Belladonna

I can't get attached to female lead. She is the most annoying character. The author tries to make her look less bad by making her victims tyrannical and deserving to die. But it's a cheap way to make your MC look like a good and innocent person. I don't like her interactions with death either. I feel like Death could've been more mysterious but he got the personality of a 17 year old. Boring. 

I almost DNF, but then just had to finish it for the sake of having bought it... Unfortunately not really my kind of book...

Any depiction of death is always fascinating to me. The murder mystery is cool, all with the fantasy aspect, but nothing was happening, and the twists and turns were almost at the 98% mark, which was not cute.

Signa Farrow, berumur sembilan belas tahun dan telah menjadi yatim piatu sejak bayi. Signa tampaknya tidak bisa mati, meskipun sering bersentuhan dengan kematian sejak kecil.

Dia dibesarkan oleh beberapa wali, semua walinya menemui ajal yang tidak terduga. Kerabat terakhir yang tersisa adalah keluarga Hawthorne, keluarga eksentrik yang tinggal Thorn Grove.

Kepala keluarga Hawthorne, Elijah, kehilangan istrinya, Lilian di sebuah pesta yang melibatkan minuman. Putra sulungnya Percy berjuang untuk mengembalikan reputasi keluarganya yang semakin merosot. Putrinya Blythe, menderita sakit misterius yang sama yang merenggut ibunya. Ketika roh Lilian menemui Signa dan mengatakan bahwa dia diracun, Signa menyadari bahwa Blythe akan menjadi korban berikutnya.

Dengan bantuan makhluk gaib bernama Death (Kematian), Signa harus mengungkap kebenaran sambil menghadapi takdirnya.

Permulaan kisah ini sangat menjanjikan, agak tidak biasa idenya. Namun semakin menuju ke belakang, semakin terasa kurang klik buatku. Untuk teman-teman yang menyukai romantasy, mungkin akan cocok dengan buku ini.

I love Death! He said all the right things to get Signa to realize she isn't as bad as people say. The story was so twisty and had me guessing till the reveal. That ending

I love how it ended, just making you want to read more to see what happens next! I loved their love and how it developed. I love that she was able to find herself and love Death and he love her.

A deliciously gothic and charming tale with a touch of mystery.

Signa was such a spunky character and I enjoyed her attitude and fierce protectiveness over her extended family.

While I was able to piece together a few parts of the mystery I have to admit I did not see the final twist at the end coming.

And the whole entanglement with Death thing is rather intriguing I must say. And the ending was enough to make me want to immediately pick up the next book.

i think maybe 4.25?? definitely good story, spooky vibes, i just wasn't as fully immersed as i thought i would be, and this may be because i was switching between audio and ebook. still loved it and the setting was absolutely beautiful

The story follows Signa Farrow, a girl who cannot die, though everyone around her mysteriously does. She can see ghosts and even communicate with Death himself. After her latest guardian passes away, Signa is sent to Thorn Grove to live with her last living relatives. However, the family is haunted by tragedy, and the ghost of the recently deceased matriarch tells Signa that her death was murder. This leads Signa on a quest to uncover the truth.

what do you mean i can't give this more than five stars. like what do you mean.

also the biggest congrats to ms grace for being blessed by the book cover art gods because this entire series is absolutely gorgeous

5 out of 5 stars

“Belladonna” by Adalyn Grace is a captivating blend of gothic fantasy, mystery, and romance that will enchant you from the first page. Set in a slightly magical 19th-century world, the story follows Signa Farrow, a 17-year-old orphan with an unusual gift – she can communicate with spirits and has a unique relationship with Death himself, and she does not like it at all.

When Signa is sent to live with her last living relatives, the Hawthornes, at their eerie Thorn Grove estate, she becomes entangled in a web of family secrets, suspicious deaths, and a mysterious illness plaguing her young cousin. As Signa delves deeper into the family's dark history, she must use her supernatural abilities to uncover the truth behind her aunt's murder and save her cousin's life.

Grace's writing is beautifully atmospheric, creating a lush, gothic ambience that permeates every page. She weaves together elements of fantasy, paranormal, and mystery, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The pacing is well-executed, with plenty of twists and turns to maintain suspense throughout the novel.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its characters. Signa's growth from an angry, lonely, cursed orphan to a young woman embracing her powers is compelling. The supporting cast, including the charismatic Death, adds depth and intrigue to the story. The chemistry between Signa and Death is particularly noteworthy, creating a slow-burn romance that will leave readers swooning. Talk about an age-gap romance!

