This was a disappointment, which is such a shame because the premise was just so interesting. The writing felt flat, the characters felt a bit insipid.

*Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

The writing in this book was awful for me, it was flat, bland, and just overall lacking in any kind of emotions. This book had a lot of potential to be something great and I'm glad that other readers have appreciated it so much and rated it highly, I just can't give this book a good review. The characters weren't very well developed and I was really hoping for a strong female voice in this one but I didn't get it.

When Connecticut schoolgirls Bridget and Isabella travel to a silent Italian convent to study art, Bridget longs for Isabella to be her best friend, or something even closer. Bridget’s efforts to befriend Isabella turn to obsession, and as she tries to reinvent herself, Isabella’s secrets threaten to change both of their lives.

This is so atmospheric, so full of longing and passion. As I read it, I found myself more and more ensnared in Bridget's web as she tried to connect to Isabella. It was often uncomfortable and intense, in the way schoolgirl crushes can be. Belladonna is a tangled, queer, artsy Italian getaway of a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

A slow burning coming of age story. A character driven tail that unfolded at a leisurely pace. Not going to lie I had a hard time getting into this one and if I’m being honest I do not think it was the book, I think it was just me. It was very well written, it just did not capture my attention.

I love a coming-of-age story! Belladonna is the tale of two friends living in Connecticut in the 1950s. They move to Italy to study art while living in a convent.

They are the yin and yang of friends. Isabella is the outgoing, popular one, while the reserved Bridget is often in her shadow.

It is there, at the convent, that Bridget opens up and finds herself, feeling more comfortable in who she is. Somewhere along the way, Bridget discovers Isabella is keeping some dark secrets, and it’s unclear how they could affect them both.

Salam transports the reader to Italy in the 1950s. Bridget is truly at the center of this novel, and she is of Egyptian heritage, which she hides, something she’s feels judged for constantly. She wants nothing more than to fit in, and Isabella takes advantage of her, while Bridget continues to obsess over Isabella and their friendship.

Overall, I found Belladonna to be an angsty, emotional coming-of-age story. I wanted more for Bridget, and I was along for the ride, rooting for her.

I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Belladonna is the tale of two girls who grow into woman in the 1950's. They have a special relationship and when they are sent to college away from home, it suddenly turns intimate.

Berkley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Bridget is Isabella's best friend. But as the college days go on, she's less available than she'd been before. Bridget has other friends and does things with them, but she misses Isabella. When she has a chance to invite her back to her room, Isabella says no. What's going on?

Bridget begins following Isabella but sees nothing odd. Then she goes down to the old spa that isn't used anymore and she hears voices. When she looks through a keyhole at what's going on, she's shocked. Poor Bridget is going to have to grow up fast...

Isabella is everything Bridget is not, and Bridget loves her more than anything. When the two friends travel to an Italian academy together, Bridget hopes this will be their chance.

The pacing of this book might be called slow by some, but I would call it leisurely. The story is rolled out for you at a steady, dreamy pace that will pull you deeply into the main character's heart and mind.

Belladonna is a very character driven book about obsessive love. If you're looking for something with a very active plot, this book is not for you. But if your favorite thing about a book is getting to know the characters, you will probably love this.

Based in Italy in the 1950s it features the often dysfunctional friendship between two women.
What I liked about it:
- LGBTQ characters who play a main role in the book and aren't simply there for tokenism
- The sense of doom in the book rendered by the authors languorous pace which are at odds with the character Bridget's turbulent thoughts.

What I didn't like about it:
- 1950s was a hard time to be openly gay. The author doesn't touch upon this very painful struggle at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for sending me an ARC of this to review! This isn't something that's necessarily in my wheelhouse, but it sounded interesting enough. It's essentially a coming of age story, set in the backdrop of 1950s Italy. Since I don't know many historical fiction novels set in Italy, I thought I'd give it a whirl!

Those looking for a plot driven story definitely won't find it in this book. Belladonna is definitely a character and setting driven story. And the characters aren't always likable. However, there is a lot of substance there, and Salam draws you in slowly to this world she's created. The theme of obsession is reflected in the style the book is written in.

However, the book does move a bit too slowly for me at times. I wish I could have gotten a bit more about what was happening outside of the school, to give a little more historical context. Despite that, Salam has a knack for description, easily pulling you into this school in Northern Italy.

If you're looking for a book with strong characters, theme, and setting, this is definitely the book for you! Historical fiction fans won't be disappointed.

this book was good but it did not capture my interest. i had a hard time figuring out what was going on. I loved the story line though

Anbara Salam's novel is a profound examination of the relationship between two teenage girls who are so different from each other but deep down have the same insecurities of not being good enough.
Bridget and Isabella attend the same Catholic school in 1950s Connecticut, where they navigate a push-and-pull friendship, with Bridget much more devoted and seemingly enslaved to Isabella's whims.
When the two land coveted spots at an art history school in Italy, it seems the perfect time to cement their friendship...and perhaps something more that in Bridget's eyes at least, has been brewing.
But neither of them can expect what will happen and how their feelings will be tested, particularly when Isabella strikes up a friendship with someone completely unexpected.
Salam's narrative is delicious and her descriptions of the Italian countryside like looking at a particularly breathtaking work of art.

I thought this book was an interesting take on the trope of "popular girl befriends nice girl dying to fit in and toxic friendship ensues". First, I loved the author's descriptions of the setting of the small art school/convent and the small Italian town they were in. Her words flowed so beautifully and really placed you in the middle of the story. I was also impressed with how well she was able to get in to the mind space of Bridget, how totally dependent she was on Isabella's opinion of her. I thought it was interesting to make Bridget half Egyptian in the middle of 1950s Connecticut, however I felt like that point could have been explored a little more. I'm also not sure I really liked any of the characters, besides Bridget's sister Rhona. Which might have been intentional, but it did make the book hard to read at times. The ending was a little open ended and imperfect, but I didn't mind it and it felt appropriate for the book. Overall I enjoyed the story and fell in love with the scenery.

A story of the coming of age of two young women. Bridget, a smart rather introverted girl. Wishes she was someone else and that she got in with the "in" crowd. Belladonna, a beautiful, outgoing girl whom everyone tends to migrate towards.
Both of these young women are manipulative and will do anything g to achieve their goals. Bridget wants to be Belladonna's one best friend. Belladonna will use Bridget when she is craving attention. A love, hate relationship.
Strong characters, good storyline. A novel of manipulation, deception, live and hate. A must read!

The summary sounded interesting. Sadly, the story didn't deliver. I found it a bit lackluster. There was an overuse of adverbs, which was quite obvious and somewhat annoying. I just couldn't connect with or care about the characters.

This is a ‘coming-of-age’ story in the 1950’s.

From a prestigious Catholic High School in Connecticut...
to a prestigious Art History school - ‘di Belle Arti di Pentila’ in Northern Italy - on the grounds of a silent convent....
we follow two friends:
Bridget and Isabella.

Bridget feels like an outsider. She wants to fit in. She desperately wants the friendship of Isabella, who is beautiful and popular.

I was hoping that I might enjoy this book in the same way I did the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante.
I didn’t.
The writing was ordinary—lacking intoxicating sensory feelings.
It was surprisingly flat, bland, unforgettable- more dull than any novel I’ve read in years.
Cringeworthy!

I became more intrigued and curious about ‘the lack’ of scrumptious, zesty, sentences than the characters- or their enmeshed friendships.

I was actually a little in ‘awe’ that maybe? — the writing was chosen - for boredom- for a reason? A puzzle for this reader.

Bridget wanted to be close to Isabella.
Isabella had invented a game
called ‘Dead Nun’ at a sleepover- where the last girl silent won. Isabella always won.
Bridget’s job was to count Mississippis. Partly because she was pretending to be dead but mostly she was never actually invited to join the girl’s game.
Bridget’s job was to watch the girls lying still. Bridget admitted it wasn’t much of a Friday night < (dull fun-Friday-night: I added this-remark-not the author )...
but regardless, Bridget, appreciated the game because it gave her a chance to be close to Isabella....
“To observe how she wrinkled her nose when Sophie LeBaron giggled and spluttered. To cheer her when she rose victorious from the floor, red-faced and clammy, her pulse beating in the hollow of her throat”.

Throughout this entire novel, Anbara Salam created cringing images. It became all I could see.
“My heart pulsed so painfully it throbbed in my jawbone”.
“A strand of hair fell into her mouth and she yanked it out”.
“She put her hands in her pockets, and her eyes traveled over me slowly, a careful-evaluation. My stomach coiled into a rope”.
“My throat burned. I wished, suddenly, I could flip myself inside out, like a magicians hat”.
“I smiled at her and made what seemed like the right noises”.
“I wished again I could knock myself inside out, that I could nullify myself utterly”,
“Their happiness was so unfair I felt quivering in every muscle”.
“Their happiness was just beginning. And I had nothing. It was the same sunken feeling from the trip to Rome, the day I had watched smiling families eating pasta and I stood on the street, unnoticed”.
“The barb landed in my throat, hard and sour as a beesting”.

The shimmer of hope I had for this book being intoxicatingly passionate, psychologically engrossing, original.....
about the messy complexity of female friendship,
was more like watching a sinking ship.

Read other positive reviews.
Other readers have found this book to be wonderfully beautiful and satisfying.

Much appreciation to the publisher, Netgalley, and author. No hard feelings I hope - I simply was the wrong-reader match for this novel.

How far will you go to make someone love you?

This book is probably one of the most beautifully written pieces of women's fiction that I've read in a while. Salam is a very gifted writer in that she's able to put the reader in whatever scene she's created. I've only been to Italy once in life, but through Salam's pretty prose, I feel like I've been there all over again. Sigh. Anyways, to the plot: The story takes place in the late 1950's and is all about a young woman named Bridget who wants so bad to fit in with her friends thanks to her mixed heritage of Egyptian. Salam writes the entire novel from Bridget's point of view, which I liked but could be kind of confusing at times. For example, she brings up her sister, Rhona, who appears to be ill and it isn't until the end of the book that I figure out what her illness is but I'm still really not sure because Bridget never just comes out and says it.

Bridget becomes obsessed with a girl named Isabella and wants nothing more in life than to be her best friend. She gave me all kinds of "Single White Female" vibes in the ways she described her fierce love for Isabella, who is always coming up with some type of mischief for them to get into. Isabella arrives to school after fighting a bout of malaria. Her life seems to be rooted in more myth than actual reality. We don't know exactly where she came from, and later the reader realizes that she suffers from something more than malaria (if that's even what it really was). No matter because Bridget is so hell bent on being Isabella's best friend that it didn't matter what Isabella did or said.

After graduating from their all-girls Catholic high school in Connecticut, both girls are accepted into a prestigious art history school in Italy for a year-long program. It's here that the bulk of the story takes place. Bridget tells no one about her mixed ancestry in her efforts to fit in and works even harder to win over Isabella's friendship. Her fierce desire to fit in made me cringe at times and Isabella's behavior reminded me of a narcissistic man in the way she seemed to take advantage of Bridget's love for her.

By the time I finished reading the novel, I was grateful to myself for never being one that desperately needed another's attention. Salam has written a fantastic summer read and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.