A review by mrs_s_reads
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

2024 additional reviews;
Tears: 1/5
Chillis: 0/5 

Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Adalyn Grace for an advanced copy of Belladonna in exchange for my honest review. 

 

As soon as I read the blurb for Belladonna, I knew I had to read this book. I loved everything about the premise of the book. 

Signa Farrow has been surrounded by death her whole life. Orphaned as a baby, she’s made her way through several guardians over the years – some better than others, but all who have met an untimely end. With the death of her latest guardian, Sign goes to live with the Hawthornes, the family of her late cousin. Elijah, the head of the family, hosts party after party to mourn his wife, his son Percy is up tight and wishes his father would pass control of the business onto him instead, and his daughter Blythe is suffering from the same mystery illness as her mother.  When her cousin’s spirit comes to her to say she was poisoned, it’s down to Signa and a stable boy called Sylas to solve the mystery. Oh, and Death. 

 

As someone who is a huge fan of the Terry Pratchett books that focus on Death, I wanted to see how he’d be portrayed in someone else’s world. I love the idea of someone having a friendship with Death – Signa’s dislike for him, how they navigate through the story with those issues. 

 

The writing style was exactly what I like to read, and Adalyn writes with such descriptions sometimes that I had to stop and re-read a line or two a few times because it was just beautiful. 

 

I loved watching Signa navigate through the world she was thrown into and the murder mystery. Some of the twists I was able to work out, and some were just a huge surprise to me. Absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next one. In the meantime, I may have to go and read All The Stars and Teeth!