Reviews with content warning for Violence - Belladonna

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

30 reviews

andreapepsii's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved this book, but I wish it were 100 pages more to give some characters the depth they deserved. The ending felt a bit rushed, aside from that great read and will continue the saga in the future.

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hereiskyra's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

Oh man, I loved this in all of the most unexpected ways! This was like the perfect mix of gothic, fantasy, thriller and romance.

It was a little slow in the beginning but once it picked up towards the halfway point, I was excited to see where it was going to go. And honestly, most of the lead up was necessary for context and story building - in hindsight.

I gotta say, a book that can make me root for death incarnate (literally) is doing something amazing. I just kept thinking “am I actually having feelings for… Death?” 😏

The overall “twist” about his overall form was also done in a really satisfying way.

And I didn’t expect the murder-mystery element in this book either, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The vibes absolutely “touch her and die” (literally, because he IS death) and I loved it.

And the “little bird” nickname made me absolutely swoooooon… 🫠

Tropes:

Enemies to Lovers Vibes

Touch Her and Die

Spice: 🌶️

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j_day's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Not my genre but still enjoyable enough. Predicted

Sylas being death and Percy being the murderer

from less than halfway through but this didn't spoil it too much - although I would've preferred not to have worked it out so quickly!

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_charliesbooks_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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theycallmebookish's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Fantasy. Paranormal activity. Gothic. Romance. Murder mystery. Morally grey characters. If you feel drawn to any of these themes, the book is for you! Signa is an orphan about to come into her inheritance but death seems to follow her wherever she goes. She finally finds a home and a family but death seems to have found her. The characters are so well written. You genuinely start to love them or hate them in the best way possible. I spent many late nights reading this one because it was hard to put down. But I will say I wouldn’t mind some more explicit spicy time between a certain two characters 👀

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tabea1409's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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itsbrianascall's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.5

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

I genuinely loved so much about this book. The characters all had distinct voices, and I found myself loving most of them for various reasons, even the ones who had some traits that aren't exactly pleasant. The story was eerie, it was heartfelt, it was introspective, and above all else, it kept me engaged throughout the whole thing.

Having the historical fiction elements tied in with the supernatural and topped off by a murder mystery, I went into it worried that there would be too much going on in this book for any of the storylines to be done well. I can only really think of one situation where I wish I had more context, but seeing as this is a series, it's possible it'll be touched on in the sequel. I can't wait to start the next one and let this series become my whole personality 💕

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claireisagrisha's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

OMG OMG OMG!!!! So this book has been on my TBR since the Scream Into The Void girlies told me about it… and they were not lying, this book was STUNNING.

I’m so happy that I read this book.
It had all the amazing things a book can have: a badass main character, a murder mystery, paranormal fantasy, romance with the mysterious Death, betrayals and twists that will make you jump and run around the room (I did), and beautiful imagery of Thorn Grove !!!!!!

The murder mystery had me so stressed… I honestly did not call the ending. Well part of it … hehehehehehe

The romance between Death and Signa … HAWT but also I love them together. They are just two lonely people (not really but just go with it) that found someone who they truly connect with and feel cared for by.

Have I not convinced you yet?
Ok… well put on those headphones and turn on Hozier … it will transport you.

During the ball when Signa is wearing her red dress, I picture the song “I Hear A Symphony” by Cody Fry playing. Just play that with headphones on as you read that chapter and the vibes are unmatched.

THE ENDING WTF?!?! Omg, I have so many thoughts and so many feelings!!!!!
Marjorie not being the bad guy shook me because from the start, she was suspicious to me. Anyway, Percy being so evil and twisted and horrible was probably more of a shock to me than it should have been. He wasn’t the perfect son or perfect sibling, but I thought he was salvageable? Lol what else? Fate just showing up at the end… I did see that one coming. I mean they kept mentioning him. The one thing I did guess was that Sylas and Death are one and the same. I called that once I kept reading how they interacted with Signa.

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katvou's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

Gothic, historical murder mystery with well developed characters and interesting plot. The FMC, Signa is able to see spirits and even Death himself.

When Signa’s aunt dies, she is sent to live with her uncle and cousins at Thorn Grove where she stumbles upon a murder mystery.

Belladonna is a great book full of twists and turns, mysteries and some romance.

I can’t wait to read more.

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najmanasir's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Giving this book 3 stars because the last couple of chapters really started to pick up due to the plot twists. They left me shocked and more invested to continue reading until the end.

Honestly, I did not expect Percy to be the villain of the story. I was initially suspicious of him, but nothing he did confirmed my suspicions until the truth started to reveal itself. The way he was unapologetic for his actions had my jaw on the floor.

In addition, Adalyn had a way of making me suspicious of so many people.

That said, this is a formal apology to Marjorie since I accused her so much for the murders/attempted murders 😅 I also kept convincing myself that Sylas would be the villain for so long, only for my theories to be debunked once again.

Maybe I'm slow at piecing things together, but I did not expect

Sylas to be Death. I should have known from the grey eyes and his connection to animals,

but it was a good plot twist.

However, there were some things I wasn't a big fan of. The first thing was Death calling Signa "Little Bird." Personally, I am not a fan of animal nicknames, so every time he said that I couldn't help but cringe 😭

Regardless, I honestly read the book more for the mystery murder than the romance. I felt more compelled to read when the more eerie scenes took place.

Like Lillian's body snapping due to the overload of questions or when the library was set on fire (The poor spirit did not deserve that 💔).

The scenes added more to the plot, which made me want to know who was behind the murders even more.

All in all, I enjoyed the read. The small moments of banter were entertaining, and Lillian having closure at the end almost made me cry. I plan to read the second book since I'm curious how Fate will play a part in it after meeting him briefly in the Epilogue 👀

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