Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Belladonna

I think the writing was done well enough. It was a bit more than serviceable and at times bent towards strong. I did actually appreciate that Signa FELT young: she’s only 19 and very naive about the world, so I liked her voice echoing these traits. The repetitive descriptive phrasing was a little irksome, and I do wish the pacing had consolidated into a solid pace instead of bouncing back and forth between everything at once or nothing at all.

Characters: 3.25⭐️/5

I liked Signa, and I liked Death in the first bit (when I was really hoping he was going to be more of a guardian and trainer for Signa). Sylas was a great voice as well and, though several of Signa’s cousins blurred together at times, I did enjoy learning about them. It really fell apart for me in the second half where I felt that several characters were pushed towards development instead of growing there naturally. Plus (BIG SPOILERS) Sylas and Death being the same person was a flop for me, considering they had vastly different voices and personalities.

Plot: 2⭐️/5

The concept is good: a girl who can’t die must solve a murder with Death itself. I’d read another book with a similar concept. The largest plot point I took issue with was the fact that Death watched Signa grow up and then made moves on her. I understand that he’s an immortal entity, but it’s a very odd choice in a novel written for young adults. The bones of this story are good; the details and execution were very much not.

Who Should Read This Book?

Not young adults.

Content Warnings?

Adult/Minor relationship, murder, death, death of a parent, death of a child, gaslighting, domestic abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, misogyny, sexism, fire, injury/injury detail, suicide, suicide attempts

Post-Reading Rating: 0.5⭐️/5

I don’t like the fact that the main love interest met our MC as A FREAKING BABY and watched her grow up, like some sort of creepy uncle. Not a fan of that, nor do I think it was necessary for a Young Adult novel to include and represent as okay.

Final Rating: 2.25⭐️/5

Content Warnings

bectothebooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

Wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. Even more shocked that I thoroughly enjoyed a

romance with Death.

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

honestly signa was dumb as fuck

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tiana_king's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

The falling in love with death trope is done to death as of late but it is a trope I adore 😂 The murder mystery aspect of the story does give a fresh spin on it though. The story is slow to get started but my interest was alway peaked. A nice story that has potential to be expanded on

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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have been wanting to be get to this book for awhile now since it’s been on my shelves for a little over a year, and Belladonna did not disappoint! I loved the who-done-it aspects of the book when it came to figuring out the murderer and their motives bc I was pleasantly surprised when it came to the reveal and the way it happened. And can we talk about the love interest Death 🤭 Signa really lucked out with him bc he does NOT play about his girl fr AHHH I was obsessed with those two.

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itsbrianascall's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.5

"You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It’s not selfish to live."

I genuinely loved so much about this book. The characters all had distinct voices, and I found myself loving most of them for various reasons, even the ones who had some traits that aren't exactly pleasant. The story was eerie, it was heartfelt, it was introspective, and above all else, it kept me engaged throughout the whole thing.

Having the historical fiction elements tied in with the supernatural and topped off by a murder mystery, I went into it worried that there would be too much going on in this book for any of the storylines to be done well. I can only really think of one situation where I wish I had more context, but seeing as this is a series, it's possible it'll be touched on in the sequel. I can't wait to start the next one and let this series become my whole personality 💕

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alisylvi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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mirroaoror's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

3.0

True to its name, this book felt like a poison, slowly killing me as I read through it...and now I'm dead. As with most readers, I'm sure, I was drawn to it by the cover since it was beautiful, and I had high hopes for the book. But ultimately, this book left a bitter taste in my mouth.

In the beginning towards the middle part, I was actually quite intrigued by the mystery and Signa's unusual connection with Death and his powers (though, we never got an explanation for this, and I'm unsure if it's something that will be explained in the second or third book because it is unfortunate since I don't have plans on reading them anymore). I couldn't put the book down throughout the most part of the story. I also didn't mind the several twists that came out one after another.

The relationship between Death and Signa was...mediocre at best and creepy stalker-ish at worst. But I didn't really care for it. The thing that bothered me the most was the way Signa dealt with Percy.

I think that just ruined the whole point of Signa finally finding a family in the Hawthornes because not only did she rob Percy the chance to explain himself to his father and sister and take accountability for his actions, but she also left Elijah, Blythe, and Marjorie not having any closure with him. It wasn't Signa's place to decide whether or not Percy should have died or not. Also, sure, it saved Blythe's life, but I don't think she would have wanted that if her brother died instead. And no, I don't condone Percy's actions, I just thought that death or being absorbed by Death or whatever was the easy way out for him.The ending felt so hollow because of it, and since the conclusion wasn't satisfying, it's as if the build up towards it was pointless. But yeah, I still enjoyed a good chunk of it.

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