Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

18 reviews

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

This book feels like it was written for a pitch, rather than to a pitch - like 'The Secret Garden x Crimson Peak', some aesthetic images, and 'I long for the sweet embrace of death but make it a YA novel'. Learning that the author is a storyteller from TV makes sooooo much sense - this would make a beautiful film or series, but is ill-suited to the medium it's in, like it's two books smooshed together, and it feels like it's missing the transitional or reflective scenes that would naturally be cut from a show. I'm not so much of a plot-focussed reader, so it wasn't for me, and the craft of writing, which is important to me and not other readers, felt missing, so it felt a bit like wasted potential, but if you're more into YA than I am then I can see why you'd love it. Not for me, and I won't be reading the rest, but that doesn't make it bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

such trope much fanfic wow

j_day's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.25

Not my genre but still enjoyable enough. Predicted

Sylas being death and Percy being the murderer

from less than halfway through but this didn't spoil it too much - although I would've preferred not to have worked it out so quickly!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ro_lux's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

tabea1409's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

manaledi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

3.25

A YA mystery pseudo romance with an anthropormophized version of Death. I kept expecting her to ask for Death's real name. I feel like a lot of books I've read recently somehow all end up set in a somewhat haunted giant old manor with a mystery and a vague enemies to lovers (thinking in particular of "House of Marionne"). Other than the fact that Death himself was a main character, I didn't find this all that dark or gothic. I thought the mystery was better developed than the romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Vomit, Grief, and Abandonment

misszoe's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This may actually be my favorite book this year. If I could, I'd give it more stars. 
My favorite part of the book was the main character, Signa. With many books, I think its hard for me to relate to the main character. They're often the least defined in my opinion, but with this, it was very different. Signa was very much thought through but not in a way that felt forced. Her entire personality and motivations felt very logical and in tune and she turned out to be a character I very much cared for. I could feel her desperation at times but I also felt her triumphs and while this may sound dramatic, it's the best I can describe it. I loved Signa's character growth over the course of the book. It made sense even if it was painful for her. And the message at the core of it is something I think everyone can relate to.
The writing itself was wonderful. The way Adalyn Grace played with language was beautiful and I loved that the theme kept the same throughout the book. I loved the plant metaphors obviously but also the winter and night ones. They fit together beautifully. 
As for the plot, I love a good murder mystery and it gave me exactly this. I had many theories but it was hard for me to guess what was actually happening. Every character had unique motivations and their own secrets so it was fun to keep guessing what was actually going on. All the characters made sense though. Special shout-out to Death, Signa and Blythe for being my favorites. 
All in all, I can't wait to read the second book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Body shaming

bakergirlsbooks1999's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

calicat42's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

lakinglaze's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! I cannot wait for the second one to be released! Death was so perfect and the descriptions were so beautifully written. As long as you can handle some spirits, I would recommend this book to everyone! I’m such a sucker for a Hades/Persephone tale and Belladonna was even better than I had hoped! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail