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A review by vagrantheather
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
A fun read, but problematic at times, and not very deep or moving. Death was rather sexy. Hard to have a book about death and murder and yet not really feel that it's a dark book, but here we are.
There were a lot of plot devices I disliked. Death's fascination with (and interference on behalf of) our MC feels like grooming. A wealthy orphan girl being passed along to a home full of constant ribald parties - unlikely, given the time period, but plausible for a smutty regency book. However it doesn't go there - it ISN'T a smutty regency book where our innocent young heroine finds herself in a scandalous situation. So it feels unnecessarily edgy on part of the author.
The garden fiasco and overall vibe (mansion estate, ghosts, death, a sexy servant boy) summon The Secret Garden. And I love TSG! But the garden ends up being basically unnecessary. There's some waffley excuse that spirits can't communicate well when removed from their place of (death? Burial? Can't recall), but the whole "ahh I must find this secret garden then KILL MYSELF to gain entry" was so unnecessary. Surely the spirit could talk to you from, idk, the other side of the wall? And could you really not think of a single other way to enter a locked garden than by poisoning yourself to summon death's powers of intangibility? Maybe try looking under a rock for the key? Or ask the servant for a key? Or look for a key in the mansion? Maybe try scaling a nearby tree? Maybe stand on the horse's back to hop over? So many options that don't require summoning your professed enemy.
I was very disappointed by the author's tendency to distinguish characters by hair and skin color. The characters were mostly thin/flat.
The author puts in place a mechanism for Signa to play God by taking one life to spare another, but ultimately does very little with this theme. She was essentially A-OK with having murdered an old aunt to spare her young cousin. Sure, she didn't know what she was doing, but after finding out her power the guilt was a short lived thing, easily shrugged off. Flimsy.
It's an enjoyable read, but shallowly developed and ultimately forgettable.
There were a lot of plot devices I disliked. Death's fascination with (and interference on behalf of) our MC feels like grooming. A wealthy orphan girl being passed along to a home full of constant ribald parties - unlikely, given the time period, but plausible for a smutty regency book. However it doesn't go there - it ISN'T a smutty regency book where our innocent young heroine finds herself in a scandalous situation. So it feels unnecessarily edgy on part of the author.
The garden fiasco and overall vibe (mansion estate, ghosts, death, a sexy servant boy) summon The Secret Garden. And I love TSG! But the garden ends up being basically unnecessary. There's some waffley excuse that spirits can't communicate well when removed from their place of (death? Burial? Can't recall), but the whole "ahh I must find this secret garden then KILL MYSELF to gain entry" was so unnecessary. Surely the spirit could talk to you from, idk, the other side of the wall? And could you really not think of a single other way to enter a locked garden than by poisoning yourself to summon death's powers of intangibility? Maybe try looking under a rock for the key? Or ask the servant for a key? Or look for a key in the mansion? Maybe try scaling a nearby tree? Maybe stand on the horse's back to hop over? So many options that don't require summoning your professed enemy.
I was very disappointed by the author's tendency to distinguish characters by hair and skin color. The characters were mostly thin/flat.
The author puts in place a mechanism for Signa to play God by taking one life to spare another, but ultimately does very little with this theme. She was essentially A-OK with having murdered an old aunt to spare her young cousin. Sure, she didn't know what she was doing, but after finding out her power the guilt was a short lived thing, easily shrugged off. Flimsy.
It's an enjoyable read, but shallowly developed and ultimately forgettable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness
Minor: Self harm, Death of parent, and Sexual content