Amazon review pending approval.

Review:
Gothic romance is the way to my little emo heart. Somewhere there's a myspace picture of me at warped tour wearing a green studded belt. I still know the words to every song on three cheers to sweet revenge. And somewhere on the internet is the search history of 14 year old me trying to find phantom of the opera fanfiction at 2am.

So let's just say I was really excited for this book - a YA gothic mystery with romance and a death daddy love interest.

But where I was expecting crimson peak, instead I got eddie murphy's the haunted mansion. Which isn't the biggest disappointment because god knows that movie is entertaining as hell, but it's still a disappointment.

- too much telling, not enough showing
- too little character interaction, and what there was had little substance
- inconceivable plot twists that felt contrived.

As this is the first in a series, I would be interested to read the next book in hopes that my complaints would be resolved with character development and world building.

I saw a lot of hype for this book and therefore was really excited when I got approved for the ARC. This book is definitely interesting, but it's a lot darker than I expected. It reminds me of Addie LaRue in that the love interest is essentially, death, and in the same vein as Addie LaRue I just couldn't really get on board with it. Don't get me wrong, the writing is great and so atmospheric and I liked that there was a mystery component, it just seems that books where Death is the love interest are not for me.

So freaking good
So good
Signa is so feisty, love her fighting with Death. The setting is gorgeous
The conclusion was so satisfying.
I had a great time

Signa Farrow was orphaned at a young age and left with only her inheritance and her connection to Death himself. From her youth she has been passed from guardian to guardian, each uninterested in here well-being and only concerned with their monthly stipend and inheritance when she comes of age. However, wherever she goes, her guardian meets an untimely end. She has a connection to Death, she can see and speak to him as well as spirits of the dead, and she herself cannot seem to die.

Her last living relatives are the Hawthornes and when she ends up at Thorn Grove, her life starts to change. They are in mourning of their mother and her cousin in also sick. Signa embarks on a mission to determine the root cause of the mother's death and what is making her cousin sick and in the process explores her connection to Death and her own powers.

This book has such a dark, gothic atmosphere about it. It reminded me a bit of Mexican Gothic, with the dark and mysterious gothic vibes, mixed with old-timey Bridgerton setting and romance as Signa is coming of age and making her debut. I found this book to be unique and gripping, really well written with great world-building and colourful descriptions.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC

Belladonna is one of the best books I've read this year! I don't know why I haven't read Adalyn Grace before, but after reading Belladonna, I can't wait for the next book in the series: Foxglove.
Signa Farrow is a young orphan, who passes from one custodian to another, after the death of the previous one and each of her custodians is more interested in Signa's fortune than in the young woman's well-being, which makes our protagonist blame Death for not having a stable family.
This situation will change when she arrives at the Hawthorne family home, Thorn Grove, where she meets her young cousins ​​Percy and Blythe, as well as the mysterious Sylas. From the arrival of Signa, life in Thorn Grove will change and an even more enigmatic and mysterious character will enter Signa's life: Death in person, who will guide our protagonist in the development of her supernatural powers while solving the mystery of her aunt Lillian's death.
A new and very interesting story, gothic, dark but full of hope, romance and life, that will catch the reader and keep him intrigued until the end.
I thank the author, publishers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, and declare that the opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think of this book.

This book is a perfect one to read in spooky season!

The plot is unique with wonderful writing style, it'll suck you into the story very quickly. The pacing is a bit slow at certain chapters, but still enjoyable.

Signa is a fascinating character, I admire how she challenges Death and not cower in front of him.
I love how the author write about Death's character, I love knowing about him slowly as the story unfolds.

As much as I like the relationship between Death and Signa, it felt a bit weird at first.
Nonetheless, I began to like them more since Death always try to encourage Signa to be herself instead of following the set of rules for women in that era.

There's a couple of twists near the ending and even though the ending felt slightly rushed, I was glad to know that the epilogue serve as a teaser for the sequel!

Overall, a fantastic book to start a gothic fantasy series!
I'm really looking forward to read the sequel, Foxglove coming out next year!

Actual rating: 4.5⭐

A massive thank you to Netgalley, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Adalyn Grace as well as TBR and Beyond Tour for granting this review copy to me and letting me be a part of the book tour. I'm leaving this honest review voluntarily!

This is by far the best book I’ve read in 2022! Highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves mysteries and mystical … death…
The writing was wonderful, I was intrigued by the story from the first sentence.
Cannot wait to read more from this author.

Belladonna starts when Signa is a baby and death comes to visit for the first time. You begin to follow Signa’s journey as she continues to meet death over and over. Once she gets to her newest home, she soon sees death more and more as someone in the family appears to be being poisoned. Signa decides to takes deaths assistance to try to catch the killer of one family member and soon to be death of another if she doesn’t find them in time.

