Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

4 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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2.25

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

**SPOILERS**
Writing: 3.25⭐️/5 
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
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tguccione'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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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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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billykmaguiree's review against another edition

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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. 
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