While some readers may intuit one or two plot twists, the overall mystery remains engaging, with several surprises in store. The ending sets up an intriguing cliffhanger, leaving readers eagerly anticipating the next instalment in the series. Luckily, the next two books are already published and I absolutely devoured them.

“Belladonna” is perfect for fans of gothic literature, paranormal romance, and murder mysteries. Adalyn Grace has crafted a dreamy, imaginative world that will linger in your mind long after you finish this book.

With its stunning cover matching the beauty of its contents, this book is both a visual and literary treat.

I buddy read this book with Destiny, Erin and Regina. Before I get into my thoughts on this one I have to say the hardcover books are freaking stunning. They are the prettiest books I own. As for my thoughts on it I loved it so much. I loved reading a book that had Death as a character. The only book I can think of that has Death as a character was The Book Thief and in that book he was just the narrator. I loved the romance obviously and I also loved all of the characters. I wasn't able to guess the culprit so that was a complete surprise when it was revealed but there was something that I did guess. I thought for sure I was way off course so imagine my shock when I realized it was actually true. I loved this book so much and I am looking forward to getting to the next book soon. 

3.5 honestly not bad

Book clubbbb.

So there's this girl Signa, and it turns out she is impervious to poison and also can see ghosts, and also can see Death himself. She's really hot for Death, but remember kids this is a YA romantasy. (There's more sexytimes than there should be, considering you know, Death, but it's YA sexytimes.) Oh and also all the people who are Signa's guardians end up magically dead. Didn't I just read this book?

Signa moves into this old creepy house with some cousins, and it turns out the matriarch Lillian has just died but her ghost is still here and she is REAL MAD, and also these incompetent doctors could not figure out that she was being poisoned, and now her daughter is also being poisoned and the stupid doctors are like

INSANELY creepy romance... Death who is immortal and has been alive since existence started, falls in love with a 19 year old girl ... i fucking hate fantasy romance sometimes. cant you cunts make the ages appropriate?

I think that Death should not be allowed to have a penis. Or a clitoris, I don't care, just do Not let Death fuck.

OK gang! Here's the conundrum I present you with today: Let's say you're a young, twenty-year-old girl. Everyone you have ever loved, or who has taken care of you in any sense of the word, has died. When you should have died, you didn't. So ever since you can remember, you can see the Reaper and you can see ghosts. You have seen Death, the very real being, over and over again, and he has seen you; you decide you will be rid of him. You take a dose of poison???the titular belladonna???and Death appears before you, hulking, a predator. He calls you “Little Bird”. You run at him with a knife.It seeps through him, and he laughs. The ruckus alerts your cruel aunt, who appears at your door and tries to strangle you. You should die there, but you don't; she does. Death disavows the reaping. He says he is not your enemy. He says that he will prove it to you in two days' time.Two days later, an invitation to a new home is offered to you, and a young, handsome stable boy arrives to pick you up. His shoes are too clean to be a stable boy, and it appears improper that a young man should be sent alone to pick up a young lady, especially according to your late mother's etiquette book. You learn that the Hawthorne estate is in troubling times because its matriarch has recently passed away from illness, its patriarch is lost in wine and sorrow, its son lost also in his grief and frustration, and daughter dying of the same illness as her mother.Also, Lillian Hawthorne's twisted ghost haunts the estate, seeking to protect her daughter from the murderer that killed her.Now!As you solve the murder mystery alongside them, should you get with Sylas???the mysterious, handsome, peasant man who escorted you here???or Death himself, whose powers it seems you share? If you, like me, tend to envision Death as an ageless, sexless being, when main character Signa (yep) starts being attracted to Death???who has been watching and protecting her since she was a baby???and Death reciprocates, you said aloud, “Big yikes!” My only consolation was that there were more potential romantic interests, so maybe Death would eventually refuse her for Being Death reasons, except then the book solves the potential love triangle by having Sylas be Death in disguise. Which explains why he's so curiously around and then absent at seemingly random times, I guess, but also adds to the Yikes! factor because it's just Death grooming and manipulating Signa all the way down.I could get into how the other parts of the book are flat???none of the main cast have engaging personalities and too much time is spent at tea parties and talking about scones, plus there's constant talk of “pieces falling into place” in the “puzzle” Signa is solving???but most of my energy is lost in the fucking of Should-Be-Your-Grandfather Death. Don't do that. At least he asked for consent every time I guess.