Belladonna is a supernatural mystery. I originally thought it was a young adult but found out farther into the novel that it definitely is not. I found the theme and the mystery of the story really intriguing. There were a few twists and turns and I didn’t see any of them coming, which is always something I want in a novel like this. The characters are likeable and really bring the story to life. I liked how Signa could see ghosts and was untouchable by death. It brought a lot to the story and plot.

The reason I’m only able to give this novel three stars is mostly due to the last third of the book. I was really enjoying the story but then there began a strange romance feel between Signa and Death. Add in a very bizarre sex scene that could have been left out and I was suddenly turned off of the book. I read the rest but didn’t enjoy it nearly as much because the some of the scenes began to feel like strange filler. The other thing I didn’t like about this novel is the time period it is set in doesn’t match well with the age of the characters. The women are about to join their first seasons and be presented to available suitors but they were already in their early 20s.

Overall I enjoyed the majority of this novel and will continue to read this series to see where it goes.

3.5-4 Stars

This is one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 and I’ll start by saying I cannot wait for the next book.

However, the middle didn’t hold my interest as much as I wanted it to!

The first 1/4 SUCKED ME IN AND WAS SO GOOD AND GAHHHHHHH!!! And then we get to Thorn Grove and it all felt anticlimactic and semi repetitive BUT I STILL ENJOYED IT! I just found myself putting it down much easier than I imagined I would. BUT THEN WE GOT THE LAST 1/4 AND I COULD FLIP PAGES FAST ENOUGH! AND WITH AN ENDING THAT HAS ME DESPERATE FOR THE NEXT BOOK, so clearly I enjoyed it.

Also, the romance was so good and I really appreciated the more intimate scenes we got! They aren’t fade to black (despite the yummy shadows), but they also aren’t overly graphic or as open door as other fantasy smut/steamy books are. I’m fine either way, but felt like it was the perfect mix for this story and couple!

Anyhoo, I definitely recommend and I cannot wait to read the next and NEED IT ASAP OLAY THANK YOU!

ough Signa was orphaned at a young age, she is strength personified. Bounced around to varying family members, none of them welcoming or nice, and some downright abusive. She's had a tough life, made even more so because Death follows her everywhere she goes. She's wanted nothing in life but to escape him. So when she's sent to live with her aunt's family in the wake of her aunt's death, she wonders if this luxurious mansion, Thorn Grove, will be another disaster in a string of them. But Death hasn't left her alone; in fact, he has many things to show her. Because the mansion is haunted, and people keep falling sick.

I confess I was a bit worried going into this because it is labeled as book 1. Often, authors leave their readers on a terrible cliffhanger, so imagine my utter delight at Grace giving us a happy enough for now ending!! That alone deserves all the stars.

I always read a lot of reviews before writing my own. One reviewer said they didn't feel a lot of buildup between Signa and Death, and I see that and agree that it sprang seemingly out of nowhere. But that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Signa is a bit naive, but her life has been anything but easy. She's had no stability and no proper formal schooling, and I feel she does fairly well considering how much hardship she's endured. Signa's only interaction with society is through a book called "A Lady's Guide to Beauty and Etiquette," which was left behind. Everything she's learned about being a lady comes from that book. Her awkwardness is what makes her so endearing.

I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the storyline; it's a perfect combination of excellent storytelling that draws the reader in. Part fantasy, mystery, and romance, the reader couldn't ask for more. I'm looking forward to more out of Sigma in the future. Thank you, Little Brown Books, for sending this along.

I had the absolute pleasure of reading Belladonna for my stop on TBR & Beyond Tours’ release celebration, and it instantly became one of my all-time favorites! Head over to my blog (link in bio) for a full tour schedule, and to see some of my favorite quotes from Belladonna!

Belladonna swept me away, both with its sense of mystery and with its brilliant romance! I would easily give this book six stars out of five because it was really a perfect read for me. The mystery plotline was written so that I, like Signa, was constantly second-guessing who I thought the killer could be! There were plenty of plot twists, but they were well motivated and heralded by foreshadowing and clues, making it even more exciting to read. I was in a bit of a reading slump before reading Belladonna, but Adalyn Grace has cured me!
I am beyond delighted that there will be a sequel to Belladonna, called Foxglove, coming out in 2023, because I am not at all ready to be finished with Signa’s adventures. Before the next book comes out, I am planning on listening to the audiobook version, as I just know that this book will be one that is even better upon re-reading.

My Recommendation-
If you’re a reader who loves upper YA romantic fantasy novels like The Cruel Prince you need to grab a copy of Belladonna! I would especially recommend this book to readers who love a dark mystery in their stories!

