Reviews with content warning for Grief - Foxglove

Another great installment in the Belladonna series! I thought this book did a really great job at expanding on what we already had from the first book. It genuinely added more character depth and explanation for Signa’s powers and her relationship with Death, which I greatly appreciated!

At first when the book got rolling I became very nervous with the added introduction of Fate. I did not want it to end up being an ACOTAR situation where the first man we get introduced to ends up not being the person our FMC ends up with or that Death was actually a toxic man. Luckily, the ending of this book wraps everything up very nicely and everything makes perfect sense in the end. I found myself pleasantly surprised that I actually did not see the twist at the end coming. Adalyn does a really good job at keeping the audience guessing all the way up until the end, and then making everything fit together nicely like a puzzle.

I really liked learning more about Signa’s past and understanding the scope of her powers on a much deeper level. It was very interesting and only deepened the world building we see in this series, which I thought was brilliant. I am excited to learn even more about the powers in the third book.

I also loved the added POV of Blythe. It was interesting to be able to get more insight into her process of thinking and how she reacted to learning about Signa’s powers and what happened to Percy.

I loved seeing her character development and her ultimate realization that her cousin was not the enemy in this situation. Seeing what she did for Signa in the end was amazing and the twist really made it even better. I cannot wait to see the enemies to lovers trope with Fate and Blythe in the next book!

Overall, I thought this was another fantastic installment in the series. Adalyn did a great job at expanding on her original ideas while also adding a fresh element and the introduction of new characters to the series. I am very excited to read the third book! I rate this book 5/5 stars! 🌟

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beckyyreadss's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read the first book in this series in October as it was the book club’s pick of the month. When I noticed it was a series, I was very interested in carrying on with the series.

This book is based on nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow and her cousin Blythe Hawthorne, and a duke has been murdered and Blythe’s father has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He's hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman, he loved many decades ago . . . and now he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost. Signa and Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time they spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate’s past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate’s unexpected games – all with their destinies hanging in the balance.

I am hooked with this series. I loved Signa and Death’s relationship and how they grew together and trusted each other through the difficult times and that they weren’t letting anyone get in between them. I loved the character development of Blythe; she sorts of dipped a bit throughout the book as she was confused and hurt, but she was back on the good side by the end. Fate was supposed to be this big, bad scary dude and I just couldn’t hate him. He wanted his girl from back in the day and thought Signa was his girl. I love the regency and gothic feeling with all the balls and talks about how a woman must act in society and then Signa and Blythe are like nope screw that I'm out. I loved the mystery element and was waiting to see who killed the duke and if Elijah was going to be saved or hung. The way that this book ended with the plot twists had me audible gasping. Blythe was a badass and then Death and Signa slowly figuring out who Life is, had me on the edge of my sit.

The reason why this isn’t getting five stars is because it is still missing something. Some elements. I can’t put my finger on what it was, but it did lose its pace during the middle of book and was waiting for it to go back on track.

I cannot wait to see how Blythe and Signa work together in the next book and hopefully Fate and Death work together and they can all be one happy family.

Content Warnings

margaret_k30's review against another edition

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adventurous sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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organizedxchaos's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved how Blythe got her own POVs and how they were few and far between but complimented the story perfectly.

All in all, I had fun. I felt at times like this suffered from Second Book Syndrome though. It definitely tried to achieve too much in a short space of time: it took maybe half the book to clear up the last one whilst slowly setting up the plot for this one, and it all got resolved fairly quickly in the second half. The timeline was a bit off at times too. But I enjoyed it and had a good time diving back into this world.

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ro_lux's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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creolelitbelle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Adding Blythe's pov for select chapters was a wonderful choice, because hearing about someone else's impressions of Signa was insightful to the world Grace created. I do not typically read historical romance, regency or not, with the courting of young women during their seasons, tea parties, croquet matches, and fox hunts, but throw in supernatural elements like Signa who reaps lives, Death himself, and now Fate, too? I'm hooked. Book 3 cannot come out soon enough to shine a light on the new relationships. Signa has found family and a home, and Blythe has a life to fight for with no one to hold her back. Wisteria is bound to be full of adventures, snark and sass, and mystical happenings, and romance.

The B&N edition having a chapter after the full novel from Death's pov is a perfect touch to the whole reading experience.

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