having loved Grace's All The Stars and Teeth series I was super excited to be given the opportunity to read Belladonna. Do not go in thinking this will be the same sort of fun magical novel. It is different , but not in a bad way . While overblown and dramatic at times there is great characterization with Signa and Death. There is a fine line between what means to live with Death and what her life was like before she met Death without anger.. Not having watched or Read Bridgerton, i think that fans of that will enjoy the costuming, the balls and the time period this is set in .
I wanted more magic and more adventure, but was happy to have read this novel.

I saw this on bookstagram a bunch; and people were just raving about it. So this was pretty high up on my TBR. All around a very good book but didn’t quit meet my expectations.

I really loved the mystery too it. It felt a little gothic to me and I was trouble place there time period that it was set in. But that added to the mystery for me.

The plot of the book was good, and I enjoyed that aside from the main mystery there was love mixed in there. As well as the theme of self discovery and finding your place in the world.

I’m not really sure if it’s set up for another. It ended like it could be. I don’t think I’d want another one as it would probably feel a little redundant. But I do want to know how the relationship progresses further. It really just kind of resolved in the end of the story so I feel like more could be made out of that part of the plot line.

Overall a really enjoyable read. I was hooked pretty soon after reading. And then I sat and read it all in one sitting.

Are you looking for a book with a strong female lead, who can speak to the dead, and becomes allies with death itself? Then Belladonna is the book for you! Signa is an orphan who is passed around from home to home. Her caretakers tend to be more interested in her wealth, and she is often neglected. But they all seem to meet their end while caring for Signa. Signa’s last remaining family are the Hawthornes. She is soon whisked away to Thorn Grove. But her new life comes with a murder she needs to solve. Will she be able to uncover the truth before she loses more family members?

What I LOVED:
- I was instantly drawn into this book. The first few pages of the prolouge had me hooked.
- Signa. Outspoken, feminist vibes, and she is very likable. She was an amazing lead for this story. I wanted to scoop her up and hug her. I love how thoughtful she is. I also loved seeing her character finally getting bit of happiness.
- The gothic vibes, the thrill, and mystery really keep this book at a fun pace. I had a hard time putting this book down.
- The dash of romance! 💖
- Death. I adored Death!


There is more I loved but I don’t want to spoil too much! I have had the authors other books on my TBR list forever now. Her writing in Belladonna was great! I might just take her other books off my TBR list. The ending has me ready for the next book in this series. 4.5 stars out of 5! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was 5 out of 5 hands down. I did NOT expect the plot twist at the end at ALL! As a thriller murder mystery lover, I adored this plot and felt entranced the whole time. I cannot wait until the second book! I really liked the character development as well and found the world building to be beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc!
I absolutely love this book! The characters are phenomenally written; all of the characters have such a well-developed plot lines and they all are very dynamic and interesting to read about. Not only that but the premise of the book is super fun to read.
Signa is unable to die and is able to communicate with ghosts and death. She uses this power to help solve who murdered her new guardian's wife. It is so interesting and in the whole book, I was trying to find clues and figure it out. There is also a romance element that is wonderful to read; Death is a great character who adds a lot to the story.
Not only that but it is very well written and planned out. As I am reading, everything flows really well and reads extremely easily.

4.5 ⭐

"To me, you are a song to a soul that has never known music"

My gosssshhh I loved this. It's the perfect mixture of gothic fantasy, romance, morally grey characters, and mystery.

I was hooked from the first few chapters. It's so captivating, it keeps you guessing throughout the whole book. I was so drawn to the characters that I couldn't wait to see what happened next for them. The plot has a good pace throughout and I can't wait for the next book!

Now brb going to run and preorder this because the first editions are gorgeous👌

Quick Summary:
Death has been following Signa for years and she cannot escape him. When she becomes a ward at her remaining relatives estate, she soon realizes they could be in grave danger. To solve a murder, Signa must make an alliance with Death himself.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Signa Farrow is an orphaned girl with the special ability to see spirits and even Death himself. People see her as cursed since all of her previous guardians have wound up dead. She finds another home with the Hawthornes, who have death lingering over their home with a recently deceased wife and an ill daughter, Blythe. Signa soon learns that the wife was murdered and that Blythe isn't ill, but poisoned. Can Signa solve the murder and save Blythe before its too late and overcome her fear for Death himself and the strange feelings he stirs inside of her?

I absolutely loved this book. It's one of those books that's so good you want to devour it just as much as you want to savor it. It was my most anticipated read of the year and it met my expectations and more. The cover is gorgeous, the story itself is amazing and the tone and setting were easy to get lost in.

