billykmaguiree's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A huge thank you to the team at Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an electronic arc, in exchange for an honest review.
In this gothic romance, Signa Farrow has one goal to stop Death from taking another life of someone close to her. When one of Signa’s relatives, Blythe falls ill with the same symptoms of her late mother, Signa’s determined to find out the truth about what is happening in Thorn Grove. As she hunts for answers, she teams up with Death himself to find out who is poisoning her cousin.
This is the first work that I’ve read by Adalyn Grace and it wasn’t amazing, but also wasn’t terrible. Hit the middle mark of what I expected.
The writing was okay. I liked the way that the characters were portrayed, especially Percy and Blythe but at times the plot felt like it lacked a lot of originality? I don’t know if it’s just me but there was points where I predicted what was going to happen, however the final plot twist was completely unexpected. Knowing Signa’s story with Death isn’t over makes me extremely hopeful for the next book ‘Foxglove.’
I do feel like Foxglove isn’t needed as an extension of the plot and things could’ve been wrapped up with an alternate ending.
Another area where I felt the plot was lacking was the whole build up between Death and Signa. I’m sure it’s no shocker that they fell in love, but I found the whole thing kind of creepy? From the very first page we see Death is watching over Signa as a baby, aware of who she is and what she is capable off. To me personally, Death’s grooming of Signa is not romantic but odd and should not be glamourised.
Overall: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace missed the mark for me and I am still conflicted about whether or not I’ll be picking up Foxglove when it comes out next year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit and Toxic relationship
ikillsunflowers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I received this as an eARC from NetGalley but all thought and opinions are my own.
I picked this up, not really having read much of the blurb, I thought it looked really cool. When I started to read it I found I couldn't put it down.
It follows Signa, a young woman who has been surrounded by death her whole life, and is very angry at him for that. When her latest guardian dies, she heads to Thorn Grove to stay with some distant cousins. Sadly Thorn Grove is grieving and her cousin is gravely ill. Not wanting to see another family member die Signa sets out to use her powers to save her cousin.
This book is essentially a gothic supernatural mystery with a nice little romance subplot. It was a pretty easy read and it kept me guessing the whole way through. It fits right in with the kind of book I love so I became very taken with it right away.
There were a few points where I was a big confused as to what was happening. I don't know if it was me reading too fast or what. Some pages with big reveals took me a couple reads to really understand what just happened.
I picked this up, not really having read much of the blurb, I thought it looked really cool. When I started to read it I found I couldn't put it down.
It follows Signa, a young woman who has been surrounded by death her whole life, and is very angry at him for that. When her latest guardian dies, she heads to Thorn Grove to stay with some distant cousins. Sadly Thorn Grove is grieving and her cousin is gravely ill. Not wanting to see another family member die Signa sets out to use her powers to save her cousin.
This book is essentially a gothic supernatural mystery with a nice little romance subplot. It was a pretty easy read and it kept me guessing the whole way through. It fits right in with the kind of book I love so I became very taken with it right away.
There were a few points where I was a big confused as to what was happening. I don't know if it was me reading too fast or what. Some pages with big reveals took me a couple reads to really understand what just happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Injury/injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny
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