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asipofcozy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What an absolute page-turner full of horror, murder, dark mystery, Victorian-era setting, and intrigue.
I have read quite a few YA fantasy murder mysteries, especially from Kerri Mansiscalco; However, if I would have to compare Adalyn Grace's ability to keep me enraptured and guessing over authors, I would choose Grace hands down.
I picked this book up for three reasons:
1. the main character can see spirits and commune with death
2. the gothic vibes
3. a murder mystery
And it hit all so perfectly.
Signa is by far a perfect character. In fact, her flaws are what make her so intriguing. You can see how she struggles with wanting to be this perfect Victorian lady. Yet when she gets that opportunity, she struggles with how confining and suffocating it actually is. It's that struggle of following society - especially a society where etiquette is everything - and being her own person.
More important to me was the murder mystery. The actual murder was on my "list of suspects" but Adalyn Grace does a marvelous job at throwing off the tracks of the murder. You feel like you are constantly second-guessing your choices. That's what a murder mystery should be!
I cannot wait for Foxglove in August because oh man that ending!
I have read quite a few YA fantasy murder mysteries, especially from Kerri Mansiscalco; However, if I would have to compare Adalyn Grace's ability to keep me enraptured and guessing over authors, I would choose Grace hands down.
I picked this book up for three reasons:
1. the main character can see spirits and commune with death
2. the gothic vibes
3. a murder mystery
And it hit all so perfectly.
Signa is by far a perfect character. In fact, her flaws are what make her so intriguing. You can see how she struggles with wanting to be this perfect Victorian lady. Yet when she gets that opportunity, she struggles with how confining and suffocating it actually is. It's that struggle of following society - especially a society where etiquette is everything - and being her own person.
More important to me was the murder mystery. The actual murder was on my "list of suspects" but Adalyn Grace does a marvelous job at throwing off the tracks of the murder. You feel like you are constantly second-guessing your choices. That's what a murder mystery should be!
I cannot wait for Foxglove in August because oh man that ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
headinthepages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I usually struggle with the pacing that often comes with a historical/gothic fiction but this was absolutely brilliant.
I was engaged in the story as soon as I started reading and found the style of writing, characters & dialogue particularly good.
I loved the plot and was very much along for the ride. I loved Death as a character and can’t wait to find out what happens in Foxglove!
I was engaged in the story as soon as I started reading and found the style of writing, characters & dialogue particularly good.
I loved the plot and was very much along for the ride. I loved Death as a character and can’t wait to find out what happens in Foxglove!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A murder mystery wrapped up in a Death-as-romantic-interest bow. I definitely enjoyed this read, and there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Pregnancy, and Classism
ashleyelizabeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
LOVED IT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.75
I had to edit this review because my feelings changed a lot in hindsight.
TL;DR: Loved the beginning, meh towards the end. Love the atmosphere, the secret garden vibes. This is new adult not YA. The romance was highly problematic.
The first half of this book was an easy 5 stars, but the second half was more of a 3 at best. (And in hindsight, the problematic romance just kinda tainted the whole book…)
🖤 🖤 🖤
The thing I loved the most was the atmosphere and writing. The descriptions in this book are so vivid and atmospheric I could clearly picture everything in my mind. I want to be in this world. I love immersive writing, especially in a gothic book, it’s one of the number one things I look for and this definitely delivers on that.
I loved the secret garden vibes. I don’t know if it was intentional but this definitely feels like a gothic retelling almost of the secret garden. Lots of similarities.
💔 💔 💔
I’m very picky with mortal x immortal pairings because they often feel icky. This one did. Without spoilers, Death met her as a two month old baby and kept an eye on her from then until she was 19, when the book takes place. and he knew from a vision that he had when she was a baby that they would get together when she was an adult…. Yeah. That aside, my original thoughts on the romance before realizing how messed up it was: it feels very much like what you’d expect from YA in that Signa is very quick to catch feelings despite the fact she hated the love interest in the beginning. I didn’t feel their chemistry because Signa didn’t really get to know Death or spend much time with him. Her attraction to him was really only physical.
Signa is so focused on men the entire book when she’s supposed to be focused on saving someone’s life, something that’s incredibly urgent. There was a love triangle that while reading I felt was entirely unnecessary and just took up space in the book that should’ve focused on the actual plot.
Another thing about the romance is that it gets a bit steamier than I would say is appropriate for YA. There’s an on page sex scene that’s somewhat explicit, and besides that Signa is just very horny throughout the book. I would categorize this as new adult, not young adult. I feel like authors forget that the target age range of YA is 12-17. I would not give this to anyone younger than 16, personally.
