Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

108 reviews

samflowerv6's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

“Hello, Little Bird. Come to stab me again?”
I love the personification of death as a character/love interest so much, SO MUCH. This story was lush in imagery and I loved the world. Signa is such a strong and interesting character. The whole concept

of her being a reaper and immune to death is so cool

. The opening chapter/prologue was instantly interesting. I would have also have folded for death, I AM JUST BEING REAL. Death literally had me giggling and twirling my hair. He was so poetically dark and beautiful. The entire mystery and general vibes were so misty and steeped in flavorful imagery. This is for a specific type of person and that person is me. People complain about someone literally as old as time with someone who is barely an adult and I know it's problematic but why are they usually so good? DONT QUOTE ME. Signa and Death are my favorite snarky eternally fated couple. 

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

“To me, you are a song to a soul that has never known music. Light to someone who has only seen the darkness. You bring out the absolute worst in me, and I become vindictive toward those who treat you in ways I don’t care for. Yet you also bring out the best in me—I want to be better because of you. Better for you.”

“Because I have waited an eternity to meet you, Signa Farrow.”

“And at other times you are an endless annoyance. Always, though, you are a fascination”

“I have waited for you for millennia, Signa Farrow.” There was a silky husk to his voice now, too pleased for his own good. “Since the dawn of this earth, I have waited. You are mine, and I am yours. And together, this world is ours.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual content, and Alcohol

tiana_king's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

The falling in love with death trope is done to death as of late but it is a trope I adore 😂 The murder mystery aspect of the story does give a fresh spin on it though. The story is slow to get started but my interest was alway peaked. A nice story that has potential to be expanded on

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Classism, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

deadbelle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

My three favourite genres; Murder Mystery, Horror and Supernatural Romance all in one book.
The beginning is hard to get through and I must admit I struggled to like it at first as it does read very much as a blatant YA book. Its also predictable and cheesy at times, but once you get used to it the writing style is quite endearing and overall an easy and enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Animal death

sofieishere's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity

druzyquartz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Blood and Murder

Minor: Suicide attempt

tabea1409's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Gore, Alcoholism, Death, Classism, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Murder, Alcohol, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have been wanting to be get to this book for awhile now since it’s been on my shelves for a little over a year, and Belladonna did not disappoint! I loved the who-done-it aspects of the book when it came to figuring out the murderer and their motives bc I was pleasantly surprised when it came to the reveal and the way it happened. And can we talk about the love interest Death 🤭 Signa really lucked out with him bc he does NOT play about his girl fr AHHH I was obsessed with those two. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Abandonment, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual content

alittlenutmeg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Grief, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

manaledi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

A YA mystery pseudo romance with an anthropormophized version of Death. I kept expecting her to ask for Death's real name. I feel like a lot of books I've read recently somehow all end up set in a somewhat haunted giant old manor with a mystery and a vague enemies to lovers (thinking in particular of "House of Marionne"). Other than the fact that Death himself was a main character, I didn't find this all that dark or gothic. I thought the mystery was better developed than the romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Vomit

itsbrianascall's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Medical content, and Suicide attempt