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pookiee's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Animal death, Vomit, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Pedophilia and Homophobia
maeverose's review
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, Death of parent, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide attempt and Religious bigotry
Graphic: poisoning Moderate: description of a broken neck Minor: an implication that having a lot of sexual partners leads to ‘diseases’jenna36's review
dark
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.5
This was so good that it reawakened my interest in YA. I loved the romance, and the family aspect of the book. It was a little bit darker than I expected, but that is probably because it deals with death. There were a few moments that made me cry towards the end, and one moment in particular near the beginning that made me sob. I am definitely interested in reading more books by this author, because I love the way that she tells her stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
frantically's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
From now on, I only trust Fairyloot with my YA Fantasy books.
This felt like a Buzzfeed Unsolved finale, the way it had me changing my suspects every chapter (I did have it right in the end).
Was the plot predictable? Was the time period just a bit too fake? The men just a bit too perfect? Yes. But it was so, so much fun and just a joy to read 🖤
This felt like a Buzzfeed Unsolved finale, the way it had me changing my suspects every chapter (I did have it right in the end).
Was the plot predictable? Was the time period just a bit too fake? The men just a bit too perfect? Yes. But it was so, so much fun and just a joy to read 🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Grief, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Murder and Vomit
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual content
jasmine256's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Animal death
jamiebrito's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I bought this on Ashley's recommendation and the cover of the B&N special edition 😍 I didn't read the blurb or any reviews. I loved this so much! I am obsessed! I loved the characters, world building and mystery! As I was reading it I was torn between needing to keep reading and dread at finishing it. I had a lot of predictions early on and had a great time reading and seeing if my predictions were correct or not. I am counting the days for the sequel and am sad it doesn't come out til 2023. I definitely see myself rereading this probably very soon as I'm not ready to let the characters go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death of parent, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Animal death and Fire/Fire injury
xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
THE STORY CONTINUES IN FOXGLOVE
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Yep. This story is literally everything I want out of a Gothic supernatural romance. I am putting this in my Amazon cart as we speak. Also looking up when Foxglove is supposed to be published because I need it.
One note that took me out of the story just a little bit: all the love interests were constantly noted as being incredibly tall. Looking back on it, knowing the ending now, maybe there was a reason for it, but tbh it just makes me think the author has a thing for really tall guys.
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Yep. This story is literally everything I want out of a Gothic supernatural romance. I am putting this in my Amazon cart as we speak. Also looking up when Foxglove is supposed to be published because I need it.
One note that took me out of the story just a little bit: all the love interests were constantly noted as being incredibly tall. Looking back on it, knowing the ending now, maybe there was a reason for it, but tbh it just makes me think the author has a thing for really tall guys.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
chronicacademia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Body shaming
Grooming of a teenager (who is barely not a minor by an old man who knew her starting when she was a baby)bookishflower's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
- 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!
- 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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Classism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
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