Signa is very obsessed with being a ‘proper lady’ throughout most of the book and I found those parts to be very annoying. If she had grown out of that mindset earlier I wouldn’t have minded it so much because it does make sense given the time period and her high class status that she’d care about that, but it was overdone imo.
While I loved the writing in the first half, after that it started to feel overwritten and like it was trying too hard to be poetic at certain parts. It started to drag on a bit as well and was a bit repetitive at times. Kinda felt like the author wrote the book in order and got burnt out towards the end.
About the end reveal of who did it: I didn’t understand why Percy continued to poison Lillian when it didn’t kill her the first time… if it was an accident and she survived he could’ve just waited for it to leave her system… It didn’t make sense to me.
A very subjective issue: I just don’t like YA. Even though this has more adult themes it’s still written like YA. The main character is very naive (understandably so, but still), she’s so focused on boys instead of the very pressing situation going on, and there’s unnecessary petty drama with some of the other girls her age. I feel like these are common tropes in YA. Maybe it’s just because I’m an adult and don’t like those things but I remember disliking those things when I was a teenager as well so… I just would’ve preferred if this had been written as adult and the characters were more mature and less easily distracted by cute men.
TL;DR: Loved the beginning, meh towards the end. Love the atmosphere, the secret garden vibes. This is new adult not YA. The romance was highly problematic.
The first half of this book was an easy 5 stars, but the second half was more of a 3 at best. (And in hindsight, the problematic romance just kinda tainted the whole book…)
🖤 🖤 🖤
The thing I loved the most was the atmosphere and writing. The descriptions in this book are so vivid and atmospheric I could clearly picture everything in my mind. I want to be in this world. I love immersive writing, especially in a gothic book, it’s one of the number one things I look for and this definitely delivers on that.
I loved the secret garden vibes. I don’t know if it was intentional but this definitely feels like a gothic retelling almost of the secret garden. Lots of similarities.
💔 💔 💔
I’m very picky with mortal x immortal pairings because they often feel icky. This one did. Without spoilers, Death met her as a two month old baby and kept an eye on her from then until she was 19, when the book takes place.
Signa is so focused on men the entire book when she’s supposed to be focused on saving someone’s life, something that’s incredibly urgent. There was a love triangle that while reading I felt was entirely unnecessary and just took up space in the book that should’ve focused on the actual plot.
Another thing about the romance is that it gets a bit steamier than I would say is appropriate for YA. There’s an on page sex scene that’s somewhat explicit, and besides that Signa is just very horny throughout the book. I would categorize this as new adult, not young adult. I feel like authors forget that the target age range of YA is 12-17. I would not give this to anyone younger than 16, personally.
Signa is very obsessed with being a ‘proper lady’ throughout most of the book and I found those parts to be very annoying. If she had grown out of that mindset earlier I wouldn’t have minded it so much because it does make sense given the time period and her high class status that she’d care about that, but it was overdone imo.
While I loved the writing in the first half, after that it started to feel overwritten and like it was trying too hard to be poetic at certain parts. It started to drag on a bit as well and was a bit repetitive at times. Kinda felt like the author wrote the book in order and got burnt out towards the end.
About the end reveal of who did it:
A very subjective issue: I just don’t like YA. Even though this has more adult themes it’s still written like YA. The main character is very naive (understandably so, but still), she’s so focused on boys instead of the very pressing situation going on, and there’s unnecessary petty drama with some of the other girls her age. I feel like these are common tropes in YA. Maybe it’s just because I’m an adult and don’t like those things but I remember disliking those things when I was a teenager as well so… I just would’ve preferred if this had been written as adult and the characters were more mature and less easily distracted by cute men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Religious bigotry and Suicide attempt
Graphic: poisoning Moderate: description of a broken neck Minor: an implication that having a lot of sexual partners leads to ‘diseases’takarakei's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
REREAD: this book is everything. Daddy Death 4 life.
-----------------------------------------------------
This is not a stand-alone!! (I’ve reported this so there’s no confusion for others). I didn’t know that going in so was not expecting it to end not wrapped up!
The overall theme is about our main character Signa embracing the power she has around death and eschewing societal norms to join society and marry a respectable man. It’s definitely a story of self discovery and coming into one’s own as a young person. Also there’s like a murder mystery as a main plot point. Definitely there is romance as well, and it gets kinda spicy for a YA novel! The writing throughout is beautiful.
"I know how society teaches us to be soft and dull and compliant, but you will not be any of those things, do you understand? Do not change the parts of yourself that you like to make others comfortable. Do not mold yourself to fit the standards someone else has set for us." - Blythe
3/5 🌶️
-----------------------------------------------------
This is not a stand-alone!! (I’ve reported this so there’s no confusion for others). I didn’t know that going in so was not expecting it to end not wrapped up!
The overall theme is about our main character Signa embracing the power she has around death and eschewing societal norms to join society and marry a respectable man. It’s definitely a story of self discovery and coming into one’s own as a young person. Also there’s like a murder mystery as a main plot point. Definitely there is romance as well, and it gets kinda spicy for a YA novel! The writing throughout is beautiful.
"I know how society teaches us to be soft and dull and compliant, but you will not be any of those things, do you understand? Do not change the parts of yourself that you like to make others comfortable. Do not mold yourself to fit the standards someone else has set for us." - Blythe
3/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood and Grief
Minor: Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Alcohol
kirschyhershey's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Murder
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, death, death of parent, murder, suicide attempt, self harm, emotional abuse, parental neglect, grief, chronic illness, vomit, medical content, sexual content
--
An addictive read that is beautiful blend of fantasy and mystery, Belladonna will enthral you from the opening pages.
The story follows Signa Farrow a girl who has been surrounded by death ever since she was born both in how the various guardians she has been taken in by have met untimely ends and in how she is able to see and communicate with Death (and ghosts) yet elude it herself.
Signa soon finds herself arriving at Thorn Grove to be in the care of the Hawthorne family, her last remaining relatives who are mourning the death of their matriarch who died of a mysterious illness which the daughter of the house, Blythe is suffering from too. However, when she crosses paths with the ghost of the matriarch who pleads her to get to the bottom of how she really died as the rest of the family could be in danger, Signa finds herself teaming up with Death to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Grace’s writing perfectly captures all the paranormal and gothic vibes that surround this page turning mystery and I honestly couldn’t put the book down. Not only was this an entertaining twisty tale but at its at heart it is a story about a girl finding confidence in herself and a place to finally belong.
Though I did find her musings a little repetitive at times, Signa’s characterisation and journey throughout was wonderfully done and I really loved the bonds she formed with other the characters from the members of the Hawthorne family, to Sylas the prickly stable hand she befriended to Death. The secrecy surrounding everyone played nicely into the mystery and really keeps you on your toes but it was also just so heart-warming to see Signa finding people who actually seemed to care for her.
The dynamic she had with Death was definitely the stand out though. They had great chemistry and banter and I just loved seeing their connection strengthen and grow.
Though I was able to guess some of the reveals, how the plot unravelled was so satisfying and the ending has me super excited for what is to come in book two!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, gore, death, death of parent, murder, suicide attempt, self harm, emotional abuse, parental neglect, grief, chronic illness, vomit, medical content, sexual content
--
An addictive read that is beautiful blend of fantasy and mystery, Belladonna will enthral you from the opening pages.
The story follows Signa Farrow a girl who has been surrounded by death ever since she was born both in how the various guardians she has been taken in by have met untimely ends and in how she is able to see and communicate with Death (and ghosts) yet elude it herself.
Signa soon finds herself arriving at Thorn Grove to be in the care of the Hawthorne family, her last remaining relatives who are mourning the death of their matriarch who died of a mysterious illness which the daughter of the house, Blythe is suffering from too. However, when she crosses paths with the ghost of the matriarch who pleads her to get to the bottom of how she really died as the rest of the family could be in danger, Signa finds herself teaming up with Death to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Grace’s writing perfectly captures all the paranormal and gothic vibes that surround this page turning mystery and I honestly couldn’t put the book down. Not only was this an entertaining twisty tale but at its at heart it is a story about a girl finding confidence in herself and a place to finally belong.
Though I did find her musings a little repetitive at times, Signa’s characterisation and journey throughout was wonderfully done and I really loved the bonds she formed with other the characters from the members of the Hawthorne family, to Sylas the prickly stable hand she befriended to Death. The secrecy surrounding everyone played nicely into the mystery and really keeps you on your toes but it was also just so heart-warming to see Signa finding people who actually seemed to care for her.
The dynamic she had with Death was definitely the stand out though. They had great chemistry and banter and I just loved seeing their connection strengthen and grow.
Though I was able to guess some of the reveals, how the plot unravelled was so satisfying and the ending has me super excited for what is to come in book two!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, and Medical content
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was one of my most anticipated releases for the year and I’m bummed I didn’t like it as much as I had hoped!
I am not really a fan of horror and the part of the book where Lily’s spirit looks like Scarlet Witch when she comes out of the gong in Dr. Strange’s Multiverse of Madness movie, limbs cracking/moving in odd angles and her mouth gaping open with blood and sores, was a little bit too horrific/graphic for me. It was so strange because that scene was creepy/scary but then the rest of the book did not keep with that tone. That scene just tonally felt so off for me and just came out of nowhere. Then the story goes back to a campy, Clue-like mystery with the dark-brooding Death love interest. It just felt very odd/out of place for me.
Also, I feel like Death and Signa’s love/relationship did not feel very fleshed out for me. It was giving very Edward and Bella. Death tells Signa “I’ve waited forever for you.” He’s literally a deity and Signa is a 19 year old girl. The whole thing just felt very strange and rushed. Like okay your cousins are dropping like flies but you need to make out with Death in a garden, okie doke.
Also Death meets Signa when she was a literal baby when everyone at this party dies, including her parents, but Signa does not. It’s giving Jacob and Renesme? Like Death knew he was going to wait until Signa was “of age” for him to have her even though he’s been watching over her since she was a literal baby. Through out the book, Death kind of deceives Signa and lies to her. Okay she can see dead people like he can but other then that, why should they be together?
I know this was Adalyn Grace’s first kind of time dipping her toe into more adult content, which I think is awesome, good for her. However, this book was just an odd mix of adult themes/scenes with the characters still being very YA in their development and lack of personality.
I am not really a fan of horror and the part of the book where Lily’s spirit looks like Scarlet Witch when she comes out of the gong in Dr. Strange’s Multiverse of Madness movie, limbs cracking/moving in odd angles and her mouth gaping open with blood and sores, was a little bit too horrific/graphic for me. It was so strange because that scene was creepy/scary but then the rest of the book did not keep with that tone. That scene just tonally felt so off for me and just came out of nowhere. Then the story goes back to a campy, Clue-like mystery with the dark-brooding Death love interest. It just felt very odd/out of place for me.
Also, I feel like Death and Signa’s love/relationship did not feel very fleshed out for me. It was giving very Edward and Bella. Death tells Signa “I’ve waited forever for you.” He’s literally a deity and Signa is a 19 year old girl. The whole thing just felt very strange and rushed. Like okay your cousins are dropping like flies but you need to make out with Death in a garden, okie doke.
Also Death meets Signa when she was a literal baby when everyone at this party dies, including her parents, but Signa does not. It’s giving Jacob and Renesme? Like Death knew he was going to wait until Signa was “of age” for him to have her even though he’s been watching over her since she was a literal baby. Through out the book, Death kind of deceives Signa and lies to her. Okay she can see dead people like he can but other then that, why should they be together?
I know this was Adalyn Grace’s first kind of time dipping her toe into more adult content, which I think is awesome, good for her. However, this book was just an odd mix of adult themes/scenes with the characters still being very YA in their development and lack of personality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
4.5
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I knew I wanted to see how Death would be personified. Come on, you're going to always interest me when you tell me Death is coming knocking. And - don't get me wrong - I loved the character of death, talk about clever and a bit wry, but I ended up loving Signe the most. I loved how she has to come into her own powers, but also how clever and resilient she is. Belladonna is very much a gothic mystery meets romance. Signe is tasked with unraveling what happened to Blythe's mother and Blythe yourself.
If you've always loved families who are eccentric, ghosts lingering, and something sinister, this is for you. But Belladonna is also about the pain of grief and ambition and love. It's about her own isolation and who it has shaped her to be - whether she wanted it or not. No one truly ever shows their cards. And I loved how atmospheric Belladonna felt from the beginning which only increases as the story progresses. For fans of romance story lines, that was one of my favorite under dog element.
I knew I wanted to see how Death would be personified. Come on, you're going to always interest me when you tell me Death is coming knocking. And - don't get me wrong - I loved the character of death, talk about clever and a bit wry, but I ended up loving Signe the most. I loved how she has to come into her own powers, but also how clever and resilient she is. Belladonna is very much a gothic mystery meets romance. Signe is tasked with unraveling what happened to Blythe's mother and Blythe yourself.
If you've always loved families who are eccentric, ghosts lingering, and something sinister, this is for you. But Belladonna is also about the pain of grief and ambition and love. It's about her own isolation and who it has shaped her to be - whether she wanted it or not. No one truly ever shows their cards. And I loved how atmospheric Belladonna felt from the beginning which only increases as the story progresses. For fans of romance story lines, that was one of my favorite under dog element.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Self harm