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A review by cait_reads2024
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this eARC for review! All opinions are my own.
Holy CANNOLI, this is one of my top 2 reads of all 2022. 5000/5 stars!
This was so much more than I was expecting! Although Signa's relationship with Death was by far my favorite part, I was definitely not expecting to be so drawn in and enamored by the ongoing mystery surrounding Lady Lillian's death, and Blythe's ongoing similar sickness! The story was so perfectly divided between each aspect of Signa coming into herself and her powers, her growing relationship with Death, Silas, and the rest of the house, as well as her navigating solving the murder and finding her place in society for the upcoming season.
Grace deftly navigated balancing the elegance and excitement of 18th century society and social politics with combating the norm societal ideals for the time, against where we stand as a society now without breaking the feel of the time period within the story itself. She tackled the topics of women's worth and place within the world so perfectly, as well as the issue of "virtue" and the lack of a woman's choice on what to do with her own future. It was also so interesting to see the family known in high status to not start out as perfect, but to actually be in metaphorical (and not so metaphorical) shambles at the beginning of the story, and to see them gradually heal themselves as the story progressed. I had NO idea that some of the specific twists were coming, as Grace expertly wove in critical details for each revelation within the story in a way that you took notice, without actually being able to piece together the bread crumbs entire the desired loaf until she was ready for you too, haha! She wove a beautifully descriptive, lush, and interactive story with a not-average love interest that was never too bogged down with description, but was never so fast paced as to lose the reader's attachment to our characters.
I absolutely cannot wait for Foxglove to release next year!
Holy CANNOLI, this is one of my top 2 reads of all 2022. 5000/5 stars!
This was so much more than I was expecting! Although Signa's relationship with Death was by far my favorite part, I was definitely not expecting to be so drawn in and enamored by the ongoing mystery surrounding Lady Lillian's death, and Blythe's ongoing similar sickness! The story was so perfectly divided between each aspect of Signa coming into herself and her powers, her growing relationship with Death, Silas, and the rest of the house, as well as her navigating solving the murder and finding her place in society for the upcoming season.
Grace deftly navigated balancing the elegance and excitement of 18th century society and social politics with combating the norm societal ideals for the time, against where we stand as a society now without breaking the feel of the time period within the story itself. She tackled the topics of women's worth and place within the world so perfectly, as well as the issue of "virtue" and the lack of a woman's choice on what to do with her own future. It was also so interesting to see the family known in high status to not start out as perfect, but to actually be in metaphorical (and not so metaphorical) shambles at the beginning of the story, and to see them gradually heal themselves as the story progressed. I had NO idea that some of the specific twists were coming, as Grace expertly wove in critical details for each revelation within the story in a way that you took notice, without actually being able to piece together the bread crumbs entire the desired loaf until she was ready for you too, haha! She wove a beautifully descriptive, lush, and interactive story with a not-average love interest that was never too bogged down with description, but was never so fast paced as to lose the reader's attachment to our characters.
I absolutely cannot wait for Foxglove to release next year!