Content Warnings: Death, sickness, murder, sexual content, violence, child neglect, grief, scenes that resemble self-harm

Thank you so much Hachette Book Group Canada for, providing me with a physical copy of Belladonna. Thank you for giving me the chance to read and review this book. This review will be posted on my Goodreads and Instagram accounts. I will also be publishing this review on Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, and Indigo Canada.

What I loved about this book:

-The Cover (both the dust jacket and the naked cover)! My favorite cover of 2022, so far, is Belladonna. The cover catches your eyes immediately on the shelves. Also, the naked cover rivals the dust jacket cover.

-The atmosphere! Adalyn Grace nailed the gothic atmosphere in this book. The author compares this book to Addie Larue. However, I would like to add that I also get Kerri Maniscalco (SJTR & Kingdom of the Wicked) vibes as well from this book.

-Having Death as a character! Death was by far next to Blythe, my favorite character in Belladonna. I was always intrigued when he showed up on the pages. I also loved his personality and interactions with Signa.

-The concept! The M/C can't die! She can eat poisonous berries without any consequences.

-The romance! The romance in this book gave me all the feels. We even get a ballroom dance scene. Belladonna is an upper YA book (think KOTW/KOTC).

-The murder mystery! All my guesses of who was the killer were wrong. I was pleasantly shocked at finding out who was the antagonist at the end of book one.

-The ending! That ending left me with a book hangover! I need book two! I need to find out what happens next in this series.

Overall, this was a fun read. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the romance. Signa's powers and the murder mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending made me super excited about book 2.

“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.” - Emily Dickinson

This stanza from one of Dickinson’s most well-known poems looped in the background of my brain the entire time I was reading Adalyn Grace’s “Belladonna”, almost as if this lovely set of four lines was the entire inspiration behind the book. For all I know, it could be: gothic, atmospheric, haunting, and romantic in nature, “Belladonna” is a book I could see a modern-day Emily Dickinson writing one of those little blurbs of praise that publishers use to market books to the masses.

Atropa Belladonna (beware the beautiful lady), also known as Nightshade, has been a staple of the poisoner’s arsenal for centuries, if not for over a millenia. On the flip side, as with most poisons, it also has positive medicinal properties (it can be used to ease cramps, for one). This book is filled with juxtapositions like this: beautiful ladies with ugly intentions, genial men with avaricious eyes, gentle souls with dark secrets, and so on. That’s only the start of what makes this book so interesting.

Adalyn Grace has managed to go back to the time of the Romantics and write an absolutely lovely book about death. About the love behind it. About how it’s not something to fear but something that’s inevitable and something to eventually embrace. Modern society does nothing but tell us day after day how we should do this and that to extend our lives. The pressure to be this or do that or buy this or eat that or don’t drink that thing you are craving but instead drink more wheatgrass pervade our screens, pages, billboards, subway stations, and bus stops. This book goes back to a time when you knew death would come for you one day, and sometimes death wasn’t fair. And, for those who were brave enough to step away from polite society, life could be lived to its fullest, in relative solitude, eating what one wished and drinking what one wished until such time as death came to one’s doorstep.

The prose is lovely and the world building is indulgent without tipping over into overly descriptive. The characters are striking and unique, even the ones you end up not caring for much by the end. In the end it’s a splendid book that will feed your gothic romance needs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown for Young Readers for granting me access to this book.

If you’re a fan of Meet Joe Black coupled with gothic vibes then this one is for you!

I adored Signa as a character. She’s stubborn and persistent even though she’s intimately familiar with abandonment and loss of loved ones. Signa can also see spirits, but once she accepts the power she has, her true potential shines.

I loved the side characters especially, especially death! There was just so much snark and banter.

This is the perfect book to kick off spooky season with.

This book has been on my radar since I read the blurb months and months ago.

Signa is twenty years old and at this point in her life, just waiting until the day she can claim her inheritance and be done with all the “caretakers” in her life. They use her for her money and they all seem to drop dead at some not so inopportune times. A fun fact about Signa, is that she can not die. She can navigate the space between living and crossing over, she can see spirits, and has a somewhat tumultuous relationship with Death himself. Signa finds herself without yet another guardian and is sent to live with her Uncle. She realizes she has arrived almost immediately after the death of her aunt, and her cousin is lying on her literal death bed. A wayward spirit approaches Signa and we find that maybe this mysterious illness that took her aunt’s life was not an actual illness at all. Perhaps it was a murder…

Let me tell you what. Belladonna did not disappoint!

This book was gothic and moody and romantic and interesting. PLUS a mystery novel to boot.

I’ll be upfront and honest with you guys.
Here is the truth: I did in fact, see the ending coming, from a mile away.
But getting there was still lots of fun and I had no problem with a single part of this plot.

Which is practically unheard of. If you’ve read my reviews before you know that It’s rare for me to not have any issues with a book. But this one was pretty dang near perfect in my opinion.

Belladonna is gothic. So it was moody and melancholic and had that creepy victorian vibe thing going on that I love so much.

Belladonna was romantic. I loved the relationships that Signa had. I loved that she wasn’t afraid of her sexuality, she was afraid of society. I especially loved when she threw caution right out the window. It was super satisfying.

Belladonna was fascinating. This book was suspenseful and paranormal and it was a murder mystery. It was an all around good time.

The characters were all very well developed, the plot had no holes as far as I could tell.

AND BELLADONNA HAD DEATH.

I mean… Death the character and death the actual act of dying.

Seriously though. Come on!
An Angel of Death who has a heart of gold.
A girl with untapped powers who gets a one on one (if you catch my drift) with the Ferrier to the underworld. There may be a little Grim Reaper sex on the menu, and honestly, what’s not to love about that? nothing.
Add in the fact that Signa is a boss bitch who don’t take shit from no one, has no need to be with a man and takes care of herself in a time period that feels very 1800th century.

The characters were really effin’ cool.
The setting and scenery was really effin’ cool.
The plot was different and kept me completely engrossed.
I just really loved it!

I can’t wait for the sequel~ Foxglove!

This was the gothic tale of my dreams!! I absolutely adored the relationship between Death and Signa! This was such an interesting take on the Death character and it made this impossible to put down. There is a beautiful sort of doom and gloom that surrounds the characters and setting that give a very immersive gothic experience. Highly recommend for spooky season!

“You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it’s time that you burn.”

I enjoyed All the Stars and Teeth, so I was incredibly grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of Belladonna. Somehow, it blew my expectations out of the water.

“A gothic romance following a girl with Death constantly hovering nearby, Belladonna is the gripping story full of wealth, desire, and betrayal that will sweep readers up in its haunting tale from the very beginning!”

The writing is lush and the story did, in fact, sweep me up from the very beginning. Signa’s interactions with Death always left me wanting more (in the best way), and the mystery at Thorn Grove was brilliantly woven. I was able to guess some of the twists, but that didn’t detract from the joy of devouring this story, start to finish.

At the heart of this book is a young woman, searching for a place she belongs. With strange, inexplicable powers, and rumors of death in her wake, Signa has been shunted from caretaker to caretaker, most of whose interest in her extended only to her wealth. Despite her circumstances being a bit fantastic, I think this might be one of the most relatable main characters I’ve read in a while, and she truly shines throughout the book. Because of this, it’s not unreasonable to believe Death himself is intrigued by her. Even though ageless immortal x 19 year old is not my favorite trope, the author makes it feel realistic.

Overall, I’d recommend this book to any fans of gothic mystery and romance, and upper YA romantasy in general.

Spooky, gothic atmosphere. And a beautifully written story. Signa is a strong character with a fierce need to protect her new family in this story. Hello little bird....

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the sequel. The writing is smooth and drew me in from the start.

Signa (19 at the start) was quite unusual. For a while, she seemed to alternate between intelligent and shallow. She was constantly curious about pretty much everything, but then she'd spend pages dreaming about her season, potential suitors, dresses, etiquette, and the societal position she hoped to be in. The two were rather at odds with one another until I discovered that one was due to her belief that it's how she should be and how her mother would have wanted her to be.

I can't really talk too much about other characters without accidentally spoiling things. But I liked both Death and Sylas. One of my favorite little interactions was when Death got mad at Signa for holding back when she was hungry and then shoved a scone at her. I kept guessing (incorrectly, most of the time) who was to blame and why. Some aspects of the explanation still don’t quite add up for me, but I suppose I should be grateful I can’t entirely understand the mind of a murderer.

It will be interesting to see how the overall story plays out and where it goes. I love happy endings, and I want one for Signa. I’m not sure how she’ll get it, but I hope she does.

Note: Maybe some swearing. Sensuality. A mild sec scene. Gruesome descriptions.

Review: I was enthralled with this book and loved it from start to finish. Signa was such a fascinating character. Constantly told she was unimportant since her grandmother died, she doesn't expect her life to ever change for the better. But it does, and she takes her chance and runs with it, trying to protect the new family she has come into. The character of Death is intriguing and so different from our typical perception of death. Fair warning there is a minor amount of spice (YA nivel) but it was tasteful and just right. I won't spoil it but *squeal* it was good! I will absolutely be buying this book and recommending it far and wide.