An excellent atmospheric YA fantasy.

I struggle a lot with YA fantasy these days, mostly because there isn’t much in the genre that’s new anymore and the sheer quantity of these types of books published has resulted in a significant dip in quality. Thus this one was a nice surprise, boasting a unique spin on old tropes, good writing, and an excellent sense of place.

This is a slow burn so be warned, though as a fan of gothic pacing I thought the structure and tempo were excellent. There’s a great eerie, increasing sense of menace with the spirits, the house, and Death himself as the plot unfolds, and there’s a lot of other lovely detail as well (who doesn’t love a ball? Who doesn’t love a Christmas scene?)

Though on a basic level most of the characters are genre archetypes, they’re notably well fleshed out and interesting, and manage to be likable without the grating earnestness that plagues a lot of lesser quality YA.

The plot itself is fun and intriguing, and it takes a long time to figure out who the killer is and what exactly is happening with the protagonist’s mysterious connection with death. The love story does have a touch of cringe to it and is a bit overwrought for my taste, but it doesn’t get too angsty and has some clever elements.

I was pleased to find a twist at the end of the book that was both an excellent choice for the plot and one that I didn’t guess ahead of time. It also went a long way toward, let’s say, correcting the one thing about the plot of this book that was bothering me.

I’ll eagerly await the next book in the Belladonna series.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. What a surprise of a book this was! Love love love! Can't wait for book 2.

The whole book is a vibe, from the gorgeous cover to the spooky gothic mystery. The premise was absolutely intriguing and the story did not disappoint. I could easily put myself into any of the characters places and, as a cozy mystery reader, the mystery was solid.

This book was beautifully written. The setting was atmospheric and moody and gorgeous. This book reminded me so much of the gothic suspense romances from the 70s of my mother's that I used to read as a teen, but it still felt modern, with a capable, independent heroine and a touch of magic to go with the mystery and suspense. The story kept me guessing and I felt connected to the characters. They all had their curiosities and charms. This book had everything I love in a novel: unpredictability, a great setting, and characters you want to discover more about.

This was my first read by this author but now I'm interested to see her other work and can't wait for more in this series, too!

Are you kidding me, this book was phenomenal. Unputdownable. The characters are a vibe. The story line flowed so well. I throughly enjoyed every detail.

"Stop worrying about society and playing its game, hoping that you'll be good enough. There is no such thing as true goodness there is only perception."⠀
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Adalyn Grace, Belladonna ⠀
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Belladonna by Adalyn Grace is one of my top reads of 2022! I adored this book from the first page and it just kept getting better. The story follows Signa, a wealthy young woman with an unnatural predisposition for bringing death with her wherever she goes. She loses yet another caretaker and travels to Thorn Grove to live with her last remaining relatives but is met with a house full of ghosts and secrets. With the help of a mysterious stable boy, Signa searches for answers to who killed the mistress of the home, and gets closer to death than she ever has before. ⠀
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Signa is one of my favorite character of the year. She's intelligent and curious and I love her experiments and knowledge of herbs and plants. She looks for the best in her circumstances, no matter how dire they get. Death is an amazing character as well. He's everything you want in a brooding, tall, dark and handsome lead. I love how his relationship with Signa develops through the story. This is an imaginative dark fantasy and I'm living for the whole aesthetic that Adalyn Grace paints. ⠀
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I'm proud of myself for finally getting around to reading Belladonna. I won't lie; it's been sitting on my TBR shelf, just staring at me. I loved the gothic ghost vibes this included. The characters have a way of grasping your attention as there is much depth and personality included with each. I enjoyed how the author was able to create such a compelling story about a family enraptured in dark history and the old manor that is full of spirits that peek around every corner. I allowed the reader to settle into the spooky setting of the story and be entranced with the world-building and descriptions.

I have nothing bad to say about this one! I give it four stars as a rating. It combines fantasy and mystery with a splash of gothic paranormal sides. I had high expectations going into reading this and had received an eARC, but it just wasn't keeping my undivided attention, and that is just a me problem. I definitely recommend you pick up this book if my review or others tickle your fancy even just a little.

This book was very pretty and I really enjoyed parts of it. It did feel slow at times, and I was bored from time to time, but the writing was so good that I didn't mind too much.

*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The relationship between Death and Sigma is a little weird, especially since it starts when she was a literal infant. But it is cute...I think.

Everything seems so easy for Sigma. And while that works for some heroines, it was odd for her. I would have liked to see a bit more struggle.

I was not a fan of Grace's previous works, but I am so glad I gave this a shot. It is fantastic!

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this author’s other book, All the Stars and Teeth, so I was excited but wary going into Belladonna. It had many elements I usually love in a book, and I was hoping the book would at least be carried by those traits, even if I had similar issues with this book as I had with the author’s debut.

Honestly, I shouldn’t have been wary at all. I adored this book, and I feel like I almost enjoyed this book more because of how I’d doubted it at first. It was wonderful and beautiful and magical, and I both adored all the little pieces of this story and how it later came together as a whole too. I listened to the audiobook of this one, and I also loved how it was narrated. The narrator had such fantastic voices for everyone (especially Death), and was able to imbue even more emotion into the book, bringing to life what was already on the page.

This book hits the exact same notes as Stalking Jack the Ripper did for me. A core central romance that has a perfect level of tension, a murder mystery that the MC gets completely wrapped up in, and a strong MC to carry it all. However, Belladonna stands entirely on its own, with its own strong themes of family and familial grief and analysis of court politics and freedoms (or lack thereof) that women have within high society. While my favorite aspect of this book has to be the Death (both the romance between Signa and Death and the magical powers and realm that comes along with exploring Signa’s powers), I also loved the family aspects of this story as well. This book not only explores Signa’s loneliness and desire to fit somewhere, but also the complex family ties that exist at Thorn Grove manor, and the tragedies created by the web of secrets and lies there. It was an emotional and heart-wrenching book because of it, but I loved how it all was explored, especially in the latter half of the book. In the end, everything just flowed so well together, weaving together the afterlife and spirits, family history and grief, and the suspense and tension that comes with any good murder mystery.

I seriously can’t wait for the next book, Foxglove, and I can’t recommend this first book enough!

Review live on blog November 14

TLDR:

Belladonna is the first installment in a new YA Fantasy series from Adalyn Grace. She is best known for writing the All the Stars and Teeth duology.

Notable Elements:

Paranormal
Murder Mystery
Unlikely Allies
Intertwined Fates

Likes:

Perfect Protagonist — Signa is candid, sincere, and clever. As a young woman riddled with misfortune and naivety, she possesses an ideal foundation and capacity for meaningful, organic character development.

Unique Personification of Death — Death is coy, inquisitive, and deeply misunderstood. His recurring and unusually charming presence in Signa’s life is a fresh take on the looming, fearsome image we typically associate with Death.

Cinematic Plot Twist — The climax of this book is jaw-dropping, an expertly constructed and beautifully executed plot twist.

Dislikes:

Briefly Sluggish Middle — The pace of the book slows momentarily at the midpoint.

Final Thoughts:

This is the first book I’ve read by Adalyn Grace, and I loved it! I can’t wait to read the sequel, Foxglove, next year; I’ll have to go back and read All the Stars and Teeth soon.

Rating:

5.0/5.0

<b>ARC received in exchange for an honest review</b>

<b>DNF at 25%</b>

While I did like the premise of this a little bit more than <i>All the Stars and Teeth</i>, I still found the writing and characters to be exceptionally basic. I was really enjoying the beginning with the poison and meeting Death, and then it turned into another unremarkable YA romance. Sadly I won’t be picking up any Adalyn Grace books again.

This is a hauntingly beautiful book that drops you in the middle of a gothic period drama saturated in mystery, murder, and the macabre. It's a perfect addition to any spooky season list, and has little tastes of Phantom that I love OH so much.

First off, can we talk about the cover. It's SO stunning and even the UK version is *chef's kiss*

I will ALWAYS love gothic fantasy and horror. A few years ago, I'd probably turn away from them, but since reading some fantastic books by equally fantastic authors, I now reach for them whenever they come across my suggestions.

I relate a lot to Signa - maybe not on the whole "my inheritance is my identity and I hate it" front, because, let's face it, I don't have one! However, I can wholly relate to not feeling like you belong in a family. I understand the longing of so desperately wanting to belong that I change my inner-design to meet the expectations of others.

The descriptions in the book were amazing and I truly felt transported to the misty grounds of Thorn Grove. The dankness of the manor, the isolation of the garden and surrounding areas, and the slightly off-kilter social events at Thorn Grove lend well to the feeling of seclusion.

Character development is well done. Signa becomes an island to herself as she learns to navigate the new social environment that she is set in, and the reader gets to watch as she starts to find herself as she spends time with Silas and as her relationship develops with Death.

Adalyn does well with organically infusing paranormal and fantastical abilities into her plots. As with All the Stars and Teeth, she subtly transforms the story to include a piece of magic. As Signa's proximity to Death changes, so does her hold on her own power over death and the world between worlds.

Overall, very well written and a happy improvement from Adalyn's first duology. It does end on a massive cliffhanger and the introduction of a new character, but I can't wait to read more of Signa's story!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I devoured this book and it has lived in my soul since finishing it early this year.

Adalyn is both gritty and vulnerable and so beautifully broken. She is the perfect balance to Death, her most constant companion. The gothic ambience is perfection in this slow burn dark mystery.