I read this book because it was a Goodreads Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction. I surmise that when there is a young adult-ish protagonist (such as twenty-year-old-yet-to-debut Signa here) and the writing and story are Just Okay, publishers shove it into YA. The audiobook performance by Kristin Atherton is the source of 2 stars.

Oh also a big shout out to the like three instances of the shadow lesbians who are always making out in the corners 10/10 queer rep

This was such an interesting concept and I enjoyed Signa and Deaths' characters. Some of the characters were a little bit harder to love or root for, but they grew on you. Really thought-provoking and definitely some interesting twists. I was pleasantly surprised considering I went into it blind. I wish it had some spice after all the tension but I didn't realize it was YA lol. Despite that, I still really enjoying it.

He estado con la sensación de leer algo incompleto, le falta de todo en todas partes.

La protagonista no me ha gustado nada.
La relación de amor con Muerte me ha parecido creepy y forzada.

Que Muerte, un ser con un montón de años se interese por Signa desde bebé, la observe durante toda su vida y luego se enamore de ella a los 19 años, cuando Signa es una persona que casi no ha podido experimentar la vida me ha parecido horrible.
Y Signa pasa de odiar a Muerte durante toda su vida a caer rendida a sus pies en 4 encontronazos.

El otro interés romántico tenía más sentido pero una pena que al final fuera el mismo personaje.

Perfectamente podría haber hecho a Muerte como un tutor y a otro personaje o otros personajes como intereses románticos y se hubiera librado del grooming super incómodo.

El plotwist de quién es el malo está sacado de la manga, el motivo bastante pobre y una vez descubierto la resolución ha sido instantánea.

Y bueno el final también ha sido absurdo, cómo es posible que les importe tan poco lo que acaba de pasar? Sobretodo cuando capítulos atrás hacen un discurso sobre como la familia es super importante y todo lo que ha hecho ha sido por ella.

Habían muchas situaciones repetitivas que se hacían tediosas de leer, sobre todo los pensamientos de la protagonista que tiene los mismos una y otra vez durante toda la novela.

Los personajes secundarios han quedado muy de fondo pero algunos me han resultado más interesantes que los protagonistas.

3.5 Stars


It starts off very slow for me. I put it down for quite some time before picking it back up again. But it was honestly so good, after about 100 pages or so. The beginning was slow and a little boring for me but by the end, I was losing sleep to finish it lol.

I'll say it's less gothic romance though. Gothic vibes for sure, but not too much romance honestly. I also wanted more from death than what we got but everything in the story makes sense as to why we got so little of him.

How is everyone just blowing on past the fact that Death has been basically stalking Signa since she was a child?? And then wound up seducing her?? I———

“Do not change the parts of yourself that you like to make others comfortable. Do not try to mold yourself to fit the standards someone else has set for us.”

WOAH.

This is another perfect example of when I read a book and get mad at myself for taking so long to read it.

Belladonna is not like anything I have ever read before. This was the perfect gothic mystery and fantasy combination for me.

The writing of Belladonna was so beautifully poetic and I found myself absolutely enthralled by the story from start to finish. I honestly could not put this book down and I was cursing myself for needing sleep because I just wanted to keep reading.

I loved the character progression of Signa and seeing her grow into herself. I was always so excited to read the interactions between her and Death. They had great chemistry and I am not afraid to admit I grew a massive crush on him...

Re-read 1: I think I didn't give this book the credit it deserved. I think I was wrong to dislike it as much as I did and for that I want to change the rating from 2 to 3 stars.
I still wasn't over the moon with Signa or Death but I did appreciate Signa's dedication to her new family.
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This book was largely not what I would have wanted nor expected. I did not like Signa at all and Death was not exactly appropriate wanting her since she was a child. I was the least fond of that I must say.

I quite liked Percy which made it easy for me to assume he was the murderer, I have a thing for preferring the more villainous characters over the more normal ones.

It's too bad that Sylas was just death, I was hoping there'd be something more for Death to fight for if he truly wanted Signa.

Po rereadzie uwielbiam równie mocno ❤️

Actual rating; 4,5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The ending was good. The murder mystery a little predictable but still enjoyable. Really curious to see where the next book is going

definitely see the appeal of death