I loved Signa's character, she is strong in her own way and determined. She overcomes things with more ease than I ever could and her chemistry with Death is everything! I loved Death, such a mysterious, very attractive character.

This book is definitely one that is hard to put down. Full of mystery, a dreamy romance, spirits and twists you don't always see coming. Highly recommend!

Thank you Little Brown Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I Admittedly already had a preorder of this before I discovered it on Netgalley just because I’m already a fan of Adalyn Grace’s work, that being said A ROMANCE NOVEL WITH DEATH? uhmmm yes please (he’s big time swoon too)! This was such an interesting idea I couldn’t help but want to read it the minute I saw promo for it. One of my favorite aspects of this book is just how lush the world that’s been created is. There was no part of Signa’s tale that I wasn’t entranced by, between the mystery, the romance, and her insane backstory you get in the first chapter I wholeheartedly could not put this book down. The end left me ready for a sequel and more importantly ready to see my physical edition when it finally releases! All the stars for Belladonna!

In Belladonna, the first installment of Adalyn Grace's new series Grace once again creates a rich world, dynamic characters and a story that sucks readers right in.

I will start by saying I am a huge Adalyn Grace fan. Her debut duology are some of my favorite books I've read in the YA genre, so I was thrilled to see her coming out with a new series. When I read the description for Belladonna and realized this would be a dark and twisted tale about a girl falling in love with death I knew it was going to be a must read for me.

In her first books Grace took us on a high flying adventure on the sea, full of magic, action and pirates, in her new endeavor she takes readers to a dreary house full of secrets, mystery and deadly intentions. Belladonna balances murder mystery, perfectly with gothic romance, and created a world that is so rich it feels like I have experienced Thorn Grove myself.

I will say this book feels a little exposition heavy in the beginning with sometimes slow pacing. I found it very similar to Bardugo's Ninth House, where a slower beginning gives way to a faster paced, high payoff ending 30-40%. By the end of the book I didn't care about the pacing at all I was too in love with the overall creation. I was also proud of myself because I did manage to guess one of the bigger reveals, though guessing it didn't make the reveal any less enjoyable.

The ending epilogue was everything. I normally am very hesitant about epilogues especially in an unfinished series, but this one was so good. Foxglove cannot come fast enough. Belladonna was an easy 5-star top read of the year for me, and Grace has officially become an auto-buy author for me.

Death is a cinnamon roll. Perhaps a bit too soft for my taste in daeth-ish characters. But still a sweet romance with the main character Signa. The slow burn isn’t too bad and it didn’t feel insta-lovey even though Death is totally smitten with Signa from the get-go.

I love Adalyn’s writing style. The prose in Belladonna are absolutely stunning! I might’ve even enjoyed the story without the MC’s romance with Death. The mystery was just enough to keep me wanting to read more. I suspected who the murderer was late in the story, but still took me by surprise that it was who I thought it was…

The ending is what upped this story from 3 stars to 4 for me. There are a lot of loose ends and details that, I think, should be addressed rather than glossed over. Hopefully the sequel will give me more answers even though it looks like Death and Signa might not be the main couple!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I was SO excited to receive this ARC so THANK YOU to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this in exchange for an honest review.

Belladonna is about Signa, an orphaned nineteen-year-old who has eluded Death and whose relatives all die around her. It starts with Signa going to live with her last living relatives, the Hawthornes, and as if it is a Hawthorne specialty (The Hawthorne brothers from The Inheritance Games, I am looking at you), it involves a mystery and suspense, but in this case, a murder. This book has a dark atmosphere and is definitely for fans of V.E. Schwab. It is gothic and fantastical and the vibes are ominous, keeping you interested through every page. I thought that the family could have used more fleshing out or creepiness, and certain things felt predictable, but overall, because this is a part of a series, I am already ready for the next one!

Not to mention, the cover is absolutely STUNNING.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a really great start to a new gothic fantasy series. It follows Signa, a orphan girl who can see Death and whose guardians always seem to die around her. She’s finally sent to live with the last of her remaining relatives, the Hawthornes, and becomes involved in a murder mystery. She teams up with a stable boy named Sylus as well as Death himself to figure out what happened to Lillian Hawthorne and to prevent her cousin Blythe from dying in the same way.

I loved the dark atmosphere of this book - it has spirits, murder, poison, magic, and mystery, but also family, romance, and character development. I loved Signa and her growth as she realizes that she doesn’t have to change herself to fit the norms of society and learns to use her power. Death was such an interesting character as well, he reminded me of Luc from Addie LaRue but less evil. I didn’t guess the murderer at all and was wrong about certain characters. The ending leaves another mystery to solve and introduces a character who I’m excited to see more of. Can’t wait for the next one!

