This gothic read with an unlikely romance was the perfect ya fantasy of last year. This has to be one of my favorite romance mysteries of the ya genre, and I can't wait to see what else Adayln Grace comes up with. I have now read this story thrice, and I notice something different that I didn't see before every time. The way the writing captures your attention and has you on the edge of your seat makes this book fast-paced and able to read in one sitting. This is the perfect story to help you escape your reading slump. I loved the romance with this one and the parties of an orphan trying to solve a murder to save her cousin. This one should be on everyone's TBR.

I absolutely devoured this gothic romance about orphan Signa and her connection to Death. From the opening pages of the novel when the reader is thrust into the lavish and celebratory party that Signa’s mother is throwing, to the end when one mystery is solved only to have another present itself, I could not put this book down. This book was everything that I could’ve wanted in a gothic romance with a mystery and paranormal underpinning to it all.

Signa was such a fun and complex character to lead the reader on this strange journey between the living and the dead. From Signa’s first introduction as an infant when she is orphaned under terrible circumstances to the young woman she grows into who wants nothing more than to be a proper lady of society who is both well educated as well as up to date on the proper etiquette in the hopes of finding a husband and the lasting and loving home she has always yearned for, I couldn’t help but understand why Death would find her such a fascinating human. It was this bizarre and unique connection between Signa and Death that I found myself most interested in and drawn to and one that much like Signa I wished for them to explore more of.

I loved the writing and descriptiveness in this book and the pacing was spot on as there was never a moment where I felt as though the story was lagging behind. While the mystery of who the murderer is and why is resolved, I found myself being left with so many more questions about Signa, her parentage, Death the how fate potentially plays a role in Signa’s life and the lives of those around her; that these questions coupled with the “Nooooo! What do you mean that’s how the story ends and I have to wait until next year for the next book?!?” have left me hoping that these answers will be answered in the next book and that there will be many more books to come in this series as I can’t imagine it ever coming to an end and having to one day say goodbye to these characters.

After many put-downs, I FINALLY finished this.

Gotta start with the pros right? Signa. is THE main character. Her development is incredible and she loves so ferociously that it's beautifully tragic. Her relationship with Death did not sell me at first... but then I found myself holding my breath until they interacted again. (Also was that plot twist totally obvious or was it just me?)

I will preface this by saying, I really did enjoy Grace's writing style. But oh my gooodddnessss was this slow and boring. I am not joking when I say I fell asleep multiple times while reading. I just truly couldn't care less about Signa's lessons and introduction to society. Not to mention the murder mystery that seemed to drag on forever and a day.

SO overall... characters fun, book boring?

I have no idea if I'll pick up book two. I'll probably wait until book three is out at least because that cliffhanger was not fun!

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for the ARC of this!

This somehow got pushed to my backlog and I have no idea why I allowed that to happen. It was SO AMAZING. I love books where Death is a character, and there was so much action and suspense and light creepies.

Two reasons why I won't be finishing this book:
1. It involved a romantic relationship between "death" who is thousands of years old, and the 19-year-old girl he's been watching since she was a BABY. Labeling it as a forbidden romance doesn't change the predatory and grooming undertones.
2. It's boring.

This is extremely disappointing because I'm a huge fan of the All the Stars and Teeth duology by this author, and the cover of this book is gorgeous.

DNF @ page 102

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the sequel! My only complaints were that the characters could have been more strongly developed and at times, the plot seemed to drag. 4 stars!

Alas, I have encountered another overhyped book that I just could not get into. I have had this arc forever but every time I was trying to read it, it was just not giving with me. Which brings me to the conclusion that it was the book, not me. While the world building was beautiful and the writing style was great, the characters.. um, no thank you. They were just super not my type, I found them annoying and unlikeable and I wish I had more to say.

Belladonna is the first book in a new series by Adalyn Grace. I had previously read her ALL THE STARS AND TEETH duology, which I really enjoyed, so I was expecting to love this one. I didn't. There wasn't any problem with the writing. Grace always captures the world perfectly and her writing is beautiful. The characters were very unlikeable. It took me MONTHS to get through this book because of how much I didn't like Signa's Pov. The book was pitched as a mystery with a cross between Bridgerton and a haunted mansion mystery. This story is very gothic and if you chose to pick it up do it during October! This book did have redeeming qualities like the worldbuilding, captivating mystery, and atmospheric gothic elements.

