of 2020)."

Signs has always been surrounded by poison; her parents death at a young age to her immunity from belladonna. As an heiress, she’s also been surrounded by poisonous people, who really just want access to her money so that they can finance their lives. As she moves to her final guardians home, she discovers that she may have the chance to actually live the life that she wants; one where she is a lady and be wooed and swept off her feet and have her own home. It’s just the home that she gets to is in disarray as her aunt has died and her cousin lies there kicking on deaths door.

"Signa trembled like a hummingbird. Someone had truly arrived to retrieve her. To whisk her away to a family high within the social hierarchy, with whom she might wear beautiful gowns and sip tea with other women and have the life she yearned for."

Signa, as a charter goes through tremendous growth. She starts off as someone who doesn’t understand what her abilities could mean and is ready to be rescued, to someone who takes action when she needs to. She knows that if she doesn’t investigate, this group of people, who she is getting fond of, could all be gone soon; the life that she wanted could be gone, and she works to keep it.:

I did feel like her relationship with Death was done a bit too quickly; I wish it had developed more. The way it was, it felt more like brutal attraction rather than something more.

"Why, then, was it that whenever she was with him, something within her seared hot and fervent?"

I loved how Blythe and Percy were set up, although I don’t understand what Percy’s plan for Blythe was, given that I know he did love her in some way. Byron was absolved too quickly, and I wish we had seen more of Charlotte in the book.

I really did love how Adalyn Grace showed us that these young women, despite their wealth and, seemingly, good fortune, were trapped. It was also good to see Signa grow out of the desire to be one of them quickly. It was also really funny to see that it’s hinted to Signa that her mother, despite being very interesting and beautiful, wasn’t really a nice person, and that she just brushes it off and thinks that she could be more free like her mother.

While the plot and the characters were great, the best thing about this book is Adalyn Grace's beautiful, lyrical style of writing! If you give this a read, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Have you ever read a book that pulls you into its world and never lets go? Belladonna was that book for me.

I was deeply immersed in this novel that I forgot the time. The gothic setting paired with fantasy and paranormal themes were an addictive pairing. I was drawn in by the a mysterious, yet intense love interest and a girl who could literally see spirits and Death himself. It was fascinating to see the main character, Signa Farrow throughout her journey into learning more about her power and connection with Death.

Belladonna’s pacing was heartstopping. Reveals and plot twists were surprisingly shocking. Especially toward the end where I totally did not see coming.

Super easy read with a nice story and nice characters, although it didn't blow me away as much as I wanted it to. But the overall idea was good, I just wanted MORE. Maybe another book, just to see what happens and if the story plays out how I wanted it to.

This book was the perfect mix of gothic mystery and the romance was built up perfectly!! I love the side characters and especially how she could bond with so many great female characters, which is something that we often miss out in YA fiction.

Of all the characters in the book, I especially love Death and Sylas, however one minor issue is that Sylas and Signa have really similar names so I get them mixed up when I'm skimming. (But this is totally a "me" problem and not the authors!

The plot was immaculate and I loved the pacing and the prose. The story was developed super well but I felt that the plot twist was a bit predictable but the ending was great! Can't wait for the next book to come.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was perfection to me! It was exciting and mysterious from the start and kept me hooked the whole time! I am a big fan of fantasy and murder mystery and this was the best mix of both I have read so far! Adalyn writes so fluently and smooth, that I had no trouble with reading at all. The scenes are laid out beautiful and I could picture everything in detail! The way Adalyn describes how Signa felt and thought made me connect with her tremendously.

My interest in this book was immediate after I read about the murder mystery and the alliance with Death himself. The story follows Signa Farrow, who has a strong connection with Death. He has been following her around her entire life while she ends up with different guardians, as she was orphaned as a baby. Now, at her latest residence, she sets out to prevent more deaths and solve a murder.

I cannot wait for the sequel!! I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantasy, historical settings, gothic vibes, a little romance and a murder mystery! I will read more of Adalyn in the near future!