A girl that can’t die, despite her best efforts, is met by a handsome stranger and whisked away to a sprawling manor to family she isn’t sure she wants to know. At least she can call on Death if she needs a familiar face. But there’s something different about this place, and it’s not just the angry ghost that isn’t like any of the others she’s experienced.

Please note: I was given a digital arc copy through NetGalley. The desire to collect each stunning print edition and the thoughts within this review are my own.

Actual Rating: 4.5

When I tell you I finished this book so fast! Adalyn’s writing is solid as always and I was so immersed into this gothic fantasy! Murder mysteries are always fun to read and I was fully invested in this one. It was also a very interesting take on Death as a character!

I did really like Signa as a character and there’s so much of her I want to know more about! The romance in this book was the most intriguing part, I was a tad iffy on the whole immortal/mortal stuff (and the fact that Death knew her as a baby) but it was done well!

every time i say i’m done with ya fantasy, a book like belladonna comes along and reels me right back in.

though mysteriously unable to die herself, orphaned heiress signa farrow is no stranger to death. he has shadowed her all her life, even as each of her guardians has met an untimely end—but when she arrives at the estate of her latest guardian, she finds a family already in mourning and the ghost of their late wife and mother, who claims she was poisoned.

determined to identify the murderer before they can claim another life and risk her place in her new home, signa turns to the stable boy and death himself for help.

the gothic vibes of belladonna are immaculate (and i’m very picky about my ya gothic fantasies) and i really enjoyed signa and death as characters, but i did find the world-building to be lacking and i wish the romance had developed more slowly. overall still an enchanting read that has me excited to read the sequel!

If you have ever been oddly attracted to the Grim Reaper, this book is for you

Belladonna is a fun genre-bending YA book - it's a historical fiction, it's a mystery, it's a romance it's paranormal fantasy... There's probably going to be some aspect of this book that you'd like!!

Signa has had quite the life. She’s been living with guardians since she was 2 months old, but her guardians have a tendency to… die. Death circumstances surrounding Signa are WEIRD. Which makes it kind of make sense that Death himself talks to Signa... Did I mention Signa can see spirits and literally can’t die??

She goes to her next guardian, hopefully her last as she’ll be inheriting her family home when she has her next birthday. What she isn’t expecting when she gets there is to be thrust into a murder mystery. The lady of the house recently died from a sickness and Signa’s cousin Blythe is very ill with the same sickness. She has to work fast to figure out what’s being done, and who’s doing it.

Signa rages against traditional feminine societal rules, she makes a few friends, she gets comfy at a home, really comfy, for one of the first times in her life.

It might not all make a ton of sense all the time - why can't Signa die and why does she have the abilities she has? What really happened the night she became an orphan? How tf does Death have a physical tangile body? But hey, that's what we have book 2 for, to maybe clear some stuff up.

It's a gothic type story that I personally found more interesting than a lot of gothic stories I've read because the main character felt a lot more accessible. Even with the historical AND fantastical elements, I still feel like I was able to digest the writing easily, as someone who usually works through such books pretty slowly.

I do have a little bit of concern around the romance - Death is like, really old, and Signa is like 19 and he saw her when she was a baby and has been waiting for her since.... yeah, it's morally questionable, but I'm not gonna lie, it was still fun enough to read. I just think it's a little weird lol it's giving Jacob and Renesmee lowkey

This book. It was a damn fine book.

@authoradalyngrace creates such a visual presence!

I just loved Signa’s journey, her growth and self acceptance.

Definitely kept me engaged the entire time.

Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrownyoungreaders for gracing me with this story

An orphaned girl who can speak with ghosts and Death himself finally lands in a welcoming home--sort of. After being around to different family members who only take her in because they want access to the fortune she'll one day inherit and then die in a variety of mysterious circumstances, Signa is on her last chance. Unfortunately, this family has been nearly destroyed by the death of her aunt. Signa is intimately familiar with belladonna and its effects on the body since near-death is the liminal space in which she can speak to Death--and sometimes yell at him for messing up her life again. So when her cousin's illness--similar to the one that killed her aunt--manifests the same symptoms as belladonna poisoning, she must hurry to save her cousin and satisfy the ghost of her dead aunt.
Underpinning all of this is, of course, a delicious romance. Adalyn Grace sets up something of a love triangle and while I didn't see it coming, you can head to Goodreads if you want to be spoiled for the twist. During the climactic reveals, I looked back at the foreshadowing and felt rather sheepish for having missed it, but I had more fun being surprised so really... I win. Grace's All the Stars and Teeth worked well for me but the sequel let me down, so while I absolutely loved the romance in this (there's on page sex if that's a concern), I'm cautiously optimistic about the follow-up, Foxglove.
I love a gothic romance and Adalyn Grace brought the ghosts, family trauma, spooky house and Death himself to us in Belladonna.

I received a digital copy of this book for review but purchased the audiobook.