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A review by indigoblue777
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
3.0
3.5 stars.
This kind of reminded me of Mortal Heart from the His Fair Assassins series. I love stories about Death falling in love with a human.
This story is a weird mishmosh of a whodunit mystery, supernatural with ghosts, and a smidgeon of romance.
I love the beginning, with Signa’s emphasized loneliness and her desire to become a socialite like her mother was. It was weird that she wanted to follow etiquette and social rules. She was the opposite of most historical romance leads, in that regard, but it was explained by her consuming desire for companionship. Signa’s death powers were very cool, and I wish we got to see her use them more. Especially the power that prevents her from dying.
People who like The Phantom of the Opera would probably enjoy this story. Death and Signa’s interactions, especially when he tries to romance her, remind me of Christine and the Phantom’s relationship.
The ending (WITH SPOILERS):
It was fairly obvious that Sylas was Death, because Signa was ridiculously attracted to him, more than she was attracted to Death. I almost wish he hadn’t been Death, because it would have subverted my expectations.
There is a sex scene in this book, but it’s very very vague about what’s happening. Signa does acknowledge that ‘going farther’ with Death would ruin her in the eyes of society, and she somehow knows what sex is despite her secluded upbringing, but she decides it’s worth the risk to her reputation. Overall, it felt like the romance could have been written better.
I was shocked that Percy was the killer because none of his reasoning really made sense. The only explanation for his actions is that he is completely insane. There was absolutely no reason for him to be psychotic enough to murder his mother, or try to murder his sister. It was an unsatisfying conclusion to the mystery.
I didn’t really like the cheesy cliffhanger with someone else getting poisoned, but I also don’t like cheesy murder mysteries. Fate seems interesting, but I don’t understand how you personify Fate. He doesn’t have any clear powers the way Death does.
This kind of reminded me of Mortal Heart from the His Fair Assassins series. I love stories about Death falling in love with a human.
This story is a weird mishmosh of a whodunit mystery, supernatural with ghosts, and a smidgeon of romance.
I love the beginning, with Signa’s emphasized loneliness and her desire to become a socialite like her mother was. It was weird that she wanted to follow etiquette and social rules. She was the opposite of most historical romance leads, in that regard, but it was explained by her consuming desire for companionship. Signa’s death powers were very cool, and I wish we got to see her use them more. Especially the power that prevents her from dying.
People who like The Phantom of the Opera would probably enjoy this story. Death and Signa’s interactions, especially when he tries to romance her, remind me of Christine and the Phantom’s relationship.
The ending (WITH SPOILERS):
It was fairly obvious that Sylas was Death, because Signa was ridiculously attracted to him, more than she was attracted to Death. I almost wish he hadn’t been Death, because it would have subverted my expectations.
There is a sex scene in this book, but it’s very very vague about what’s happening. Signa does acknowledge that ‘going farther’ with Death would ruin her in the eyes of society, and she somehow knows what sex is despite her secluded upbringing, but she decides it’s worth the risk to her reputation. Overall, it felt like the romance could have been written better.
I was shocked that Percy was the killer because none of his reasoning really made sense. The only explanation for his actions is that he is completely insane. There was absolutely no reason for him to be psychotic enough to murder his mother, or try to murder his sister. It was an unsatisfying conclusion to the mystery.
I didn’t really like the cheesy cliffhanger with someone else getting poisoned, but I also don’t like cheesy murder mysteries. Fate seems interesting, but I don’t understand how you personify Fate. He doesn’t have any clear powers the way Death does.