Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

58 reviews

calicat42's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

teddy_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Toxic friendship

birbmcbirb's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit and Stalking

lakinglaze's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! I cannot wait for the second one to be released! Death was so perfect and the descriptions were so beautifully written. As long as you can handle some spirits, I would recommend this book to everyone! I’m such a sucker for a Hades/Persephone tale and Belladonna was even better than I had hoped! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

introverted_reads's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

katievallin's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.25

This was a reread. Some things were more cringey and cliche and black-and-white than I remembered. Didn't agree with all the ideals pushed, but some of the quotes have just stayed with me and found a permanent place in my mind. The audiobook narrator does an excellent job.

"Your name is no curse, Little Bird. I just like the taste of it."

"You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It's not selfish to live."

"'It's exhausting,' Signa said as she looked down to her lap, 'to pretend you are something - someone - you're not.' Blythe took her by the hand. 'Then do not spend your life exhausted.'"

"To me, you are a song to a soul that has never known music, light to someone who has only seen the darkness."

"You are no soft thing to be coddled.... You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it's time that you burn."

"I don't want you so focused on the world of the dead that you forget to enjoy that of the living."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Classism

microbemom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, and Alcohol

xoxlululuxox's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Belladonna follows Signa in her search for answers to her inability to die; which eventually changes to the search for answers to prevent the death of her cousin. Throughout her journey she quarrels with Death only to grow closer to him and lean on him in her time of need. 

This story is everything I could have wanted. I love books that feature Death as a person, especially when it is done in this manner. I loved his character, and the relationship he and Signa formed throughout the story. The mystery surrounding Blythe, Signa's cousin, was also intriguing and had me guessing until the very end. 

The idea that Signa has the powers of Death is also super interesting. We still don't know much about how or why, and it makes me look forward to the next books in the series to find out, but at the same time, it felt like one of the only mysteries that would carry forward. 

As much as I loved this book from the start, I am a little disappointed in the ending. The story was pretty much wrapped up within the main chapters of this book; the main mystery solved and other than the lingering questions of 'how did Signa get her gift' and 'what happened at Foxglove' we aren't left with much to carry on to the next book... until the epilogue which introduces more questions. But still, I feel that having the book end reasonably neatly and requiring an epilogue to continue is not 'enough'. 

This is my only complaint though, and as much as I personally don't enjoy this structure, I really did love the rest of the book, and the writing style. It was absolutely beautiful, and the cover really sells it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

kaits_shelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

such a good witchy book! i cannot wait for the next one to come out

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Vomit

jenn_chem's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

This is the “girl falls in love with death” story I always wanted. Mysterious plot with details I didn’t see coming. Love when a reveal makes me want to immediately reread the whole thing. I’ll have to do so shortly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse and Abandonment