Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

9 reviews

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

This book feels like it was written for a pitch, rather than to a pitch - like 'The Secret Garden x Crimson Peak', some aesthetic images, and 'I long for the sweet embrace of death but make it a YA novel'. Learning that the author is a storyteller from TV makes sooooo much sense - this would make a beautiful film or series, but is ill-suited to the medium it's in, like it's two books smooshed together, and it feels like it's missing the transitional or reflective scenes that would naturally be cut from a show. I'm not so much of a plot-focussed reader, so it wasn't for me, and the craft of writing, which is important to me and not other readers, felt missing, so it felt a bit like wasted potential, but if you're more into YA than I am then I can see why you'd love it. Not for me, and I won't be reading the rest, but that doesn't make it bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

such trope much fanfic wow

theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Gore, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

chase0w0's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious fast-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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

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

anoelle896's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

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!

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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

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received a copy of this book through my FairyLoot subscription. 
“Belladonna” follows a teenaged orphan named Signa. She has spent her life being passed from one guardian to the next, and each guardian has been far more interested in her money than in raising her. Now she finds herself with her last remaining family: the Hawthornes. One evening Signa is approached my a spirit, Lillian, who claims she was murdered. Signa, determined to uncover what truly happened to Lillian, decides to team up with Death to figure out who poisoned Lillian and why. 
I enjoyed this story much more than I anticipated. The writing is haunting and gothic, with beautiful prose and a strong voice. My favorite aspect of the whole story was Death as a character. He is clever, charming, and wise. He also seems to be the only person looking out for Signa’s best interest. 
I will definitely pick up more from the author in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship