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kirstenf's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, and Miscarriage
frantically's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Belladonna was one of my fav 2022 reads and I'm so disappointed to say that the sequel just didn't hold up.
Whereas Belladona was Death & Signa's story with a side of murder & mischief, Foxglove was murder & mischief with a side of Signa and a few too little scenes of Death.
I think I'm not alone in saying that their relationship was one of the best parts of the first book, though! And I really spent too much time with Foxglove where I was just waiting for Death to show up again...
Signa returns to her old home, Foxglove (duh), in this sequel. There's loads of back story and soo many descriptions of this house and now, looking back, it was all very nice but also didn't really add that much to the story.
We do get a new addition to our cast, Fate, and from the get-go I just couldn't really care about him. I've read so many iterations of this man in the last years (other reviewers have rightfully brought up Caraval...), I'm tired, okay??
As much as we all despise love triangles, I think the worst ones are when it's just not a triangle at all, it's a freaking line with some random other guy going "but what about me đđ" in the distance. Signa couldn't give any fucks about Fate and neither could I. For me, it was obvious from the start that he was
I did like the "Life" storyline and though I was on the right path from the start, the author managed to make me doubt myself and start to make up other theories, so well done on that part! I wish we could've spent more time on Signa's powers in this part, there's still so much we don't know about!
What the author couldn't trick me about was
Gotta say, I don't know if I'm just not as "in" the YA scene anymore as I once was, but from an editorial standpoint, it's just so...weird to completely change main characters (and thus main relationships!) mid-trilogy? Blythe is a nice enough character and I really enjoyed her in the more sidekick role we got of her at the beginning of Foxglove but with her and
At the end I was slightly scared we weren't going to get a Death and Signa HEA, so I was very happy with what we did get but it was still so little!
I'm not saying that this book was particularly bad, it was a nice enough read but for me it was just a let down. I think it really hinges on how much you loved Blythe in the first book!
I also just wanted more Death and Signa content and I'm not afraid to admit that.
Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, and Animal death
Moderate: Sexual content and Abortion
Minor: Death
lakinglaze's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Alcohol, Abandonment, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit
kstacy91's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
sarahbethhh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Abortion, Death, and Murder
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death
Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual content, Animal death, and Child death
asuna1930's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
These are one of the very rare occasions where I felt like I loved the second book of a series more than the first. Is there a third? I don't know, I haven't looked it up yet but I'll be disappointed if we don't have one after THAT conclusion. If there was a certain amount of whodunit intrigue in the first one, this one had it amped up.
Someone's poisoned the duke and blamed it on the wrong person, you would never believe who was the real killer! Signa and Blythe are very limited in their time in finding the real culprit in order to free Elijah Hawthorne. This is complicated even more with the arrival of Fate who is trying to find the person reincarnated from his lover, Life, who he believes is Signa. Normally, love triangles annoy me but this one was less of a triangle and more of ... one line trying to intersect the other like a T. It was fairly obvious that one member of that triangle was the intruder, but how his story turned out was a lovely surprise.
I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere in both books, glad to see it didn't stray far from it between this and the first book. We even get an intro to Foxglove, Signa's parents' home and it is just as mysterious if not more haunted. And Adalyn Grace's writing? Chef's Kiss. The description of the settings were rich and vibrant, and the banter between Blythe and other characters was thoroughly enjoyable.
"She didn't care to be a sunflower, unfurling her petals in the daylight for all to see. She would rather be an adorable little mushroom, thriving in the dark crevices where few ventured to look."
Girl, same.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Animal death
chronicacademia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexism
sinceraly's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Fate being Deathâs brother, Signa and Blytheâs close cousinly bond, the depths of Death and Signaâs romance, the weird tension between Fate and Blythe, the toxic (mostly one sided) attraction between Signa and Fate - theyâre all well described and believable. At no point in the book did a character do something and, in response, did I wrinkle my nose and say âwell, that doesnât seem believable.â Grace had set up a very specific pattern of behavior in Signa, Death, and Blythe in the first book, and in this one, she had backed up every one of their actions with understandable reasoning that made it easier to deeply understand the characters and their motivations. I really do feel like the characters, while maybe not the deepest and most complex characters Iâve ever read, are consistently written, and I appreciate that greatly.
Unlike in Belladonna, the murder plot really takes a backseat here. It primarily acts as a motivator for Blythe specifically, causing her to look into Fateâs appearance, and later, the whole Thing going on around and with Signa, but because of that, it feels pretty inconsequential. The fact that Signa and Blythe realize they can only turn things around and save Elijah from being wrongly killed for a murder he didnât commit with Fateâs help seems like a rather lazy cop-out. I canât decide if I would rather have a badly done twist like in the last book or if I prefer this underbaked investigation, but I do know I would like neither. Personally, I feel like the murder plotline was unneeded - Blythe very well could have just been investigating Percyâs disappearance and landed on the same steps she did in Foxglove. Even the moment we find out the actual culprit of the crime seems boring. I was able to guess who had something to do with it by the midpoint of the book, once again due to Graceâs lack of subtlety.
All in all, Foxglove was another very fun read, and I recommend it. While it doesnât do some things as well as Belladonna, the additions of Fate and Blythe really buttered up the rest of it, enough where I consider it an equivalent enough fun read.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder, Miscarriage, Body horror, and Abortion