Loved the gothic vibes of this book. That aspect was pretty well done. Most of the book, really, was pretty well done. The mystery, the magic. And then Death, himself. A complicated relationship. Largely inappropriate. But I can't help but keep reading.

The most frustrating part was that so many questions weren't answered at all. I know there's a sequel coming, but come on man. I needed a little bit more context for Signa's past. Just a tease? Please?

Oh how I love books with gothic vibes and some mystery! It took me forever and a day to have a chance to read this and I'm so glad I finally got to it! This ya, regency era, fantasy book was a very interesting concept and kept me thinking. The characters were well developed and interesting. The authors writing made me feel like i was right there in that time. My only complaint was the slight predictability of a couple things but I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one!

Moody and dark, this is a Gothic romance in the same vein as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue or Kingdom of the Wicked. I wish it were a stand-alone, though. The ending clearly points to a series, and I feel this story would have held more weight if it had ended with Signa debuting in society.
Full review on YouTube

What a pleasant read!

Mixed with murder/mystery, romance and friendship.

I really enjoyed every moment of this and looking forward to the next book. 📖

I am ready to solve the next murder. 🔍

very meh. very boring. i couldn't care less what happened to the plot or the characters.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

This is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a while. Loved it so much! Could tell right from the start that it was going to be a page-turner for me and I was not wrong. Cannot wait for FOXGLOVE!

What a powerful story! I loved this book from start to finish. This is the first book that I read from the author and I’m really looking forward to reading more.

Wow! I could not put this book down!!! Usually it takes me a handful or more chapters to get into a book, but Belladonna has me hooked from the first couple! Definitely not a normal book I would go for but went into it blind, just loved the gorgeous cover!! I was very pleasantly surprised and can not wait for the second book! Very beautifully written !

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, I loved the beginning of this and thought it was fascinating and atmospheric. But then Signa entered society and the pacing was just way off. I also couldn’t get over that Death, an immortal character, was waiting and watching Signa grow up. I found that too hard to get over, considering that was the main ship.

Really fun read! I enjoyed the character interactions but definitely think some of the plot points were predictable. Hard not to fall for the MMC!! Very interested to see where the next book goes though! I'm hooked!

4.25-I really enjoyed this book the writing was so lyrical and beautiful that I really wanted to keep reading more from this author. This story follows Signa a young woman who seems to bring death to whoever she is living with. After multiple incidents it seems no one wants to be her next guardian even though she is to inherit a fortune. When a distant relative agrees to take her in she agrees until death shows up again and people start almost dying, but Signa decides she will not let this happen again so while working with death she has to solve a murder mystery to save her family.

I really liked this book a lot but I really wanted to take my time reading this book. The writing was very lyrical and beautiful and it really brought this gothic tale to life. I will say there were not to many surprises for me but still really enjoyed this book. After reading this book I really look forward to picking up more from this author in the future. Thanks to Net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I finished this back in July right before it come out, but I was so disappointed with it - I just couldn't bring myself to rate it because I'm so torn!

Adalyn's debut duology is a comfort read and one I read and rated 5 stars for as I am a total sucker for a fun swash-buckling adventure! But we aren't here to discuss those -

Belladonna. The concept was so promising and I was stoked for a gothic "romance". Critically, I will say that to me this had virtually no romance. It's beyond slow burn and felt more one sided to me. While I still rated this three stars, I can honestly say the saving grace of this book (for me), was the atmosphere. The authors' writing style really transported me into this very dark, gothic setting which I absolutely adored.
The main character I could not connect with, however I don't feel it as a problem with how the author wrote her, I just found her very unlikeable and maybe a bit...disloyal? I felt she jumped around to different characters to suit her needs and because of this it made me dislike her mental thoughts and how they didn't match to her "promises" to Death.

I do want to stress that this is only my opinion and I would still recommend this to any reader that loves gothic stories with a touch of romance and a lot of angsty emotions. I feel there is definitely an audience out there for this, it just sadly wasn't what I was looking for.