I want to thank #littlebrownbookspublishing and #netgalley for letting me read this phenomenal eArc of #Belladonna

This has got to be easily one of my most favorite books that I’ve read this year! Full of mystery, suspense, death and murder.
Signa lost her family while she was just an infant. Death came calling to collect all that were at her wealthy parents party. However when death approached Signa’s crib he found himself unable to collect her. Intrigued by this death decides to take somewhat of a role in her life by watching over her.

As Signa grows she is shuffled from home to home as people tend to die around her. Having enough of it she summons death to her, Signa can’t die, at an early age she had a fall that should have killed her but didn’t. As the years went on she tried different ways of dying but it never took.
Signa finds herself with the Hawthornes a family that has been devastated by loss. A spirit reaches out to her demanding help claiming murder and that the same is happening to her daughter. Signa promises to help, she doesn’t want to lose anymore family. So with the help of Belladonna berries, the handsome stable boy Sylas, and Death Signa reaches for her power to solve what is happening to her loved ones.

First thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review! (Review may contain spoilers)

It had such a strong start and end. It caught me and I got consumed with the story. The character and her relationship with death was so interesting I wanted to know more. But it lulled a little in the middle where it seemed like clues where a little easy for her to find and the “mysterious” family was not as mysterious as they should be by telling the main character whom the never met all their secrets.

But thankfully it picked up and was so entertaining by the end that the lull was made up for.

However I wish there was a little more distinction that Signa was an adult which would have made her relationship with death less than a typical thousand year old man and teenage girl dynamic. Especially because he taught her the powers she didn’t understand. Hopefully this will improve in the sequel.

But overall a good start to a duology with an interesting twist at the end.

This book is a combination of fantasy, horror/ghost story, and mystery murder. The story revolves around Signa who is an orphan shuffled from various guardians. Signa is unable to really die and if she’s injured or close to death, she sees “Death” or the reaper of souls, but her body heals and she’s not taken to the afterlife. Signa hates Death and blames him for all her dead guardians and problems with her life.

Signa finds herself at Thorn Grove as the ward of Elijah Hawthorne. Thorn Grove is haunted, her guardian’s wife Lilian has just mysteriously died from an illness, and his daughter Blythe is now suffering the same fate.
Once she arrives at Thorn Grove, she quickly finds out that it is indeed haunted, Lillian was murdered, and someone is trying to murder her cousin Blythe. Signa is determined to solve the murder of Lillian and save her cousin. I’m order to do so….she must work with Death to solve the murder and save her cousin.

The ending is a total cliffhanger but makes me want book 2 already. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this lovely book. 5 stars ⭐️

IF ONLY the mc being named sigma was the most questionable part about this book.

first: thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

since nobody else is going to say it, i will. i think it’s weird that we start the book off saying that death (our love interest) has a fascination with signa and meets her as a baby (and practically falls in love with her right then and there). oh, and then proceeds to watch her grow up as a present figure throughout points in her life until she’s an age where he can make out with her. it’s weird! very weird!

world building is off, characters are lacking, but the cover is gorgeous and the writing isn’t bad. still— 2 stars for enjoyment, 3 stars objectively.

I am a sucker for a good gothic fantasy and this did not disappoint! Adalyn Grace is a wizard when it comes to storytelling and the way she's able to weave a story together that is so vivid and unique is amazing. I love the main character Signa and how she struggles with the dreams she thought she wanted while staying true to herself and learning more about why Death haunts her. I also enjoyed the characterization of Death in this story and I thought Death as a character was done very well. The gothic atmosphere, the mystery, and the romance made me not want to put this book down! Although it was predictable at times, it was a wonderful, refreshing read and I can't wait for the next book!

This is my first book from Adalyn Grace and I am not disappointed. I didn't know what to expect with this story as I picked it based on the amazing cover art.

I was pleasantly surprised that this book has all my favorite tropes:
Good mystery
Enemies to lovers
Strong female MC
Good plot twists

I enjoyed the character development and the interactions in this coming of age story. As the MC tries to find her place and where she belongs the mysteries begin.

I am excited to add this to my library when it is released next month. I was luck enough to receive this as my very first ARC from netgallery.


#Belladonna #NetGalley

I got lost in this story, it was so good! This book was the perfect blend of mystery, romance and magic. The ending left me speechless and I can't wait for the lext book to come out. Thank you for my copy!

It was an amazing book. I loved the ending that ended with a cliffhanger of sorts, I thought the ending would be bittersweet, but now I realize it's a cliffhanger! This book is amazing. The heroine is strong and the love interest has been with her all her life and cared for her all her life but is still somehow her enemy! Wow. Just Wow. More. I can't wait for the second book.