Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

46 reviews

thegabscast's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This book felt like it was trying to be Gothic atmosphere meets Bridgerton, but failed at both. First, the “Gothic” atmosphere really wasn’t present, there was no haunting landscape and the world building did not add to this atmosphere in any way. Second, Signa, the main character is insufferable. She’s naive, fickle (drools over every man she meets and envisions a future with them), and vapid. However, you’re meant to believe she’s spunky, strong-willed, and charming. That’s not ever shown though, you’re just told over and over again despite her being the definition of a damsel in distress. She doesn’t even figure out the mystery herself, the answer  literally has to be spelt out for her to even register it. Maybe it’s because she spends more time obsessing over boys than she does actually trying to discover the answer? The answer was also blatantly obvious within the first few chapters, but not to Signa. Death was a great character if you just pay attention to his dialogue, but not if you actually stop and think about the fact that he has no personality. His sole purpose is to be obsessed with Signa and that’s all you really get from him. There’s no depth to him, there could have been, but it’s not in this book. His dynamic with Signa initially felt oddly paternal and not romantic, so making the jump from that to his declarations of love was uncomfortable to say the least. It was insta love, but Signa is soooo childish and “just a girl” that it really just feels creepy, not to mention that she’s literally 19 years-old. The “Little Bird” nickname did absolutely nothing to help with that either. I would have loved more of Blythe and I hear the third book is that, but I’m really not intrigued enough to continue reading this series. The writing itself wasn’t bad, but these characters were so one-dimensional and there was no true depth to the story that I found myself just trying to get through it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nadine34b10's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Vomit

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol

tguccione's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny and Classism

tessamariee's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.0

I wanted to really love this, but it was predictable and the characters were not flushed out enough. It fell a little flat in my opinion. It was fun though! I love a good slow burn and I love some of the personalities in the family! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Vomit

Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexism, and Terminal illness

unremi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

I actually loved this book! Although it took a lot of world building and plot building to get to the main plot, once we were there it was so enjoyable to read. After finishing CBS’s Ghosts, I was so excited to read a book about a girl who can see ghosts and all that afterlife stuff that’s so interesting. Honestly beautifully written though.😍

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

chase0w0's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

anlu0610's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

_charliesbooks_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

alittlenutmeg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

alisylvi's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Classism